004 – Surviving Divorce Podcast – Budgeting

In my latest blog post I discussed the tough financial decisions that often must be made following divorce.  In this podcast episode I dig a little deeper into that and give you the budgeting tools you will need to gain control of your financial future.Most of us who are divorced experienced a loss of income and the associated living standard as a result of the divorce.  There are a select few who will actually be better off financially after a divorce but they are the exception, not the rule.I was the primary breadwinner in my household.  My ex-wife was a stay-at-home-mom for the last few years of our marriage and had just re-entered the workforce prior to our divorce.  I thought that I would be better off financially, and probably would have been, but I bought a big screen TV, home theater system, and motorcycle immediately after my divorce.  This set me back a few grand and started a period of overspending that took me deeper into debt.Fortunately I happened on Dave Ramsey's "The Total Money Makeover" and got my finances back on track.If you find yourself struggling with finances, one of the best things you can do is create a budget and stick to it.  One of the biggest mistakes people make when creating a budget is trying to fabricated the ultimate budget that handles all situations.The best way to budget is to create a new budget every month that accounts for the income and expenses of that month.  Take care of the essentials first (food, housing, utilities, and transportation) before spending money on other things.If you create a budget and find that you don't have enough money to cover your expenses you will have to make some tough decisions. but don't panic.  Your budget is tool that can help you get your spending under control and start making progress.I have created a budgeting toolkit to help you get started.  Get your free Surviving Divorce Podcast Budgeting Toolkit here.God BlessG.D.