- So the hard thing about life is that stuff happens
that you don't plan for.
And one of those is divorce, and it's extremely stressful.
It's extremely heartbreaking for everyone involved.
It's one of the most stressful, sad things
that you can go through in life,
and unfortunately it affects your money.
And so a lot of the time I get questions about this.
"Hey, Rachel. I'm getting divorced. What do I do?"
And so you have to realize that
a lot of things can't be guaranteed,
but there are two things you need to remember.
Number one, you will survive this,
that you can move past it.
It's heartbreaking, it's excruciating,
but you can survive this.
And number two,
it doesn't have to cause a financial fallout.
You can take the steps to be wise with your money
and be smart for the future during this time.
So there are five steps I want you to make
to ensure that financially you're gonna be okay
so that you can focus mainly on what matters.
So step one,
the first thing you wanna do is get a team together.
You wanna get trusted family members
and friends around you for emotional support.
It's gonna be extremely hard
and to have someone to talk with you
through this time is very important.
You're going to want to get a divorce attorney
who will listen to you
and provide you some really sound legal advice
during this time.
You're gonna wanna contact a CPA or a financial planner
to make sure all your investments, taxes,
everything like that, the big stuff is going through well.
And someone that really has walked with other clients
through divorce.
And again, they can help you
make some really sound decisions with your money
during this time.
You also wanna contact an ELP,
one of our Endorsed Local Providers,
when it comes to insurance.
So there's different options for insurance like home,
life, auto,
any other policies that you might need going forward.
And I would also recommend contacting a counselor, a pastor,
again, someone that has more of a professional side to this,
that can walk you through the emotions of it
cause it is extremely painful.
It can be extremely wounding and damaging
and making sure you're taking care of not just your money,
but your emotional side as well.
Alright, step two, you need to know your numbers.
So gather all the financial information you can.
So I'm talking about tax returns, real estate paperwork,
retirement, investment accounts,
I mean anything around that,
you need to know that you have those statements
and you can see the numbers,
and then check with your attorney
about opening a new checking and savings account
without your spouse's name on them.
So make sure that they are removed from those accounts.
You also wanna update insurance policies
and change the beneficiaries.
You wanna make or update your will.
This is especially important if you have children.
So if you have kids, make sure you update your will.
Step three, create an emergency fund.
This is going to be your safety net.
So during a time like this of crisis,
and I say this, if it's divorce,
if there's a death close to you and your family,
if there's times of that type of grief,
you just wanna pause everything.
Don't make any huge moves right now with your money,
but make sure that you are saving.
Having that safety net as much cash as possible
is going to give you that peace of mind.
Step four, make adjustments to your budget.
So make sure you have a budget in place
and then ask yourself the big questions.
Are you going to be selling your home?
Do you think you need to downsize?
And make sure you make a budget
and you tell every single dollar where it's going.
And remember, right now,
your main focus is to stockpile cash.
So anywhere you can cut back on your lifestyle
is really wise.
And again, this is for the short term
to get some cash in place,
and then in the future,
you can add some money back to your budget.
And step five, last but not least,
take a deep breath and just stay focused.
For me, journaling really helps during times of grief
and sadness, or even times of joy.
There might be moments that you see
that light of joy. Write stuff down
so you can look back
and you can see God's faithfulness through this journey,
even though it's extremely painful,
but journaling sometimes helps.
And I would say start small wherever you are financially,
whatever that emergency fund is you're putting in place.
Start small, those little steps you take in life,
will get you moving forward.
So just know that again, extremely painful
and I'm so sorry for going through it,
but you have this and you are not alone.
Everything you do now, the decisions you make now
are really gonna help you build a new future ahead of you
and you're gonna get there.
So if you're going through this hard time,
click the link below cause we have our divorce checklist
and it's really tactical,
but I think it's a very, very helpful tool
if you're walking through this process
to give you the direction that you need.
And also if you go check out
the official Rachel Cruze Facebook group,
there are people in there right now,
literally going down this path.
They are in the exact same spot as you
and finding people that are going through it for you,
just for support to talk to
cause they know exactly what's happening,
how you're feeling. Go in there and talk to them.
Find that community,
even if it's people you don't know in person again,
have those trusted friends and family
that can be with you in person,
but sometimes that online community can help you
and support you you as well.
(dramatic music)