Feeling Guilty After Divorce

Feeling Guilty After Divorce?  Don’t Open Up Your Wallet!

Limit guilt spending despite your desire to comfort your children.  I admit when I was first divorced I had difficulty saying no to my children. I already was worried about them and wanted to ensure they had all that they needed, and more. But the truth is, presents will not be impactful in easing the transition of divorce.

Making the mistake of disregarding a budget.

Looking back on the first Christmas with my children as a divorced mom, I went WAY overboard with the gift giving. Not only were they going to be getting gifts at their dad’s house, but the amount of presents they received at my house was over the top compared to the year before at our jointly held Christmas. Did they have a great time? Of course! Did my credit card bill suffer the consequences? Of course!

Stop feeling guilty and make smart decisions.

While feeling guilty after divorce became less of an issue, so did my inclination to say yes all of the time. Now I have no problem telling my kids that I only plan on spending a particular amount of money on toys/books, or that we can only do a certain number of activities because these things cost money. I am not shy to explain that I work very hard, and the money I make is used for their food, their clothes and the home we live in. Everything else is not a necessity but a privilege. This is an absolutely wonderful thing for them to understand at any age. Go ahead and teach them this valuable lesson. Your credit card will thank you.

Looking for advice on how to manage your budget and deal with credit card debt?  Consider speaking with a Financial Advisor.