Steps to rebuilding your finances after divorce

For the last year I have been Mistress of my own financial matters and I'm still learning and striving toward financial goals. I'm learning as I go. Learning about rebuilding my credit and my own finances following divorce, that is. I'm not an expert but I am discovering more about managing my own money and trying to clean up my credit report that is quite damaged after 17 years of marriage during which my then-husband was in charge of paying all the bills and making all the financial decisions. Let's just say he didn't do such a great job. Here are a few of the steps I have taken and will be taking to paint a better financial picture for myself and my children.

Get a Personal Checking Account

Getting a checking account of my own felt like a milestone for me. I attempted to open a checking account and/or a savings account on my own prior to my separation in an attempt to stash money for what I was sure was to come. Unfortunately, due to past credit woes, none of the banks in my local area would open any accounts for me. It wasn't until I actually separated from my husband that the bank we had a joint account at was willing to open an account for me. They have a special "second-chance" banking program for people in my situation--with past credit problems.

Get a Savings Account

After I accomplished the checking account, I later opened my own savings account in which I could squirrel away a little bit of a nest egg. It is at the same bank where I opened the checking account, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to open it.

Pay Your Bills on Time

My ex-husband was always in charge of paying the bills and wouldn't let me have much to do with our joint finances and ultimately, most of our bills were extremely past due as he did a juggling game with our money. Once we separated and I started paying my own bills, I made every effort to pay everything on time as best I could. Some bills that I had were timed in such a way that I still had to pay them a few days late. The first month my cell phone/Internet bill was paid on time--the first time in four years--I felt like I had truly accomplished something.

Get Your Credit Report

I'll admit it--my credit is shot. Therefore I never saw the need to look at my credit report. I wasn't looking for a home or car loan so what was the point? I decided that in order to rebuild my own finances and credit I should at least know what is in my report. It wasn't pretty, but there were a couple of good things that were encouraging--at least to me. My mortgage has been consistently current for the last year--since I took over making the payments. Likewise, my two credit cards have been current for the last year. The stuff before last summer is still ugly and disheartening, but now I'm working to make it prettier.

Make a Goal

I have several small immediate financial goals (build up my savings, pay bills on time, have money at the end of the month) and two larger, more long-term goals. I want to buy a van (I have three growing kids to haul around) and I want to eventually buy a home of my own. Improving my financial situation and rebuilding my credit are intertwined with those two goals.

One Step at a Time

As I said earlier, I'm learning as I go and taking everything one step at a time. I will be consulting with my personal bank about options for me as I attempt to rebuild my own credit and hopefully, in time, I will make progress. As it stands now, I am pleased that one year into being on my own, I am able to pay all of my bills (on time), have a little extra (snow cones anyone?) and feel a sense of accomplishment and pride in what I am doing. That means a lot right there.