How to File for Divorce

No matter how well things are going, sometimes things just don’t work out as well as we’d like. If your marriage is crumbling and you’ve done what you can to save it without success, it might just be time to cut your losses and consider divorce. You can work with a lawyer to file for divorce or you can use do it yourself divorce papers to file quickly and with less expense.

Organize Yourself

The first step to filing for divorce is not to trot down to the county courthouse. Instead you need to trot over to the filing cabinet and organize all of your records. You need records of your home ownership, bank accounts, debt and assets. If you’re suspicious, or feel like checking for your own good, dig around to be sure your spouse hasn’t hidden any funds or assets from you that he or she might be sheltering from pending divorce proceedings.

Find the Right Documents

If you work with a lawyer, she’ll arrange documents on your behalf making the process as simple as reviewing standard paperwork and signing on the dotted line. Doing your own divorce paperwork isn’t much more complicated, but you’ll need to double check that you have everything you need and take care of the filing and data entry on your own.

Divorce criteria and documents vary by state. California divorce papers and terms are very different from New York divorce papers – especially as California is a community property state and New York is not. (Community property states are those that treat income earned and assets acquired during the marriage as the property of both parties, regardless of who earned more.) You’ll need to be sure you have all of the right forms and follow the rules of your state.

Complete the Paperwork

If you’re divorcing amicably, work with your spouse to set the terms of the divorce and complete paperwork together if possible. Ironing out agreements pleasantly is far less stressful and takes less time than legal battles. Otherwise, fill out the paperwork according to the terms set by the state. A lawyer can be helpful at this point, especially if you have many assets and children.

The more special situations in a relationship, the more likely it will be that you’ll need assistance – child custody and alimony are especially tricky in a do-it-yourself situation. But if you and your spouse are both employed with no children or complicated asset distribution, a do-it-yourself divorce is not much trickier than a break-up.

File and Document

A divorce, even the simplest one, takes time and money. Filing for divorce costs anywhere from $100 to $350 depending on where you live. The lawyer fees will be much more, but these might be covered by your spouse – especially if you file a fault divorce. The forms and documents might incur additional costs as well.

While you work through the proceedings, be sure you document everything in writing. Take notes of every phone call and get every promise made by your spouse in writing. Keep meticulous records as divorce can turn nasty or just get complicated, and you’ll need evidence to support your claims and statements.

Nobody seeks a divorce when they marry, but sometimes the break-up just seems inevitable. It takes time and will drain you of energy both physically and emotionally, but a finalized divorce might just be the fresh start you need to find a better life.

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How to Pay Monthly Bills Online

The introduction of automatic bill pay has simplified countless lives. Now routine payments such as mortgages and credit cards can be set up and left to run on their own without taking the time or effort to write a check every month. And the best part of all, most banks now offer free online bill pay, so you’re effectively saving the value of all those stamps by paying monthly bills online.

Set up an Online Bank Account

To pay bills online, you must have a bank account that is linked to an online account. The easiest way to pay monthly bills online is to work with your own bank to set up payments rather than use a third party bill pay source. If you already have a bank account with an established bank, ask about accessing your account online and the availability of bill pay services. Once you have online access, provided your bank offers bill pay, you should be set to begin paying monthly bills online.

Organize Your Bills

If you normally pay bills as they come through the door, you need to add a new step to your regime for a month. Rather than pay that bill using a check, set up an account for the payee online in your new bill pay account. Entering the payee will take a few minutes, but you won’t have to do it again after they are set up in the system.

Set Up Payments

Once the payee is added, set up the payment. If this particular payee is an installment loan or balanced billing, there is no reason to not set up a repeating payment. A repeating payment means the same amount is going to the same payee at the same time every week, month, or even year. Mortgages, minimum credit card payments, car loans, cable bills, cell phone bills, phone bills, student loan payments and more can all be set up as repeating payments.

Once the repeating payment is set up correctly to leave the account on the correct day every month, you don’t have to worry about that payment again. It will automatically be paid every month whether you take the time to login to your online bank account or not.

Other payments, such as the water bill or gas are harder to set up as repeating payments. If your service provider offers uniform billing, you can take advantage of that to set up repeating payments, or just set up a new payment every month when those few bills come.

Check Your Account

It is important, of course, to be sure you have money in your account for when the bills automatically are paid. You can pad your account with a bit of savings to avoid going negative if a bill leaves before your paycheck arrives, or you can time all the bills to leave at a certain time following the arrival and deposit of your paycheck.

Then, you can sit back and relax knowing your money is being direct deposited into your account then sent out to pay your bills all without having to pick up a pen or dig out another stamp – ever.
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How to Establish Good Credit

Good credit is essential to all of your future financial decisions. To establish good credit, you must use credit wisely. But the trick can be getting your first opportunity to even touch credit. Finding a credit card to practice with can be a bit challenging at times, although many credit card companies are desperate to throw credit cards at you whether you know what you’re doing or not.

Make a Plan

Your first step to establish good credit it to plan how you will be using your new credit card or account. For example, gas cards are an excellent way to establish a credit basis. You use the gas card to fill up your car with gas every couple of weeks. The bill comes and you pay off the card completely using the cash you would have spent at the gas station.

This is exactly the way credit cards should be used. If you open a regular credit card suddenly there is temptation to buy things you might not have the cash to pay for at that moment. Maybe an open bar tab or a few new clothes would make your week better. So you use the credit card. Soon you have a balance that you can’t pay off and you’re stuck in the cycle of making minimum payments for years.

While making minimum payments won’t hurt you too badly, the balance on the card and other balances you wrack up over the years that you can’t pay anything off can send you into a serious debt spiral. This is why the average household has over $9,000 in credit card debt. Don’t let that be you.

Apply for a Card

Your next step is to apply for a credit card. If you want to test yourself and your initiative first, start with a simple gas card or a credit card for a clothing store you already shop at. Then pay off the small balance at the end of each month and continue doing so until you have a good handle on how credit cards work.

Then, when you have some extra spending money, apply for a regular credit card spend no more than you would in cash every month. Send your cash to your card at the end of the month to pay off the balance and you’ll be on your way.

Alternatives to Credit Cards

There are a couple of alternatives to credit cards if you’re having trouble getting set up with your own account. When you open a checking account, you often have the option of getting a bank debit card. These cards act like credit cards but pull money directly from your bank account as if they were a check. Using a debit card allows you to ease into credit cards without worrying about tracking your spending or going over the limit. You can see each transaction online every day at your bank’s website.

Another option is to get a credit card with your parents. Some credit card companies offer dependent credit cards to help get you started. These are especially good for individuals under eighteen as they can teach you about using credit cards, simplify your purchases, and give (and the bank) the safety net of your parent’s bank account. Of course the tradeoff is that your parents can see everything you buy, but that might be a good system to help keep you on track.

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How To Get a Cash Advance

Sometimes you just need a little cash in hand before your paycheck clears the bank. When something comes up like an emergency trip to the hospital or a surprise bill, payday loans can have the answers you are looking for. Here’s how to use a payday loan, or how to get a cash advance.

A cash advance and a payday loan are different terms for the same thing. A cash advance is a very short term loan based on your paycheck. It is not a debt management solution, but can help bridge the gap of a few days when you need cash before your check hits your account.

Find a Cash Advance Center

Your first step in obtaining a cash advance is finding a center or bank that offers payday loan services. Many traditional banks do not offer these type of loans, so your best option maybe a storefront establishment.

Bring a Copy of Your Paycheck

The premise of a payday loan is that you are about to receive a paycheck, but need the money sooner. So head to the center and bring along your paycheck. Speak with the representative and fill out paperwork to arrange a small loan, usually well below $1,000. The cash advance center will look at your information, your bank account information and your old paycheck to determine if you are worthy of a loan.

Sign Off

If you are approved, and most borrowers are, you will be told to sign off on the loan. The fees on the loan are a substantial percentage of the loan itself, and payment terms are strict. You will most likely have to provide your bank account information for insurance purposes.

Then, when all paperwork is in order, the cash advance center will write you a check for the requested amount.

Repay the Loan

Be sure to repay the loan on or before the due date. The interest rates on cash advances are already very high, and failure to pay on time can bring additional fees. The lending center might also pull the funds directly from your bank account which can make your account negative and earn you additional fees.

Be careful to not create a cycle of debt with cash advances. If you find yourself borrowing money before every paycheck, you most likely are spending beyond your limits and hurting yourself in the long run.

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How to Use an Offshore Account

Sometimes it is best to use an offshore account to plan for your retirement and savings. If you are living in a country where you do not hold citizenship or the taxation laws of your own country are burdensome, offshore wealth management might be the ideal solution. If you’re intrigued, here’s how to use an offshore account.

First, determine your need for an offshore account. If you are living in the United States, Canada or the UK you most likely do not need an offshore account as financial laws and institutions are sound and relatively favorable. This is true for most of the western world. On the other hand, if you are an expatriate or living in a country that you feel is unstable or simply has unfavorable savings options and tax laws, investigating offshore may have its benefits.

The next step is to see what options are available to you. Off shore accounts sometimes have a bad reputation thanks to movies and crime novels, but most are surprisingly stable and sound. Offshore accounts in countries such as the Isle of Man and other territories of western countries are often underlain with the same stable laws and institutions of the country itself. But many have additional policies and laws to make investing attractive. Investigate the country’s laws and policies to determine if they suit your needs and are safe.

Consult with your financial planner

Talk with you financial planner and determine the best way to move funds off shore. You may decide to have the majority of your funds offshore, or just a few savings accounts to offset any risks you have with your other accounts. Your individual assets, savings plan, and location all play a role in deciding the right course of action.

Open an offshore account

Move the determined amount of funds into that account. Set up the account with your own personal system. You can invest in local markets, buy bonds, simply save the money in a basic account or any other option offered by the country. Like any investment, be sure to understand the risks involved and how those risks correlate to your life stage.

Understand tax laws

Having money overseas might make your taxes more complicated now or in the future. You must research and understand the tax laws for the country you are living in as well as the country you have invested in. Naturally, you want to be sure you maximize your advantages in both in regard to your money while staying well inside the law. A financial planner, accountant or lawyer may be the best source of advice and information on this front.

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