When I was dealing with my breakup, I felt a wide range of emotions - everything from sadness to shame to anger and back again. Sometimes in a matter of minutes. On my best days, I wasn't being very kind to myself and on my worst days, I was my own worst enemy.

When you're dealing with a breakup, some days are just plain rough.  Maybe you didn't sleep well and you start the day off grumpy and things only get worse from there. You spill your coffee on yourself on the way to work or the traffic’s terrible. You’re late for your meeting, no time for lunch and you wish you’d spent the day in bed.

Dealing with a Breakup: 4 Simple Ways to Be Kind to Yourself

When you are already emotional from the changes in your life, every little thing that goes wrong can feel much bigger than it is. If you’re having a terrible day, stop for a minute, take a deep breath and take some time out to be kind to yourself. You can’t undo the bad things that have already...

Rebuilding After Divorce

If you are struggling financially after a divorce, you're not alone. Going from one combined household to two separate ones is expensive regardless of your income or divorce settlement. With a little focus, though, you should be back on track in no time. 

Steps to Rebuilding After Divorce

Consider the following steps to recover your financial situation more quickly.

Step 1: Decide that you are going to improve your financial situation.

The most important thing that you can do is to prioritize improving your financial situation. Sure, you may recognize that your finances are not what they once were, but if you don't take the steps to change your situation, you'll find yourself in the same spot months or even years from now.

Decide to start immediately. You'll thank yourself later.

Step 2: Figure out your starting point

Once you've made improving your financial situation a priority, it's important to know where to start. Take the time to...

Looking for FAFSA tips for divorced parents? In many of my divorce cases, how college expenses will be handled is an issue that needs to be addressed. It's common for parents to wait to divorce until their children are teenagers or young adults. This tends to be around the same time that people are preparing to send their children to college. Unfortunately, many are unprepared for future higher education expenses.

5 FAFSA Tips for Divorced Parents

Applying for and paying for college can be very stressful for many parents. Co-parenting is hard enough without the stress of supporting your kids through the college application process. Often, divorce settlements don't detail how college expenses will be handled. It's outside of the jurisdiction of many states' domestic relations courts. If college expenses are detailed in the agreement, they're often vague with limited concern around the details adding additional stress.

Enter the FAFSA. FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal...

With three school-age children, I'll be honest. I dread the beginning-of-the-school-year paperwork. There is so much new information coming at me and lots to remember - not to mention the mountain of forms I always spend the first few days of the school year filling out. If you are sharing parenting responsibilities with your Ex, it takes teamwork for a smooth transition into the new year. Here are some tips for success.

Have a plan for shared parenting during the school year

Work with your co-parent to create a transition plan from the summer schedule to the routine for the school year. In our house, we let the kids stay up a little later and sleep in a little later during the summer. About a week before school starts, we start returning the kids to their normal school sleep schedule. That way, they are well-rested for the first day of school. It's a simple thing but it makes our mornings before school go much smoother.

Prioritize communication

If possible, I recommend...

Talking to your children about divorce isn't easy, especially when still processing your own feelings. Sometimes using books that are designed to guide the conversation can be helpful. Here is a list of age-appropriate children's books about divorce. Click on the picture of the book to find it on Amazon.

Books About Divorce by Age Group

Children's Books About Divorce for Ages 3-5

It's Not Your Fault Koko Bear

Koko is a preschool-aged bear whose parents are getting divorced. Koko is very upset. The book was written to be read by parents to their children and help them talk about how they're feeling. It reassures children that their parents still love them regardless of the changes happening in their family.

Mama and Daddy Bear's Divorce

Dinah is scared. Mama and Daddy Bear are getting a divorce. Daddy is moving out, and she's not sure when she'll get to see him again. This sweet book doesn't go into details about divorce but helps acknowledge that there are big...

Preparing for a divorce is a lot more than just picking up the phone and calling an attorney. There are the emotional aspects, financial, legal, and, of course, there are parenting issues. It means figuring out what life is going to look like when it's all said and done and includes preparing your children for the transition. For the stay-at-home mom, there are additional concerns around income. 

How to Prepare for Divorce for Stay-At-Home Moms

Contents:

Emotional Preparation

Financial Preparation

Legal Preparation

Talking to Your Kids About Divorce

For more information about preparing for divorce, check out our book: When It's Just Not Working: A Practical Divorce Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms.

        Emotional Preparation

When you realize that your marriage is over, it's normal to feel a variety of emotions. Over time, you'll experience all of the stages of grief. You'll be grieving not only the loss of your...

When I got divorced, I had three children between the ages of three and eight. I remember the stress. I was overwhelmed thinking about how I was going to help my kids get through the divorce and ultimately, how I would manage on my own.

It can be scary to think about how you'll take care of your children after a divorce. There will be many changes on the horizon for everyone. You have to be confident that you can take care of them, even if you have to turn to friends and family members for emotional and financial support. It's also important to remember that taking care of your own needs is vital as you're not going to be able to care for your children if you aren’t taking care of yourself.

5 Tips to Help Kids Get Through Divorce as Smoothly as Possible

• Make use of the help that is offered
• Establish a solid financial plan so you're not preoccupied with financial worries
• Prioritize communication
• Try to get along with your ex
• Be present

Ask For Help

...

Your spouse cheated. He or she is leaving you for someone else. Perhaps you've argued for years and just finally had enough. Regardless of the reason, for the vast majority of cases, divorce is emotional. People are emotional. Deciding how your life will be after a divorce is emotional.

Unfortunately, making sound decisions while emotions are running high doesn't work. When we get emotional, we stop thinking rationally, which can lead us to do and say things that we will regret later. It's easy to blow up an important part of the settlement agreement by letting anger and frustration get the better of you. When emotions take over, we stop listening to the other person and focus on the feelings instead of the goals we have for the negotiation. Here are some divorce mediation tips to consider when emotions are running high.

7 Divorce Mediation Tips for Success

So, how do you stay unemotional in a situation that is going to have such a big impact on your future? Use the...

There are several reasons that parents come in for mediation after a divorce is over. A big one is parenting expenses. The reality is if you get divorced when your children are young, it's hard to know what kind of extracurricular activities they will become involved with over the years or even if they will develop chronic health issues.

Strategies to Handle Parenting Expenses After Divorce

It's really impossible to negotiate every possible scenario. However, it is crucial to discuss at least a baseline for how you’ll divide those parenting expenses after divorce and effectively communicate as well.

Step 1: Discuss how parenting expenses will be handled prior to finalizing your divorce

Add parenting expenses to the divorce agreement. Under the best-case scenario, you will have thoroughly discussed the division of expenses, so both of you know what to expect. You’ll want to be aware of expenses including school tuition, lunches, medical bills and insurance,...

I stayed in my house when I got divorced. At the time, the housing market had declined so much that we had negative equity in our home. Selling our house would have put us in a worse financial situation than keeping it and we had three young children. Keeping them in the house gave them some stability during a difficult time for our family.

That said, maintaining the house that I had with my ex has had its ups and downs. I'm glad we were able to stay put but the maintenance was a lot of work for me at first. I've since gotten remarried and now my kids are a little older so they can help more. Still, when I was on my own, to say I was overwhelmed would barely scratch the surface of how I was feeling.

I've also had some huge home-related expenses since my divorce that set me back significantly. At the time, the decision to stay in the house was a no-brainer. However, looking back, I have to wonder if the stress of being responsible for the house hasn't been more difficult than if...