Naturally, divorce is a topic most of us would prefer to avoid. But it’s wise to know how divorce could affect your money, even if you never think it’s a possibility.
So this article about divorce and money is for you, whether you’re engaged, married, considering divorce, or going through a divorce right now.
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Do you have a spending problem? I do. The thing is, it’s not always easy to recognize a spending problem. Some of us have one and don’t even realize it.
That’s because being human means that it’s hard for us to see our own issues — even if they’re things that might be obvious to an outsider.
So before we get into possible ways to overcome a spending problem, let’s talk about how to identify one.
Keep in mind that having a spending problem is not necessarily the same as having compulsive shopping disorder or a spending addiction.
It’s broader than that. The good news is, it doesn’t have to stop you from getting out of debt or reaching your financial goals.
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Many people don’t even think of doing an early mortgage payoff. Or if they do consider it, they decide not to pay off the mortgage early based on a couple of commonly held beliefs:
The thing is, neither of those beliefs are necessarily true.
You can both invest and pay off your mortgage. And you may not be getting any tax benefits at all from having a mortgage.
(Many people don’t, so check with your tax person to see if you even take the mortgage deduction.)
We sure weren’t taking a mortgage tax deduction, and we knew we didn’t have to make a choice between paying off our mortgage early or investing. We could do both!
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You can open a Roth IRA for kids if they meet certain requirements, which is a great thing. If you’d like to find out how to set up a Roth IRA for your kids, and what the requirements are for that, read on.
But first, why consider doing this?
A Roth IRA (which is also sometimes called a custodial IRA for kids) can be an excellent way for parents to help their children invest for the future.
While retirement is probably the last thing on your child’s mind, that doesn’t mean you can’t put the idea of preparing for the future there.
You can show them the power of starting early and help them form good habits now, or just start the process for them if they are very young. (Even a baby can have a Roth IRA, IF they meet the requirements. As we’ll go into later, there’s no minimum age to open an IRA.)
Opening and funding a Roth IRA for your kids can be a great way to give them a financial head start in life.
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