A divorce can have a significant impact on your financial and emotional health. These impacts may be heightened if you get a divorce after the age of 55, but there are actions that you can take to rebuild your life. For instance, you can focus on hobbies that you enjoy or take classes at a Texas college to obtain skills needed to land a job.
Take time for your health
A gray divorce may provoke a number of emotions such as anger, depression or anxiety. These emotions may cause you to make impulsive decisions such as eating too much, drinking excessively or spending money that you don’t have on things that you don’t need. Depression may also cause secondary health issues or cause you to allow your home or relationships to fall into disrepair. Ideally, you will make time for exercise, to socialize with friends and to otherwise engage in self-care.
Adjust your budget
If your spouse was the one who handled the household finances, your first step may be to simply assess your financial needs and create a budget. Depending on your existing resources, it may be necessary to go back to work, save less for retirement or sell your house to make ends meet.
Accentuate the positive
Although a divorce represents a major change in your life, it doesn’t have to be a totally negative experience. You now have the freedom to pursue your own interests or perhaps find someone who is more compatible with who you are now as opposed to who you were several years or decades ago.