If you are thinking about ending your marriage, you may be looking forward to your new life after your divorce. Still, you may worry about having enough financial resources to support yourself. While Tennessee law entitles you to an equitable share of the marital estate, you may also be eligible for spousal support.
Regardless of what you receive during and after your divorce, you likely want to have a healthy credit score. After all, you may need to finance a new home, a vehicle or even an education. Here are three ways to ensure your personal credit score emerges from your divorce in good shape.
1. Request a free copy of your credit report
Before you can work on repairing your credit or building new credit, you must know where your creditworthiness currently stands. Every year, you may request a free copy of your credit report from each of the reporting bureaus. If your report includes any errors, working on resolving them may cause your score to rise.
2. Close joint credit accounts
If you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse have joint credit accounts, his or her poor spending habits may be driving your credit score downward. To ensure you have complete control over your credit rating, close joint credit accounts as soon as you can.
3. Create a workable budget
It may be tempting to use your credit card to purchase items for your new home, to take a post-divorce trip or to buy something else. If you can create and stick to a workable budget, though, you may have an easier time transitioning to life after your divorce. By keeping your debt-to-credit ratio in an optimal range, you may also boost your credit score
Because building good credit after a divorce may take some time, you must be patient. You should also give yourself some room for error. Nevertheless, any effort you put into the process is likely to help you build a solid financial future.
