A Little Divorce Gossip

Heidi Klum and Seal have confirmed that they are getting a divorce after seven years of marriage. Seal has been looking for a new place to live and has been preparing to move out of their home for weeks.  The couple has always been considered one of the happiest couples in Hollywood.

Marriage and Gay Divorce

What do you do when your spouse tells you that he or she is gay and wants a divorce?  Whether you’ve married a long time or just a few years, it is devasting. When your spouse tells you that they are gay and no longer want to be married to you, it’s as bad as if they told you they never loved you. You may start to doubt yourself and your own sexuality. Your children will be embarrassed, ashamed and humililated. They may even take your spouse’s side against you and blame you for not knowing. You will probably wonder youself how you did not know. Then comes the anger and devastation of a divorce. A divorce like this is not necessarily caused because you two don’t love each other or the breakdown of your marriage,  but circumstances beyond your control.  Being gay is not a choice. If you have children, once the anger and hurt are less, try to become friends and stay parents to your children.

New Year’s Resolutions

Many of us start of the new year by making New Year’s resolutions.  It’s a great tradition that has gone on forever.  Among the top ten resolutions each year are financial goals—such as getting out of debt or saving for retirement.  The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to think about how we’d like to improve our lives.  The first thing you should do is not to set your goals to high, because you are setting yourself up for failure. Your financial goals should take top priority. Carrying too much debt is bad for anybody.  You should  make a concerted effort to pay off all your credit card debt. Then you should conciously try not to pull out your credit card so quickly to pay for something. Think about this:  if you had to write a check or pay cash for it, would you buy it? You would probably think twice about buying it and probably not do it.  Saving for your retirement is also very important.  The more you put in, the more you will have when you need it.  Regular investing is the key. Social Security may not be there when you need it, and it doesn’t pay that much anyway.

The Marriage Dilemma

The lastest statistics from the Pew Research Center are scary.  In 1960 nearly three-fourths of people 18 and older were married. In 2010 the number had dropped to 51%. Four in ten births were to unmarried women.  If this trend continues, within a few years less than half of the population in the United States will be married.  This will cause not only social problems, but also economic problems. The steadily dropping marriage rate contributes to income inequality. As marriage continues to become an occurrence of people better-off and better-educated, one has to wonder if the lack of financial stability contributed to the decision not to marry, or did the decision not to marry contribute to financial instability? Growing up in a stable, two-parent household attributes  to educational achievement.  Educational achievement attributes to lifetime income.

Judges

“Judges are the weakest link in our system of justice, and they are also the most protected.”  —Alan Dershowitz.  If you or someone you know has had a bad experience with a judge (and who hasn’t)—go to robeprobe.com and speak up. We must get rid of bad judges!

Proposal Planners

There are matchmakers, wedding planners, fashion stylists, floral designers and now there are proposal planners!  These consultants advise men, and sometimes women, who can’t figure it out for themselves, how to propose—sometimes in grand style.  For a fee a proposal planner helps create a scenario for the moment and assist in its execution. While the bride tends to control the wedding plans, the marriage proposal is the one thing the guy has control over.  The only thing that the proposal planner can’t control is the answer to the proposal.  There is no guarantee “yes.”

Divorce Book

Don’t face divorce alone—Let The Divorce Survival Guide for Women be YOUR guide!…www.preparefordivorce.com

Life After Divorce

You have just gotten divorced and half or more of your assets are gone…Living alone after your divorce may be difficult—especially if you had a long marriage—financially and emotionally.  Most women can expect to spend at least a third of their adult lives on their own. Because of this, they must get savvy about saving and budgeting. Saving sounds simple, but first you have to have enough income to save some of it.  The first step you must take is creating a budget.  These are some ideas of how to create a budget: 1. Make a list of the budget categories that apply to you; 2. Go through your checkbook for the past year and list each check under its category; 3. Go through your credit card bills and do the same thing; 4. Decide where you need to cut back and which ones you expect will increase; 5. Adjust and readjust the figures until your monthly budget equals your monthly income. If your income doesn’t cover your expenses, then having your list will help you decide where you need to cut back. If you consistently exceed your budget, then you will have to adjust your spending habits or find a way to increase your income.

Instant Dating

Did you know that with an App, your next date could be just around the corner?  Using your cellphone you can make an instant date based on who is in the area and available for a quick drink. These services (mostly free) allow you to skip the usual online dating stuff and move right into dating. On the apps, users post a simple profile and then broadcast their availability or scan a list of others who have done so.  They can immediately exchange text messages and, if there is a mutual interest, decide where to meet. This may seem risky, but the operators of these services say they are aware of the potential pitfalls and allow users to control how much information they divulge. It still sounds very risky! Most users are in their 20′s and 30′s.  Some of these sites are:  Blendr, OkCupid Locals, HowAboutWe and Grindr, which is geared toward gay men.

New Statistics

New statistics from the Pew Research Center show that 51% of Americans over the age of 18 who are married are down from 57% in 2000 and 72% in 1960. A frightening fact is that soon married couples will be a social minority.