When it comes to going through a divorce, one of the biggest stressors is identifying how to deal with finances moving forward and working through possible financial strain. Making sense of finances after divorce takes work and time, but with proper planning and a responsible approach, it’s completely doable!

Below, we’ve compiled 10 financial steps to take after a divorce that can help set you up for success.

1. Close all joint accounts

If you haven’t already taken this step, do so immediately. Review all your financial accounts and credit cards and close all the ones that are jointly owned by you and your ex-spouse. In the best-case scenario, failure to take this step can leave your accounts open to fines and maintenance charges for accounts you don’t really use.

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Did you know that choosing to bring your own lunch to work each day can save up to $3,000 a year? Each takeout lunch can easily cost $12 more than a homemade meal. If you’d put that money into an index fund and contribute to it for 25 years, you could end up saving close to $500,000!

Unfortunately, too many people end up buying out each workday because they don’t realize how much it costs them, or they simply fail to plan ahead. Others may think it would be too much of a hassle to shop for, prep, and bring along lunch from home.

Here are some hacks for brown-bagging it to work with all the savings and none of the hassle.

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Wixom Elementary joined in partnership with Community Financial in Fall of 2019. Unfortunately, COVID-19 forced the program to take a pause in March of 2020. However, Wixom’s Student-Run Credit Union was back in action last fall and better than ever! Student members have been saving their money throughout the year, and volunteers have been busy learning the business of banking along with other job-related skills. It has been quite a comeback! 

Supporting Our Partnering School Districts

Community Financial believes strongly in supporting school districts with the funding that they may need. Donations are made annually to educational foundations (when applicable) in our partnering school districts. Wixom Elementary is part of the Walled Lake Consolidated School District (WLCSD), and therefore, donations have been made since 2018 to their foundation, the Foundation for Excellence.

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It’s an amazing employment opportunity – or is it? Scammers often hijack the job market and ensnare hopeful job seekers into their schemes. If you’re job-hunting, it’s a good idea to review the way these scams play out and how you can avoid them. To help you out, we’ve put together a short primer on what you need to know to stay safe from job scams.

How the scams play out

There are several variations of job scams. Here are the most common ones:

• Bogus job listing. There’s a Help Wanted ad for a dream job, and the job-seeker applies with great optimism. They’ll share their information and even pay a small fee to submit their resume, or to cover alleged job supplies. Sadly for them, the job doesn’t actually exist and they’ll never hear from the “employer” again.

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Your bags are packed, your itinerary is set, and you’re counting down the minutes until you take off for your dream summer getaway. Before you head out to the airport or get in your car for a road trip, though, read through this checklist of important things people tend to forget before leaving for vacation.

1. Contact Your Financial Institution

Give us a call at (877) 937-2328 before you set off on your vacation. By notifying your financial institution of your vacation plans, they’ll know to honor any card transactions you make when abroad or in a different state. If you’re planning to go overseas for your vacation, be sure to check in to any foreign transaction fees and map out your plan early so you know the best ATMs to utilize to avoid extra fees.

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We’re excited to announce that Summer of Sharing is back again this year and better than ever before! Donating $1,000 a day Monday – Friday from June 13, 2022 through September 2, 2022. That’s a total of $60,000 in donations and we can’t wait to start giving it away—with your help!

Nominations begin today, June 1^st. Starting today, you are invited to visit SummerOfSharing.org to submit an essay-style nomination explaining how your favorite nonprofit helps the community it serves. These nominations will stay live on the site for others to learn about how each of the organizations are making a difference.

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