Now Separated, Am I doing the right things?

[LIO]

Financial- As I was growing up I was never given any financial management skills, unfortunately it’s been a really steep learning curve. I am finally paying all my bills on time and I am doing it myself, something I haven’t done for years. I am not taking on additional debt and I’ve met with a financial advisor several times. I am learning to budget and I am much more cautious with my spending. I’ve finally become very cost conscious. I have a lot more respect for my money and I’ve come to understand that I don’t need to buy things for instant gratification. I’ve got myself on a couple of payment plans with creditors. I’ve become more responsible and I don’t brush these things under the rug anymore.

Hi Rough, I've been following your thread as there are some fantastic posters and questions being asked in here, so I'm trying to learn from the masters too

Just a quick comment on the finances. I didn't get the financial management skills either growing up; however, I discovered Dave Ramsey 5 years ago, but have really been putting his words to use now.
One of the most powerful things I did in this situation was to get my financials straight. I did every single type of budget for every circumstance. It made me feel more in control of my life just knowing that at least ONE area was secure and I was going to be okay with or without H.

Dave's got some great budgeting sheets for free - tells you what % of your income should be in each category, and a show on most AM stations. Even during this mess with 1/2 my income gone, I've been able to get 2/3rds of my credit debt paid off.

I used to be a financial ostrich, now it's my favorite topic