!: A Vitally Important Piece of Advice to All Women

Really? Vitally important? And what can this most important piece of advice be? Get your own credit rating established! I learned this the hard way when I got divorced after 23 years of marriage. Recently one of my clients -who is going through a divorce-was shocked when she was told she had no credit history. I now ask every woman who is in my coaching practice if she has established her own personal credit history.

Many women who married young and then find themselves single sixteen or twenty or more years later, find that they have no credit history if their credit card has been an extension of their husband's. Even if the woman was in charge of paying the bills, the monthly statements or the mortgage payment, it's the husband's credit rating that gets credited, not hers.

When this woman applies for her own credit card, it may be denied "because she has no credit history." Or she may be offered a "secure" pre-paid card, until she establishes her own credit. This card may be limited to $500.00 dollars and it might be a year before she is given a "real" one.

It is very convenient to have a joint bank account and have a credit card that is an extension of your husband or partner. No one wants to think of their relationship ending, but it does happen. Even if you have a wonderful relationship, and it is not ending, it is wise to have your own bank account and a credit card in your own name: you can subscribe to a magazine or put the gym membership on your card and pay it religiously when the statement comes in.

We live in a credit economy as opposed to a cash economy. You might want to start your own business or it might just be important that you feel in control of your own finances. Many of the discussions a couple have around money centers on one of them -A) spending more on personal items than the other -B) who then feels resentful and unhappy. One possible solution is that A and B each keep a predetermined amount of their income for personal use, and pool the rest. This amount is kept in their personal account and can be used with their personal bank card. Everything else is paid through the joint account and with the joint credit cards.

You are liable for the debt on your shared credit card, so you might as well be liable for your own credit rating. If you are interested in working through the emotional component of your money, finance and abundance issues, give me a call or send me an email.