Category Archives: Marriage & Divorce
20+ Beautiful Wedding Tents – Best Tips for Tented Outdoor Weddings – TownandCountrymag.com
There’s nothing more sophisticated (or weather proof!) than a wedding tent. Sailcloth, completely clear, or with open sides, these sturdy structures present a blank canvas for you to showcase your day-of style. To guarantee a seamless tented event from ceremony to reception, we’ve consulted industry experts who know a thing or two about hosting a covered bash outdoors.
If you’re thinking about hosting an alfresco affair on your big day, make sure you consider these tips before pitching a wedding tent of your own.
Michelle Obama shares some sound marriage advice – VOGUE Paris
Successful lawyer, ex-First Lady and modern style icon Michelle Obama continues to inspire her fans around the world. In her newly published memoir, “Becoming”, she details her relationship with Barack Obama and shares some marriage advice based on experience.
Michelle and Barack Obama have been an iconic couple for over 20 years. In Becoming, Michelle Obama reassures readers that no relationship is perfect. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Obama talked openly about her experience with counselling: “marriage counselling was a turning point for me, understanding that it wasn’t up to my husband to make me happy, that I had to learn how to fill myself up and how to put myself higher on my priority list.” Her words of wisdom will no doubt inspire couples of all ages. “Even the best marriages require work,” added Obama, who also stressed the importance of sharing fears and worries with partners.
Photo: Getty
Abby: He won’t tell wife details of long-ago marriages – The Detroit News
Dear Abby: My husband and I have been together for 34 good years. He is a little older than I am and was married twice before we met while both of use were in our 20s. (They were very brief marriages.) When we married, I knew about one of his marriages, but learned about the other one only much later from his sister. I was stunned and felt betrayed that he hadn’t told me, but we worked it out.
My husband loves to tell stories about everything he’s ever done, but he never says a word about those earlier relationships. Long ago, I asked a few times about what happened, and he cut me off.
My question is why, especially after our 34 years together, can’t he be straight with me once and for all and tell me what happened?
I haven’t brought this up in a long time, but it seems like we should be able to talk about it openly. I’m curious, but not in a petty way. I just wonder what happened. In the past he has said it is “none of my business.”
Why is he so rude and closemouthed about these marriages from so long ago? Should I never ask again?
Missing The Whole Story
Dear Missing: I am guessing the reason your husband reacts the way he has when you tried to talk about his first two marriages is because he is ashamed about what happened. He may have cheated on his wives, or they cheated or took advantage of him in some way. I don’t blame you for wanting to know your husband’s history, but your marriage has worked for 34 years, and really, how relevant is this information in the scheme of things?
Let it go.
Dear Abby: After my sister got pregnant, she married the baby’s father. They struggle financially, and my family helps as much as we can, but it still isn’t enough.
Her husband has no high school diploma, and he has a criminal record from 20 years ago, although he hasn’t been in trouble since. He claims he has dyslexia and health problems, but he still smokes and drinks. No doctor will sign off on his being disabled. He isn’t motivated enough to find a job or help my sister with chores. She finally asked me to help by talking to him.
How do I start a conversation with him to say he needs to step up and contribute? We’re cordial, but not close. I don’t want to alienate him. He has threatened to take my nephew, but he has no money or place to go. This man is 40 years old and lives like a teenager. Any advice?
Anna in Illinois
Dear Anna: Your brother-in-law isn’t likely to listen to you any more than he has listened to your sister. If there are any male relatives in your family, it might be more effective if he hears the message from them. The fact that he may (or may not) have dyslexia is no excuse for his lack of motivation. Many successful people have dyslexia and are able to thrive.
Because your sister’s husband is threatening to take their child and run, she should talk to a lawyer about what steps she needs to take in order to prevent this deadbeat from following through. Call your state bar association or contact a local law school for guidance about getting low-cost or free legal advice. She may also want to ask about divorce so she doesn’t wind up supporting him forever.
Contact Dear Abby at .DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
Read or Share this story: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/life/advice/2019/01/01/dear-abby-husband-will-talk-previous-marriages/38829257/
Top tips for a prosperous New Year – The Northern Echo
IT’S New Year, and I bet it’s not only your head hurting! Your wallet has probably taken a beating too. As you take the decorations down for another year, you’re probably dreading ‘Blue Monday’ and the arrival of the dreaded credit card statement in a few weeks.
TOP TIPS: Financial adviser Warren Shute
My message to you is – don’t panic.You can make some quick wins to help not just for January, but for the rest of the New Year. And this year, more so than most with the uncertainty of Brexit, it’s important for you to plan your money and budget for the year ahead.
To avoid the January financial blues I am going to ask you to do two key things – get financially organised using what I refer to as my Bank Account System and prepare a Money Plan for 2019. My BAS is a system that automates your money as much as possible, taking emotion out of everyday financial decisions and giving you control over your yearly spending. Here’s how it works:
1. Set up two accounts: one for bills and another for personal spending.
2. Arrange all your regular payments, standing orders and direct debits to come out of your bills account – which is also where you keep your incoming money. Go through each payment and ask yourself three things: do I need this, do I want this, can I get it cheaper elsewhere? Act accordingly; you might be surprised at how much you can save.
3. Put some WAM into your life. WAM is your weekly Walkabout Money, and it pays for all your variable spending and fun: beer, coffee, haircuts and so on. Work out how much you want (or have) to spend in a month after your outgoings, divide it by four, and you’ll get your weekly WAM.
4. Set up a weekly payment for this amount from your bills account to your WAM account. Make it happen on a Wednesday, because once it’s spent, you don’t have too long to wait after the weekend, which is when most of us spend our cash.
5. Your WAM is your weekly allowance; it’s finite. Don’t dip into your bills account for more, or use credit cards if it runs out, it’s not too long to wait for the next Wednesday to come around!
Secondly, I want you to devise a ‘Money Plan for 2019’ and stick to it. Budgets don’t work, they are like diets! I need you to get financially well organised, and I share my 5-Step proven plan with you in my new book The Money Plan. I will show you how this can be done to enable you to control your money in 2019 rather than letting your money and debt control you. (The Money Plan by Warren Shute – Amazon £11.79). Alternatively there are free planning and budgeting tools at warrenshute.com.
A lot of people think financial planning is just another one of those things that rich people can get and those less well off can’t – a way to reduce taxes, or compare pensions. That couldn’t be further from the truth. A hybrid of coaching and financial advice, financial planning is all about helping individuals live the life they want to live, regardless of the numbers involved. We’re all human beings, run by emotions, and the financial planning process is equally relevant whether you earn £10,000 a year or £1,000,000.
Financial planning is critical to living the lives we want to live; yet most of us receive little or no education on how to properly manage our money. We have to change that. Household debt in the UK is approaching levels last seen before the financial crisis, and we all still remember what happened next.
SOME ‘QUICK WIN’ MONEY RESOLUTIONS:
Sell unwanted Christmas presents: Go through your house and gather together all of the presents that don’t want. Make sure they are in good order, with any packaging. Search online to see what you may expect to sell them for. Two good sights are: www.ebay.co.uk and Facebook Market.
Do you really need that gym membership?: Think before you sign lengthy contracts. Read the small print. Are you really going to go? Are there other ways of keeping fit that are cheaper?
Set five specific money goals for 2019: Name five goals that are feasible, and write them down. Writing down and clarifying your goals will motivate you to take the steps to achieve them. Be specific. Avoid vague resolutions like ‘pay off debt’ or ‘spend less money.’
Lunch at work – save £880 a year: If you spend an average of £4 a day on a bought lunch, you would be spending approximately £880 a year. Resolution – make lunch at home
Stop one bad habit: coffee on the way to work – Save £605 a year*: If you buy a coffee on the way to work each day, you could be lspending £605 a year. Resolution – take your own coffee to work in a flask.
Claim the Married Couples Allowance: Marriage Allowance lets you transfer £1,190 of your personal allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner – if you are a non-tax payer and they are a basic rate taxpayer. This can save you £238 a year in tax.
Save More, Spend Less: Set a weekly allowance and stick to it. To avoid overspending on your everyday expenses, pay yourself a weekly allowance for all your variable expenses, and once it’s gone, it’s gone.
Dry January – Save £787 a year: Cutting out booze for January is becoming normal, and can save a few quid. But cutting it out for a full year can save far more. Figures from MacMillan Cancer Support show that the average Briton spends £787 a year on alcoholic drinks, with 1.3 million spending more than £2,650 a year.
Shop smart and get paid for what you buy – WIN back £’s
Keep a slush fund: Something — be it a car repair, an emergency root canal, or a job layoff — always comes up to throw you off your monthly budget. To keep these incidents from running you into debt, you need to have an emergency stash in a savings account. I like to use Premium Bonds because it keeps the money out of easy access, but can be called on for an emergency. If you have debt, save £1,000; if you’re debt free save three-12 months of your expenditure.
Debt Free: Set yourself a goal to repay your credit cards in 2019. Switch them to interest free and make regular overpayments starting with the smallest balance and follow my snowball debt repayment system – you can repay your debt in 2019.
Cook more or learn to cook. According to the Office of National Statistics, UK households spent more than £45 a week on restaurants eating at restaurants, fast food joints and the like.
Work Pension: Make sure you join your work pension in 2019. It’s likely your employer will pay in.
- The Money Plan is available on Amazon for £11.79.
- Based on 20 days a month and 11 months a year
