11 Quotes by Kerry Hannon

Debt is a dream killer.

For women in particular, it's a good thing to remember. It doesn't affect your spouse's payment at all. In fact, they will never know when you start receiving your Social Security checks. But you need to have their Social Security number in hand.

When you go to get credit, they often look to see if you have a phone number in your name. If you don't, even if you are listed in the phone book at that number, it can be problematic.

What is really frightening is that people don't know where everything is. Many women don't have a clue where a lot of the investments are or even who their life insurance agent is. They may have paid all the household bills and wrote the checks each month, but they didn't deal with the big-picture stuff. That's very traditional.

Don't make any big investments. Have lunch with a friend one day a week, but don't buy a Mercedes.

That's one mistake people make. It's sort of a back-of-mind issue. If you're not remarrying, you can put it in your child's name so you retain control but they will inherit it.

I'm a big fan of fee-only financial planners. They don't make commissions off of what they suggest to you. You know what their flat fee is up front before you go into a meeting.

Inform the companies in writing and call them as well. Tell them you want the accounts closed and that you are not responsible for charges from that point, period. Then make sure you have a credit card open in your name alone with Visa or MasterCard, one of the major revolving cards. A department store card isn't enough.

If you have a joint bank account, ask your bank to freeze the account so that both signatures are required before any transactions can be made. If you're concerned that your soon-to-be ex is going to run off and really drain your account, you've got to be really cold-hearted about this.