Divorce can be frightening, but it doesn’t need to be financially devastating. Many couples don’t realize the avoidable toll that divorce can have on financial health. You’re starting over – in many cases both personally and financially – and that can be upending.

Budget for your newly single life

Break down your expenses and figure out your new household income. Are you responsible for alimony? How about child support? Identify and separate your needs from your wants. You may want upgraded cable TV services, but there may not be room in your budget for both that service and a gym membership.

Take the time to match your new household income with your current expenditures. The resulting clarity will help you adjust your new lifestyle to fit your means.

Become your own financial planner

Exert your financial independence. Close all joint accounts and, if you don’t have one already, open an individual account to re-establish your credit history.

Since your household income may be smaller as an individual than it was as a married couple, be sure to use credit cards responsibly. Don’t charge more than you can afford to pay each month. You don’t need to pay interest in order to obtain or maintain good credit.

Don’t ignore debt

If you and your former spouse have any joint debt, help to pay it off. In order to stay informed of any changes in your former spouse’s payment history on joint debts, or to find new debt that should not appear in your name, request a copy of your credit report from all three credit bureaus every few months.

You can contact creditors in writing and ask for your name to be removed from any accounts that the divorce decree orders your former spouse to pay. The creditors are under no obligation to do so, but if you send them a copy of the decree and a polite letter asking to be removed, they could decide to honor your request.

Think about your future

Leave room in your budget for savings. Saving money for emergencies and retirement is extremely important.

If possible, put at least enough in your 401(k) to max out your employer’s match. You can use an online calculator to find out how much you should ultimately be saving in order to achieve your personal retirement goals. You should also put at least 10 percent of your annual income in an emergency savings account.

To access excellent planning tools and guides on saving and investing for retirement, visit the SBLI Learning Center.

If you have children, you may want to consider buying a term or whole-life insurance policy. Life insurance can protect your children by providing them with financial support should they unexpectedly lose you. If you’re going to name your children as the beneficiaries of your policy, make sure you also establish a trust so the money is controlled and properly used while they are younger than 18. It is not advisable to designate under-aged children as the beneficiaries to a life insurance policy unless a trust is established.

This is a new start – both financially and personally. Take the time to re-evaluate your finances and sort needs from wants. Now more than ever, you need to take charge of your financial future and be ready for what lies ahead.