Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
Make money from your divorce
Reading Time: 4 minutesDivorce bells don’t have to sound so glum, especially if you can make some extra cash from the ordeal (amiable ending or not!) There are a few simple, backbreaking-free ways to generate some additional money following a divorce.
- Sell your engagement/wedding rings
- Sell your wedding dress
- Sell off your clutter at a car boot sale
- Adopt better financial habits
- Think about downsizing
Sell your engagement/wedding rings
Selling off engagement rings and wedding bands can prove to be a successful way to gain a decent lump of cash. However, this comes down to preference, since some of us are more sentimental than others.
First things first, it’s a good idea to get your engagement/wedding ring valued by a reputable company so you have some idea about how much it is worth now. If you have a diamond ring you can have it valued by WP Diamonds. For other rings, you can always go to a local jeweller to get a valuation. However, because there’s so much disparity on the market with regards to the pricing of jewellery, it’s always good to ask for a sample valuation report and the valuer’s credentials for your own peace of mind. We recommend you take your rings to a few jewellers before you settle for a price.
After getting a valuation, you can choose to sell your engagement/wedding rings online, at a local jeweller, or in an auction. You can sell your rings on sites like eBay, where, in most cases, you’ll be dealing directly with a private buyer so you don’t have to worry about jewellers occupied with making a profit.
Find out more about selling your engagement ring.
Sell your wedding dress
You may feel quite nostalgic about your wedding dress, after all you most likely spent a lot of time and money to look beautiful on your big day. After a divorce you might feel it’s time to move on and declutter a bit. Selling your wedding dress can be a great way to make some extra space.
There’s a few things to bear in mind when selling your dress. Is it in mint condition? Taking the dress to the drycleaners is expensive, so the more well-maintained the dress is the easier it is to sell it.
Got a designer dress?
If you have a designer dress you have a greater chance of getting more money for it, especially if it’s a sought-after designer and style. It’s always good to list the maker and add some additional information about the dress when selling it.
Find out how much your dress is worth by having a look at similar styles on eBay and other sites. Find a reputable site to list your wedding dress if you want to sell in online. You can always sell your dress on sites like preloved.co.uk. Other platforms such as stillwhite.co.uk will require you to pay a fee to list your dress, which you may want to avoid.
Sell off your clutter at a car boot sale
Getting a divorce can be a good opportunity to get rid of unwanted clutter that neither party wishes to keep. A car boot sale can be a great way to offload some of the unneeded items lying around the house. Easy access apps such as Shpock and Gumtree are useful if you’re tight-for-time and desire to do things from the comfort of your own home. However, if you prefer the old-fashioned way you can also look for local car boot sales near you.
Find out more about selling at a car boot sale.
Adopt better financial habits
Doing things in multiples changes after divorce, so a good way to nip any money outflows is to look at your financial habits. Track your spending to find out your costs and as a result where you could be saving. Prioritise the essentials such as looking after children, food, and other necessities such as bills. Be prudent with your spending as it’s easy to for old spending habits to continue.
If you have joint credit cards or bank accounts it’s a good idea to update your records. This also includes insurance policies and other documents such as pensions, since the same rules may not apply if you’re no longer a couple. It’s also a good idea to get a copy of your credit report, just to see how strong your credit score is, and whether you need to improve it or not.
Just like any other change in circumstance, it’s a good idea to draw up a long-term plan to budget and keep on top of your finances.
Think about downsizing
Depending on if you have children or not and how everything is divided up following a divorce, it might be a good idea to downsize. The cost of maintenance for a bigger property can be expensive and time-consuming. While it’s not always easy to move out of a family home, locating to a smaller hub could save you money.
Downsizing doesn’t just mean moving to a smaller place, it can be easily applied to daily things such as food – with one less person in the household you should, in practice, be buying and cooking for one less person.
Divorce can be arduous and not to mention costly, however you could save or make some money by adopting smarter spending habits or by selling off any unwanted items.
You would definitely want to sell your wedding dress.
Is there any way that I can save without him being ‘entitled, to half. No prenup as been skint for forever but I need a financial future as hubby is crap with money and my health is getting worse