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" So I finished my two hour financial session with Peter and the divorce mediator, and this is what I bought myself:  We managed to get through it with only a few not-so-pleasant surprises (and nothing that was a huge surprise, either), and without raising our voices or snapping at each other (much). We still have a few items to slog through, but the big stuff has been addressed.  Whew. I&amp;#039;m not going to come out of this a rich woman, and I never expected I would. I will, hopefully, be able to pay some accumulated debts off and still have a little to put in savings in case of catastrophic events like cars breaking down and hot water heaters blowing up and, you know...my life. Let&amp;#039;s be realistic here. With my track record, the odds of that kind of stuff happening to me are pretty darn good. I&amp;#039;m not going to be taking Jamaican vacations or buying a new wardrobe or loading up on liposuction and plastic surgery. I&amp;#039;ll just be able to someday open a bill without taking a deep breath first. That alone is worth what I went through this morning. My mediator deserves a mention here, because she&amp;#039;s top-notch. She brought up things we hadn&amp;#039;t considered, she was fair, she was diplomatic, and she&amp;#039;s keeping us on track.  And now I&amp;#039;m going to stare longingly at that picture of my hard apple cider (I can&amp;#039;t open one till I&amp;#039;m home from work, but I assure you, I will) and enjoy my cookie. I&amp;#039;ve earned it! [Follow Ellie on Twitter and Facebook] "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/relationships/dating-marriage/a47951/made-it-through/>