When my 20-year marriage ended, I had no job and knew little about money. Now, I'm confident in my financial future and career.

"I was 49 years old when I bought my first car. I'd never had to do it before because, for the past 20 years, I'd had a husband for that. He was in charge of insurance, investments, and big purchases, like phones and cars. Then, we split. In the early months of our divorce, my lawyer handed me a worksheet, asking for my budget and an accounting of assets. I stared at it, frozen. I knew we had a bank account because I wrote checks from it for household expenses."

"Slowly but surely, I got my finances in order and began rebuilding a career Together with a friend, I rifled through folders lodged in a metal file cabinet in what was once our home office. We piled credit-card bills, insurance policies, and bank statements on the dining-room table and spent a Saturday morning making hundreds of photocopies at Staples. Her hand was steady on my back when I grew overwhelmed and scared."

At 49, she bought her first car after 20 years of relying on her husband, who managed insurance, investments, and major purchases. During divorce proceedings she confronted a lawyer's worksheet requesting a budget and asset accounting and realized she did not know where accounts or retirement plans were. She and a friend sorted through files, copies of bills, and statements, photographing and copying records, while a financial planner helped compile documents and set budgets. She re-entered the workforce after being a stay-at-home mother and began making a retirement plan to protect her financial future.

Read at Business Insider