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So, last night after a harrowing day of seeing Levi and signing our divorce agreement, my friends decided to throw me a divorce party. Anyone on First Wives been to one? It was supposed to be a surprise but I saw the "Happy Divorce" cake in my friend's refrigerator, so I had some idea. It was a lot of fun.

At first I was pretty apprehensive about the idea of celebrating the end of my marriage. But it went well and we didn't bash Levi--well, not too much--and we had a blast.

My friends sang "For she's a jolly good single." I got a slew of gag gifts, including the biggest dildo I've ever seen and an ex-husband voodoo doll! We had a few toasts. I actually toasted to Levi for all the good that came out of my marriage, for all I've learned, for all the wisdom I've gained and for my beautiful son.

I realized last night that I was celebrating the beginning of my new life. A celebration of my "reinvention" and a fresh start. I'll be moving to New York City and starting a new job in a couple of weeks so it really does feel like I'll be starting over.

The closure that came along with that realization was phenomenal. I feel like a new woman today. Now, the only question I have is: What do I do with the leftover "Happy Divorce cake?" I know you're supposed to freeze the first slice of wedding cake and keep it for a year, but what about " Divorce Cake"? Anybody know?

Michelle Rosenthal's picture

Being Single Is Expensive

Posted to House Bloggers by Michelle Rosenthal on Fri, 06/22/2007 - 9:52am

Okay, where did all of my money go?

I felt so empowered a few weeks ago knowing that I’m a single, 28-year-old woman who owns her own apartment in the city, something a lot of people my age don’t have.

Okay, let me qualify it: I’m about to turn 29 next month and I’m separated from my husband Steve; our legal separation was finalized in mid-May.

But I have no debt, no loans, no maxed out credit cards. I make a good living doing financial investor relations and was even able to save some money in my own separate accounts. Steve, of course, knew about my accounts since he had separate ones as well.

Joint Citibank, separate Citibank, joint ING, separate ING, joint mutual funds, separate mutual funds. Come to think about it, I was basically prepared for a divorce even though I never thought I’d be in this situation. Don’t get me wrong, I still have all of my savings, but I feel like a walking debit card.

I never realized how much money I spent. There always seemed like there was money to pay for everything. I even handled all of our finances: I took care of the bills, the investments…everything. I basically was the man in the relationship.

But when we went to dinner, Steve put down his credit card so I never paid much attention, although he always did hand me the receipts. Dinners and drinks with friends are so enjoyable, but holy crap, being single is expensive!

What am I supposed to do though? Sit home alone and eat bonbons and think about how shitty my situation is? How my entire world fell apart in a matter of two months?

Moving on means getting out of the apartment and enjoying myself. I’ve never been one to complain about finances or worry that I was spending too much money. I’m young, I don’t have children and I want to enjoy myself. But I also don’t want to deplete my funds.

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