Divorce has many, many pros and cons. I suppose where the balance tips depends on the role you play in the divorce – divorcer or divorcee. As a divorcer, I expected a number of new and difficult challenges: finding a job after not working for three years, adjusting my lifestyle, finding a way to maintain a friendly relationship with the ex. But none, and let me repeat, none of these have compared with the challenge of navigating the electronic waters solo.
Limited Technical Knowledge
I’ll be the first one to admit I have issues with electronics and really any high tech piece of equipment. It doesn’t even have to be high tech. Take my refrigerator for example. The icemaker has broken no less than a dozen times. One of those times I actually called a repair service to fix it, paid $400 and it proceeded to break again two months later. My ex was pretty good about fixing the icemaker. Or at least he knew how to rig it in order for it to produce ice for a couple of months. In fact, he came by just last week to take a look at it, made some adjustments and voila, ice! Of course it’s a week later and I haven’t had ice for three days.
He Got the Computer
Then there is the computer. The bain of my existence. When I walked into the Apple store to buy a replacement computer for the desktop my ex took with him, I was overwhelmed. I knew I wanted an Apple, but desktop versus laptop? How does one make this decision? How big of a screen? How much RAM or memory (I actually don’t even really know what RAM is)? My old philosophy was you get what you pay for so you should get the best. I don’t exactly subscribe to that philosophy anymore given I am a single, unemployed parent now. I did end up with an Apple salesperson who was very helpful in making my decision as painless as possible. I learned with a computer it’s all about your usage. Will you travel with it or need/want it to be portable around your home or elsewhere? Is space an issue? Really it comes down to three things: weight, size and portability. Oh, and expense of course. You certainly pay a slight premium for a laptop’s portability but if you are like me, having that big screen on a plane with HD quality video for my kids is worth the money. Bottom line – it’s a personal choice dependent on budget, use and space.
After the Ink Has Dried
So after all the mud slinging was out of the way and the ink dried on the divorce papers, I realized that there was much more collateral damage than originally anticipated. I got the somewhat old and outdated house, while my ex walked away with all of the new and modern electronics. I found that not only did I have to rebuild my life, but also my home network.
Sam is a freelance writer for Spend Less and Save More.
