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Originally Posted by helpfordad
5. I am NOT opposed to the online program. HFM says that the $1,000 is tough because son needs braces, tuition, need kitchen remodel, etc. HFD says: on many levels, the $1,000 is cheaper on many levels than the alternative. (but doesn't a $1,000 expense need to be POJA'd)?


I was trying to be light about it, but apparently it floated right over collective heads here;


The cost; $1k seems steep BECAUSE you two have been love-busting each other and are deep into withdrawal.

However; the cost of the program is cheaper than either divorce, or the associated health risks with living in a constantly stressful and miserable marriage.


The cost of the program is cheaper than either divorce, or the associated health risks associated with living in a constantly stressful and miserable marriage.


A divorce costs more than $1,000. Over the rest of your lives, a divorce could potentially cost you tens of thousands of dollars.

A heart attack could cost you tens of thousands.


"An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field." - Niels Bohr

"Smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons." - Michael Shermer

"Fair speech may hide a foul heart." - Samwise Gamgee LOTR
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Originally Posted by helpfordad
5. I am NOT opposed to the online program. HFM says that the $1,000 is tough because son needs braces, tuition, need kitchen remodel, etc. HFD says: on many levels, the $1,000 is cheaper on many levels than the alternative. (but doesn't a $1,000 expense need to be POJA'd)?

HFM, you need to agree to do the program. Your marriage is much more important to your son than braces or tuition. And it is immensely more important than a kitchen remodel. Having a great marriage is a quality of life issue that affects every area of your life. You guys cannot get away with do-it-yourself anymore. You need professional help. It will be the best $1000 you ever spent.

We will see how serious you really are, HFM.


"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.." Theodore Roosevelt

Exposure 101


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Originally Posted by MelodyLane
Originally Posted by helpfordad
5. I am NOT opposed to the online program. HFM says that the $1,000 is tough because son needs braces, tuition, need kitchen remodel, etc. HFD says: on many levels, the $1,000 is cheaper on many levels than the alternative. (but doesn't a $1,000 expense need to be POJA'd)?

HFM, you need to agree to do the program. Your marriage is much more important to your son than braces or tuition. And it is immensely more important than a kitchen remodel. Having a great marriage is a quality of life issue that affects every area of your life. You guys cannot get away with do-it-yourself anymore. You need professional help. It will be the best $1000 you ever spent.

We will see how serious you really are, HFM.


Quote
Here are five ways a divorce impacts your pocketbook today and tomorrow, from Fraelich.

1. Legal Assistance. Attorney and mediator costs will run you in the thousands. Even if you think it will be an amicable divorce. These services are not inexpensive. The average cost of a divorce, including lawyer? Around $30,000. And that doesn�t count income going to ex-spouses post-divorce.

2. Childcare Expenditures. If children are involved, child support will need to be paid by the parent who doesn�t have sole custody of the kids. But for the one who does end up having sole custody of the children, keep in mind that it�s typically more expensive for you, since many costs pop up at the last minute and it�s tough to split everything like that with a former spouse.

�Child support may come into play in a divorce. If one spouse takes sole custody of the children, the other spouse will have to pay child support which is a state mandated amount scaled to pay levels typically. If the couple shares custody, then there may be no child support payments. But it�s tough to say what a man versus a woman pays in a divorce,� Fraelich told Forbes in an email on Tuesday. �It�s really about who is the breadwinner in the family. That is who would be required to pay the other spouse alimony or give more assets up in the split,� she said.

3. Uncle Sam. Tax brackets will change once you go from married filing jointly to head of household. Going from a joint filing status to a single filing status could increase your taxes. Be prepared for this so there are no surprises at tax time. Changes in taxes are now effecting women as much as men. Men are still the main income earner in most American households. But that�s changing.

�There are a lot of very high level professional women that have the same situation (as a man) following a divorce,� says Fraehlich. When it comes to cutting into their income for the IRS and now their ex-husband, the financial stress that comes with that is never ending. �It creates a lot of animosity with the new spouse�no matter man or woman,� she said.

4. Future Planning. Your plan for retirement has probably drastically changed now that you won�t have two people sharing the costs. It is usually helpful to get a retirement plan run by a professional, ensuring it includes the proposed settlement agreement, before you actually sign divorce paperwork. That way, you�ll know whether the numbers will work in the future for you, as well as today.

�Usually retirement accounts are split 50/50 in the divorce, although again the property settlement agreement may allow for more or less than that to go to the other spouse according the splitting of assets,� said Fraehlich.

5. Insurance Needs. Many couples don�t have long-term care insurance since they think their spouse will help take care of them. Once single again, long-term care insurance may need to be considered for those who are unable to self-insure that expense. Also, if you both agree you�d like long-term care, some companies offer �couples discounts� so it may be beneficial to apply and purchase the insurance before you decide to file any legal proceedings.

In tough times like these, divorce is becoming a luxury that many middle-income families � and even some upper-income families � find they can�t afford. Moreover, couples that haven�t managed their finances well when they were together often want to clean up their debt during divorce proceeding. That can be a challenge, forcing couples to slice into massive credit card debt by using retirement savings or even home equity to reduce the burden to a more manageable level if not zero it out all together.

Then there�s the couple whose incomes cannot afford living in two separate houses. When a couple is divorcing and one of them plans to keep the house, that spouse will need to refinance the house to remove the other spouse�s name from the deed and the mortgage. That�s not an easy task for lower income spouses dependent on child support to keep the lights on. Banks might also not see heart to heart as a divorce plays on.

5 Ways Divorce Takes Your Money

$1k is pennies on the dollar in comparison to the alternative...


"An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field." - Niels Bohr

"Smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons." - Michael Shermer

"Fair speech may hide a foul heart." - Samwise Gamgee LOTR
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Originally Posted by helpfordad
2. About AOs: Do I have AOs? Yes.
Am I embarrassed by this and want to show my son to be a better man? Of course.
Am I working to fully eliminate that LB by reading and researching MB and the books? Yes.
Do I have one a day? No, I do not.

Probably you don't realize how many you are having. Dr. Harley says if your spouse says you are having an angry outburst, you probably are, and should trust their appraisal of the situation.

The fact that you don't agree with her on frequency suggests you haven't quite accepted what you will need to accept in order to overcome angry outbursts. It says to me you may not be serious about this.


If you are serious about saving your marriage, you can't get it all on this forum. You've got to listen to the Marriage Builders Radio show, every day. Install the app!

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If your wife is not on board with MB, some of my posts to other men might help you.
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May I suggest that you consider the private coaching as a trial run. It"s cheaper to do a session, and it will give you a taste of how beneficial it can be. So far, I wouldn't trade it for anything.


Me (42)
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Originally Posted by helpfordad
3. HFM also brings up the affair, talks about it, cries about it, etc. When she does, I engage her and listen and discuss as well, because she wants me to listen to her. It is meeting an EN to listen, but this practice is not good and I will end this.

Good! Put that subject to rest once and for all!


If you are serious about saving your marriage, you can't get it all on this forum. You've got to listen to the Marriage Builders Radio show, every day. Install the app!

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Originally Posted by helpfordad
I'm going to respond to a number of posts on my thread and HFM's thread.

1. About the trickle-truth: your information is incorrect. I was NOT and have NOT been hounding HFM for details about her affair.

This kind of defense of yourself is completely irrelevant! Just don't do it. If you're not doing it, then continuing to not do it is easy. laugh


If you are serious about saving your marriage, you can't get it all on this forum. You've got to listen to the Marriage Builders Radio show, every day. Install the app!

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Originally Posted by helpfordad
6.When HFD has says "I feel that HFM....." I am told I'm making a DJ.

When HFM says "I feel that HFD....." her word is taken as gospel, the Truth (this apparent "look" I gave? I guess sharing my perspective of what happened would be a LB).

Why don't you just quit doing the things she says are disrespectful?

The way the program works is, you learn to avoid doing or saying anything your wife feels is disrespectful. You do NOT quibble with her over whether it really is disrespectful or not. If she says it was disrespectful, then she is accurately reporting her feelings: she feels disrespected. It IS Gospel truth!

Sentences that start out "I feel that my wife/husband ..." may or may not be disrespectful. It depends on what you are saying. If you want to post some examples, we can help you figure out WHY your wife feels disrespected by what you are saying, and what you can do differently.


If you are serious about saving your marriage, you can't get it all on this forum. You've got to listen to the Marriage Builders Radio show, every day. Install the app!

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Originally Posted by helpfordad
7.On our way to an appointment this AM, HFM began discussing her posts from last night, and she was visually bothered and upset and began discussing it and getting angry. To the point where HFM said: " I don't care if this marriage lasts or not, really."

She did apologize later, saying "Ignore what I said earlier...I'm due for my period and in a miserable mood."

But, since depression is NOT an LB, I guess it's my responsibility to tolerate that behavior.

No, you do not need to tolerate angry outbursts.

But "I don't care whether this marriage last or not" is a simple statement of feeling. It tells you your balance in her love bank is zero or negative. If you want to save your marriage, you are going to need to act on this information.


If you are serious about saving your marriage, you can't get it all on this forum. You've got to listen to the Marriage Builders Radio show, every day. Install the app!

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Actually, I am quite aware of how many I am or are not having.

The fact that I don't agree on the frequency suggests nothing but I disagree on the frequency. I'm allowed my perspective, as is HFM.

That you would assert that somehow you "know" that I haven't accepted what I need to do or that I am not serious comes across as a DJ, or at the very minimum, an inorrect assumption.

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Originally Posted by helpfordad
1. About the trickle-truth: your information is incorrect. I was NOT and have NOT been hounding HFM for details about her affair. In March of 2013, after smelling a perfume she bought, HFM called me on her way to work that AM to tell me while I was in work details she had NEVER revealed before: that she and the POS had gone together to several hotels after work, and a "general" idea as far as what months this occurred (the perfume "triggered" her to remember). Fall of 2010 until Spring of 2013 for details to be revealed. I suppose I'm wrong because I had a reaction to this news.

No one said you were "hounding." But you did say that you told your wife that if she remembers anything, she needs to tell you. These are your words from another thread:

Originally Posted by helpfordad
Having an O&H discussion, it is correct that I left my W with the charge that should she remember anything else, I want to be told.

At the time I needed it...getting into recovery and trying to heal and reach the 2-year mark, it's something I did not revisit or clarify as I should have. I let it linger, and I left the door open for talk of the A.


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Actually, I am quite aware of how many I am or are not having.
It's not your call. You don't GET to say how many you are having, according to Dr. Harley. Your wife DOES.

So, when are you going to do what it takes to stop them?
When are you going to sign up for the online program?


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Originally Posted by FightTheFight
May I suggest that you consider the private coaching as a trial run. It"s cheaper to do a session, and it will give you a taste of how beneficial it can be. So far, I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Dad and Mom, I suggest one step better: get out your credit card, or scrape together the money, and SIGN UP FOR THE ONLINE COUNSELING, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! No trial run, no kicking the tires: COMMIT! Quit waffling over the cost of braces, or school, or anything else - your kids would rather have the two of you together and happy than anything else. Get your priorities straight and GET TO WORK!

Although I think our MB peer support forums are second to none, I would much rather see the two of you busy with your MB coach than spending your time on the forums.

Don't try it out, or stick your toes in the water to see how you like it. COMMIT! How long do you plan to equivocate, here?? What are you waiting for? Dad and Mom, I want an answer to this! toe tap


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Originally Posted by helpfordad
Actually, I am quite aware of how many I am or are not having.

The fact that I don't agree on the frequency suggests nothing but I disagree on the frequency. I'm allowed my perspective, as is HFM.

That you would assert that somehow you "know" that I haven't accepted what I need to do or that I am not serious comes across as a DJ, or at the very minimum, an inorrect assumption.

Wow.

If you don't take your angry outbursts more seriously than this, I don't see a lot of hope, here.


If you are serious about saving your marriage, you can't get it all on this forum. You've got to listen to the Marriage Builders Radio show, every day. Install the app!

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Did anyone listen to the radio program yesterday? Since it was a Friday broadcast there's still time.

At (approximately) the 7:00, 27:30, and 34:30 marks, Dr. Harley makes the following point. Speaking about a WS, he states (and I'll paraphrase) that after doing unbelievable damage to the marriage by having an affair, he has no legitimate right to complain about the much more minor reactions by his BS in response. Yes, they would have to be addressed over time, but bringing them up is nothing but a ploy by the WS to unfairly even the discussion, on the lines of "Yes I had an affair, but she.......", thereby not being left naked to address his own behavior.

Just some insight we maybe should keep in mind here......

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If I understand correctly, this was because he hadn't stopped his affair, implemented EPs, and developed transparency. Once these are done, the business of both spouses working with equal basic respect, with the shared goal of a mutually fulfilling marriage begins. The "straighten out your spouse that had the affair" approach isn't going to work here. They've been arguing about whose "burden" it is to fix this marriage for too long now, and we can't help them.

They have a majority answer from the forum and now it's up to them to implement the advice or not.






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And let me also urge you and HFM to enlist in the coaching program, my friend.

You have been at this for almost three years, without much improvement. Can you envision another three years of this irresolution, when the alternative to avoid same would be the expenditure of less than $1 per day?

And your getting the professional assistance available there would preclude NG's having to read here that your relating of your version, in defense of charges leveled by HFM, are irrelevant! crazy

Do it for ME, dude!

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There is no excuse and no place for Lovebusters in a healthy marriage. I understand that.

I also know it seems I've been holding on to way too much resentment and hurt about the affair, and my feelings that EPs weren't put in place early on. That has to stop.

And it's time to get to the coaching center and get done what needs to get done to move this marriage to the place it could - and should - be.

Thank you.

(And yes, thanks, NG.)

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Good for you!!

Go, Dad, Go!!


Me: BW, 57 fWH: 63 (Taffy1) Serial cheater
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Originally Posted by helpfordad
There is no excuse and no place for Lovebusters in a healthy marriage. I understand that.

I also know it seems I've been holding on to way too much resentment and hurt about the affair, and my feelings that EPs weren't put in place early on. That has to stop.

And it's time to get to the coaching center and get done what needs to get done to move this marriage to the place it could - and should - be.

Thank you.

(And yes, thanks, NG.)


That sucking feeling, Dad, is your taker trying to forcefully implement a rectocranial inversion.

Recognize that, and knock it off bud.

We helped you get this far, just cause folks are getting tough on you doesn't mean they gave up. In fact, they are getting tough RATHER THAN giving up.

But, you know this already, dont you.


"An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field." - Niels Bohr

"Smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons." - Michael Shermer

"Fair speech may hide a foul heart." - Samwise Gamgee LOTR
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