Breaking the Bank
Signs of Financial Abuse
5 Low-Tech Tips for Lighting Your Jack-o’-Lanterns
While financial abuse is not as frequently recognized as other forms of domestic abuse, it can have some of the most far-reaching impacts on a victim’s life. It’s estimated that about 99% of domestic abuse cases involve financial abuse of some kind, but financial abuse can also exist on its own. Since it’s one of the most powerful means of keeping a victim trapped in a relationship, you should know how to recognize financial abuse when you see it. Here are three tell-tale signs. PREVENTING THE VICTIM FROM WORKING Financial abusers will go to extreme lengths to prevent their victims from working, in some cases outright forbidding it. In the event their victim does find work, abusers will often try to sabotage their job by making the victim late or showing up and making a scene. The goal is both to control where the victim is at all times and to prevent them from gaining any financial independence outside their abuser. TAKING CONTROL OF ASSETS Financial abusers will often start by offering to “take care” of bills and bank accounts, only to eventually move assets and restrict the victim’s access to them. The victim will frequently have their credit and debit cards confiscated and be relegated to an “allowance.”Abusers often run their victim’s accounts dry, leaving them with no means to make their own financial decisions or escape the relationship. RUINING THE VICTIM’S CREDIT SCORE After taking control of assets, abusers will often refuse to pay the bills they now control. Credit card, car, and mortgage payments may be missed, causing devastation to the victim’s credit score. Through these means, abusers can maintain total control by keeping their victims from opening new accounts or loans they might use to leave. If someone you know is being financially abused, they need the help of a divorce attorney to regain control of their assets and their life. The Bruce Law Firm has experience with financial abuse and can help minimize the damage it causes to victims. An attorney cannot prevent all fallout from financial abuse, but getting help as soon as possible is critical to the victim’s ability to regain financial independence.
Halloween is almost here, and you know what that means: home-carved jack- o’-lanterns! Turning pumpkins into decor is an ancient tradition, but as any experienced carver knows, using real candles inside them can be frustrating. Cooking pumpkins, unstable candles, and accidental burns are just a few of the issues that often crop up. To avoid them this Halloween, try these five tips. 1. CHOOSE YOUR CANDLE WISELY. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, it’s best to choose a candle that is at least an inch shorter than the hollow space inside of your pumpkin. To achieve this, you can buy long candles and trim them to size or learn to make your own from the book “Beeswax Alchemy” by Petra Ahnert. 2. CREATE BUILT-IN STABILITY. There’s nothing less festive than a jack-o’- lantern going dark because its candle has tipped over. To prevent that, carve a depression into the floor of the pumpkin that’s the same shape and size as the base of your candle. Then, drop the candle in! This simple trick will hold it in place. 3. GO BOTTOMLESS. Another option that will solve the toppling candle problem is hollowing out your pumpkin from the bottom instead of cutting a lid out of the top. If you do that, you can set up and light your candle first, then place the jack-o’-lantern over it. As long as your pumpkin is on a hard, level surface, your candle should be stable. 4. LIGHT UP AT THE RIGHT MOMENT. The easiest way to prevent burns is to light your candle at the right time and with the right method. If you like to hollow your pumpkins out from the bottom, light your candle first then place the pumpkin over it to prevent burns. If you hollow your pumpkins from the top, remove the “lid,” place the unlit candle inside, then light it with a long lighter or fireplace match. 5. DON’T FORGET THE CHIMNEY HOLE. To prevent heat and smoke from building up inside of your pumpkin and cooking it slowly, light up your candle and peek inside to see which spot on the top is warming up the fastest. Then, cut out a notch or “chimney hole” in that spot to let the heat escape.
Is your friend or client married to a controlling, manipulative, narcissistic husband?
OUR BOOKS CAN HELP!
The book can be downloaded for FREE at DivorceInformationBooks.com.
2 • BrucePA.com
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator