Thursday, July 28, 2005

'Stepkids: Don't ruin my big day'

As someone who coaches single women, I feel almost duty-bound to watch TV programmes about the issues that affect them, so last night, I watched Channel 4's 'Stepkids: Don't ruin my big day' which was about divorced parents who were about to remarry and the reactions of their children towards their marriage. The reactions ranged from actual physical violence towards one woman's husband-to-be, through 'Well I think she's stupid but I'll go along with it but I only give it a year and a half to two years before she's divorced again', to 'I accept it but I wish it wasn't happening'. Obviously, it wouldn't make good TV if all the kids were deliriously happy at their parent's remarriage, and all the parents involved went ahead with the wedding, despite their children's protestations. Not being a parent myself, I find it very difficult to know where I stand on this. I know that some parents believe that their children are the most important people to consider and would never dream of remarrying if their kids would be unhappy. I also know that other parents believe that they should grab their happiness where they can and adopt a 'they'll get used to it' approach as far as their kids are concerned. What do you think? Should parents respect their children's wishes and try to keep them all happy or should they put their own happiness first in the belief that what makes them happy will ultimately make their kids happy too?

Saturday, July 23, 2005

Blended families

As someone who coaches single women, I am always interested in TV programmes about 'blended' families and, in particular, the reactions of children to their parents having a new partner. With this in mind, I will be watching 'Stepkids: Don't ruin my big day' at 9pm on Channel 4 on Wednesday 27 July. Might be worth watching for the 'how not to do it' value if you are in a new relationship and considering introducing your kids to your new partner!

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Credit Card Usage

A new website offering an impartial guide to choosing and using credit cards has been set up by APACS, the UK payments association. The URL is www.choosingandusing.com. If you are financially savvy you probably know all this stuff already, but their downloadable advice pack could be useful to pass on to any kids who are just about to go to Uni for the first time or anyone you know who either struggles with credit or who is thinking of getting a credit card for the first time.

Monday, July 18, 2005

Fresh Start Mortgage

I read about an interesting new product from the Yorkshire Building Society - www.ybs.co.uk specifically for people who are starting again after the break up of their relationship. The Fresh Start mortgage offers 0% interest for the first 6 months whilst you get your act together and they will include 100% of your maintenance payments and Working Family Tax Credits when they are working out how much you can borrow. Just look for 'Fresh Start Service' on their site.

Friday, July 15, 2005

New website up and running

My new website, www.successfullysingle.co.uk is now up and running. Please have a look and let me know what you think.

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Yippee!

I have had excellent news today. The publishers that I sent my book to: www.bookshaker.com have agreed to publish it. The book, 'Successfully Single: 101 ways for newly-single women to get a life they love after a break up' will be published in October and will be available for the Christmas market. They reckon it will make a great gift book. Brilliant!

Friday, July 01, 2005

Hello and welcome

Hello and welcome to my new 'Successfully Single' blog.

You know how newly-single women can feel overwhelmed by the challenges involved in making a new, post-relationship life for themselves and coping with a reduced income and standard of living and the pressures of supporting their children through the separation and divorce process?


Which means that they are often working long hours, juggling home, work and kids, have no time to relax, are stressed about money and concerned about what the future holds?

Well, what I do is offer a range of solutions to these problems. I will show you how to:
survive re-entry into life as a single woman
cope with and make sense of being single again
get your finances under control
recover from the break-up of your relationship in as short a time as possible and go on to have a life you really, truly love.

My name is Ann Harrison. I am a Life Coach and I specialise in working with single women. I know how to help you sort out the mess caused by separation and divorce, learn how to take care of yourself for the rest of your life, plan how you want your life to be in the future and go on to live the best life that you possibly can (whether you meet a new partner or not). What I want to do with this blog space is to provide information, support and resources for single women, especially newly single women who are returning to 'singlehood' after the break-up of a long-term relationship. I hope you will check in with me on a regular basis for hints, tips and resources to help you get a single life that you love.

I promise you that being single can be one of the most positive, empowering times of your life - in fact, I hope that your time spent as a 'singleton' will be something you will value so highly, that you will only be prepared to give it up for someone very, very special indeed!