From Business Insider · Joi-Marie McKenzie · · 1m 30s
Divorce taught her to take control of her money
Belle Burden's marriage ended when her husband left for another woman. She had signed tax returns without reading them and let him manage everything.
In brief
Belle Burden's marriage ended when her husband left for another woman. She had signed tax returns without reading them and let him manage everything. Author Belle Burden says her divorce revealed she had ceded financial control to her husband, and she now manages her own investments and reads her tax returns…
Her husband left without explanation
Belle Burden's husband of twenty years left her for another woman without any explanation. She revealed this in her now-viral book, Strangers.
She signed tax returns she never read
In her marriage, Burden trusted her husband with all financial decision-making. She signed their joint tax returns without reading them.
He hid his assets while using hers
Burden's husband put his investments and bonuses in his name alone while using her once sizable trust to buy homes for their family.
Cultural conditioning held her back
Burden explained she stepped back from managing finances because she believed she could not understand investments and assets, despite being smart enough to pass the bar.
“couldn't understand the complexities of my financial life, investments and assets, and I think that is cultural conditioning.”
Now she controls everything herself
Burden is now fully in control and understanding all of her investments and assets. She reads her tax returns and finds knowledge better than not knowing.
“I'm fully capable of understanding it … and that the knowledge is so much better than the not knowing, even though that was very comfortable.”
Her book is inspiring other women
Burden said hearing how women have smartened up after reading her book makes the financial mistakes she revealed worth sharing. Her book is being adapted by Netflix.
“if that's my purpose on the planet, I'm really good with that.”
The key point
Author Belle Burden says her divorce revealed she had ceded financial control to her husband, and she now manages her own investments and reads her tax returns.
