Divorce happens. I'm not going to debate causes or moral and ethical implications of that here. Even if you're innocent one who stuck to your vows and got dumped anyway, you still have to pick yourself up and move on. So let's start from that place. At some point you will wrestle within yourself and within your spiritual and religious beliefs as to whether or not you will date again. This article is for those of you who have decided that yes, you are going to date again and maybe even get married again. You've decided to give love a second chance.

In order to improve your odds at succeeding, you need to consider your timing. If your goal is to find true love and to have a wonderful long-term relationship with someone, then for your new partner's sake you must have worked through your issues over last one. You may be dying inside, feeling incredibly vulnerable, alone, and needy. That's time when it's easiest to reach out clutching at first person who comes along that looks like they might be a decent fit into your world. Those rebound relationships seldom work out. Even if through your pain and misery you did manage to pick ideal mate for yourself, you are still going to have emotions around your old partner. The new partner has to endure watching you ache and hurt for a marriage that's over. If you truly loved your spouse, even if you're one who asked for divorce, then you're going to have feelings of remorse and a need to mourn what is dead and gone. Ideally, you wouldn't have married them in first place if you didn't truly love them and you have to on some level have expected 'happily ever after.' Even if you stayed too long and had time to process through emotions of wanting to leave, you still have a good chance of feeling like you've failed at something so incredibly important. It can be excruciating to fall madly in love with someone and have to postpone 'honeymoon' stage of relationship because your new love is processing through all of this stuff and really isn't able to completely submerge themselves into beauty of falling in love with you.

Test Your Knowledge

Do you know where you stand in terms of Money Smarts?

The following questions are based on Oppenheimer Funds research. It only takes a minute to see how much you know about dealing with money.

1. Sixty-percent of all women end up managing their own finances at some point in their lives. T or F

2. Most women invest their portfolios in investments that are too conservative. T or F

3. Most stock market investors get wiped out at least once in their lifetime. T or F 4. Two thousand dollars is minimum amount needed to invest in a mutual fund. T or F 5. You need about 75% of your pre-retirement income to live comfortable during retirement. T or F 6. If a 45-year old woman plans to retire at age 60, she can expect to live 21 years in retirement. T or F 7. Between stocks, bonds and CD's, over last 30 years bonds have appreciated most out of any investment overall. T or F 8. If a woman can afford to invest only $50 a month she shouldn't bother. T or F 9. A 65-year old woman with an annual income of $50,000 can expect to have 50% of her income be replaced by Social Security. T or F 10. A woman's intuitive ability to manage her emotions around money is one of most important aspects of Creating Wealth over long term. T or F Answers: 1. FALSE- 90% of all women end up managing their own finances at some point because of increasing divorce rates, becoming a widow and because they live longer. 2. TRUE- Most women are too conservative in their investing. 3. FALSE- Historically not true. There are periods of decline but over last 50 years, market has shown overall long-term growth. 4. FALSE- You can open a Mutual Fund automatic account builder program for as little as $25 a month. 5. TRUE- According to studies by WEFA Group you need 70-80% of your pre-retirement income when you retire. That means if you earn $45,000 when you retire, you will need between $31,500 and $36,000 per year during retirement. 6. TRUE- According to National Center For Health Statistics, a woman that is 45 who plans to retire at 60 can plan on living 21 years, to age of 81. Because women live so long, good retirement planning can make a very big difference in how comfortably you live throughout your later years. 7. FALSE. According to Ibbotson Associates, over last 30 years stocks have been top performing asset class. 8. FALSE- a monthly investment of $50 growing at 8% a year would be worth $9,147 in 10 years and $29,451 in 20 years. 9. False- She can expect Social Security to replace 30% of her pre-retirement income or $15,000 if she had been earning $50,000 a year. 10. TRUE- You go girl! You KNOW it's true!! Information for this quiz was researched by Cynthia Fick, expert financial planner. Research findings come from Oppenheimer Women and Investing Quiz, Ibbotson Associates, National Center of Health Statistics and a WEFA Group Study.

Here are your results:

8-10 Correct