This tip could turn out to be a little more difficult than it sounds, but it is very important and can save you a lot of money in the the long run. When your soon to be ex-wife goes after you for alimony or maintenance payments and there is no way out of it, the amount of money that you will have to pay out could be dependent on two things: Your income and your current standard of living.

Several of the definitions for alimony that I have found include the term “standard of living”, and it refers to keeping your ex-wife in the same standard of living that she has become accustomed to while she was married to you. If it is deemed that she cannot carry on that same standard on her own then you will more likely have to help out in the form of alimony after the divorce is finalized.

So it should be fairly obvious that you would want to reduce your standard of living as soon as it becomes apparent to you that your marriage is heading towards a divorce. This is going to be different in every situation, but here are a few examples that may steer you in the right direction:

1) Put a hold on any vacations that you have planned
2) Cancel any unnecessary memberships (i.e country clubs, golf courses, fitness centers)
3) Cancel any big purchases that you had planned
4) Liquidate in unnecessary “toys” (i.e boats, jet skis, extra vehicles, etc)
5) Cancel any utilities that may seem “over-the-top” (i.e. $200 dollar HD cable package, extra cellular phone lines, etc.)
6) Keep your “play-time” to a minimum (i.e trips to the casino, shopping trips, golfing trips, sporting events, etc)

You can probably already think of a couple more that would be unique to your situation.  You may choose not to follow this advice, and that is definitely your decision.  But don’t be surprised if her divorce lawyer places a large emphasis on your standard of living when it comes time to determine how much you will have to pay out in alimony.  But at least you can look at the “bright side”, alimony is tax deductible.