Breakup season approacheth. According to Bumble, the biggest “love purge” happens two weeks before the winter holidays. There’s nothing quite as clarifying to someone in a beleaguered relationship as the thought of spending precious paid vacation time with a soon-to-be insignificant other.

But breaking up, even when you know it’s the right thing to do, is always tough. Especially when there’s shared money and property involved.

When it comes to divorce, there are at least some legal processes that can potentially make divvying up your assets more cut-and-dry. But when you’re breaking up with a partner you live with, things can get dicey — particularly for women.

The Cut recently talked to three women about how much it cost them to disentangle their lives from another person’s. Shared expenses like rent or phone bills get doubled. Suddenly, you need new furniture. And sometimes, you have to rely on the support of your community to get you through it.

If breaking up is on your mind, here are some things you can do even before you have the Big Convo:

In any case, whether you’re in a happy relationship or one on its last legs, our advice is always the same: Money is power. Maintaining some level of financial independence, no matter how goo-goo you are over your person, is imperative to preserving that power.

As always, our all-women team of financial planners is uniquely equipped to help you do that — whether that means investing toward your independence, planning for your financial freedom, or just building a solid emergency fund.

“I’ve always been willing to take risks. I don’t know if I went into VC because of that, or if I learned that from VC.”

— Kristen Faulkner on what makes her a better cyclist — and a better investor. Calculated risk-taking is also what happens to make women better investors than men.

What’s your vibe this week?

• All About the Benefits of Ellevest: A (revamped!) 30-minute session on all the perks our clients enjoy.
  OCTOBER 22 @ 6 PM ET: Join us
• Investing, Part 1: How It All Works: The live workshop primer on common investing terms and concepts — for those who give a f**k about stocks.
  OCTOBER 23 @ 12 PM ET: Sign up

Busy this month? Check out all upcoming workshop dates.