[lunaticfringe]

Hi everyone.

I have been spending way too much money lately.....you know how it is.

I have a med appointment tomorrow so I'm taking care of that end.

But other than that, how do you keep a lid on your spending?

I have blown about $3000 or more in the last three months.

[tiger8]

I just don't go to places where I could spend too much.

I also hate the idea of being in debt so I never ventured as far as that.

[Upsidedownandinside]

I've blown all my cash to, on useless carp.
Going to have to stick to my budget, and give my cards to someone, probably my parents. I've blown more than a half of my salary, and I've only just been paid.... cards gone..... sniff

[gina_re]

What I've done to help myself is that I have my bills come out of my account the same day I get paid, so at least I know that is taken care of. And I split my bills up based on due dates and pay dates. It takes a lot of planning, but then the money that is left over is available to spend. But credit cards are the real problem. I don't trust myself with those after past experience, and I think that's where people can get into trouble. So I don't have them anymore and it has helped immensely.

[xxKaneLovesZoexx]

It's like a virus, We just can't seem to stop spending.
Blown thousands also, on things that I take to pieces or just get bored of..

[lunaticfringe]

For me there will always be certain things that I just REALLY want and I feel like I literally can't resist buying them. Just bought a pair of Timberland boots, $160. Concert tickets, $200. Hot tub and spa, $60. Endless dinners out. The list goes on.

[neverending]

I m low income with basically living on my disability income. I have a budget and no credit cards. If there is something expensive I want I discuss it with my daughter. For awhile she had power of attorney to handle all of my finances and if I spend too much to pay my bills she will take over my finances again. Since I don't want that to happen that is enough incentive to keep me reigned in on what I spend. I have my freedom now and want to keep it.

[mathrye]

Before my manic-spending financial apocalypse, I used to keep about a $10k-$12k buffer in my bank accounts. Now I cap it at $3k. Anything above that goes straight into a brokerage account (Fidelity) where I can't easily spend it on a whim. It's trickier to get by on a slimmer bank account, but limits the potential damage too.

Online automatic bill pay for all the monthly bills.
Separate account for the money I can blow if I need to.
I TRY to spend the money on things that are tangible, like home improvements that I have put off because they are not 100% emergencies. I try to plan ahead like, the next time I go on a buying spree, it will be for a trip I have thought about during the non-manic or hypomanic times.

For example, I have a trip coming up and I am bringing a certain amount of money and leaving credit cards at home. I have already pre-paid the trip on 1 particular credit card. So that is all I am taking.

It takes a LOT of self-control and I definitely am not perfect.

[vjdragonfly]

I sit and budget every paycheck. I know if I spend bills will go unpaid and there would be no food in the house. It is hard at times, but I haven't the room to make mistakes, even though I have slipped a bit. I don't want to be homeless or hungry.

[~Christina]

I just dont allow myself to have the money available to me

I buy pre paid cards that I use for grocerys .

I buy a prepaid card with X dollars that I can afford to spend per month, Once it gone , I have no choice but to stop

If I absolutly must do retail therapy 20.00 goes a long way in a ev everything is a dollar store

[hopeless2015]

Just today set up paycheck to go into husbands account..it was a hard but necessary decision.

[AncientMelody]

I don't have bipolar, but have a compulsive spending problem related primarily (but not soley) to music. I gave my husband my credit card. I removed credit card numbers from all my online accounts. I've re-organized my existing music collection, having it in a more visible locale, by seeing it in physical form rather than just digital it is more satisfying and eases the compulsion a bit. Having music "projects" with specific composers helps

[venusss]

I have a debit card and I dont think I can go over zero in my spending. Pretty sure of it, because ATM refused me at one point when I had a very little on my account.

Plus, they allow me to get limits for spending. I would have to go to bank to withdraw more.

Also remainding myself materialism is why our society is decaying helps. I mostly "splurge" at Vietnamese markets and it's hard to spend that much when the skirts cost 10 euro and eyeshadows 2 euro. Sure, I have lots of skirts and make up, but... well, it's cheap stuff.
I mostly spend on travelling (going to places with great exchange rate helps, who needs London when there is Albania and Ukraine...) and lately on my activism and all that.

Three years ago in a wonderfully heightened lengthy state, I blew 100G in a ten month period.

Today I am on disability assistance and frankly have no money to spend after groceries and the bills are paid.

I have plenty of urges though. There are so many activities I miss doing to on account I simply can't afford to do.

[tipper1492]

It when my wife thought about a divorce, and I realized what I had done, and went to see a psychiatrist, and placed on meds that work. At some time you just have to decide which one is not only needed, but what would be best to do. I dropped l-o-t-s of money in out of control manic way in less than a year. If you are in a marriage, not (Google) 90% of Bipolar marriages end in divorce - no ****. To be in a divorce, and to be broke, would be hell. Guessing a wife would have the grounds, and because the husband is a stupid spender, the wife would deserve most of the property after-all.

[tipper1492]

Now my wife does it all when it comes to money.

[tipper1492]

Originally Posted by rcat

Three years ago in a wonderfully heightened lengthy state, I blew 100G in a ten month period.

Today I am on disability assistance and frankly have no money to spend after groceries and the bills are paid.

I have plenty of urges though. There are so many activities I miss doing to on account I simply can't afford to do.

My spending was 100G too.

[BleakGeek]

I don't. That's why my wife has taken over everything. I have such a hard time during those episodes. For the life of me I can't find a substitute for spending. Maybe I should become president so I can enjoy the trillions of dollars of frivolous spending done by the government!

Originally Posted by ~Christina

I just dont allow myself to have the money available to me

I buy pre paid cards that I use for grocerys .

I buy a prepaid card with X dollars that I can afford to spend per month, Once it gone , I have no choice but to stop

If I absolutly must do retail therapy 20.00 goes a long way in a ev everything is a dollar store

These are really excellent ideas. I especially like the idea of the pre paid card for grocery shopping.

Like others have mentioned, I've live most of my bipolar life below the poverty line -even while working full time. So overspending would result in hunger and homelessness, and I'm forced to keep a very close eye on my money.

However, when things are bit better financially, I struggle with overspending. I spend when I'm depressed and when I'm grieving, so I'm watching this thread with great attention.

[Capriciousness]

I return stuff

[Row Jimmy]

If you're good at spreadsheets like Excel, it easily helps to earmark needs and balance those things we need against our income. Chop the budget up into weeks because food is usually a weekly expense. Keep in mind that one of the "needs" should be an investment account or some sort of savings. Whatever is left over is mad money. Leave the savings alone, it's to tempting to dive into it (see below).

Actually *seeing* the numbers helps us realize that there's only so much to go around. And it helps us see that if we spend more than we make, it generally goes on a credit card which eats up future income in the form of CC payments (and interest). In many ways, it's a simple reality check.

Other suggestions -

If you have to overspend in one week for something that may not be budgeted (like new clothing), just take it out of the budget the next week.....that's a tough one but it can be managed over time.

Use your savings for bigger expenses like car repairs. You'll be thankful the money is there when you need new brakes.

OK, the *challenge* is that we all want to live and enjoy what we do so we spend money to get to that place in our minds. There's nothing wrong with that but this is where a lot of people sort of get into trouble. But if that where we're at, then we spend in small doses instead of trying to keep up with society. We live in a world in which we're bombarded with advertising and images that say unless we live a certain way, we're not worthy. A recalibration of that in our minds will also help......don't try to keep up! It really can't be done.

[Shadesofdark]

Cut up the credit cards.

[Victoria'smom]

Because of recent events my mother in law is taking our money over until the holidays are over and our car is fixed.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Fear. I grew up with a bipolar father who spent everything and the example was enough to leave an impression. I also have a limited SSDI income and have been trying to get rid of credit card debt for some time now. Medical bills haven't helped with this but I need so badly to get that credit card debt gone so that I have more money.

One thing that makes money more valuable is that I earn money slowly and deliberately online by doing surveys, watching ads, and doing a lot of other boring and annoying activities online every day of my life. That's my extra money to spend on music, books, etc. but I work HARD to get it and I know if I overspend otherwise that money will be shunted straight back into my regular account and I won't get my "treats".