I found out this week that I couldn't aford a dvd that cost just £3

very, very embarrassing

I know itt's a result from overspending but lol when it happens...

I'm also probably going to lose my tv next month- unless I can fiind a way to pay the bill

who else is struggling with money issues right now

[nikon]

i am. i work part time and get paid by the day. recently i was in IP for a depression, and missed over a week of work, and the past week has also been difficult and missed more work. i'm dropping out of my studies due to my mental health too. for the usual work i do i only get paid on the 31st of the month, and i've only got enough money for about 10 days of food... my parents do help me but in all honesty they financially can't afford it.

[piggy momma]

Yep. Not to the extent you guys are, but I’m drowning in debt and can’t keep up with the payments. It gets pretty stressful.

[katydid777]

Originally Posted by raging vortex

I found out this week that I couldn't aford a dvd that cost just £3

very, very embarrassing

I know itt's a result from overspending but lol when it happens...

I'm also probably going to lose my tv next month- unless I can fiind a way to pay the bill

who else is struggling with money issues right now

It has been a very hard year money wise this year for us. We will have a dinner for Thanksgiving, but Christmas is out this year. We can't afford anything. Our property tax is dew the 4th of Dec. So this year Christmas is not on the must pay list.

[MickeyCheeky]

((((Everyone)))) I'm sorry for who is struggling with money. Financial issues can have an impact on mental health, as well.

[Moose72]

I always squeak by. My bills get paid but i have very little "pocket money".

[Victoria'smom]

We have to pick between paying our car insurance (we're a month behind) or fixing the car so it's drive able. If we are somehow able to do both we wont have gas to go anywhere. Christmas my son is getting a game loot crate and a large book bag. All the relatives are getting stuff from 5 and below or dollar tree.

We can't afford where we live anymore because of my disability. Moving would bring about lots of difficulties. We feel trapped in our situation.

[Blueberrybook]

Originally Posted by raging vortex

I found out this week that I couldn't aford a dvd that cost just £3

very, very embarrassing

I know itt's a result from overspending but lol when it happens...

I'm also probably going to lose my tv next month- unless I can fiind a way to pay the bill

who else is struggling with money issues right now

I have struggled with overspending for years. It's gotten a lot better (with a lot of restraint on my part), but it is still there. It's horrible. We are looking at losing our house, and/or my having to go back to the county healthcare system, which is just horrible in Houston. And still there are times I cannot stop it. It makes me feel so guilty and ashamed. Often, I try to hide it from H, but he finds out. We don't share credit cards, but we do share the checking account from which we pay the cards. When my card bill is up, unless something major came up the past month, like seeing the eye doctor, dentist, whatever, he will question all the expenses. Most I can justify, but there will usually be a couple I cannot

[Wild Coyote]

it's been a tough year this year.
Lots of big bills!

My many years of disability hurts us.

I almost always put money aside, even a small budget, in order to have some fun seeing the arts, etc. I attend many free events, as we have a very artsy community.


WC

[Sunflower123]

It’s been a tough year for me as well. I incurred some big medical and dental bills this year that aren’t helping. I have to be very careful to make ends meet.

Originally Posted by katydid777

It has been a very hard year money wise this year for us. We will have a dinner for Thanksgiving, but Christmas is out this year. We can't afford anything. Our property tax is dew the 4th of Dec. So this year Christmas is not on the must pay list.

I hear ya! My state has the highest property taxes in the US. Groceries are incredibly expensive, too.

[TheSeaCat]

It was a rough three months when I was on medical leave, basically me to wrecked to even look or think about a new job. I also had a few medical bills from when I was still on private insurance. My mom keeps getting bills from when she had the flu the beginning of this year and her hip replaced most recently. I try to help where I can by paying a little rent that can be used to help family. My phone bill managed to get more expensive. It seems like everything wanted to happen at once. Not to mention I still really like to spend money, especially shoes, I have a bad shoe problem. I try not to spend when I know I don't have it and sometimes I do it anyway. Granted I haven't racked myself into debt and I still have a pretty decent credit score for someone my age.

I'm sorry to all of you that are really struggling

[CrT0811]

I struggled for decades. I did manage to stay in a controlled manic long enough to go from mustered out national guard into active Army when the kids were in grade school so that kept us fairly stable for the twelve years I was able to hang in. It’s just about impossible to get “fired” or kicked out from the army unless you seriously mess up...at least it was in the 90’s. Luckily I was in a field where they spent a good deal of money training me so the stretchability of how far I leaned over that line was quite malleable. Still, I took a header and ended up getting out before I managed to screw up enough for a negative discharge. Civilian life was another story. I went from lab to lab after I got out, somehow able to hold enough together and either shift laterally or find a better position as my need for scenery change took over. I was like a functional alcoholic. I developed incredible skill at pretending to be completely normal when I most definitely was not.

I’ve bounced a lot of checks and had to deal with major debt from smoking credit cards over the years but I think, all in all...it was my children who kept me just sane enough to not stay over the edge too long except for one suicide attempt that came way too close to dropping the “attempt” part.

In the end, I can only say I had a beat up guardian spirit because there is no way I should be as in tact as I am now unless that were not the case. I now have a great writing career on my own terms, in my own safe space where I can write or create as I please and an amazing editor and publisher who understand and work with, shall we say, more eccentric writers, so I get the time and understanding other, more mainstream publishing houses don’t offer.

I really don’t have much advice to give other than try to find folks you can seriously trust to help you handle money. I had the military banking systems for years, then got great advice from an HR person who showed me how to set up auto payments and auto deposits into savings, Christmas club accounts, etc. If you can’t see it, you usually won’t spend it.

Now I have accountants and a money savvy husband who comes from a disciplined German family who has drilled into their decendents NOT to burn thru what they created. I know how blessed and lucky I am and I don’t take it for granted. I also give myself the credit for leaping off the cliff and having the courage to finish and submit that first book. That alone made a huge impact on my life and I would not be where I am if I had listened to those who told me to be “sensible” and stay in a secure field. Thank God for the few positive manics I managed to hold on to back then.

So, yeah...I guess what I’m saying it IS possible to be severely limited and still be successful. In fact, most truly innovative historical figures were, in some way, dealing with BP, or BP like issues. Basically, We Rock. So, don’t give up. Don’t let anyone attempt to limit you if you feel you know in your heart you can do something and it’s a positive endeavor...not a manic episode of something like “I can walk through walls if I concentrate hard enough”...I speak from embarrassingly real experience. Hang on! Rock on and stick to it!!

[MsSchadenfreude]

If you lose your cable TV, will you still have internet? If so, there are plenty of free things to watch if you are able to pay your internet bill. There's a free documentary channel online, and the library they have is amazing. You could rent DVD's at the library too, right? I used to do that all the time when I was in college! I still don't pay for any cable services. Just internet.

[Mountaindewed]

I am not struggling with money currently but I do not know what my situation will be next year. I am focusing right now on saving $100 from each work paycheck and paying off as many bills as possible. I might also be looking for a second job after the holidays.

[Hanzo55]

My bipolar SO and I are constantly dealing with the after-effects of manic spending. It's been challenging to the point where I've had to set up tools and guardrails to:

- protect against future episodes, and
- deal with the aftermath of episodes if they manage to squeak through.

It's definitely taken a bit of the pressure off, and both of us have a little less anxiety as a result.

[wildflowerchild25]

I’m still trying to adjust my lifestyle to this new job which makes less than half of what I made as a teacher. My biggest downfall is being too lazy to cook and going out to eat too much. Very expensive and not good for the waistline either. I recently had to ask my grandmother to help me pay for my car as the repairs were $800 and I only had $200 left in my account. I’m very lucky to have wealthy grandparents who love me enough to help out.

Right now I’m proud of myself because it looks like I will make it to my next paycheck (Thursday) without taking money from my savings. I have $40 for three days. As long as my son doesn’t need lunch money (it comes out of my account automatically) I should be ok.

I need to pay for a hotel over thanksgiving so I need my savings. I also have to pay for my son’s birthday party and for some gifts for him. So we will see how far my next paycheck gets us. It might be rice and beans for us for a few days until the 30th lol.

[Pookyl]

I’ve had very limited access to cash or credit cards since May. At that point in time my hubby confiscated my wallet because I was manic and spending large amounts of money (as in $1000’s and $1000’s) on clothes and other things.

I honestly have no idea what our bank account looks like but I don’t mind. I’m reasonably confident that we don’t have money issues as long as we’re careful.

[Guiness187055]

We have been living off of savings for the last two years as my wife does not make much money and I don't work.

[~Christina]

My husband and I live off a ridiculously small amount of money. I often don’t know how we make it but we do ...lucky for us we own our home.

We had to change our way of living , eating out , random impulse buying needs versus wants.

We live in a very strict budget ! It’s sucks here and there but it’s what we have to do.

We only eat out once or twice a month and it’s super cheap , otherwise I cook everyday which is fine I don’t mind it. I really know how to stretch food. We don’t waste a single bit. I’m proud as hell for that . Go me !

We saved enough to go see a movie 5.00 tickets and we skipped drinks and popcorn of course.

I wish we had budgeted this much while we both were able to work. But can’t rewind life

Things could be worse of course