Welcome to the board. You are not alone. There are people out there with large amounts of debt. You have come to the right place for support and good ideas. If you get a plan in place to pay off debt it seems less overwhelming as you break up the plan into smaller pieces. Here are some questions to ask your self.
Are you on the right meds for bi-polar? I have heard that spending can happen with this particular condition so this may be the first step. Talk to your doctor to make sure you are doing everything you can to combat this.
Do you have a budget? It sounds like you know what your income/incomes will be but do you know what your expenses are? List it all out and do some math.
Do you have an emergency fund? A lot of the ladies on this board are firm believers in having $1000 at your disposal in case an emergency comes up (ie car repair, dentist) so you don't have to charge.
Are you and your husband on the same page and want to pay this debt down? Take those cards out of your wallets so you don't use them. Be accountable. Tell a friend your situation that will not judge you and give him or her the cards with instructions to keep them away from you.(you can also freeze the cards in water)
If you have any questions feel free to ask. If you are comfortable you can list your bills(amounts and interest rates) and the ladies here are good at examining what to pay off first.
I was so relieved to find this board. No one judges. We support and give advice if we know about an area. There is often shame about debt. My BF knows details but I can't say I have told my family much about it. I am on the right track now so it just day to day trying to pay it off. I don't have a spending issue but I still have debt. I am sorry you have bad depression. I think everyone here has it to some degree. I am glad you have someone to talk to and keep you on the correct meds. Coping is important. Helping people here(if I can) helps me deal with my situation. If I can pass on some knowledge some one can have a lighter day possibly.
You are not alone. There are a ton of people that have debt for one reason or another. All we can do is support each other and pass on information. It does get better if you put in the effort to fix it.
I feel your pain. My mother also has major depressive disorder and used to spend to "kill the pain". Happily, she is doing much better then and is working on paying off all her debts. Coming from a woman who used to spend days in bed this is a HUGE accomplishment.
Given that you pay all your bills on time, I would say you are in a good position. Do you have an emergency fund set up? I built mine by rounding up all my bills and transferring the difference to the efund. It was built with one dollar here and three dollars there. If you don't, I suggest this as a first step so you can get rid of the CC's. You can't get out of debt if you keep using them (it took me years to figure this one out, with help from the ladies on this board!)
Do you know where your money goes? Mary Ann gave some great suggestions for how to track it.
Can you sell anything to come up with some cash to put on the cards? Having a yardsale could bring in a decent amount of money that could be applied right to the debt!
Post often. The ladies here have great advice and we are never judgemental!!
Good luck!
Bex -
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift -thats why its called the present."
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Hi,
Welcome to the board. You are not alone. There are people out there with large amounts of debt. You have come to the right place for support and good ideas. If you get a plan in place to pay off debt it seems less overwhelming as you break up the plan into smaller pieces. Here are some questions to ask your self.
Are you on the right meds for bi-polar? I have heard that spending can happen with this particular condition so this may be the first step. Talk to your doctor to make sure you are doing everything you can to combat this.
Do you have a budget? It sounds like you know what your income/incomes will be but do you know what your expenses are? List it all out and do some math.
Do you have an emergency fund? A lot of the ladies on this board are firm believers in having $1000 at your disposal in case an emergency comes up (ie car repair, dentist) so you don't have to charge.
Are you and your husband on the same page and want to pay this debt down? Take those cards out of your wallets so you don't use them. Be accountable. Tell a friend your situation that will not judge you and give him or her the cards with instructions to keep them away from you.(you can also freeze the cards in water)
If you have any questions feel free to ask. If you are comfortable you can list your bills(amounts and interest rates) and the ladies here are good at examining what to pay off first.
Good luck and post often.
Thank you for your reply.
I was so relieved to find this board. No one judges. We support and give advice if we know about an area. There is often shame about debt. My BF knows details but I can't say I have told my family much about it. I am on the right track now so it just day to day trying to pay it off. I don't have a spending issue but I still have debt. I am sorry you have bad depression. I think everyone here has it to some degree. I am glad you have someone to talk to and keep you on the correct meds. Coping is important. Helping people here(if I can) helps me deal with my situation. If I can pass on some knowledge some one can have a lighter day possibly.
You are not alone. There are a ton of people that have debt for one reason or another. All we can do is support each other and pass on information. It does get better if you put in the effort to fix it.
Hello, and welcome to the board.
I am sorry you've had these problems the past few years.
Welcome to the board
I don't know what you are looking for from the board Do you just want all of us to tell you that you are alone Well you are not. Read all the stories
Thank you so much for the support.
Hi and welcome!
I feel your pain. My mother also has major depressive disorder and used to spend to "kill the pain". Happily, she is doing much better then and is working on paying off all her debts. Coming from a woman who used to spend days in bed this is a HUGE accomplishment.
Given that you pay all your bills on time, I would say you are in a good position. Do you have an emergency fund set up? I built mine by rounding up all my bills and transferring the difference to the efund. It was built with one dollar here and three dollars there. If you don't, I suggest this as a first step so you can get rid of the CC's. You can't get out of debt if you keep using them (it took me years to figure this one out, with help from the ladies on this board!)
Do you know where your money goes? Mary Ann gave some great suggestions for how to track it.
Can you sell anything to come up with some cash to put on the cards? Having a yardsale could bring in a decent amount of money that could be applied right to the debt!
Post often. The ladies here have great advice and we are never judgemental!!
Good luck!
Bex -
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift -thats why its called the present."
Bex -
Thank you so much.
I truly understand your mother's pain.
Hi and Welcome,
Norma
"Patience is the best remedy for every trouble"- Plautus
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