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Finances
When depression hits, our
ability to cope with everyday life can be severely
diminished. Chances are that your depression has
affected your finances. There are a number of
different ways this can happen:
- Your ability to work
is affected, and you may be fired, or forced to
leave your job, because you are unable to perform
has you have in the past.
- You are on medical
leave due to your depression.
- You are
self-medicating and using spending and shopping as
your way of trying to make yourself feel better.
- You are overwhelmed by
finances and do not know where you stand financially
so you are not paying bills, or paying them late,
incurring late charges and hurting your credit
rating.
- Because of your
depression, you can no longer deal with the level of
responsibility and stress you were able to in the
past, and have had to take a lower paying job as a
result.
As you can see,
depression affects every area in your life, not just how
"happy" you feel. If you have
experienced changes to your financial status due to
depression, you are not alone, and it is not your fault.
Okay, so now what?
There is a lot of great
information on the internet regarding money management,
and living cheaply. Even if you think that your
current financial situation is temporary, check out
these links. Who knows how long temporary lasts?
Check out this one for
some good budget forms and simple, down-to-earth advice:
The Money Master Budget
http://members.aol.com/Moneymstr/intro.htm
Check out this one for
great ideas on how to stretch your dollar farther.
Sign up for the newsletter for terrific tips.
The Dollar Stretcher
http://www.stretcher.com/index.cfm
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Tip:
Don't make any life-changing decisions during the depths
of depression if you can avoid it. Studies show that
your brain is not at its optimal strategizing peak during
depression. Decision making abilities, memory, and
concentration are also affected.