Battling Debt and Mental Illness — and (hopefully) Winning!

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  • catriona79
    catriona79 Posts: 855 Forumite
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    Wow, ABA, check out that emergency fund!!!! Amazing stuff!!! You should be very proud of yourself.
    * * * Catriona's Credit Card Countdown * * * from -£16k to debt neutraldom - for my debt diary click here
    Barclaycard -£5,867.52;
    mbna1 - 3,009.22
    mbna2 - 1,755.70
    Savings £5,017 MFiT #25 £2,627/£10k; daily interest £5.04
  • AspiringButAnxious
    AspiringButAnxious Posts: 753 Forumite
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    Thanks guys :)

    I had a rock n roll start to the year: curled up on the couch with my dog. My parents were on the other couch with my dad's dog. I toasted the new year with... water!

    My cold has left me really achy and tired. It doesn't help that I keep getting woken up by the wind and/or coughing, but even accounting for that, I am sleeping a ridiculous amount during the day. I haven't left the house for a week... Hope I start feeling more human soon.

    I ordered my brother's birthday present: a game which was half price on the Boots website, paid for with Advantage card points :) Now trying not to buy ebooks for myself... Need to read what I have and wait until the price drops right down!
    Rainy day fund — 210/1000 Emergency fund — 1019/1500
    Loan — 424/19,224 = 2.2% Fun fund: 1/100 Credit card balance — 0
  • crazy_cat_lady
    crazy_cat_lady Posts: 7,063 Forumite
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    Happy New Year to you ABA - pleased to see you a little brighter. Hope all is going well.
    Not giving up
    Working hard to pay off my debt
    Time to take back control
    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6290156/crazy-cat-lady-chapter-5-trying-to-recover-from-the-pandemic/p1?new=1
  • AspiringButAnxious
    AspiringButAnxious Posts: 753 Forumite
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    Thanks ccl :)

    The big news today is... I blogged! It's the first time I've posted for a while. I don't want to pressure myself, but I hope I will continue to post regularly this year. My blog is important to me, but I feel like I'm letting it down.

    I also had a meeting with the CAB (with my mum) to get advice on what to do about my benefit. If I challenge being on work related ESA, I might get moved back into the support group and wouldn't have to cope woth going to Working Links every 2/3 weeks. However, there is also a chance that in reassessing my benefit, they decide to stop giving me ESA altogether.

    It's all very stressful and it's stress which has caused my mental health to deteriorate over the past few months. I don't think it's worth pursuing; the stress of relying on benefits is taking its toll. This leaves me with 2 options: kill myself, or try to earn a living through any work I can cope with. I think I would rather do the latter, but it's very difficult — especially considering how much worse my depression and anxiety have become. I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place!

    Silver linings: the new year and recovery from my cold have left me feeling more motivated than I was throughout December.
    Rainy day fund — 210/1000 Emergency fund — 1019/1500
    Loan — 424/19,224 = 2.2% Fun fund: 1/100 Credit card balance — 0
  • misstara
    misstara Posts: 3,880 Forumite
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    Sorry to hear everything is so stressful at the moment ABA, hope it gets better soon. What do you blog about?
    Debt Dec 2022 - £2972.68. Current debt - £0 (100% paid). Flat deposit - £10552.61/£15000 (70.4% saved). Emergency fund - £1428.98/£1500 (95.3% saved).
  • AspiringButAnxious
    AspiringButAnxious Posts: 753 Forumite
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    Thanks Tara :) My blog is supposed to be about mental health and recovering from/managing mental illness, ironically! With my personal experiences thrown in for good measure :D
    Rainy day fund — 210/1000 Emergency fund — 1019/1500
    Loan — 424/19,224 = 2.2% Fun fund: 1/100 Credit card balance — 0
  • misstara
    misstara Posts: 3,880 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post I've been Money Tipped!
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    Sounds interesting, hope you continue to post on it :)
    Debt Dec 2022 - £2972.68. Current debt - £0 (100% paid). Flat deposit - £10552.61/£15000 (70.4% saved). Emergency fund - £1428.98/£1500 (95.3% saved).
  • Kitten868
    Kitten868 Posts: 1,785 Forumite
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    Sorry you're having a tough time of it right now. You are right to put off what you can't face if it's getting too much but surely this proves that you are in the wrong section.
    The good news is though is that you're still staying on track paying off debt. Yes you're spending on ebooks but it's not making your debt worse and you need something to do.
    Are there any goals you can have for you? Find a new hobby? Knitting or yoga or whatever it is that helps you find focus. I would love to try Pilates. You need more for you :) xxx
    Loan 1 £5200/£8000
    Loan 2 £300/£5800
    Total £5500/£13800
  • AspiringButAnxious
    AspiringButAnxious Posts: 753 Forumite
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    Thanks guys :)

    I have had a pretty good couple of days. Yesterday, I joined One Poll and oredered a £10 Paypal payment from SB in their sale. I also emailed a woman who had emailed me asking if I would be interested in volunteering for a nonprofit — I am and got my first assignment today. It will be nice to feel useful, even if it's a non-paying gig!

    Today, I am 259lb — I have lost 4lb so far :D The advantage of being so fat is that I can safely lose weight quicker than if I were closer to a healthy weight, so I'm hoping I lose a lot fast and start off my weight loss with some oomph! That should keep me motivated and once it slows down, hopefully I will keep motivated by being slimmer and fitter.

    I have also amended my SO to my parents, taking off the £20 I automatically pay for dog expenses and whatever I spend in Tesco. I was starting to think of this as money already gone, so paying my expenses in cash or by its own online payment will make me more aware of how much I'm spending. Since I should be able to cover this month's payments in cash and will be paying it at the end of the month instead of on the 17th, I could transfer £19.30 to my EF... So I did!

    Feeling more positive about the future and my ability to save and earn money, but still not as confident as I was 6 months ago. On the other hand, my financial situation has improved since then so that's good.
    Rainy day fund — 210/1000 Emergency fund — 1019/1500
    Loan — 424/19,224 = 2.2% Fun fund: 1/100 Credit card balance — 0
  • AspiringButAnxious
    AspiringButAnxious Posts: 753 Forumite
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    My YG payment arrived today, so I transferred the £50 straight to my EF. New total: £390.72 :D

    My initial target of £1000 by the end of May is looking considerably more doable ;)
    Rainy day fund — 210/1000 Emergency fund — 1019/1500
    Loan — 424/19,224 = 2.2% Fun fund: 1/100 Credit card balance — 0
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