Mental Health, Addiction, Clean Living, and Financial Matters.
Yeah, a pretty wide ranging post, and it will probably be pretty long by the time I get done with it. But these topics are all related for most of us who suffer from mental illness. You might find it interesting to hear how I've come through it all at this point in my life at age 45.
When I met my wife when I was 38 I was addicted to several things: gambling, cigarettes, beer, rich food, Diet Coke. I could afford it all because I had a modest rent payment, a good job, and I didn't have anyone else to worry about. I had to move to another state to be with my wife, and the jobs weren't as good where she was from- the beginning of my troubles.
I tried to adjust right away giving up the gambling, but I stubbornly held on to the other addictions for a while. I was spending about $30 a day on that stuff with buying lunch out every day. Yeah, $900 a month- 1.5 times our house payment. I finally gave up the tobacco in July of 2012. Then the beer and rich food in July of 2016, and with that came the added benefit of weight loss. I recently gave up the diet soda. For the past week I have not had one soda pop. I'm feeling very good about all of that.
But it all came way too late. In the late summer of 2015 I had to file for bankruptcy, and my addictions were a big part of the reason. There was also the fact that I didn't have a very good job. It might have been okay if I would have made those adjustments right away, but I really did need to find better employment. In mid-2016 I set my mind to do that and ended up accomplishing it.
Now we are on the right track even with my wife losing her job earlier this year. I told her we would try to make it work just on my income. She had been working for $10 an hour part time. We made some more adjustments, especially with our food budget, and for the past 9 months we have pulled it off. We've got our food bill down to about $85 a week for both of us. We eat meat, but not beef.
We have been able to accomplish the following just on my trucker's income:
1. Put back 10% pre-tax income for retirement. My employer kicks in another 5%.
2. Pay down debt.
3. I'm in the best shape of my life.
Other factors. My medications are both generics now costing me only $40 a month together. We have two older cars that are paid for- one is 8 years old and the other 15. We keep up on the maintenance and both cars are still in good shape. We've had single digit temperatures here in the Midwest in recent days, but both cars still fire up right away every time. We have two credit cards. I've been able to pay off one of them and the other will be paid off next month. We had a couple of hospital bills that we'd been paying on. They are both now paid off. Thank God they weren't really all that big to begin with.
Our cost of living without extras is about $2000 a month figured with a cushion for fluctuations. My take home pay is about $2660 a month on average. My wife has picked up some babysitting work that will give us another couple of hundred dollars a month starting in January.
I have bipolar disorder, and my wife has suffered from depression and anxiety in the past. We are proof that it's possible for some people to live a normal life now days while having mental illnesses that are quite serious. We'll stay in treatment and we've figured out a way to live within our means and still maintain a desirable lifestyle. I know it's not possible for everyone, but mental illness doesn't always lead to dependence on either chemicals or the state. We can succeed, live healthy lifestyles, and actually be the envy of some of those who have had a far easier time in life than we have.
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You've obviously made some very good decisions and been rational about how to live. Most people, I think, don't do either.
I wish you both continued good living!
