In the past few days I have had 3 people tell me they have not slept 'for worrying'.
I don't shout about it, but I work for a debt collection company. I have to call people and ask when the next payment will be because that have missed the one they were supposed to be paying. I'm actually supposed to call and try and get a payment asap. I can't force myself to add to someones problems so I ask when the next payment will be and advise what happens if no paymnet made, and ALWAYS stress to them that if they can't make it to call us before so we can work something out.
Back to the worry over debt affecting your sleep.
Back in the day, when my depression was really bad, I could NOT sleep. No matter what I done. I was constantly tired. I would force myself to be busy during the day to tire myself out, yet come bed time, my brain just didn't shut off. The nights that were the worst was those ones where your eyes are asleep, but you are not. Not the same as the ones with your eyes open just thinking, this is the one that you sometimes have before you drift of, a bit like purgetory, you know, just outside the land of nod. I hated those nights.
And still do if I get them
When I was a student, I picked Stress as a subject to write for an English report, and all the fantastic advise out their is 'Don't Stress/Worry about it'.
Easier said than done.
My advise would be 'Take Ownership Of It!'
What is your main worry? I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that most peoples worry boils down to money. So sit yourself down. Get some bank statements/recipets, whatever method you haev used previously for tracking your money.
Write it all down.
Direct Debits - amounts and what dates do they come out.
Standing Orders -amounts and when they come out.
Cash Bills - When do they need to be paid.
Now your Income
When do you get paid?
Extra money?
Benefits?
Does it add up?
If you look at my mock, (figures estimates and some things missing) you will see that out of £1000, my direct debits and standing orders leave me with £ 241 each month. I now need to divy that between everything else like food, groups for Lyle and petrol. Novemebr was a 4 week month so 4 x £3 for Lyles Karate
£241-£12 = £229 (karate)
£229 - £40 = £189 (diesel)
£189 - £50 = £139 (savings)
£139/4 = £34.75 (weeks)
£34.75 each week to buy food, days out, birthdays, school extras/fun days/donations etc
a 5 week month is a lot less, cause its £15 for karate, £50 for diesel, savings stay the same.
£126 a month or £25.20 per week. for absolutely everything else.
Now, when I had debt and train fare to add into that, and not as much income (my monthly income was £299, and from that I had to still pay the mortgage, £135 train fare, £410 every 4 weeks for child care, no c/tax as i was a student, no benefits as i was a student, i did get child benefit, i got NO help towards child care, in all honesty I do not know how i survived! I did have an £800 overdraft, and I was really extremely lucky if i ever had £50 of actual money in the bank, most times it sat at minus x hundred.), I did not put anything away for savings.
My advise. Own the money that u have.
Call up any companies you owe money to. Tell them exactly what you have. Ask for an Income and Expenditure form, fill it in, put in an offer of payment. If you have a few companies to pay, show what you are offering to all the companies. See if you can offer a smaller amount just now to get another bill paid off quicker, then splitting the money you would normally pay once cleared, between the remaining companies. Try and show time scales. Advise what the alternative is i.e. not paying anyone and going down the bankruptcy route, where no one benefits.
Do this over one week, If you can, get to a CAB or Financial Fitness or Money Matters type place, get them to help.
In the mean time CUT OFF everything that is of no need.
cable/sky tv? really you NEED this? can u not survive without your eyes glues to the telly?
tv licence? if you can do away with your tv altogether then even better. (stay within the law on watching play back tv)
coffee? I've never understood the NEED for coffee shops coffee, especially not at £2 or £3 for a coffee/tea/hot chocolate. buy a jar and make it at home, take in a carry mug/jar thing you know, the insulated travel mug.
mobile fone? is it imperative that you are contactable every minute of the blimmin day?
Internet? can u use the library/works net instead?
Every family is different. Back then I chose to keep both my fone and virgin package.
My fone was £15/m on the plan i had. i needed the internet for uni. to get rid of my tv package and take a net only package would have worked out more per month. i did check it out.
I didnt do charity shops then, i do now tho. I became an expert at shopping at tesco. knowing when certain foods went on sale, i learned how to cook good food cheaply and quickly
It is do-able. It is hard, but to get to a stage where I am no longer scrimping to get by. I am not well off, but i have less worries and i sleep more and that my friend, is the aim of my game!
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