Managing money and debt
Keeping track of, and effectively managing your money can be hard at the best of times but can be especially hard if you are not well and experiencing mental health problems.
The situation can be made worse if you are not able to work and have a limited income. There is alot you can do however to both maximise your income and manage your money.
What to do first
One of the first tasks in managing your money is to know how much money you have, your income, and how much money you need to spend, your outgoings. This can be done easily by making a note of all the money that gets paid to you over a month. If you can't manage a month, try two weeks. Take into account:
- wages or salaries
- benefits
- money paid to you by others.
Next think about the money that you pay out each month. This may include:
- housekeeping (include what you spend on food, toiletries, cleaning materials,
- cigarettes, sweets, children's school meals and pocket money, and pet food)
- fuel (electricity, water, gas)
- housing costs (mortgage or rent, insurance)
- council tax
- telephone
- travel expenses (include both public transport and cost of running a car if you have one including road tax, insurance and maintenance)
- TV license/rent
- clothes and things you need
- any other essential expenses (such as medical or dental expenses or support of someone).
This gives you a basis on which you can assess where you money is coming from and where it is going. It will also help someone understand your finances if you decide to talk to someone about your money management.
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