about adapting to frugal lifestyle after an incomebreakdown ๐ซ
my adhd is giving me a hard time not spending for any impulsive ideas but I am left with only round about a quarter of my former income and I can't adapt well. I had enough before and since half a year I don't, but my brain wants to spent money like before.
we don't eat expensive, but we snack expensive. i usually don't buy a lot of clothes but I lost a lot of weight and most doesn't fit anymore (and I'm going to look for a new job soon, so I need at least one proper outfit).
we got a cat and a dog, which had super heavy health scares last year. so I pay for the insurances instead of waiting for the worst. the dog is allergic af and I have to buy expensive special food.
i am a single parent and have to take care of the teenagers needs as well.
I'm going to sell my car soon, because I just have to to get by. social aid doesn't pay anything at this point because I was couple of bucks over the limit so far. But they don't consider the high debt I got. So I'm actually pretty concerned right now. i used to be poor before, so I kinda know I will get over this episode, but it terrifies me at this point.
long story short:
i need a network of no-buy-buddies that helps keep me from spending too much. anyone out there?
๐ญ didn't think about the opportunity that my cat might be end up as snake food ๐คฏ I'll cancel it's insurance first (it's a young and healthy cat) to save some money for food, maybe I'll figure something out.
you can visit any library (in germany btw) for free, but if you want to take books, dvds or magazines to your own home for a couple weeks, you have to pay an annual fee. price differs from town to town. Since I'm living in a bigger city, I can use my library card in all the departments in different city parts. But the main library is gigantic and a good place to study as well
I personally would not give up my pets unless things were incredibly dire. Cancelling the insurance sounds like the right move, and if they have to eat cheaper food that's unfortunate but understandable given the situation.
When we get pets we take them under our care and they are a responsibility. I say this not in your position, so I understand it might actually be out of your control, but we're still talking about snacks so you can't be at the point of not being able to afford dry cat food.
Totally agree. It will be the last move I'll only make if I have to (to give any pet away). But it was good considering it, because I realized what I can do BEFORE it's too late. It's not that bad yet and I hope work things out, so the dog will as long as I can get it's anti-allergic food but the cat (because fit and healthy) will have to make amends like I do. I'm not 100%broke yet and it's my desire to keep both kid and pets okay (in that order). I'll have to get used to a cheaper lifestyle and that's fine by me, just struggling with the adjustment sometimes.
I wish you all the best. I'm not intimately familiar with Germany's social systems but I assume they're better than most of North America's. See if there is government assistance you can get or what you might qualify for. Maybe you're not there yet, but maybe some is available to you.
Good luck and keep your head up.