Life After Credit Card Debt – July Update

Hi everyone! Tricia here again with a monthly check-in.

Before I talk about our finances for July, I’d like take the spotlight for a moment to discuss something very personal.

I have been suffering from anxiety for quite a few years now, although I didn’t recognize it until recently.

Many people suffer from anxiety. I didn’t recognize it, though, for what it really was. I always thought that it was our financial situation that caused me to have the constant worry. We were in debt – why wouldn’t I be excessively worried, right?

Once our credit card debt was paid off things didn’t get better. They actually got worse (probably because not too long after it was paid off I stopped blogging regularly – which I think was therapeutic in a way). I finally realized that it wasn’t normal.

I’m glad to report that with my doctor’s help, I am feeling a lot better. I wanted to share this with all of you now in case it may help someone else out there. I can only imagine how different things would have been during our debt reduction journey if I realized what was going on. While it’s normal to have some worry, mine was excessive.

For more reading about anxiety, here is a link to MedlinePlus.

Now on to our July finances. First things first – we still do not have credit card debt! Yay! July was an okay month. We did visit with family this month so there were extra expenses and unfortunately some unpaid time off. That hurt a little, but it’s always worth every penny to visit with family. I almost added to our savings account this month, but we had yet another doctor bill trickle in. We should be all set with doctor bills for a while, unless there is something else our doctors forgot to bill us for.

August should be a good month. There are no trips and no more doctor bills (hopefully!). It looks like we’ll finally be able to put a nice deposit into our savings account.

Here’s to a great August! It’s hard to believe summer is going by so quickly!!

Posted by Tricia on July 31, 2009 at 11:45 PM in Life After Credit Card Debt | 7 Comments »
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brooklynchick responded:
Posted: August 1st, 2009 at 6:50 am
Thanks so much for sharing. I too was diagnosed with an anxiety problem, and getting help has made it so much easier for me to tackle my money and other struggles!
Jim responded:
Posted: August 1st, 2009 at 8:31 am
The book “when panic attacks” by David burns is a great help. He shows you how to change the way you think so you stop fearing. Burns is probably the best psychology writer today.
Tricia responded:
Posted: August 1st, 2009 at 12:15 pm
brooklynchick – I agree! I had something happen last week and I felt completely in control. It felt very, very nice.

Jim – thanks for the suggestion! I’ll have to see if I can get a copy.
Janie Out of Debt responded:
Posted: August 3rd, 2009 at 8:11 am
Hi,

Thank you so much for sharing about your anxiety. I just wrote a post of my blog about how I do breathing exercises and meditation on a daily basis. Like you, I sufferred with unbearable anxiety due to my debt but also do to life. I also recommend David Burns and cognitive behavioral therapy it has helped me so much. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
emmi responded:
Posted: August 4th, 2009 at 10:04 am
Great news on your continued financial progress.

I heard something the other day and thought, oh Tricia would really enjoy that story, and for the life of me, can’t remember what it was. If I think of it, I’ll note it for next time. Getting old. WAIT, I just remembered. It’s the tiny house that is supposedly in brooklyn but is actually in toronto.

Good you got treatment for your anxiety. Some days anxiety is the only thing that gets me moving, I’ll confess. I probably should look into that…
Tricia responded:
Posted: August 4th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
emmi – that tiny house is amazing. I love how they did it and the Murphy Bed is pretty neat. When I have free time, I find myself looking for ideas on how to maximize small spaces – getting ready for the day when we can build our dream home. Thank you for sharing the article with me!
sibs responded:
Posted: August 7th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
thanx 4 sharin ur experience tricia.