Money & Debt
Most of us need the security of a roof over our heads and some money in our pockets, whether or not we have mental health problems. For people who are vulnerable to anxiety or psychosis, it’s especially important for them to have a home and regular income.
But many people with mental health problems find it difficult or even impossible to cope with a benefits system which is too complex for most people to understand and which sometimes demands interviews or physical examinations as well as a great deal of form filling.
More detailed information is available on benefits at the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) website.
Managing your Money
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 a lot 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 out goings. 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)
*TV license/rent
*clothes and things you need any other essential expenses
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.
Maximising your income
Maximising your income is making sure you are claiming all the money that you are entitled to. The benefits and tax offices report millions of pounds of unclaimed benefits and tax credits each year.
Your local Citizens Advice can review the benefits, if any, that you are claiming, let you know which benefits and tax credits you should be claiming for, and help you to fill out any forms for further benefits. It can help if you ask to speak to someone who has experience of working with people with mental health problems.
Debt
Many people are susceptible to debt but people with mental health problems can have specific problems with money related to their illness. There are many reasons for someone to get into debt, from credit cards and store cards to mail-order catalogues; from hire purchase to mortgages. Access to credit is very easy.
Sometimes people have started work and then it ends suddenly because of mental illness and are left with changes in income that make it more difficult for them to budget and manage their income. Some people living on State Benefits with a low income with no savings have no money to cover one off costs. Many people with severe mental illness do not qualify for free prescriptions and have to find the cost of them.
Often because of mental illness people simply do not claim benefits that they are entitled to. At the extreme end people with mania are known to increase spending when they are ‘high’ and spend money that they do not have.
All these problems give rise to an increasing amount of stress on both the person in debt and those involved in their care.
For information about debt and lending, for service users and support workers, please see the The Mental Health and Debt Advice Web site
Adapted from www.rething.org
