I've been in your place, went to Credit Counselors and got a reasonable payment plan and got rid of the debt slowly. CC takes your credit cards and you have to cut them up. That's good medicine but it's a lot of work to learn not to spend. Don't write yourself off, there's a better life waiting.

My issues has to do with ebay. I think it is a good tool, but I can take it to the extreme with my spending. TommyMott had some good advice about getting out of the debt. I think the spending is part of our high when we are have a a hypomanic episode. I think a therapist can be good in this instance. Using Mindfulness or DBT to help curb the spending may also help. I really have to be mindfull when I bid on items, I am constanty asking myself, "Do I need this?" "Can I afford this?"
I hope this can help you. (((HUGS)))

I do most if not all of my shopping from home -- so it's constantly there. I did, however, five years ago go down to ONE credit card that I thought I could handle (I'm now $4K in debt).

You just have to keep reminding yourself that you should buy ONLY what you need, not what you want, to keep yourself even keeled.

See if you can set up autopay from your bank so that your bills come out of your account as soon as your paycheck goes in. Then don't spend anything until all of your bills are paid. THEN remind yourself that you might have an extra expense or two so you can't go crazy with what money remains in your account. That's what I've tried to do: My SSDI check goes in, my autopay allows for ALL my bills to be paid - from insurance to medical payments to utilities. What's left at the end of the month now goes toward paying off my credit card. It's moving along slowly, but it's a hard practice to commit to. Good luck!

You are not a moron and you are not screwed either, TC. Everything passes - this will too. I've had money problems and I understand the hopeless "take me now" feelings. It's just money - it's not your whole life.

Call the hospital. Tell them you cannot pay the jacked up payment. Ask them to work with you on a reasonable payment plan. They should be happy they are getting paid.

Make a list of your household expenses for the month. See where you can cut costs. I did that with the cable, home phone and cell phones.

When you have done what you can to make things better, forget it!!! This is more about your anxiety than about $$. Your mental and physical pain is possibly about anxiety. The chest pains? Anxiety.

It's an ongoing process for me. I have to really work on keeping my anxiety in check. Meds can only do so much.

My heart goes out to you TC. But you can turn this around and have some peace in your life.

tommy offers some great advice. credit counselling is one way to bring yourself back slowly and responsibly with reasonable payments. they can often negotiate with your creditors to reduce fees you've accrued as well. cut up the cards and budget. a friend here from DS taught me the importance of budgeting (even though i screw it up sometimes) - having a clear picture of your expenses and how much you have available to spend id really important. someone gave me very good advice recently so i'll pass it on - you are not a f*ck up. you're human. we make mistakes and get into trouble. what's important is how we handle getting back to the good - making smart choices and taking responsible actions.

i know you feel like crapola, but things will get better and more manageable. take it a little bit at a time. call the credit counsellors, budget and save what you can to pay down your debt, and be kind to yourself.

Well, when this started to happen to me, I did not cut up my card in case I really needed it (veterinary emergency or something) but I DID take it away from things like Amazon, clothing websites, etc. I got a new card I did not have the numbers memorized to, and then I FROZE MY CARD in a tray of water. Then I had to think about "is this really necessary?" while it unfroze.

I dealt only in cash for a long time. I had my husband hang on to it for me if I started getting hypo. In this way, I gradually learned how to deal with it better. Make a list of your expenses and make sure they are all paid at the time you get paid. Leave room for treats in there. Put the rest in savings or pay extra on your credit cards.

After a few years (yes years) I am able to use my card again. If I slip and have a bad month, I only do cash for three months to reteach myself.

Don't think your alone. We had to file Bankruptcy after what I did to our finances. Finally got it paid off. What I do get like 6 clothing store and other credit cards. I finally go them paid off except 3 of them coming to like $1700.00 in debt. I cut up the other cards. I also have emergency room bill I'm paying on monthly. And now I'm going to therapy I owe them money and don't even know how much because they filing every thing through my insurance company. Which I have to pay the deductible before they pay anything which I told them but they still haven't given me a bill.

Thank you all for your advice. I appreciate it so much!!!! I am actually pretty level headed about the money I have. It is the !?;)$& credit cards that I struggle with. Yes, I agree about things like Amazon. PURE evil to people like myself :(. I did email the hospital to ask about doing the $50 a month instead of $100. I doubt they will budge though.

Thank you all for your advice. I appreciate it so much!!!! I am actually pretty level headed about the money I have. It is the !?;)$& credit cards that I struggle with. Yes, I agree about things like Amazon. PURE evil to people like myself :(. I did email the hospital to ask about doing the $50 a month instead of $100. I doubt they will budge though. I think I will give Greenpath a call on Monday. Thank you again for your help! I am thinking about all of you that are also struggling with this!!