Shocking-How Bipolar Disorder Bankrupts People

==>>Help with ALL aspects of bipolar disorder<<==
Check out all my resources, programs and information
for all aspects of bipolar disorder by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

Hey,

What’s going on?

I was writing really quick before I head
off to the gym.

Someone asked me the other day on the phone
about why I harp so much on m.oney and bipolar
disorder in my articles.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

I have had to put “.” in words so they
don’t get caught in spam filters. I am not
losing it or going in insane just in case
you were wondering :).

Okay, here we go.

I got an email that also said:

“Dave, I love your stuff but why do you
have a tape called Bipolar and Money?
What’s m.oney have to do with bipolar
disorder? I am totally confused?????
Are you saying m.oney can cause
bipolar disorder?”
—Mary

Actually over the last few months I have
talked about m.oney and bipolar less
because it’s not a problem for my mom any
more. Back in the day, it was a HUGE
problem. The stories I could tell you.
The d.ebt collectors I had to deal with.
It was amazing.

But I am reinspired to write more about
m.oney and bipolar disorder.

The one thing about bipolar disorder is, it
winds up costing many people a ton of money.
The person with bipolar disorder and the people
around them.

One of the major reasons that I spend so much time
talking about f.inances and bipolar disorder because
many times a person goes into a bipolar disorder
episode and spends m.oney without really thinking
it all through. Slowly over time, MASSIVE d.ebt is
incurred. D.ebt that is so large it cripples
the person who has bipolar disorder and all
the people around them.

This happen with my mom. So many people
were suffering that I did a teleseminar
on how to handle this. Actually looking
back that was really cool. I had more
than 500 people on a phone teaching
my methods on how to handle the
situation.

From the teleseminar, I created a course on
h.ow to get out of de.bt faster from bipolar disorder
at:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/debtletter/

If you don’t know how bipolar disorder
can bankrupt someone and then the people
around that person here’s how it works.

Someone has bipolar disorder, he/she
then goes into an episode. Remember
it’s a mood disorder so the person starts
doing things they normally wouldn’t do
and doing many things that are impulsive
like spending money.

The person starts buying stuff with the m.oney
they have and then they can get c.redit c.ards.
Then take out l.oans or find all kinds of ways
to get m.oney to keep on spending.

Then after that they wind up borrowing from
other people close to them and making up
great reasons why they should. People
believe and give more m.oney.

The m.oney starts to feed the mania. It’s
kind of like gas that’s put on a fire
and it makes things worse. The mania
gets worse and worse and worse.

In some cases, people are in episodes
and take out loans, c.redit cards and
other financial vehicles in other
people’s name and use the money.

Then here comes the interest. When you
borrow m.oney you get charged interest.

So the people get into a situation where
the i.nterest is so great they can’t
afford it. They miss payments. Then the
i.nterest rates goes even higher and
it’s more difficult.

Eventually it turns into a super nightmare.

The entire thing is a huge financial mess.

Then it gets worse. All the d.ebt start
to catch up with people and they can’t afford
anything. The stress of the de.bt winds up
causing the bipolar episode to get worse.

By the time someone figures it out d.ebts
can be huge…into the multi tens of thousands
of dollars.

Over the years, I have spoken to millionaires
bankrupted by this process. I have talked to
people who have lost $100,000, $350,000,
1.1 million, 1.5 million. I myself lost
more than $250,000 from bipolar disorder.
It sounds crazy like we (those who have
lost this much) are making it up,
exaggerating or lying. We aren’t. Trust
us. It can happen.

Keep in mind, this is all done with someone
who is in a bipolar episode not when they
are stable. Don’t think that I am attacking
all people with bipolar disorder who are
stable because I am not.

Some people believe that it’s not going
to happen to them.

“Dave, my wife would never do what your
mom did. No offense. She is good
with m.oney.”
Stan

That person stan wrote me more than
2 years ago. He is now b.ankrupt. His
wife destroyed his f.inances. He had
no protection systems. She went into a
super episode and took him down financially.
Before this happen I warned him. He didn’t
listen.

I don’t even know what happen to him. His
phone numbers don’t work. It was really
sad because he was like 60 something.

This is a touchy subject but I want to
bring it up. It’s just so important.

Now, once you have huge de.bts it’s
almost impossible to help someone
become stable. You wind up having no
money for all kinds of things that
require money like, medication, doctors,
therapy, etc.

This problem is so serious I created a program
for people to generate fast cash in this
situation:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarfastcash/

There were so many people desperate for
ways to get money right away for the bare
essentials so that’s why I created that program.

How Do You Stop/Prevent The Nightmare?

There are a few important steps to be
taken to prevent this disaster from happening
to you.

First, you have to get yourself stable
if you have bipolar disorder or if you
are a supporter help your loved one
become stable.

You do this through everything I write
every day or the information in
my courses/systems:

SUPPORTING AN ADULT WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com

HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.survivebipolar.net

If a person is not stable and has bipolar disorder
there is a huge risk of what I describe happening.

After this is accomplished, it’s is VERY important
to setup systems to protect finances because we know
that if you have bipolar disorder, you
could go into another episode and wind up
spending so much money that it bankrupts
yourself and everyone around you.

Finally you have to work to eliminate the
d.ebt that has been incurred. My mom has
been working on this. She racked up over $30,000
of de.bt and now is almost totally de.bt free
for the first time in more than 20 years.

Anyway, I wanted to write why I hard on
m.oney and bipolar disorder. Some thought
I was crazy because I did.

I would appreciate if people would share
stories of what can happen. There are thousands
of people on my list that think what I described
is not possible. Let’s try to motivate them
to know it is possible.

See you tomorrow. Oh tomorrow is the bipolar
disorder news.

Your Friend,

Dave

P.S. Don’t forget to take a look through the
different programs I’ve put together… each one is designed
to help you with a different area of bipolar disorder whether
you have it or you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

P.P.S. Check out my F.ree blog with copies of emails
that I have sent in the past and lots of great
information for you:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/supporterblog/

P.P.P.S Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can’t learn anywhere else.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com

  1. Although my partner has not yet been assessed with Bipolar I would put my life on it that this is his condition.

    Unfortunately he shys away from any indication that he has this disorder. Upon reading the email today about debts and bipolar I fully understand where David is coming from. I am currently under tremendous pressure of mounting debts caused by my partner.

    Unfortunately when he is going through one of these episodes he is usually chasing a fast buck in order to repay his debts which undoutedly always goes wrong and we end up in more debt. I have tried to curtail these episodes but when I dont agree with his spending and money making ventures but he goes on to leave the home and then I have no idea what he is up to or when I will see him again and in what state he will inevitably turn up in.

    As the years have roled by he is definately getting worse he can be aggressive, his screaming is getting out of hand and then he cannot remember what he said etc etc.

    This time however I am much stronger and am ready to throw the towel in and leave him to his own devices. But unfortunately, I know deep down that my love and his for me is stronger.

    Any suggestions would be welcome.

    Many thanks

    Julie Bower (UK)

  2. One thing that I would also like to add is the financial pressure that builds not only from mania, but from the depression.

    My partner has quit multiple jobs, or had “bad” days, deciding to not go to work, and potentially jeopardizing job security.

    In addition to employment, sometimes her fits of mania get so bad that she moves out of the 3 bdrm home we are renting. So then I, alone, am stuck with covering for domestic responsibilities we shared.

    I did not see these themes mentioned, as it is not only the spending sprees that can get families dealing with bipolar disorder into financial trouble.

    Thanks for creating this wonderful support network!

  3. The more I read, the more all this sounds like my husband. He spends frantically but, he is also an alcoholic. Do the 2 have the same characteristics? He goes through money all weekend long without thinking then we have nothing for food or to pay bills. He is getting worse as time goes on. I cannot talk to him about it because he gets so angry. Actually I cannot carry a conversation on with him about his drinking or the finances without fits of rage.
    He is up most of the weekend, little sleep, just goes and goes and drinks and drinks. Can he also be bipolar? He mood swings are horrible. At times he seems what I would call normal and other times just as angry as anyone I have ever seen. He swings like a pendulum! It is driving me crazy! Are there any answers?

  4. Thank you for sharing your comments about spending getting out of control. It has helped me to better understand that I truly have Bi-Polar and cannot continue to stay in denial about it. Medication hasn’t been able to help me so far, but I will continue to monitor my behavior, just like the kind of foods I put in my body.

  5. i have bipolar disorder. and while to many people i seem totally in control and together – i am not. in my family i am usually the “go-to-gal” when others need financial help or when they need advice (crazy right). YES! i am in my early 40’s and am about to go through my second bankruptcy. money and spending is a huge trigger and inflammant for me. shopping can be dangerous, not always. but a lot of the time. and now with the internet and online shopping – well i’m like ashes smoldering under a massive pile of dry leaves waiting to bring down the house. unfortunately my husband and my adult kids don’t understand bipolar disorder and don’t acknowledge it. this cycle will probably repeat itself for the rest of my life until someone takes my disorder seriously. the sad part is my oldest son has it too and i’m the only one (besides his therapist and doctor) who will acknowledge it. he has since stopped seeing them because he says they don’t know what they are talking about either. he is also deep in debt at the ripe old age of 21 and being an adult there is not much i can do. please – if someone close to you will acknowledge your disorder, talk to them. tell them your triggers if you know them, ask them for help, let them into your thinking processes. they are sometimes random and scary but they can help you get to the right kind of help when you need it and even before you need it.

  6. i have bipolar disorder. and while to many people i seem totally in control and together – i am not. in my family i am usually the “go-to-gal” when others need financial help or when they need advice (crazy right). YES! i am in my early 40’s and am about to go through my second bankruptcy. money and spending is a huge trigger and inflammant for me. shopping can be dangerous, not always. but a lot of the time. and now with the internet and online shopping – well i’m like ashes smoldering under a massive pile of dry leaves waiting to bring down the house. unfortunately my husband and my adult kids don’t understand bipolar disorder and don’t acknowledge it. this cycle will probably repeat itself for the rest of my life until someone takes my disorder seriously. the sad part is my oldest son has it too and i’m the only one (besides his therapist and doctor) who will acknowledge it. he has since stopped seeing them because he says they don’t know what they are talking about either. he is also deep in debt at the ripe old age of 21 and being an adult there is not much i can do. please – if someone close to you will acknowledge your disorder, talk to them. tell them your triggers if you know them, ask them for help, let them into your thinking processes. they are sometimes random and scary but they can help you get to the right kind of help when you need it and even before you need it.

  7. Hello Dave,,,I too have bipolar,,,with the money issue,,,when I go to shop/browse,,,I leave the credit cards at home and take enough cash for lunch and small not so expensive items,,,this keeps me from the financial crunch,,,I know I have been there before,,,still have the urge to spend but I am trying to devise a plan that helps me at that time,,,maybe this would be of some use to your other readers,,,shelia

  8. My husband has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder since 1973. A few years ago, during a manic episode, he wanted a new car. Long story short, after leasing a new vehicle we couldn’t afford, we returned vehicle two days later; lost the paid for trade-in vehicle, plus the new lased vehicle, ended up having to take out bankruptcy–after having years and years of perfect credit–. This bankruptcy will show on our credit report for a total of 10 years. Also have incurred credit card debt which will take us another 3 yrs and 6 months to pay off. Because of his disease, I myself have become depressed and used spending to mask my feelings. We are 73 and 81, respectively; live on a small fixed income, in a rural area where there is no support group, cannot afford good treatment, etc. Beware, and listen to David’s advice. He is right on….

  9. Dave,

    I truly understand what you are talking about. My husband is bipolar and I have been through the “unexpected charges” everywhere. Credit cards, debt cards, phone bills, cell phone bills, cable TV, sattelite TV, “free” things on the internet that you have to buy something to get something free….been there, done that. Then the medical bills that could have paid with the 1000’s of dollars blown on trival crap.

    I live paycheck to paycheck since he doesn’t work. I work a full time job and a part time job plus run a small business as well… I’m not rich by no means, but truly make enough to keep us happy – if the bipolar episodes never came into play.

    I know I’m far better than a lot of people out there, I look at every bill that comes in and put measures in place so things don’t happen – but you know, I have to stay two steps ahead of him.
    He’s pretty much stable now but things trigger him on occasions.(like my stress from my jobs are like his own) I try to keep things “hidden” information under lock and key, credit cards with me all the time or locked in the car – even at times I hide car keys if he seems to be in the mood to jump in a car, that’s another whole blog comment in itself.

    If I sound like I’m complaining – well, honestly for the most part I’m not. I understand the mental illness, I understand why these “money issues” happen – it’s not easy; it’s just something I have learned to accept and try to always be prepared for them; lets say, I’m always expecting the “unexpected”.

    Who knows what tomorrow brings for us; the bipolar and the supporter alike. We have to use one of the AA slogans, “One day at a time” and that truly is something a bipolar family has to realize – it’s harder for us supporters at times, but in no way on earth would I want to change places with the bipolar.

    For those supporters out there that are new to the game, keep your chins up, do your best to help your bipolar – but ALWAYS remember, your safety, welfare and mental health is as important (if not more so)as theirs – where would they be without you? 🙂

    Have a great day!

    Cindy

  10. David, what a topic!
    Before I became ill, I was very responsible with money management; I paid my bills, used credit cards responsibly, and even had a small savings account (which I think was pretty good for a single mom of two young boys).

    When my illness surfaced, I just lost all control over my spending. In a short time I maxed out both of my major credit cards (on a whim I would take my boys to NYC to see Broadway shows and sightsee; we stayed in nice hotels and ate at nice places, bought as many souvenirs as we wanted,I just went nuts. I took them to the beach every summer, which I couldn’t afford. They were the best dressed kids in town, and had every toy, video game, etc. I gave cash to friends who were in a jam when I was in real trouble myself!And I think that maybe the catalog companies know that bipolar patients are often up late at night and just love to call the 24hr line to order… everything. Stuff I had no use for! Before long, both major credit cards were maxed out, and my minimum payments were, I think, about $350 a month, which was only interest!I made those payments, and then maxed them out again the following month. It got to where I was using my credit cards to buy food; I had no cash after paying my bills and making those huge credit card payments. Eventually I had no choice but to declare bankruptcy (I owed $25,000 on two cards).
    I am much more stable now since I’m on a good med regime and have a wonderful therapist. But I still get hypomanic and call those catalog people in the middle of the night, buying ridiculous things. Now, though, I’m limited to what’s in my checking account (I have no credit cards, thank God, only a debit card). I know that I can never have a credit card again – can’t be trusted.

    I’m on disability (for bipolar) now and have a very limited income. I do manage to pay my bills and my Dr. bills and pay my therapist. But I had a year when I was very sick (physically and mentally) and I owe several thousand on hospital bills and an ambulance bill. There’s no way I can pay them. The debt collectors call constantly; I have caller ID and just don’t pick up the phone, and certainly don’t return calls when any messages are left. They can’t take my house because I don’t own it, and they can’t garnish my SSDI income. Still, it’s anxiety producing and I do have feelings of shame and guilt. My new Dr. admits to a hospital that accepts what Medicare pays (if I should need to be hospitalized). I’m really fairly stable right now, but my problem is that I can’t work and SSDI really doesn’t quite cut it.

    My main piece of advice to anyone with bipolar disorder, stable or in an episode, would be: DON’T have any credit cards. They’re poison in the hands of anyone with bipolar disorder.

    Thank you again, David, for addressing such pertinent topics and for taking the time and energy in the first place because you care about us.

    Love, Susan

  11. I’d like to reply to something that Lani said: She’s so right! Most people think that bipolar patients get into financial trouble while manic, but the other end of the spectrum is also very much involved in this issue. It was because of my severe depression that caused me to lose multiple jobs (so down I just couldn’t get out of bed and lost jobs due to poor attendance – finally my Dr. said it was time to go on disability – my income dropped by 100%). Good point.

  12. Money problems and bipolar is a bad cycle. Since my divorce 10 years ago, when I was debt free, I have filed for bankruptcy twice. My mom tried helping me by opening up a joint bank account, since I couldn’t get one on my own. She just closed saying that I was hurting her credit by bouncing checks. I was on medication for the past 3 years, but went off of it when I was pregnant. I did great through my pregnancy and went back on some of my meds shortly before I delivered to avoid post partum depression. I went into a manic state while on my maternity leave and since I can’t get a bank loan anywhere I started taking out high interest cash loans. Between me and my partner, we had about 10 loans worth about $5000, we were paying $1000 in interest every 2 weeks! I make more $ than my partner so when I was on maternity leave we went deep into a hole. I was desperate, going on line, applying for any loan I could get. I feel into a trap and got scammed by someone in Nigeria. They said they could give me a low interest loan to pay off all my cash loans and I believed them. I paid them a $175 fee (via Western Union-should have been my first clue!) and then of course, the loan didn’t come and they just asked for more money. By then I had already told the cash loans to deduct the principal and interest from my account. This is when my mom closed my joint account. In addition, the bank closed my partners account, as it was also in the negative by thousands of $. What I want to know, Dave, is how can I get your fast cash help without having to pay money out. I am so broke. I make good money and still had to go to the food pantry to get food for my 3 kids and formula and diapers for my baby. Fortunately, my partner is very understanding and knows I was desperate to help our situation. But I’ve been struggling for years to get back on track. 1st it was the drug use after my divorce and the bankruptcies. I’d get back on my feet and lose it all over again. I’ve lost several jobs. This stinks. It makes me feel less normal than everyone around me. I have to put up this front of being a professional when really I feel no better than a white trash drug user. I will probably never own a home or not live check to check. If only the banks realized that they’d have a better chance of collecting money if they lowered the interest rate. The rates are so high, I can’t possibly afford them. Now our phone rings off the hook constantly, including my work phone and cell phone. I already purchased Dave’s help on money, but I’m already doing most of the things on the list so I don’t see how I can cut back from nothing.

  13. My mother was advised by her relatives to keep her financial affairs separate from my dad’s. Any one who is married to, or living with a patient, needs to know their rights as regards credit, and responsibility for contracts signed during the manic episodes. It might be possible to challenge the contract on the basis of temporary insanity, but that could destroy your credit rating. For my father that might not have been such a bad thing. There were always bankers who could be convinced by his stories when he was getting high. None of his relatives were willing to lend to him, and my mother maintained her own bank accounts, and kept her house in her name. It was not part of community property. She did that after several times that my father had moved us all out of decent housing and into a rat hole several times when I was growing up. There was always an attempt to renovate, never completed.(another problem with the way bi-polars do business. The farm is littered with incomplete projects, some almost fifty years later) When this occured, there was always the promise that prosperity and wealth were just around the corner. I always associated money matters after an episode, with a reckoning of the results of what happened during the last high phase, but there was also an element of not working or physical ailment which precluded earning money. That was another nightmare. Any one who finds themselves living with someone like my father, must of necessity discuss with a lawyer ways of controlling their own exposure to his irresponsibility. Most common law jurisdictions have such means.
    An interesting post script to the way the family finances happened as a child, with the more bust than boom, is I deliberately aimed for a steady, if dull job with a pension plan and benefits. While I don’t think that I have inherited the family disease, quite possibly as a reaction I looked for stability in my adult life. Currently there is someone in our area who wants to build a theme park. This idea has come up several times, and gone to the town council for zoning changes andapprovals, but nothing has yet been done. I don’t think that I could be persuaded to invest in such a program, and I hope that the municipality is not taken in, as I think that this venture has all the hallmarks of a bi polar manic episode.(even though I have never met the entrepreneur.

  14. the only time I incured debt was when I was so down I could go anywhere so I live off my credit cards and over draft. which is bad enoungh and hard for me to pay off.

  15. Dear Dave
    My husband is in an episode right now. He has been sence he started going to the casino in Febuary. Once he started going to the casino it through him into an episode. He has spent over $30,000 in 7 monthes. I have tryed to get him to go to the doctor and he wont. He takes an anti-depressant and an angziaty medication. He doesn’t take a mood stabalizer or anything for the manic side. My husband dosn’t work so the only money coming in is my paycheck. I only get payed once a month. The day I got payed he spent my whole check plus $400 more. We are baerly keeping our heads up now and he still wants to go to the casino. I had to have him taken of our checking account and destroyed his ATM card. We have been together for eleven years and untill now he has been very frugile with our money. I just wish I would have found your site much sooner. I am trying to save the money to buy your corse. I have already taken your free one. Thanks for all you do for us. Tonya

  16. My partner has bipolar but only found this out about 5 weeks ago. 2 Months ago he was made bankrupt owing $15,300,000.00 NZD and still climbing. This has also caused me & his ex wife to go bankrupt as well because we went guarentor for him. We lost the house we had at the time, his ex wife & 4 children lost their house & I am currently fighting to keep my home.
    So yep bipolar most definately causes bankruptcy.

  17. My husband put us in debt of more than $300,000 in about 4 months. Now we are having to sell everything to make payments. I mean everything. He bought another house, charged everything to credit cards and borrowed money from my parents. It was so bad he even sold his 2 good trucks now he drives a piece of junk. He has had to sell our personal things and cash bonds and life insurance policies to pay back all the debt he incurred. I know, where was I when all of this was happening? They say in a bipolar episode a person can talk you in to doing anything and he did. He got in trouble with the law too so that cost us a few thousand to get out of that. The doctors are still trying to find out why he is crying all the time. They keep switching his medicine, he goes to therapy, to a physiciatrist and has been admitted to the hospital for a week but nothing helps the crying. Maybe someone out there has had the same thing happen to their loved one and can shed some light on this. Besides being broke, but we are selling houses to pay the bills back, he is still crying. He also had a pituitary tumor removed and cervical disc fusion all in 3 months time. This may be part of the problem but he still is bipolar and that won’t ever go away. If you think it can’t happen to you, you’re wrong. I didn’t think it could happen either but it did. Now we are paying for it together. No vacation, no extras, nothing, but I still have my husband and God in our hearts and that is the most important in life. Thanks, Stuck in the hills of Kentucky

  18. Dave,
    I’ve been getting your emails for a couple months and just wanted to say thanks for doing what you do. I live with my boyfriend – we are both in our mid-late 50’s and his daughter from a very early marriage – she is 39, lives with us now. He had been dealing with her bipolar disease for many years, but maybe actually not dealing with it. His former wife, his mom, and his other former wife have all had to try to deal with the daughter when she has episodes. But they are not willing to do what obviously needs to be done, and that is get this 39 yr. old woman into treatment, and get her to deal with her illness. I am just the roommate who has to deal with this woman who refuses to take her medication, can’t hold a job, loses her car, loses her cellphone, and acts like a 12 yr. old. I feel selfish because she is just “blocking my view”. But my boyfriend tells me to just stay out of it. The only way for me to do anything I’m beginning to belive is to talk to the daughter myself about her situation, and tell her that if she really wants to have a productive life that I will be a sounding board for her, but that it is up to her to find a good doctor and therapist, and to get on medication. She has been on meds in the past but obviously they were not monitored correctly and she did not have the physician and therapist support needed. I will not be a party to a disfunctional situation that noone is willing to face head on. This young woman takes advantage of the fact that noone wants to push her, so it’s just a no win situation. She owns a house but rents it out and lives with us, but comes & goes as her mood suits … I’m sure you’ve heard similar stories. Honestly, I have no desire to be her supporter, but I am willing to bring the issue to a head by stepping in. Otherwise it is obvious that the situation will mean the end of an otherwise “perfect” relationship with my boyfriend.

  19. Been there, done that. Although I have never declared bankruptcy, it still looms in the back of my head.

    Last year, when I decided to “take surveys” to “win” certain products, it required signing up for “free trials,” that sometimes turned into $181/month for EACH one!! I got carried away, and would sign up for these “free trials,” until it got so bad, I had to mortgage my condo to pay off credit card debt. While I was STILL signing up for “free trials” (and NEVER canceling them after the monthly charges started), my boyfriend finally realized what was happening and encouraged me NOT to take my credit cards into my home office. But, NO, I knew BETTER. I could still do the “survey” thing, and not get “caught.” Boy – was I WRONG.

    I ended up re-financing my mortgage to pay off my credit cards, so that now I only have two major ones that I use. I am NOT signing up for any more “free trials,” because we ALL know there’s “no such thing as a free lunch.” I realized I was going deeper and deeper into debt with these “surveys,” and could never complete even ONE because they required your credit card charge AND five friends to sign up and take the survey BEFORE you would be eligible for the “Free” product – cosmetics, anti-aging products, TiVos, 42″ HDTVs, etc. The list went on and on.

    I highly encourage any bipolar sufferer (or their supporter) NOT TO GET ROPED INTO FREE SURVEYS. They usually have “F*ree” in the subject line, so if you see THAT – stay AWAY. NOTHING is free…I learned that the VERY hard way.

    I spenet $1600 in one month on ONE card to erase my overlimit fee; I DON’T HAVE that kind of money. I’m dipping into savings and money markets to pay off the debt.

    I make $1300/month; my mortgage is $800; my condo fee is $250; my med bill is $300; my phone bill (including high-speed internet) is $101; can you see how it doesn’t add up??!!

    For 30 years, I owned and lived in a very nice apartment house in a ritzy neighborhood, and acted as landlady, collecting good rents. I lived in the “style to which I had become accustomed.” My mother was alive for about 20 of those years, and sometimes bailed me out of high gas or electric bills. I don’t have her anymore. At that time, I could keep my head above water, and afford most of what I needed and some of what I wanted.

    Now, I live in a condo, alone, on Social Security Disability and a small pension from my late husband. I don’t have the rents anymore, and I DO miss them. I have had to change brands of cigarettes that cost half of what I was paying; cancel recurring charges for things I really don’t need; and stop loaning/giving money to “friends” who use it for drugs. I have stopped giving to my favorite charities, and, besides paying off the rest of my credit cards, only pay my tithe to my church.

    You don’t have to be IN an episode to be BAD with money. I thought I was doing something RIGHT with the surveys, but they dug me a grave instead. I can’t even go INTO how I spend money in a hypermanic or manic episode – it’s too humiliating…

    Personally, I don’t know ANY bipolar who is GOOD with money, either in an episode or not. But -I am trying. My boyfriend says he cannot bail me out in a bankruptcy, and I believe him. I have no one to go to for help in such a situation. I just have to watch my money, and cut what I can…

    BIG HUGS and God’s blessing on you all.

  20. My husband decided that I was being unreasonable when I told him that he needed to watch his spending. He would go into an episode and go out with his friends for a couple of hours to play pool. He would “foot the tab” for his friend’s games, drinks, food, etc. When his credit card statment would come in with $200 charges he would get upset with me. Which upset me more since I was the one losing sleep over how to pay all of the bills.

    Well we were separated for 6 months and during that time he was able to rack up $5,000 in credit card debt and lose his job. When his friend’s realized he didn’t have anymore money, they stopped being “cool.”

    Over the next 1 1/2 years, he racked up another $22,000 on games, alcohol, etc. that his friends were going to “pay him back” for later.

    Well, I got a call the other day that one of his credit card companies was trying to put a lien on my house. I WENT THROUGH THE ROOF!!!!

    So, anyone who thinks that people don’t go bankrupt when they have Bipolar disorder and have a “live for today” thought pattern they are wrong.

  21. SOOOOOOO TRUE!!!!!!
    We are currently foreclosing on our home. We have to move in with my parents and we are having both our cars repoed all within the last 6 months from my husbands bipolar. This is because he went into a crazy manic spending spree doing stuff with our money and then stopped working and now just got out of the hospital from a suicide attempt.

  22. Reading your statements on bankruptcy sure hit home. I have a teen with bipolar who has IED’s, (Imediate Expolsive Disorder). I am
    thankful that I didn’t have to claim bankruptcy but I do live from pay chek to pay check replacing things that get distroyed
    during one of these episodes. I can
    relate to how expensive this disorder is. I work forty hours a week and make good money but never have any due to the fact of replacing things, ( walls, windows, doors, tv’s etc:) that has gotten busted up during an episode. He has an episode at least once a week and speaking from
    experience I do relate to how expensive this can get. I have been
    dealing with it for over fourteen years.

    Sara

  23. Hi Dave i have bipolar and i want to say u have hit home. I just finished my second bankruptsy. I hope with keeping up on reading ur emails i can understand some of the things I do.

  24. My daughter has bipolar but doesn’t have the spending problem. She worries constantly about paying the bills, staying employed.Currently she is an RN…yes she got through nursing school in spite of the bipolar but now can’t find a hospital job because she is not assertive enough. This causes the worry to increase greatly. She has bills and meds aren’t cheap. If she loses insurance she can’t afford them at all. She lives in Florida. Does anyone know if they have a good community health program there for mental health?

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