First things first, when leaving rehab and entering either some recovery house or you're returning home, you most likely need to get a job to pay any bills or financial responsibilities. No one lives a free life. We all have some expenses to pay. After all, we are adults, whether we're struggling with an addiction or not. It's time for us to start acting accordingly to our society.
Being a productive member of society is something we all hear in the rooms. What does that even mean to us? Many new to recovery have no clue how to manage money once we realize we have access to more than we're used to handling. Some don't have any idea what to do with it, and many claim to gain a tremendous about of anxiety and fear that we may mess up once we make enough to sustain a good run. What do we do once we start to earn our own money again? How can we trust ourselves to be capable enough to budget ourselves?
Getting a job. We need to focus on some form of responsibility when we're at the beginning of our recovery. Learning to remain accountable at a place of work helps when it comes to personal achievements. The more you do, the better you'll feel. The more hard work you put into something, the more you get out of it. The same goes for recovery!
Practice Budgeting. The minute we have money, and we're not buying drugs, we start to think of everything we could've bought with the money we used to get high. So, we begin to buy things that aren't worth it just because we can. I know it's exciting to buy the next PlayStation, but you need to start looking at the bigger picture. Saving up is of immense value because what if you don't have a car yet? Or you need to be saving up for a repair? It's things like that that make us out to become successful. We need to start saving for when things happen. It's the responsible thing NOT to spend our first paycheck in three days. Trust me; I've done it.
What do we do if you can't trust yourself just yet with money? Some tips I've learned throughout the years of recovery and money management are if I'm not comfortable with what I'm earning, I'll give it to a family member or friend that I trust wholeheartedly. I also have two checking accounts to this very day. One is for all the money I'm expecting to save with my recent paycheck, and the other is money I'm able to spend. We can't forget that debt and stress can lead to relapse. We don't want to get ourselves in a deep hole that we can't get ourselves out. Also, another great ti is to avoid ATM and credit cards! There are prepaid cards and many avenues to practice safe spending!
We need to learn how to separate our needs from our wants when beginning to manage our money in early recovery. Money can be a significant trigger for some. After all, it is the sole entity that gets us high in the end. Learning to grasp the severity of the need for financial stability is crucial to our survival in a sense. If spending starts to increase, then that could be a sign of mental relapse, and you should catch it before it gets worse. Early recovery can be difficult all on its own without the stress of having to deal with money problems. It would be best if you kept it under wraps before it escalates because I've seen it escalate. As long as you learn to trust yourself and take suggestions from your peers, you'll be well on your way to a healthy financial situation! Happy Recovery!