Spending sprees are a hallmark of mania. Trust me, I know this. I am intimately familiar with this. When I am manic, consequences go away. Can I afford $400 in clothes? No, but we have overdraft protection on our bank accounts, so it'll just go negative balance and charge $100 in fees to pay next time around. My Bipolar mind shrugs it off and thrills in watching each article of clothing pass over the scanner at the check out. Beep. Beep. Beep.
My spending sprees are not always on myself, mind you. Bipolar people in mania are frequently quite generous in their spending sprees, buying things for people around them. It's almost like a gambling high, spending when you're manic. You become almost frenzied in watching the cashier pack the plastic bags full of goodies.
So, can you manage finances when you're bipolar?
Yes.
It's tricky, but it can be done.
The first thing you need to do is have someone else around in your life that can help you with your finances. This can be someone at your bank, a friend, a relative, a spouse/partner...anyone that can objectively view your finances and tell you when you're careening off into unwise territory.
Here are some detailed steps on how I manage finances while Bipolar (I currently manage my family's finances, and do well with the following steps):
1. Enlist the support of your bank. This may not be possible as some banks are rude are don't give a shit about their customers. Skip this step if this is you. My bank is super helpful and friendly (they've gotten tons of overdraft fees from us when I've been on manic spending binges...keeping them in their Mercedes I guess). I told them I have Bipolar disorder and tend to go to on wild shopping sprees, which they said they had noticed on my account. I asked that large purchases be phoned into my husband before they go through. It's embarrassing at the check out line for me if a purchase is placed on hold or denied, but it keeps me from spending hundreds of dollars.
2. When you're feeling Mania come on, even hypomania, turn in all credit and debit cards and checkbooks to your safe person. My safe person is my husband. When I am feeling spendy, or he notices I am spending more than usual on random things, I turn over my access to our bank accounts. My husband will dispense cash to me as I need it for necessary items like food, gas, etc. You can also do this using the envelope system by having your safe person withdraw X amount of dollars to put in an envelope for you to use that week. Once the money is out, it's out. When you're past the manic phase and feeling more normal, you receive back your cards and checkbooks and continue on. You can also use a prepaid card in much the same way. Once X amount of dollars is loaded on the card, that's what you've got for the rest of the week.
3. Avoiding big sale events in your favorite stores. Even if I am not feeling manic at the moment, big sale events at my favorite stores like Target can trigger a manic state in me. Bright lights, cheerful music, and tons and tons of wonderful things all laid out like a spending feast. I can enter feeling relatively calm, but the atmosphere makes me excitable and reckless. Even thought I love sales and getting a good bargain, I typically stay away from big sales. They trigger something in me that quickly becomes overwhelming.
4. Take a safe person with you if you feel manic but need to do some shopping. I will typically take my husband. He is low-key, but will speak up if I am getting too caught up in the moment.
5. Make a list and stick to it, no matter what. If you don't have a safe person to help you with your finances and you are feeling manic, make a list. Make it very specific. For example, if you need to buy socks, don't just write "socks." Write "1 package of ten-count white socks." If you need laundry detergent, write "1 bottle of Tide laundry detergent." Write all over your list "DO NOT BUY ANYTHING BUT THESE THINGS." Avoid sections where you do not need to go. Do not browse. Go directly to the things on your list. Takes cash with you to cover expenses so you are less likely to buy extra things.
These five steps have helped me reduce my manic spending sprees and lessen the financial impact on my family. I am currently in charge of my family's finances and am in charge of paying bills, making sure money is in the correct accounts, doing the grocery shopping, etc. I have bumps along the road. I spent way to much on makeup this month, which we did not need to do. I am currently in a hypomanic state, but I have some safeguards in place which include taking cash for groceries and leaving my debit card at home, or using my safe person (husband). But, all in all, I have been successfully managing my family's finances for about 6 months, and we have done well. So managing finances while you're Bipolar is definitely possible. You just need to have a plan set in place for different possibilities,
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