Chronic illness can be a burden on your wallet. A HUGE burden. The reality… my wallet is filled with plastic, and that’s about all it is. Plain ol’ plastic imprinted with a bank name. I think they are worth more than the sum total of my bank account. Every appointment I go to comes with negotiating a balance that exceeds my net worth, which is a fairly depressing experience if I’m honest. It creates an initial moment of anxiety—a kind of panic when the first bills appear, but then more bills appear and the anxiety tips over into the “meh” and some comforting adage about blood from stone. Still I’m glad they no longer have debtor’s prison or indentured servitude.
I’m on social security disability. It took years, three rejections, multiple hospitalizations and a death sentence before I got it. And it’s about $900 a month, which is a big win as I’ve known other individuals earning less than this. And frustratingly, there are politicians and ignorant individuals who think people fake disability so they don’t have to work because it’s a surefire way to make it “rich”. Obviously it doesn’t. Right now I carry a medical debt that requires my paying about $600 a month into a debt management program. Ouch.
Debt management has made a huge difference in that I’m still making payments so no collection calls. But the biggest difference—they call my creditors. It’s like having an assistant to handle all the awkward moments of your life. When I had to contact creditors it would come with a paralyzing fear I’d promise my first born before the call was over. Now I just go online, enter their information and hit “add creditor” and poof!: Some wonderful person in some other state calls and negotiates a reasonable monthly amount. And I get to keep my first born or my dog, since I don’t have a child.
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