Financial difficulties and COVID-19
I wanted to write about financial difficulties and COVID-19.
There have been a number of people who have been affected
financially by COVID-19. Those who live alone and been affected could have
dramatically been impacted. Others have one or all family members losing their
job because of closures of businesses or health issues.
My situation is that pre covid my cost of living was
decreased because when I had to work in London I would stay with my parents. I
would book my travel at off-peak times and only have to cover transport to the
office and back to my parents. My mum would drive me to and from the train
station. Because of this, my cost of living was lower as my parents covered
food etc. COVID-19 meant that I had to stay in Kent and having to spend more
money on living. I then got screwed by a supermarket. There was a screw up on
the website and they would not refund me money for not getting my food. This
then put me behind on bills which then cost me a lot of sanity. It took me 3
weeks to get a refund and I was living on one meal a day because I could not
afford food and was relying on my food parcels. I tried to get myself out of
the hole I was in. It did not happen. I have now had to go into an IVA. I am
now having to learn again how not to live on my credit cards. This will help me
out in the long run but has been a constant concern.
The point of this post is not to get sympathy. It is to encourage
everyone to seek help if they are struggling. Financial problems are something
that we see as a taboo to talk about. We consider it so difficult to discuss
and it can have a dramatic impact on your mental wellbeing.
In this unprecedented time, we need to be kinder to
ourselves. If COVID-19 has put you in a bad situation physically, mentally, or
financially then ask for help. There is absolutely no shame in asking for help.
It is important that you look after yourself. For me, I did not ask for help. I
tried to sort it out myself but got deeper into problems. By the end of 2020, I
was crying almost every day. I wish I asked for help sooner.
Please if you need help seek it.
Comments
Post a Comment