It’s probably in the wrong section, but I do seldom go on this app I still don’t know how to use it. I’m struggling because despite fairly long period of sobriety (12 years) there are many crucial areas where nothing improves. In fact, financially I’m worse off now than I was when I was drinking (I was a bartender and doing pretty well back then). I can’t get out of debt and have no skills when it comes to managing personal finances. I’m not sure why I’m writing this, but it’s night and things just dawned on me, so I’m asking myself: I’m better but am I really?
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Seems like the right section to me. I’ve been struggling to beat my own addiction in part because it was a coping mechanism that helped me deal with other underlying issues. Getting sober didn’t make those issues go away, and I had to find better ways to deal with those things before I could really get sober. Obviously not the same, but getting better in one area of life doesn’t inherently fix all of the others. Easy to believe that addiction is the source of all of our problems, but it isn’t.
Anyway, that rambling aside, have you looked into expanding your earning potential (trade school, additional schooling, whatever) or into courses covering personal finance (Dave Ramsey has one—it’s kind of obnoxious and overbearing, but it can be a great way to learn how to handle your finances responsibly if you’re clueless, even if you only stick with the minutia of the program for a few months)? Financially, it seems simple, but you want money in > money out. A good first step in that process is figuring out how much is coming in and going out. I used to keep a spreadsheet with every one of my bank accounts, and I would go through them all on a monthly basis just to see what I was spending money on—it’s kind of shocking how much there is. But you can start by figuring out what your monthly income and MANDATORY expenses are. Then take a month or two and try to stick to those mandatory expenses and don’t buy anything else. Figure out how much it costs you just to live. Spending can also be an addiction, and just like alcohol, you can give it up.
Don’t know if any of that will be helpful, but hopefully it’ll get you pointed in the right direction. Good luck! You got sober. You can figure your personal finances out, too.