Don't Believe the Lie That Your Mental Illness will Doom You to Poverty and Mediocrity

This is a topic may seem a bit out of place. In this post I discuss ways to cure your financial difficulties, which I feel is a critical part of recovery from a serious mental illness

Photo by John Doe on Unsplash

Early on in life, I was good with math. Some could have even said gifted, and there were many high hopes for my future. One thing I remember about elementary school math was that I wanted to keep my position of being the smartest kid in my class and so one night I added up what 60 plus 60 was. Of course, it was 120, but in my overactive mind just knowing that base equation was enough to make me shine. 60 is such an interesting number. I think it was the Sumerians, an ancient race that used 60 as its base number. I am not 100% certain, but I think these roots was what caused us to have 360 degrees on a compass, and 60 seconds to a minute and so on. If you are in school still and struggling, possibly due to your mental illness, I encourage you to give yourself a leg up and study odd equations. I once found a book in the library that taught many math secrets like how the best way to multiply something by five is to divide the number by two and add a zero. Spending time to memorize equations can put you that little bit ahead of what your classmates know, and it just may motivate you to work hard enough to stay in that desired position.

Again, when I was in elementary school, I had lotteries pretty much figured out—I felt they were a game for suckers. A million people buy a ticket for one dollar, then when the winner is chosen, the lottery company pays the prize out over 20 years in increments. What they do is simply keep the original million and pay the winner off the interest of the million, literally creating a million out of nothing. Of course, there is much more to it than that. Mostly governments run lotteries to benefit charities, but early on I saw that it was so much better to host a game than to just be a player in it, having anywhere from 1 in 10 to 1 in a million chances to benefit.

Early on in high school, I had a very smart friend who had a dad who wanted him to succeed in life. His dad helped him buy a house when he was just 15 which he rented out and maintained with the help of his dad. By the time he was done school, thanks to his dad, he had most of his mortgage paid off and had a lot more options in life than most students who finish school deeply in debt.

Basically, I wanted to write this blog to explain how with ideas like the above and a few other suggestions, that even people with a mental health disability can build a prosperous life for themselves. Sadly though, many people with illnesses like schizophrenia need years of their life to find the right medications and adjust to them. I think though, that if the person with the illness has hope for a future that is more than just hearing voices and not wanting to socialize or even have the greatest of hygiene habits, they are more likely not to add to the horrendous amount of people living with schizophrenia who take their own lives. Things can get better. Things will get better. Life is always worthwhile, and it can be so important to look at the benefits to living with a mental illness. For me, it allowed me the heaps of free time it took to find something I truly loved doing—writing. Writing opened so many doors for me.

So, I just wanted to briefly touch on how a person can get ahead financially in Canada. We have a program called RDSP or Registered Disability Savings Plan. With this program, you can put away a hundred or two hundred dollars a month and the government will not only match some of it but will give you a grant. You can’t take the money out for 10 years or you will lose the extra you were given, but you can contribute up to age 49, and I believe you can start contributing at 18. If you put a little money into this plan and forget about it, by 60 you will be wealthy enough to travel the world or buy a fancy car. You can even take the money from your first couple of years and put a downpayment on a house. There is much more to be said about finances in Canada, but many of you know about these. Feel free to contact me with any questions though, a number of programs aren’t well advertised.

So, you live in the US. You are having trouble making ends meet. Maybe you live with your parents, maybe you are on your own. Above all, the most important thing is your physical and mental health. Make sure you see your Psychiatrist regularly. Make sure you get your annual check-ups with your MD and that you take special precautions with your dental hygiene. One of the things psychiatric medication does is give you dry mouth, and saliva is our first line of defence against cavities. You do not want to let your teeth go, eating is one of the most important and basic pleasures of life, and needing a lot of dental work is the fastest way to go broke.

So, if you live with your parents, you should still try to get benefits for your disability. Where I live we have a great program called Aish. It covers most medical expenses, dental bills, ambulance rides, and makes life easier for those who get it. But it can be very difficult to get on and once you get on, even your social worker will tell you not to go off of it, because the second time around it just gets harder.

So, the reality is, if you live with schizophrenia or really any major disorder, it is very hard to hold down a job. There are ways to get money though. You may or may not be able to donate blood or plasma. For a few reasons, I don’t recommend trying to donate sperm to an infertility clinic, but for some it is an option. Then there are studies put on at university research centres where you could do a simple task and get paid for it. This can be an ideal situation as these studies are often low-stress and well paid. I wish I could remember the website, but with some creative google searching you should be able to find some of the studies that pay well, and may be a perfect fit. I can’t tell you how to spend your money after that, but just remember that the only person who is truly able to take care of you as an older person perhaps unable to work or volunteer at all, is you right now. There will be a time ahead when you may need a bunch of money for yourself or for a loved one. Maybe you will want to be able to buy a condo or a car at some point. The way I have become is, I shop at the cheapest grocery stores, buy mostly generic products, and refuse to even eat at McDonald’s because it is so much more expensive than eating at home. Even if I travel, I don’t stay in Hotels, but stay in Hostels because with Hostels you can cook your own food and save a bundle.

The next thing I wanted to talk about is smoking. You may or may not smoke cigarettes. If you do, I am not going to say you are stupid and should quit. I smoked for 18 years and I loved smoking. But it was starting to take a toll on my health. I was incredibly fortunate that the mental health clinic I went to had a stop smoking program which included counsellors, a psychiatrist who specialized in addictions, a support group and even a pharmacist to learn how to use the stop smoking aids. I did manage to quit, and now 21 years later I am very glad I quit, though I do miss cigarettes, but I have a bunch of money in the bank I would have never had if I didn’t quit. If you vape, I strongly urge you not to think of it as a safe alternative to cigarettes. Some studies indicate it is worse, and there is still a mental, physical, and financial cost. Ask yourself what your dreams are… do you want your own house, where you could have friends or a spouse as a co-habitant? Do you want to one day move to Hawaii? These are possible dreams, they just require some discipline and resilience. They also may require time and effort.

Above many of these suggestions, no matter what age you are, I strongly suggest that you attend and finish a post-secondary education. This could mean the trades, it could mean engineering or psychology. Studies prove that people who attend post-secondary make more money over the course of their lives compare to those who don’t. If you have to take the courses part-time, do it. I went to speak to a class once and a young woman who was struggling with mental illness bought copies of my books. Ten years later she contacted me to tell me she had read the books over and over, and though it took ten years, she got her degree and wanted to invite me to her graduation party. I couldn’t have been more proud, and I should say that this young woman now owns her own business making excellent money providing respite care to caregivers within the health system. College/University is possible. I have heard of cases of people with schizophrenia who have become psychiatrists. Then there is Bethany Yeiser, who has now written two books and is the founder of CureSZ, an organization that serves people with schizophrenia and their families.

The other suggestion I wanted to put out there is that if you are a caregiver of someone with a mental illness, encourage them to work part-time or even full-time. If they have tried many times and are just unable, encourage them to apply for benefits. But charge them rent and consult with books such as “I’m Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help” by Dr. Xavier Amador to find the best way to partner with your loved one. I feel that small victories should be celebrated. Perhaps your loved one could do one different household chore each day with Sunday off. Gently build their trust and make sure they are taking their medications. I also suggest you charge your loved one rent. If at all possible though, put some or all of the money aside for when either it is badly needed, or for a possible major purchase such as a car, condo, trailer, house.

It is hard to say what the best thing to do with money that has been saved is. I currently have a financial advisor who knows all the ins and outs of what I can and can’t do with my disability pension. I also have a few stocks, one of them mirrors the S&P 500. Historically the S&P has done very well, returning excellent interest. It is basically a combination of the 500 biggest companies in the US. If a company fails to perform, it drops off the list and is replaced with a better stock. Warren Buffett, known as the world’s greatest investor, strongly recommends it as a good solid way of building wealth over time. There are important things to remember about it though. One is, there may be times when it will go down, sometimes even a lot. it is important to keep holding the stock or exchange-traded fund and to keep adding to it when it goes down. When you do this, you average out the amount you contribute, making it an even more stable investment. Historically, the S&P 500 has always recovered from a serious loss to grow even further than where it left off. But I do recommend finding a financial planner you are comfortable with to tailor a portfolio that meets your needs and goals.

So basically, what I would like to say is that someone living with a serious mental illness shouldn’t count themselves out of the race. I was very ill at 18 and there was little even psychiatrists and hospitals could do for me. But my parents never gave up on me, even when I was difficult to be around and wasn’t always taking my proper medications. I pushed myself to get an education, and after a while started working again, first at a job where I could study (security guard) while working, then I found work in my field. I started out teaching creative writing and wellness classes, did a lot of volunteer work to build my resume, and eventually started saving and investing. Now I write every day, I have no major money issues, and I own a car outright and have settled into an apartment that is subsidized. My parents have both passed away, but they taught me so much despite having troubles of their own. Perhaps the most important thing they taught me is to listen to the advice of people who can prove they know what they are talking about. One of my closest friends is a very successful engineer and he told me about a simple little book, just over 100 pages called “The Richest Man in Babylon” which laid a foundation for me to educate myself, work hard, save a little, buy proper insurance, and who to seek out for investing advice. Check out the brief summary of this wonderful book below.

Without the wisdom and kindness my parents and friends have shown me, I don’t know if I would be doing as well as I am now. I hope all of my readers can learn from this post, and I encourage anyone with questions, or even suggestions to message me in the chat.

I just wanted to leave you with the tidbit of information which is that, people living with schizophrenia often are out of the workforce for a number of years after diagnosis, but eventually, even as much as 15 years later, they often return to work and lead full, rich lives.