Money is often a trigger for people in treatment for addiction, alcoholism, and co-occurring disorders. The minute money became available during active addiction, there was an immediate ability to buy more drugs and alcohol. Many addicts and alcoholics resort to actions and behaviors which they would never otherwise have participated in if it weren’t for their desperate financial need to support their addiction. Drugs and alcohol, in the high quantities needed to sustain addiction, can be costly, especially depending on the drug of choice. Synthetic drugs are cheap, but when need constantly in high amounts, they can be costly. Heroin, cocaine, and higher end drugs can increase in price depending on purity. Alcohol can be cheap, but costly when needed in high volume. In addition to the cost of substances themselves there are other costs to consider like paraphernalia, food, water, paying for a home or a car, paying for a phone, and possibly paying for repeat visits to the emergency room, legal problems, and more.
Learning to manage finances is an often overlooked part of recovery. During the early months of recovery in treatment, many addicts and alcoholics are learning to manage their money for the first time. Learning to transcend impulse to buy for emotion, compensation, or craving, is important. Long term thinking, or delaying instant gratification, is counter intuitive for those who have lived with an extremely impulsive, gratification-seeking disorder. At Cypress Lake Recovery, part of our life skills training and therapy includes financial education, providing financial literacy, tips for financial management, and strategies for saving money. Our clients learn to:
- Save a portion of their paychecks to a savings account
- Set up a savings account with an automatic transfer either weekly or monthly
- Work with HR departments to automatically split a paycheck into savings and checking accounts
- Create a manageable budget and regularly update the budget
- Set a limit on credit card spending that reflects income and savings
- Participate in financial “detox” periods without using credit cards, avoiding “luxury spending” and tracking every dollar spent
- Use diet and nutrition as a way to emphasize the need to budget
We pride ourselves in offering excellence in addiction treatment. The residential treatment programs at Cypress Lake Recovery approach mind, body, and spirit, in order to sustain full recovery. Our goal is to help clients find balance, confidence, and rejuvenation while gaining the necessary skills for lifelong abstinence. Call us today at 866-217-2636.
