u/Avery-Attack

I'm not looking for diets to try or anything, but I have been trying to lose weight/eat healthier and it's been a struggle.

I've started taking meds again which mess with my appetite, making what was already difficult even worse. Remembering to eat, finding the right times to eat, and of course breaking out of the comfort food zone to eat something actually good for me are a constant struggle. I'll go most of the day without eating then remember that's something I need to do, but since I still don't have an appetite I just go for my comfort foods (things like tacos and delivery).

Has anyone got suggestions on managing this sort of thing?

I finally sat down and did the math for last month's finances and I managed to actually earn more than I spent! I was $27 in the positive! Which doesn't look great on paper, but it's pretty good for me. I put my credit card debt into a debt management plan, so I'm hoping to see that number rise as I adjust to my new financial plan.

It was good to see a win cause my debit card was compromised and our grocery store doesn't take any mobile pay, so I've had to DoorDash the past week way more than I'd like to. On the upside, I'm so sick of fast food I won't be tempted for a while, lol!

I've been a part of this sub for over a year by now and haven't even managed a full week of no-buy. Well, I finally got on my ADHD meds again and am starting to take steps to at least get my spending under control!

I finally gave up on paying my credit card bill on my own. So I signed up for a debt management plan. I have to pay a little extra, but it cuts out interest entirely, so it will actually cost less money in the long run. It also means my actual credit card account is completely closed to me so there is no temptation to spend what I put in and no unexpected charges. I put off doing this because it felt humiliating, frankly. But actually doing it, it isn't embarrassing at all. The people I've talked to have been so genuine about just helping without judgement. They're also working with me to set up a budget. No more arbitrary self-set rules that are easy to rethink or break!

But for the budget I've been tracking my purchases, writing every single one down the day I buy it. I alternate colored pens by day and that makes it more fun! And I found some patterns.

I spend the most money (WAY too much) the week after I get my paycheck. I think it's the dopamine of having money again and a scarcity mindset making me feel if I don't get what I want NOW then I won't have another chance, which is rarely the case (I did grab a sticker set the day before it was taken off the creator's store, so it does happen sometimes). Then the second week I have no money and don't spend and...I can't see any difference in my mood. So the spending isn't giving me any long-term joy.

I used to spend a lot of money on mobile games and apps. I've got that mostly under control. I only allow myself a single game at a time and they only money I spend on it is no ads or one of the monthly benefits. I do find I backslide if I spend even 99 cents that isn't in those restrictions. Example: literally just today. I gave in, spent around $20, but now see where the danger is.

DoorDash remains my mortal enemy. I've been working on cutting back and have, a bit. Last week I only got delivery twice, which is good for me.

Amazon got me bad this time. It's tough to get just one thing, but most of them are things I actually use this time.

I work with someone who works at Walmart (I do employment assistance at work sites) and god is it hard to not spend at work. It's one of my largest expenses and the past week I got a set of summer pajamas (I'd consider that a necessity because it gets HOT at night) but then also got some art supplies I didn't need.

Obviously a big issue with those two is the tendency to spend more money than I have to. I needed a new pill caddy so went to Amazon and also got hand lotion keychains, lip balm keychains (I have trouble remembering to use both those things and figured a keychain would make it easier and so far that's true...but did I need them NOW? No. Could I have waited until a week I didn't also buy jammies? Yes.), and a coloring book I had no reason to get other than I wanted to. Same thing with the art supplies. I needed summer jammies so I stop sweating through to the sheets and making my dry skin even more irritated and I needed wrist braces for bed for my worsening carpal tunnel. I DIDN'T need art supplies or a big case of Sunny D.

So, now I know what to really watch for. It's a small thing, but it feels like a win just knowing and starting to understand my patterns. Just telling myself tk "not buy" wasn't enough and it took me over a year to realize. It isn't that I'm not capable, I just didn't fully understand before!

I’m in the process of filling out applications for student loans and one of them was immediately rejected for not having a FICO score. I’ve never heard of a FICO before, so I did some searching and went through Experian to try and find what’s going on. Sure enough, I don’t have a FICO. In fact, when I put in my info and they looked me up they had my address from 2010. I haven’t lived there since I was 14. Thing is, I don’t know why.

I’m 30 years old, been paying rent and had my name on bills since 2015 and had a credit card since 2020. My personal credit score is slightly above average. Everything I’ve found says that the main reason someone doesn’t have a FICO is because they don’t have a credit card or score or have only had one for six months. I’m having no luck figuring out what to do from here, so I figured I should try asking actual people. Any help would be greatly appreciated!