Money.

[icebluenothing]

Found in a Metafilter thread:

"Financial Phobia is a psycho-social syndrome which causes individuals to avoid cognitive engagement with the management of their personal finances. Sufferers experience negative emotions of anxiety, guilt, boredom, or feelings of lack of control when dealing with money matters, resulting in lack of vigilance -- and in the worst cases complete avoidance -- in this area."

.... I have, sitting next to me at my desk, a briefcase I can barely close any more, full of unopened bank statements, bills, and other artifacts of adult autonomy. Every few months, if I happen to have a little money, it dimly occurs to me that I should pay a bill or two before vital services to my home are shut off. I'll open the briefcase, stack the bills by kind (i.e., electric in one pile, phone in another, and so on), and sort them by stamp-cancellation date. I open the most recent one and pay it; I throw the older ones away, still unopened, and put everything else back in the briefcase.

It's a system, I suppose. It breaks down every now and then, mind you. One time, my electricity and phone service were both shut off on the same day. In the middle of a dead-cold winter. I had to go to a pay phone to ask retcon and treebyleaf to put me up somewhere with heat for the night.

Oh, I also frequently get statements from investment services my parents set me up with when I was a kid. I open these every now and then, squint at their arcana for a while uncomprehendingly, then they go in the briefcase. Or possibly somewhere in my filing cabinet. I forget.

I'm neither proud nor ashamed of all this; it's just my life, that's all.

Comments

[grace-batmonkey.livejournal.com]

You pay bills (or not) precisely the same way I do.

Huh.

And that whole "phobia" description is almost a snapshot of how I feel about the whole money thing. Weird.

[calandria.livejournal.com]

Ummm wow...you mean I'm not the only one with this problem? That sounds exactly like me, except that in addition I spend what money I have with no recolection of how I spent it till I look at a recipt on go "oh yeah"

[rimrunner.livejournal.com]

I'm disorganized about paying bills, but that's because my office is also my writing desk. Right now, I can see bits of the desktop in spots. It's a good week.

I used to spend a lot less time thinking about financial stuff, but paradoxically having a financial advisor has caused me to think about it more. Like: what is this investment tool he's selling me, and will it work as advertised? What, in fact, am I buying? A little light bulb went on when he explained to me what a bond is.

Sometimes I think financial things are deliberately set up to be confusing. Ever tried reading an annual report? There are entire books to tell you how to do it.

Personally I think people should be involved in their finances and understand them, but I also think that if it works for you, then that's cool. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I find this stuff interesting regardless of whether I have money in it, which is something I get from my father.

If not knowing about money bothers you, there are ways to learn--I guess that's what I'm saying. It's easier than you'd think. But if it doesn't bother you, then why worry.

[deliciouspear.livejournal.com]

OOO!

OOOOoooo!

It's my life too!

Only, I don't have a briefcase.

~Squee

Me too

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

I don't like dealing with my finances. I'm very lucky in the fact that The Husband is very, very good at looking after such things; as long as he tells me we're fine, I don't worry about it.

It's vaguely reassuring to know that it's not just *my* issue, though.