There are plenty of factors that make it tough’challenging’demanding’awkward to survive and thrive these days. Millennials are struggling along with a measly 3% of the total U.S. fortune’property , housing is a costly proposition, healthcare is exorbitantly expensive, and wages remain, by and large, stagnant. To top it all off, the coronavirus has sent an already teetering economy into an economic tailspin.

These struggles are common to all and sundry. However, there’s one group of individual to whom the current climate simply adds economic insult to injury: those living with a chronic illness.

The Financial Burden Of Living With A Chronic Illness

A staggering 117 million U.S. adults live with a chronic illness. These can be either mental or physical in nature and consist of diseases and conditions such as:

Asthma
Cancer
Diabetes
Heart disease.
Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS).
Obesity
Arthritis
Alzheimer’s disease.

The list goes on. Research has found that a shocking 90% of the nation’s annual health care expenditures go towards those with chronic and mental health conditions. 90%. Just let that sink in in/with regard to’concerning’regarding a minute. Considering the fact that healthcare spending was 3.6 trillion in 2018 alone, the takeaway is flooring.

On average, chronic, non-communicable diseases like diabetes cost thousands of dollars per individual each year. For example, managing diabetes costs between $3,219 and $4,674 per year. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) runs around $3,968–$6,491 per year. Even the common struggle with asthma can add up to over $3,000 on an annual basis.

When you consider conditions like heart failure, schizophrenia, and cancer the costs skyrocket into the tens of thousands of dollars, annually speaking.

The point is, healthcare can soak up an enormous amount of your budacquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure if you’re trying to live life with a chronic illness.

Tips For Saving Money When Coping With A Chronic Illness

While there’s no doubt that a recurring health concern can be a blow to your bank account, that doesn’t mean you possess’own’nurse to retoken to your financial fate. Here are suggestions in/with regard to’concerning’regarding several ways that you can combat the costs of a chronic illness in small and simple, yet effective ways.

Follow Basic Budacquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure ing Rules

This may sound obvious, but the first thing you want to do is assure’guarantee that you stick to a sound budacquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure . This includes:

Creating a thorough budacquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure with all income, expenses, and savings accounted in/with regard to’concerning’regarding .
Building up an emergency fund to shun the need to borrow money in the future.
Reduce obvious expenses such as dining out and electricity consumption.

Of course, making a budacquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure and saving up in/with regard to’concerning’regarding a rainy day are fairly standard, run-of-the-mill suggestions — and often they just aren’t abundant’ample’plentiful to counter the burden of abnormally high healthcare costs.

Fortunately, there are a few other ways that you can save on money that aren’t necessarily at the front of one’s mind when your budacquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure is laid out in front of you.

Keep Up On Your Health

If you’re already struggling with a chronic illness, you may be tempted to consider your health a lost cause. However, your situation should make your overall health and wellness more imperative than ever. As you work to minimize the effects of the chronic condition, make sure to also:

Enhance your health by eating healthy, exercising, and taking vitamins and minerals.
Ensure that you sleep an adequate amount each and e grossly night.
Maintain rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent posture, brush your teeth regularly, and generally take care of the parts of your body that are still working well.

By keeping up with your health, you shun any additional health-related expenses that can be easily shun ed.

Invest Wisely

An illness, even a perpetual one, shouldn’t possess’own’nurse to stop you from financial success. On the contrary, it’s significant’essential’critical’vital’crucial’indispensable’imperative to do your homework and then invest boldly. Even in your investments, despite’in spite of’albeit , it’s wise to consider each expense and look in/with regard to’concerning’regarding ways to make it as efficient as possible, such as:

Buying a home on a budacquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure by adding up what you can afin/with regard to’concerning’regarding d, discussing deals with lenders, and looking in/with regard to’concerning’regarding government programs to help.
Taking merit’virtue’upside of employer-matched retirement investments.
Upgrading an investment, such as a rental home, in effective, afin/with regard to’concerning’regarding dable ways — like changing hardware or using tile stickers — that won’t hurt your current finances.

Investing proactively yet wisely — even when you’re juggling a chronic disease — is the best way to both defeat a pessimistic financial attitude and shun falling into a cycle of financial and mental poverty.

Look For Government Aid

Finally, it can be financially beneficial to search in/with regard to’concerning’regarding government aid. You can do this in two primary ways:

By looking in/with regard to’concerning’regarding tax write-offs, such as energy star rebates or child credits that can help offset your medical expenses.
Considering your eligibility in/with regard to’concerning’regarding programs such as Medicaid and Medicare, and when to token up, both of which may be able to help you manage your persistent expenses.

While the specific write-offs and programs will vary in each zone’district’region , looking in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the best government aid and write-off possible can help to keep your finances in the black.

Hold Them Liable

If your chronic condition was caused by somebody else’s negligence or incompetence, you can file a personal injury claim against them to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure what’s rightfully yours. For instance, if you need sustained therapy, medication, and time off from work, you can ask an attorney to in/with regard to’concerning’regarding ce the ones responsible in/with regard to’concerning’regarding your disease to shoulder your out-of-pocket expenses and lost income.

Victims of asbestos-related mesothelioma (and other devastating cancers) should acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure professional help if their employer had known with regards to’concerning’with respect to the hazardous effects of asbestos but failed to take all the necessary safety measures and inin/with regard to’concerning’regarding m their workers on the risks.

Financial Thriving With A Chronic Illness

From fundamental budacquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure ing to investing with care, there are many different ways to financially thrive, even when you possess’own’nurse a chronic illness to consider. The significant’essential’critical’vital’crucial’indispensable’imperative thing is that you maintain a positive attitude that is thankful in/with regard to’concerning’regarding what you possess’own’nurse and bold abundant’ample’plentiful to take on each challenge with courage. Only then can you find your best-case financial scenario each and eintensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully time.