Money Management: The Road to Financial Recovery

Target Audience: Addicts

Audience Profile
To understand how to assist addicts, it’s helpful to learn what addiction is, and what it is
not.

According to The Free Dictionary, addiction means a "habitual psychological or

physiological dependence on a substance or practice beyond one's voluntary control."
Addictions can include alcohol and other drugs such as cocaine, heroine, marijuana,
methamphetamine, crack, problem gambling, compulsive sexual behavior, Internet,
shopping, and food (bingeing, purging, starving).

The American Psychiatric Association explains that, “people who are addicted cannot
control their need for alcohol or other drugs, even in the face of negative health, social or
legal consequences. The illness becomes harder to treat and the related health
problems, such as organ disease, becomes worse.”

Another word for addiction is “dependence.” According to the Centre for Addiction and
Mental Health, “there are two kinds of substance dependence:
• Psychological dependence occurs when a person feels he or she needs the
drug to function or feel comfortable (e.g., needing to drink alcohol to feel relaxed
in social situations, or needing to be high to enjoy sex). Some people come to
feel they need a substance just to be able to cope with daily life.
• Physical dependence occurs when a person’s body has adapted to the
presence of a drug. Tolerance has developed, which means that the person
needs to use more of the drug to get the same effect. When drug use stops,
symptoms of withdrawal occur.“

Dr. Carlton K. Erickson, University of Texas Addiction Science, lists seven myths about
addiction in his book, Myths of Addiction:

1. Addicts are bad, crazy, or stupid.

2. Addiction is a willpower problem.
3. Addicts should be punished, and not treated, for using drugs.
4. People addicted to one drug are addicted to all drugs.
5. Addicts cannot be treated with medications.
6. Addiction is treated behaviorally, so it must be a behavioral problem.
7. Alcoholics can stop drinking simply by attending AA meetings, so they
can’t have a brain disease.

In each case, Dr. Erickson points out that these beliefs are complete myths. His
underlying message is that addicts have a brain disease that goes beyond their use of
drugs or whatever addictive behavior they exhibit.

Program Overview
For addicts, an addiction many bring financial hardship to a family. Digging out of that
hole can be a daunting task. Many addicts, like lots of people, lack the basic financial
skills to manage their money. In addition, money is a well-recognized cue for drug use

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and other addictive behavior. Several studies have reported evidence of an increase in
drug abuse and its adverse effects around the beginning of the month when paychecks
are typically received. The key to this short program is to encourage participants to take
important steps to re-evaluate their financial values so they can start on the road to
financial recovery. This 60-minute program is designed to provide participants with a few
tools to discover their attitude about money, recognize the difference between needs
and wants, and reduce debt.

Facilitator’s Preparation:
 Review this guide and complete your own set of the accompanying
worksheets.
 Review the suggested length for each topic noted as (10) or (15) and so on.
This session is designed to be 60 minutes (1 hour) from Welcome to Wrap.
 Think about your own money management behavior. Do you only spend
money on needs, never wants? Do you set financial goals and work steadily
toward achieving those goals? Do you ever get off track?
 Consider your view on debt. Have you ever been in debt? Did it make you
feel anxious or hopeless? Did you figure out a plan to reduce your debt? Are
there some money management lessons learned from your own experiences
that may be helpful to share?
 Consider that when it comes to talking about money, sharing your own
successes and challenges may be more engaging and effective than
appearing to be lecturing.

Materials Needed:

 Flip chart and easel or marker board; markers

 Pencils for participants
 Copies of What’s My Money Attitude? worksheet
 Copies of Needs vs. Wants worksheet
 Copies of Debt Recovery Worksheet sheet (be prepared to provide at
least two to each participant)
 Copies of My Action Plan worksheet

How to Facilitate this Session

Welcome
(8) Introduce yourself and express your pleasure in sharing money
management tools that can be used to start on the road to financial
recovery.

 Have each participant introduce him/herself and share one financial fear
that he/she is experiencing. List the fears on the flip chart or marker
board.

 Share the program objectives and tie them back to the list of fears.
• Understand your attitude about money
• Recognize the difference between needs and wants
• Reduce debt
• Commit to an action plan

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Money is…
(20) Explain to participants that while there may be a number of things outside
an addict’s control, being fiscally fit is within their control. The first step is
to develop a healthy attitude about money.

?Ask participants how many of them believe they have a healthy attitude
and relationship with money.

 Distribute What’s My Money Attitude? worksheets. Review the

instructions and remind participants that there are no right or wrong
answers. Allow 5-7 minutes for participants to complete their worksheets.

 When time is up, divide participants into small groups of 3-4. Encourage
them to share their responses in their groups. Stress that everyone’s
response is valid and has value. Allow 7-9 minutes for participants to
share their responses.

 When time is up, check to see if anyone wants to discuss his or her
responses.

 Explain that before participants can manage their own money, they need
to recognize how they feel about money. Learning the skills to manage
money may change their attitude. They may discover that money is
simply a tool for building a better life.

?Ask participants if they have ever spent money on something they

wanted, but really didn’t need.

Needs vs. Wants

(20) Suggest that many people don’t distinguish between wants and genuine
needs. Understanding the difference is the first step to ending addictive
spending.

?Ask participants to explain the difference between needs and wants.

[Needs are things that are essential for us to have, such as food and
shelter. Wants can be thought of as “extras.”]

 Distribute the Needs vs. Wants worksheets.

 Review the directions. Have participants complete Step 1. Allow 7-9

minutes for participants to list their needs and wants.

 Review steps 2-4. Answer any questions. Have participants complete

Steps 2-4. Allow 7-9 minutes for participants to complete the process.

?Ask participants if anyone was surprised by what they might be able to

do without after taking a closer look.

 Remind participants that managing money means making choices. There

is never enough money for all of the things we want. Sometimes, there is

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 not even enough money for the things we need, unless we’ve planned for
an emergency.

 Explain that knowing the difference between wants and needs can:
• Put you in control of impulse buying
• Help you set spending priorities
• Help you make wise choices about spending
• Help you get the most value for your money
• Make you a thoughtful consumer
• Save you money

?Ask participants if they believe that debt is simply a fact of life.

Debt Recovery
(8) Explain that while a limited amount of debt isn’t necessarily bad,
excessive debt is a problem. Excessive debt can delay, or possibly
completely deter, your goal to reach financial recovery.

 Suggest that whether participants know they are already in debt or are
anxious about staying out of debt, there a few tips that may prove to be
useful.

 Distribute Debt Recovery Worksheets. (Be prepared to provide at least

two to each participant.)

 Explain that participants should use one worksheet for each credit
obligation.

 Explain that in the first column, Amount Owed, they should note the
balance owed on the card/loan. In the second column, Monthly Payment,
they should write down at least the minimum payment due. In the Due
Date column, they should write the date the payment must be received.
When they make the payment, they should note the actual amount paid
and the date of the payment.

 Explain that there are several ways to prioritize repayments. Some debt
counselors advise paying off the highest balance; some advise paying off
the highest interest rate; some advise paying off the lowest balance and
adding that payment to the minimum payment for the next obligation in
line. The most important thing is to start today!

 Answer any questions. Check for understanding.

?Ask participants if they believe they can set some goals to establish and
maintain financial stability.
Wrap
(5) Review the list of fears and note which ones were addressed and which
ones will need to be addressed at a later time.

 Review the topics covered in the session:

 Attitudes about money

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  Recognizing the difference between needs and wants
 Creating a plan to get out of debt

 Encourage participants to think about some financial goals that they

would like to achieve.

 Stress the importance of developing a get-out-of debt plan and

emphasize how helpful the Debt Recovery Worksheets can be.

 Distribute My Action Plan worksheets. Encourage participants to take a

few minutes to complete their worksheets to ensure that they get started
on the road to financial recovery right away.

 Thank participants for their attendance and let them know what a
pleasure it’s been to spend an hour with them. Provide them with any
additional information as agreed upon with the agency.

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 What’s My Money Attitude?
Take a few minutes to complete each statement below. Go with your first thought. There are no
right or wrong answers.

Money is _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

If I had $100, I would____________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

I think people with lots of money ___________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

I think people who don’t have much money ___________________________

_____________________________________________________________

When I recover, I want to have_____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

When I have money, I ___________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

When I don't have money, I _______________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

When I need or want money, I _____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Without money, you’re __________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

When it comes to money, I’d like to learn _____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

Project Independence - Addicts Money Management

 Needs vs. Wants
Use this worksheet to list your needs and wants, and to evaluate what’s really important to you.

Step 1: List some of your needs and wants.

Step 2: Review your list and think about what is really important to you. Consider which
items on your list have lasting value.
Step 3: Ask yourself if you really need or want everything on your list. Put a star next to
those items that you feel you cannot do without.
Step 4: Check to see if some of your needs are really wants. Cross out the least
important wants.

Note: If you discover that some of your wants are unreasonable, think of more
reasonable alternatives and write them down.

Needs Alternative

Wants Alternative

Project Independence - Addicts Money Management