Hey all, a common theme/ topic i se on these forums a lot is money issues relating to costs of treatments, therapies, etc. I've seen a few individual posts where people are sharing their ideas regarding ways they've found to deal with the cost etc, but i thought i'd start a thread where we can all post our ideas in here so that people can come here and see ideas. So please, if you have found a cheap/ free/ affordable service or have an idea you think will help others financially, add your ideas.
Here are some of mine.
Private Health Extras Insurance: Much cheaper than Hospital cover, you can get an Extra's policy alone without Hospital cover. For example, mine costs me $20 a fortnight but i can claim doctor-prescribed medications (so my meds are cheaper), psychology sessions (up to $550 a year), plus lots of other stuff like dental, optical, natural therapies, physio etc. Its really really helped me pay for my psychology sessions when my Medicare funded visits run out (you only get 10 per year).
Free Online CBT Course: MindSpot Clinic runs a free 10 week online CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) course. it is free, paid for by Medicare. go to their website for more information.
Shop around for a psychologist: if you live in the city, you may find that a psychologist even a few suburbs out might be a lot cheaper than a psychologist who has an office in the inner city/ inner suburbs. Remember, the room they work out of would cost a lot more to rent in the city, so if you're finding your psychologist is crazy expensive, try ringing around psychologists a bit further out of the city- in the outer suburbs for example. The cheaper rent for the room might equal cheaper sessions for you. Obviously you need to factor in the cost of you driving there/ public transport etc, but i've found significant savings by going to a different psychologist further out.
Alright, anyone else have any ideas they'd like to share? Cheap/ free/ affordable services you've found, things you've discovered, handy hints etc?
