JZ and I met today for the first time in a few weeks due to unexpected interruptions for both of us. JZ and I, the last time we met, worked feverishly on DISCARDING stuff....it became clear, even to JZ, that there simply is not enough room in his small condo for all of his stuff. We made great headway in the 'extra' bedroom and made many trips to the dumpsters that day. It was extremely encouraging and JZ seems comfortable with the process.
Today, when JZ and I met for the first time in three weeks, I anticipated continuing our discarding process to make room to better organize what JZ will keep. However, JZ had other issues that he asked me to work with him on today.....he has been negatively affecting his credit rating, he said, as a result of being so disorganized about organizing and paying his bills. We spent almost 90 minutes making a listing of all the monthly bills and determining when each bill is due for payment. We set up a very specific place for JZ to put all the current unpaid bills so that he can have a better visual of what needs attention.....
JZ wants to be able to pay his bills online at his bank site, and we took the first step today in requesting this function from his bank. He will hear back within the next 24 hours and will then be able to enter the payees and then begin making his payments online in a timely fashion. Currently, JZ has been doing 'reactive' bill-paying whenever he receives a late notice by calling in payments on the phone.....We discussed setting up a process by which he identifies which bills he will pay when he receives income throughout the month. Because JZ lives on a fixed income, he receives payments twice per month on specific dates and can easily pay certain bills each time, based on when the bills are due....
JZ has begun doing some of the clean-up work on his own when I am not there, and this is certainly a big step in the right direction. When I arrived today, we could actually see his dining room table top for the first time since I have been working with JZ. I was thrilled by his initiative and progress and reinforced his actions.....
And the beat goes on.....
