By Brenda Kimble, Nutritionist/Wellness Blogger
While managing personal finances can be challenging for anyone, people who live with a chronic illness often experience a unique set of financial challenges. A chronic disease is defined as a persistent condition that is long-lasting.

Conditions like fibromyalgia and pulmonary fibrosis often make day-to-day life more difficult to deal with, as well as more financially challenging. If you or a loved one suffer from a chronic illness, consider adopting some of these tips to making managing your finances a little easier so you can spend more time focusing on your health and happiness.
Get Professional Help
Financial organization and planning are always helpful, but since many chronic illnesses can be unpredictable, it’s nice to have people who can help you keep things on track. While this help can come from friends and family members who are good with money, investing in the help of a financial advisor can help you make sure you have all your bases covered.
Make sure you share your health history with your financial advisor because it’s important to factor your illness into your long-term financial planning. They can help you with health care savings and budgeting for things like disability coverage and long-term care insurance. Financial professionals can help you understand the services you may need in the future and help you manage your expenses accordingly.
Stick to a Budget
Sticking to a budget is essential for us all, but it can be especially important for people who live with a chronic illness because of the potential added medical and wellness expenses. Planning a budget isn’t a favorite activity for most of us, but it’s a must do so choose a time of the day or week when you are feeling good to sit down and plan it out.
Keep track of all of your expenses, including your medical expenses, and make a budget and saving plan that fits. If you know you have an out-of-pocket prescription every month, include it in your budget and try to find other categories where you can save. If you are faced with a massive bill that doesn’t fit your budget, ask if you can pay in installments over time and modify your budget accordingly.
Plan Ahead
You can make your financial life a lot easier by planning for things before you need them. An excellent way to cover your bases in the future is to have all the insurance you might need like health, disability and home already covered. Even if you don’t have a large estate, it is a good idea to have things like living wills, directives and trusts in order and squared away so you won’t need to worry about them in the future if your health changes.
