Love the gif :) It made me happy!
Yeah, I can see you guys all know exactly what I'm talking about, and that helps a lot, as do your concrete suggestions. Yeah, that's a good point, too, that while it's easy for me to decline hacks that save a few dollars but cost a lot of energy, it's harder for me to do in areas that are a difference of $6000/yr.
So...
1. Keep at the forefront of my mind that money is not about money, but about life-energy. Evaluate: Does this action preserve and increase my life energy, or does it sap it?
2. If I decide to go for the big stuff, consider the paperwork a part-time job. (Further to this, if someone said, "I will pay you up to $6000/yr to fill in these forms, wait on hold a lot, re-fax the forms several times over several months, listen to bull, and buy things you don't need," would I take the job? And further, would I take the job if the payment was not cash, but doilies? See #3.)
3. Go back to the metapicture. AFU and I disagree about what helps my kid's autism. They think only occupational therapy, iPads, etc, do. The things I see helping the most are not funded. Is any of what they're offering part of my family's ultimate goal? Or are they really offering the equivalent of free pens, wicker baskets, and doilies? If the latter, can I discipline myself to decline the free doilies in favour of staying true to my bigger vision?
4. Break it down. Because each appointment costs $115-$150, and we're only allowed to use it for secondary supports, $6000 can also be read as "52 hours of second-best supports". So, if someone said to me, "In exchange for filling in these forms, waiting on hold a lot, re-faxing the forms several times over several months, we will give you up to 52 hours of things that aren't the most effective things," would I say yes?
Good stuff.
Hmmm... I would like a coach that says to me every week: Scrubby, you spent three hours this week doing AFU processes? Is that within your larger vision? I feel like that's what I need, in order to not get sucked back in.