DONUT

Thanks Tacks
I find SR is generally positive and forward thinking- this thread seems to serve no purpose but to facilitate beating oneself up over stuff that can't be changed and to some extent looks like it's almost a competition to see who has screwed up the most with respect to money wasted on booze. I have mulled over such calculations in the past but to be honest now (and largely with the help of other SR postings) I try and steer well clear of this type of rumination. As I think Tack rightly points out this dollar and cents - (pounds and pence), "cost" is minimal compared to the real price we have all paid.
Alternatively maybe I have missed the point of this thread.
David

Justfor1

$1.5 million over 10 years of alcoholic drinking.

Zee

Thank you for this comment, but I personally think you have.

This is not an original post/idea, I saw it once and thought I would resurrect it. (I hope you notice that this thread is NOT in the Newcomers section)

Yes, generally SR is all upbeat and full of fluffy stuff, and thats great but this post is more for reflection purposes, and to offer a stronger resolve not to pick up again in the future...

The title spells it out pretty well IMHO. Maybe you should not have opened the link (?)

abc

Agreed. SR is too fluffy. I still love it. But yeah, sometimes the positivity gets so strong it just seems fake. There is nothing wrong with negativity. If you are 100% positive all the time then you are just being dishonest with yourself. And that's no good either.

Rossy

I am not that sure really,it was not too much maybe £120 a month.

polaris

I do think this is a good point actually. Tony Robbins argues that there are two underlying motivations in human behavior- Pursuing pleasure and/or escaping pain. Which one may perhaps be more motivating, especially to your average person, would you think?

mfsteve1

I admit I do the same thing. It has occurred to me that it can take well over a hour to buy anything no mater how small the purchase. Spending and hour muddling over a clock? Yes, I do this too. I did an hour last week over a fluorescent light bulb. Had it been a bootle of booze I'd have been in and out so fast I'd have left a vapor trail.

Zee

Thank you, that made me belly laugh!

Laughing has been my most important tool in my recovery. x

dickensen

How much money did I spend on booze - so much that I don't know if it is possible to calculate.

It was not just the money for the booze but the lost opportunities, the tarnished or ruined relationships, not operating at one's potential, and the thousands of hours of lost time drinking and then recovering every day. Indeed drinking is a very expensive habit. What you pay for the booze is only the beginning of the total bill.

gaffo

I spent tons on beer but I am amazed at how much it cost me to be hung over. Or make the wrong impression on the wrong person...

reducedquality

I'm glad this was posted. I've been keeping a ledger over the past year and a half to figure out how to save money. The average amount per month I spend on alcohol (and cigs, although a very small amount of that), is about $500. Wow!

I could have saved around $6000 in the past year. Instead, I got drunk almost every night. Gotta stop this.

FredG

Never did the math to bring the amount forward to today's prices. At one time, back when draft beer could be had at less than .25/glass (I've bought it at .10) my monthly alcohol/entertainment budget was $2,000. This was back in the mid-70's and admittedly was at the height of my drinking practice. ( I call it practice because I don't think I ever got it right )

Needless to say I had (had being the operative term) a very well paying job and lots of psuedo-friends to impress.

Vlst

I looked at this last week and it was $500 a month. It was hard to figure out because I went to several different stores and bars. I never knew how much because I always use my credit card and it would show up as either merchandise or restaurant.

But I agree with others in that I will spend hours and days trying to get the best price on something, unless it's booze which I would buy without thinking twice. Not anymore though! I just bought myself a nice new phone to reward myself for quitting.

zjw

quit smoking and drinking. yeah i've saved a fortune but i have no idea where that money is. which makes me wonder how I ever afforded to do it?!?!

I guess it did get a few things to celebrate my sobriety and such. But really no idea where the money went.

FredG

I most certainly hear that ZJW!

I can say that, whether or not I have more money, I am much richer in non-monetary ways than I was then and I most definitly have more to show for my life.

tomsteve

i only spent enough to get me drunk one day at a time and keeping track of how much i spent wasnt a priority.

GonzoTaxi

100 dollars a week, easy. So about 26,000 USD since I got to Paris 5 years ago.

****.

Seeing that written out sucked.

SportBud77

Let's see.

1.75L Svedka @ 24.00/ea x 3 per week.
Mixers @ $5.00 per week.
2x Pack of smokes (only when drinking) per week.
$100 bar tabs once a week.
$200 binge bar tabs once a month.

$12,400 per year. Times the ten years I have been ****** up = $124,000. Damn.

This is my first post, but I have been reading all damned day since I found this place yesterday. I need to get some help soon.

Ohio1

3 bottles of wine- 20-30 on the low end
750ml vodka- 16 bucks
24 pack beer- 16 bucks

1 of those 3 choices every night minus about 5 nights a month = conservatively $450-ish? per month.

Not vomiting/destroying a random gas station toilet on the way to work= priceless

None of that includes tax, mixers, or crazy greasy breakfasts from god knows where.

Adillac

$65k-$75k