JLC82

Hi All,

I'm pretty new to this site. I have a crazy kind of question because I just did the unimaginable. The money that I would have spent getting wasted this weekend and probably part of next week just went to Amazon for books on Alcoholism (gasp) $75.00 . If someone would have told me that on my sober date (10-4) I wouldn't have believed them. So.. out of curiosity what healthy ways are you guys finding spending the "drinking funds" on.

Thanks,
Jazz

suki44883

I'm socking a lot of it into my 401k plan since I was too busy drinking to worry too much about retirement. Now that I'm within 10 years of retirement, I have a lot of catching up to do.

PhaseTwo

I'm just saving up for a car. Before there was no saving going on

silentrun

Working less hours at work. Sometimes I worked overtime just to keep myself from starting to drink too early.

JLC82

Wow, interesting. It amazes me how our priorities were before recovery.

Johnston

Smart move.

Doug39

When I was drinking, my wife and I spent about $400-$600 per month for alcohol just to drink at home. We went to the bars at least once a week - and that was always at least $50 each time.
At least 4 times a year we would go out to the wineries and stock up - at least $150 each time.

My wife is still drinking, but I figure I am saving at least $400 a month now.

I am just using it to say ahead on bills for a change.

Hawkeye13

I have a bad guitar addiction, but at least it doesn't give me hangovers. . .

soberclover

I get at least one and once in awhile two massages a month...feels great and I know it is helping. I also spent a ton of money on recovery books as hard copies as well as on my Kindle. I also splurge on a decent haircut, an order from Avon, dinner out, or fancy coffee. The amount of money I have spent on drugs and alcohol is r.i.d.i.c.u.l.o.u.s!! At least now I can account for where it is going!

desertsong

Shopping! I lost over 50 pounds after I quit drinking, so all of my clothes became way too big. It's been fun getting new stuff but I have to be careful that I don't become an alcoholic shopaholic, lol.

bob8619

RC airplanes!

GroundhogDay

Veterinarian bills for the cats and new tires for the cars. Something always happens when I think I am ahead of the game on my monthly budget.

MattM316

Books, films, clothes and I do like a little gamble.
Ok gambling can be unhealthy but it's still better than abusing alcohol!

I'm one of those people who, if I have money, I have to spend it. I can't save money to save my life.

I'm going to pre-order a Playstation 4 when I get paid next week (although i'm not sure how much i'll be paid seeing as i've been off for two weeks), plus I need to complete my UFC dvd collection.

It's amazing, and scary, to look back and think how much I spent on alcohol.
I won't say wasted, because at the time it didn't feel like it was a waste.

newman23

I've decided to invest in joining a martial arts school. It's something I've wanted to do for a while now, but never got around to it, because drinking was number 1 priority and what I spent my money on. I also try to invest in healthy foods. When I drank, I would load up on a ton of crap: ramon noodles, a bunch of slim jims and combos, burger king, etc etc. I may look into piano lessons too and other things such as pay off my library card so I can take up reading(looking for sober activities now that I have time on my hands). Lots of possibilities

lillyknitting

That's easy lol, more clothes, more perfumes, more Swarovski. More chocolate, bliss x

Weaver

This may seem silly but I have loaded up on Lay's Salt and Vinegar chips! They are DELISH, I never liked them before but I had them the afternoon I got out of detox/rehab so Ive gone thru many "grab bags" this week.

Other than that, I decided to put away (in cash) what I spent on booze everyday. With the money I save I plan on going black Friday shopping and purchasing a brand spankin new flat screen tv along with a Spa day thingy (not sure what it is exactly) for my beautiful, supportive wife.

TopFlight

A private fitness club membership, massages and books. Fortunately I don't pay over the top prices for any of these things, but they've all helped me tremendously during my sobriety.

DarkDays

Not got a clue, Mrs spends it all

lillyknitting

Ha ha ha that's typical cabbies wife , lol x

Hawkeye13

Boy this sounds fantastic! I hope it happens to me too!