zjw

Saw the sign out front of the local beer place today 17 bucks for the 30 pack I once bought 5 years ago at least every other day sometimes more. Back when i quit it was 15. I couldnt afford it then. at 2 dollars more a case thats at least another 30-40 a month I dont make any more money now then I did then. if anything I have more expenses as well.

Just something to ponder could you ever really afford to drink>?could you afford it now even? I know i sure could not then not now.

least

I got into debt and wasn't paying my bills due to buying wine every day. I can't afford it in any way, shape, or form. Not then, not now.

SummerBlueSky

Interesting. I guess I didn't stop to think about that until I saw your post. I can't afford it either LOL! I like wine. The stuff is expensive. I still drink though so clearly I haven't found it expensive enough.

SummerBlueSky

Hi least, do you still drink?

biminiblue

SummerBlueSky, "least" quit drinking in December of 2009, according to her profile page.

least

I haven't touched a drop in over six and a half years, and have never been happier. My life is enjoyable and I pay my bills now and am out of debt. I wake up feeling good and ready for the day. Living sober is a blast!

ScottFromWI

I could afford to buy alcohol, but I cannot afford the cost I'd pay if I drank it.

zjw

Oh i know that story all to well myself. struggling to pay for stuff but somehow i always found money for beer ::Facepalm::

waynetheking

I could afford enough to destroy my life and those around me.

Forward12

Cost is a huge problem as well. I was literally spending every penny I had on booze, would sell anything I possibly could on craigslist so I could find more, pawning items just to get maybe $5-$10 for items that were worth 4-5x that amount, but I didn't care as long as I got my booze.
Some states have now implemented "sin" taxes on alcohol, mainly hard liquor, but I don't think it has any effect besides making the states and alcohol companies richer,..

chickippo

i spent all my money on booze, pretty much. i just finished paying off on £20k debt. i think it took me 5 years to run that up. ugh.

Mountainmanbob

Not to brag but, I always had plenty of money for booze. (might have added to the problem?)

And many other foreign substances that were added to my body and mind.

But, drinking brought to me and the ones around me much pain
and I can't afford to die from drinking.

I was a very dangerous drunk.

It is a fact though,
not drinking adds a lot of money to the wallet.

MB

zjw

"sin taxes" yeah i sometimes question the ethics taxing cigarettes and booze extra its like great you got an "addict" and your going to make it worse on him and line your pockets more? Or say added taxes on gasoline umm hey we cant live without this come on! But i guess this ends up being a political debate lol. But ot me its like taking advantage of the disadvantaged.

elihoping

It's funny - even when I didn't have money to buy food for myself, I still always managed to scrape together enough coins to buy booze. Sometimes I would pay for it in 5c coins, piles of them. I would have been too embarrassed to buy food that way but not booze!

zjw

at one point i was considering fermenting sugar and water as a possible way to cut costs on my drinking yet still be able to get my fix ::facepalm::

zo0378

It was drink or eat. I choose drink. But yes its funny now when i think of just how much I budgeted for drink when really I couldnt afford it.

mac6367

Well, this is embarrassing for me to admit, something I never admit out loud, but I'm here with the purpose of being open. I managed to rack up $30,000 in debt that I couldn't pay off in about two years. Other circumstances were involved (a useless boyfriend, a new car I thought I could afford), but the reason I couldn't make the payments was that I was spending all of my money on booze. I probably spent 200 - 300 dollars a week on alcohol, which I don't even know how I managed, considering that was close to what I made.

I usually just say I'm in so much debt because I was living in New York state, which really is an expensive place to be. I think I even convinced myself of that for a while. The reality is, it's a much more expensive place to be when you party every night.

jimmysheens

I spent low six figures on Alcohol and Heroin over the last 12 months..

I could continue to do that for many many years to come before I had to sell my house.

I honestly find this to be scarier than being a broke alcoholic (which I was when I started all those years ago). There's further to fall now, and getting bck there would be much harder second time around.

SlowMeDown

I remember I would spend $100/night and a couple of hundred on the weekend. Now that I am sober, we save so much money by me not having drinks. Our bill is always cut in half. It is very expensive to drink out without happy pricing. Wine is the worst. I hated paying for wine, it was almost always out of the question because of the markup!

EndGameNYC

I'm not sure that asking/discussing whether or not one can afford alcohol at current prices, or even in the past, is helpful.

By traditional definition, an alcoholic or someone who is alcohol-dependent is someone who manages to drink regardless of his or her financial or social status, typically risking (and often losing) everything that is dear to them, including their means of income.