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How much DID you spend a month?

Old 11-19-2008, 08:13 PM
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The actual dollar value was small when compared to the damage it did. I don't think it's possible to put a price tag on years lost.
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Old 11-19-2008, 08:39 PM
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I was not offended by the question at all.

I was a bar drinker, and I had to be the big shot of the bar drinking top shelf liquor. I easily averaged $1k per month.
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Old 11-19-2008, 09:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Pinkcuda View Post
The actual dollar value was small when compared to the damage it did. I don't think it's possible to put a price tag on years lost.
This just about sums up my own take on it. Money comes and goes. I'm not minimizing the monetary aspect of it however, as I'm well aware that the small fortune I wasted could have served much higher purposes.
Were I handed back that money, I would probably consider it tainted and maybe donate it to charity or something along those lines. I'm not being a martyr, I just figure that I've already had my "fun" (sarcasm) and I'd be ashamed to spend it on myself unless *absoltely* necessary.
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Old 11-19-2008, 10:12 PM
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I did this calculation one morning at about 160 days and I had saved about $1500. I did this because I needed something tangible to keep me sober at that moment. And then I had to wonder where that money was?? Where did I get that money anyway?

So anyway, I also have to consider the cost of the extra stuff I bought that I don't need to spend money on today: breath mints, gum, body spray, perfume, more cigarettes, mixers, wine openers, plastic cups, all kinds of stuff I bought when I was drunk that I did not need, misc stuff in stores so it didn't look like I just came in for alcohol (though I had). Oh boy, and then there is a wreckage...legal costs, court costs, increased car insurance, car repairs, insurance bills for various alcohol related injuries, ad infinitum. Oh yeah, I should be much better off

I am never offended at be reminded of where I came from. I am grateful today.
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Old 11-19-2008, 10:22 PM
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The truth ain't pretty eh?



I don't like war stories-but I'm okay with being honest about what I spent.Lemme see-when my fav bottle of wine was on special-it was 10 bucks.That's 20 dollars a day.140 a week.Not a great outcome.But mostly?It was 15 dollars a bottle.30 dollars a day.Put in 20 dollars a day for cigarettes too and you're talking almost half my wages for 2 weeks then gone in a week.I didn't care.

I do now.

Ridiculous.

I'm so grateful to have my life back.And some sanity.

Jules.
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Old 11-19-2008, 11:03 PM
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It's impossible for me to guess...
I was a blackout drinker...usually in bars...tipped well
took taxis....averaged $30 weekly at liquor store.

I always took $30 for a night out + credit cards
and a check book. If I did not have a date
I went out alone 6 nights a week.

That was my final 5 years of drinking.
I quit almost 20 years ago....booze was cheaper then.


I think I'll have to join in the "Too darn much" crowd.
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Old 11-20-2008, 01:18 AM
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If I was sticking to home only my bill roughly ran 200 bucks a month (with coke to mix with my tumbler of scotch).

If I went out twice a month my bill would easily double (but not because I drank a lot when I went out). Normally I would drink VERY little while out but would pay for our entire table (I hate people picking a tab apart for every little drink so I would just pay the whole damn thing)....so with that, my bill was always high.

And NO, I am not offended. It is a very simple question. I think it is good for us addicts to know just how much we wasted on destroying our lives. We know what it did to us....we know what it did to our families.....we know what it did to our health....why not know what it did to your pocketbook. Come on people...need to thicken up that skin a bit. (if you found the question offensive....just choose not to answer)
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Old 11-20-2008, 05:09 AM
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the batteries in the calculator died...

to darn much!
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Old 11-20-2008, 06:09 AM
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So if we had put our monies together, we could have bailed out the US..LOL
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Old 11-20-2008, 06:13 AM
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I'm not offended at all. In fact, Before I retired as a CPA, I did these wild spreadsheets to figure out how long my retirement funds would last if I retired. I had to force myself to figure in $300 a month just for wine (@ $10/bottle). It always drove me crazy what a waste of money this was. In addition, when I drink wine, I snack like crazy, which adds another $50 a month. I used to think about how that would make a monthly payment on a midpriced auto. How ridiculous.
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Old 11-20-2008, 06:45 AM
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No offense taken either....

Now that you brought it up I thought about it....
beer: 200-300 month (i bought a kegerator 6 months ago to help "save me money". It ended up helping me not be able to see how much I really drank)
cigs: 1 pack a day @ 4.50=135 month
pot: about 100 month

AAUUGGHHHH....that adds up to $535 a month. The only thing I have to brag about is how good I was at WASTING money.

Now wait multiply that by 12
Thats right--$6420 a year OMG!!!!! Need I say more?

Thanks for that post. I thought I was crazy cuz even in the short time I have been sober I already feel like my pockets are heavier. And when you write it out on paper, its looks to be so. This gives me yet another reason to never turn back....
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Old 11-20-2008, 06:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Pam08 View Post
So if we had put our monies together, we could have bailed out the US..LOL
LOL--- I wonder what percentage of homes would not be falling into foreclosure had mortgage payments been made before wine was purchased?
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Old 11-20-2008, 07:07 AM
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Wow, very interesting thought....between drugs and alcohol....should take a pole of americans in trouble with their mortgages..probably be a wake up call for alot of people..
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Old 11-20-2008, 07:25 AM
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Originally Posted by Oldschool View Post
Anyone heard of Natural Ice? Very cheap beer but high in alcohol. I spent about $7 a day on a 12 pack X 7 = $49 X 4 = $196 a month. Wow. I am unemployed, don't know how I came up with all the money to buy it.
Ha! Yep...I always drank Natti Light. And when I say "drank" it was usually actually funneling.

I always spent MUCH MUCH more going on because I'd do a bunch of over priced shots. It's sickening to think one can spend upwards of $60 at the bar in one night.
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Old 11-20-2008, 07:38 AM
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Reading this thread makes me realise why i never had any money despite having a relatively good job. I dont think i can work out how much i spent apart from everything that i had spare! I used to start the month on vodka and end it on the cheapest muck i could find, when you take into account extra cigarettes, take aways and various other crap that seemed like a good idea at the time its a wonder i didnt end up on the street.
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Old 11-20-2008, 08:32 AM
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right around $150/mo. Yikes.
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Old 11-20-2008, 09:11 AM
  # 37 (permalink)  
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All,

Thx for responding. I find this very interesting how all our patterns were somewhat the same - kind of a common theme that I followed also. multiple daily trips to the liquor store, gum, things that go with drinking, etc.

Now after reading all the responses to this thread so far I'm thinking of how much time I personally blew being wasted and aquiring all the stuff I needed to get wasted.

Just have to look forward to each day and improve over the last day in order to make up for lost time.
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Old 11-20-2008, 09:30 AM
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Originally Posted by Pam08 View Post
So if we had put our monies together, we could have bailed out the US..LOL

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Old 11-20-2008, 09:42 AM
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The money I saved when I got clean was actually a terrifying thing for me and it made me question how non addicts spend so much.

Even when I put some in savings, I didn’t know what else to do. I don’t want an ipod or fifteen pairs of shoes etc.

Then a friend fell on hard times, had nowhere to live and found it impossible to go to university or get work without an address. I gave her £150 for a deposit on a rented house. She is now excelling at university and has already secured a good job when she graduates.

...I used to spend £150 on gear and crack in a day without even thinking.

I donated a lump sum to charity and to the charity record and book shop where I was given a voluntary job when I first got clean. I love that place.

Being clean, this will be the first year I’ve been included in family Christmas plans. I sent letters explaining that I didn’t want any gifts (what I want still isn’t material) and that I wouldn’t be buying gifts, but donating the money to a charity. To my surprise, all of the relatives who got in touch thought this was a great idea and are now donating to chosen charities instead of buying each other gifts.

That is thousands of pounds given to charity simply because one junkie got clean and realised a few things.

I spent over 30 thousand pounds on drugs and drink in the last two years of my active use, and I am only twenty years old. It’s going to take me a life time to repay that debt, but at least now I have a life in which to try and do that.
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Old 11-20-2008, 09:46 AM
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tsukiko -

Nice - that's the way to be.
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