One of the major benefits from not gambling are the financial implications from my time on here most people start getting help once getting into debt a small minority see the problem losing pay check to pay check and the fortunate are more like the casual gambliers who realise the money could be spent better elsewhere since my recovery i have learnt about the addiction even £10 a week spent on gambling would be better spent elsewhere thats like £480 wasted a year what i dont understand few people will be bet free no debts but will say stuff like they cant see any difference financially surely most addict will spend far too much money and one of the major implications is the financal damage from my own personal experience my life has drastically changed and if i continued on gambling i would be worse of financally no matter how much i earned i honestly dont get this if it a general urgue compulsion that i can understand however i cant understand how someone can say their seeing no difference thats why they turn to gambling which obviously will make the situation worse is their something am missing here?
I am slightly better off financially. I spend my money on things I didn't have money before like holidays and meals out with my partner. Because I haven't had a job since before 2020 I only get benefits. Therefore there is only a small amount I am allowed to save before they stop giving me benefits.
So unless I get my confidence back and firms start hiring me with a terrible 25 year work history I am stuck on benefits with not much more than I had before.
The major plus is that I haven't had to borrow any money or ran out of money once since I quit 698 days ago. So if I wanted to buy interview clothes I could. I could and do spend money on education. Like I have a subscription for courses that help me get back to programming and maths which is what I did my degrees in.
I hope in the future my finances will be better but the reason I turned to gambling was that I was unable to cope with work or life in general. Having to tell bosses I have paranoid schizophrenia usually means I don't have to worry about getting a job and the stress that puts me under.
I guess what I'm saying is that I'm better off in that I have some money but the amount of money I have wont get a house or a car or pay for a wedding or a boiler if it breaks. So I am better off but in many ways I am no better off
Hi Taz
Finances are usually the first thing to get better in recovery as you say and are most noticeable. I also think you notice the drop in looking at the balance all the time and return to normality.
There are so many benefits to recovery beyond money but you know that as someone with clean living
It ties in with your topic of the harms of gambling. 29 years of gambling have harmed my ability to do jobs. My concentration, ability to learn new skills, social skills have all been affected by gambling.
Next month will hopefully be 2 years without gambling. It is a slow process but I am trying to build my skills back up to go back to work. Compared to the 29 years of gambling I have barely started my recovery.
29 years of being broke has been hard. So yes the perk of looking at my bank balance and it not being zero is a great step forward. But I see it as a step on my recovery - everything has not been fixed by simply stopping gambling.
I have more time is another big perk. Money isn't everything so I have been running more. I spend more time looking after my physical health. I spend more time with friends.
A lot of my time is spent on admin - making sure all my outgoings and income are recorded. So I can see looking back over 2 years I am better off financially than I have been in a long time.
This makes things concrete. I am better off financially. My brain sees the things I want like cars and houses I can't have but my spreadsheet points out in cold hard facts that I am better off than when I was gambling.
Still the best thing I ever did was quit. But the yearning for my own house and car plays tricks on my mind as always. That's why I gambled. I wanted expensive things without working for them.
I am better off. It doesn't always feel like I am better off but I definitely am.
@willhebe what i was trying say gambling hasent benefit anyone in the long run the only people benefited from this are the operators and few influencers promoting gambling through their channels gambling has never improved anyone life long term sure their a small minorty of people taken advantage of match plays its never been long term yet i have come accross hundreds of people who were financally secured until they got addicted to gambling and the worst form is casino gambling followed by sports betting even non addicts understand this form of gambling isnt sustainable if this type gambling is designed to take rather then give then this outcome was inevitable the moment the first bet was placed
Having blown over 250k in a decade of out of control gambling and constant borrowing, I relate to the feeling of “I’m no better off”…222 days gamble free than when l was gambling.
This theory is because of the constant borrowing on loans/credit cards/remortgaging from addiction that I was always able to get my hands on money from somewhere, I always a pot of money as back up for when my gambling spree losses hit me. This pot of money was a feel good pot of money for when I’d blown 5k over a weekend of football betting.
So personal I can sit here now and say I feel no better off and have less money now, because l do in a way, everything now goes on paying off my huge debts. What I am better off in is my mental health and that’s the game changer for me.
Hi Bro and fellow person in the 220s
You are absolutely right. Debt takes a long time to correct but it does. I've done about 5mn over the years but it's gone. My life is incredible now. No money but I don't want it and not chasing anymore
Yes the financial benifets are there to see but the most important thing is the peace of mind the energy I spent on gambling was exhausting am glad I can spent that energy elsewhere
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