a different strategy

Monday - day 18

Finally got rid of this hangover..... starting to get bored of constantly doing the same thing on the weekends

Drink myself into oblivion every Saturday night see the same clubs same people and to be honest im fed up of it now

Problem is what on earth else is there to do?

I can either stay in, go to the casino or go out and get pi*sed

Staying in all weekend is okay for a week or 2 but then I’m bored

The casino is obviously a no go

There must be more to life than this surely !?!

Definitely considering completing January without a drink or a bet but what then :/

Not much other news

Monday - day 18

Finally got rid of this hangover..... starting to get bored of constantly doing the same thing on the weekends

Drink myself into oblivion every Saturday night see the same clubs same people and to be honest im fed up of it now

Problem is what on earth else is there to do?

I can either stay in, go to the casino or go out and get pi*sed

Staying in all weekend is okay for a week or 2 but then I’m bored

The casino is obviously a no go

There must be more to life than this surely !?!

Definitely considering completing January without a drink or a bet but what then :/

Not much other news

day 19

not really sure why my posts are sending twice I'm not doing it on purpose

day off work today - spent most of the day relaxing feel pretty good well up for this works party on friday now

got some close friends coming out as well so should be a good laugh

did have a few small urges to pop into the casino on the way home from the gym earlier but nothing i couldn't handle

i can't really see myself going back to gambling again for a long time i just can't afford too at the moment

I've got to keep this diary going for a year though and see where i am at that point funny feeling if i don't il be back gambling by april

got a few plans i need to put in motion next year and I've got to stay focused

346 days to go then 🙂

monday - day 24

been busy this last week so apologies for the lack of posts

still haven't gone back to the casino which I'm pretty happy about it was this first month which is fast coming to a close i was the most worried about

financially i am unable to even attempt to gamble i am absolutely on my a** at the moment

payday tomorrow should take a little strain off but januarys going to be another tight month

went slightly over the top with the christmas celebrations this weekend and have had to take today off work oops !

last day in tomorrow for a week though so can't wait

will try to post over Christmas

but if not enjoy and stay away from the devils games !

friday - day 36 ( i think)

right so just confirming I am actually still alive

however considering the amount of alcohol I've put away last 2 weeks I'm not sure how

spent near enough 500 quid in the last 2 weeks a sickening amount but at least it wasn't wasted gambling !

infact closest I've come to gambling was a 2 quid acca on boxing day bit of a laugh with the lads

have been meaning to post all week but decided today it had to be done after getting some pretty strong urges earlier today in work !!

was a little depressed because of the end of the festive period and was thinking i could have done with a little extra spare cash for january !

anyway i managed to resist so tomorrow is another day !!

sunday - day 38

well this is the first weekend of 2014 and I've succsesfully completed it alcohol and gambling free

however have been very very bored today ( lucky the fa cup is on) was having a few "shall i pull a hundred out and have a punt down the casino" thoughts earlier but then read through my diary from the start and decided it probably wasn't such a good idea

just so skint at the moment barely got enough money to cover my travel to work over the next 3 weeks

back to routine tomorrow full week of work , full week of gym actually kind of glad as all this time off is starting to drive me mental

will try to post an update during the week

stay strong

Day 39

Back into the swing of things then

2014 hasn’t exactly started brilliantly had a court summons for a speeding offence from October (hidden camera van )

and they are expecting a court appearance from me which i have absolutely no time for whatsoever and even if i did want to go sit infront of a few Muppets for an hour of rollicking, work wouldn’t allow me the time off anyway

Top that off with a nice little 35 quid parking ticket and ive had a lovely day

Anyway haven’t got the mindset to deal with all that this week it will have to wait

One benefit today was that i managed to get a free lift to and fro work today saving me around a tenner which given my finances at the moment i am chuffed with

Cash is short at the minute and it’s not going to get any better certainly not until April anyway

Was very tempted yesterday to have a punt but managed to stop myself if i can make it through to April without going to the casino i will have made some breathing space for myself

Wont have a chance to gamble this week as i will be too busy with work but will have to be very carefull with the weekend as i have nothing to do yet again ! need to make some arrangements asap !

day 43/44

considering its only the first full week of january I've had a very good week

works been good, college has been hard , i havent gambled , nearly stuck to my budget for the week , and met a real nice girl

as i mentioned in my last post i was actually quite tempted earlier on in the week as i had enough of staring at an empty bank account

but then i realised well if i take a 100 quid out of my overdraft for the casino it will quickly turn into about 300 and il be in a right pickle

so if I'm prepared to waste borrowed money on gambling why don't i actually put it to good use so i booked my car into the garage on wednesday for a new starter motor which has been playing up for ages

so now I'm in debt but at least I've had something out of it

had a date last night went really well and seeing her again tomorrow so I'm hoping she's going to be the perfect distraction to gambling this month

Day 47 i think

Fast approaching the 50 day mark of my recovery

Its gone quick very quick , i can still remember when i decided to do another diary as the pain of losing that 500 quid nearly broke me

Im at that point now where i am at a crossroads I’ve worked out that financially its easily going to take another 100 days or so of no gambling before i can see any kind of light at the end of the tunnel

A 100 days is a long time and it would be quite easy for me to slip off the wagon at this point

Its my birthday next month and there is a little bit of a trip away planned for it ( more expense) no doubts thoughts of “perhaps i could win a little extra cash” will come floating around will have to be on guard

Apart from all that a very quiet weekend in general still trying to complete this dry January after far too much booze over Christmas and also saving a little cash in the process

2 weeks until payday and i am literally living off overdrafts and fresh air but yet i know if i was still gambling i would still find the money from somewhere to do it

Day 53

So there we are just past the 50 day mark of my recovery a small milestone but still a small achievement

Im starting to notice now that The constant thinking about gambling is beginng to fade .....admittedly i have been very busy with other aspects of my life but still the urges are coming much less often than usual

I did bet £10 on the football on Saturday didn’t win anything but i like to put accumulators on just to make things a little more interesting some people do the lottery every week , i do accumulators every so often you have to have some sort of hope of winning something in this dull world

Ive also noticed that my posting cycle on here is beginng to slow down to once a week so i need to perhaps need to think about posting some more as in the past ive began to trail off and then eventually relapse and i am determined to keep clean and this diary going for at least a year !

Another boring weekend i am now almost 4 weeks without a drink still skint but not wasting borrowed money so its a start

This year i have go to start learning to save my money better i waste so much its ridiculous even when im not gambling i waste it lol

The next milestone i need to reach is 100 days which will just about be around the same time as my birthday and i am going away for it so at least i have something to look forward too !! and no doubt if i make it that far i will probably need to treat myself

Hey nipped

A very well done in reaching your 50 day milestone - a great one to get to and set you up nicely for the next 50!!

Take care.

Feb.

thanks for the support feb 2013 yes your correct every day is a step closer

day 54

a couple of strong urges around teatime today i don't know why but always on a tuesday around 6 o'clock i feel compelled to get down to the casino !!

mamnged to resist again so all good

payday on monday never been so glad to see one !

Day 58-Friday

Trying to post at least twice a week now as otherwise I can see myself trailing off again and eventually relapsing

Got about 16 quid left to my name and Payday isn’t until Monday ( what a fantastic day to get paid on ) so yet another boring weekend on the cards no doubt

Must keep reminding myself that I would find the money to gamble with anyway

Got plenty of films to watch this weekend thanks to the good people at pirate bay and the weathers horrendous so wont feel too bad wasting a weekend away

Gonna try and get some unwanted Christmas presents up on ******* tmorrow

Hi nipped,

Congratulations on your abstinence and I want to let you know that I admire the resolve you are showing. I too am fed up of having no money left at the end of the month (or so soon after payday as it is at the moment) but by remaining strong and refusing to give in to the pull of gambling we are making future months financially healthier and happier.

Enjoy your weekend x

thanks for the support sam much appreciated ^^

anyway thursday - day 64

had an absolute swine of a week been really down since tuesday

came within inches of relapsing on tuesday literally not sure how i managed to resist

the day after pay day bills coming out of my ears

and then to top it off that speeding fine i mentioned earlier in my diary comes through to the tune of £250 quid and 6 points

could really really do without this now my head is spinning

off work tomorrow for a 3 day weekend gotta try and clear my mind and recharge the batteries

feel so drained 🙁