Day 93.
Worked from home today. Spent from 8.30am - 4.30pm completing a report. 😴😴. I WILL NOT miss having to do these 26 page documents any longer, as I count down the days I have left, working as a Probation Officer. I am hoping this will be the very last one I have to complete before I leave for good on 1st August 🙏. I have got 9 more working days to go and then I leave on the 10th day. I am on annual leave next week so some more time away from work and so I will be glued to the second week of Wimbledon. 🎾🍓👌.
Money is still tight but all the necessities have been taken care of and I have been able to treat myself a little this month and others so I am happy enough with this for now. “Steady wins the race remember”!👍.
Take care all. Remain patient and work at this day by day.
God bless you all. 🙏.
”April fools - no more the fool”!
Pink Lady🩷🍎.
Thanks for documenting your path so far, Pink Lady. It's inspirational in some places, heartbreaking and emotional in others. I think reading your story will be beneficial for many people who will start their own journeys and will join our community.
Personally, it helped me recall some of my past experiences with gambling that I had forgotten and to pay attention to small things in my behavior that I hadn't noticed before.
One thing that surprised me is that I also find myself singing along to music, something I hadn't done for years. It was like a month ago. It made me feel a sense of freedom in my soul, just to sing along with a song. One of the songs was "If It Wasn't for the Nights" by ABBA.
I can't wait for you to hit your 100 days gambling-free and wish you to repeat it 100 more times.
Stay strong.
@h2gk3a76m1 Thanks so much Goodfella 💙.
May you continue well on your new path and keep fighting the fight💪👊.
🩷🍎.
Day 94.
All good in the hood - simple as!👌
Night God bless all. 😴.
”April fools - no more the fool”!
Pink Lady 🩷🍎.
Day 95.
Game, set, match!🎾🍓🎾🍓🎾🍓. That’s all I’m going to say about today!😁👌.
Take care all.
”April fools - no more the fool”!
Pink Lady 🩷🍎.
Day 96.
A good day planned today ……….
Train into Liverpool with my sister for a browse around John Lewis - I received my £200 reward voucher for 20 years in the Probation Service so great timing 👌. There should have been another zero added to that for all we have to deal with and the level of risk involved but hey ho. Right now, whilst money is still relatively tight, these are a godsend so every cloud 🙃.
Later today, we are meeting my son at a lovely well known traditional Italian restaurant that has been going for years and does great food. He is treating us both to a late lunch/early dinner plus drinks 💙. We will then train it home and I will catch up on a whole day’s recording of Wimbledon 🎾🍓🎾🍓 - perfect 👌.
It is pouring down with rain here right now but I am not going to allow this to spoil my day. Instead, I will make an extra effort to “scrub up” and look my best - that could take some time so wish me luck!!🤣🤣🤣.
Enjoy your weekend peops and don’t give any of your money away to any gambling establishments 👊💪.
”April fools - no more the fool”!
Pink Lady 🩷🍎.
Day 97.
Considering it is July, the weather is still shocking.👎. The tennis and cricket are both a wash out today and tomorrow allegedly. My son is not a happy bunny - he headed down to London earlier, to stay at his mates and both of them had plans to go to Lords today to watch the cricket. My son was then hoping to head to Wimbledon tomorrow, to brave the queues. Watch this space!
Yesterday at John Lewis, with my reward vouchers from work, I treated myself to a nice handbag, which was half price!👌 and I have ordered some really nice Michael Kors sunglasses I had been admiring for a while. They should be arriving in the next few days - not that I will be needing them if this awful weather continues!👎. Still, nice that I have got them AND they didn’t cost me anything.👌.
Later today, my sister and friend are arriving for fizz and nibbles 🥂🍾. All of which I could purchase, and just be doing what I would normally be doing when I am not gambling and have removed myself from that vicious gambling cycle. Urrrrrrgh. When they have left, I will catch up on all my recorded Wimbledon matches - the only good thing about it being a washout is that they then have to put matches on centre court and court 1 on “middle Sunday”, which both have a roof.👏👏👏.
Day 100 is approaching. Not really given it too much thought to be honest - other than it will have been another day I have not gambled. I will however, set myself some more goals to work towards.💪.
Take care all and for those of you watching the tennis like me, enjoy!🎾🍓🎾🍓🎾🍓🙂.
”April fools - no more the fool”!
Pink Lady 🩷🍎.
Day 98.
One of my non-working days today and this week, I am on annual leave👌.
I have just spent the morning catching up on my own diary thread. I decided to read the middle section of it on this occasion. I found this quite therapeutic. It’s good to see the positive things I have achieved, all whilst still remaining on a tight budget and at times, feeling very sad and emotional 💔💙. It was also a good reminder that any tiny gambling thoughts were just exactly that and they were not acted on. NO WAY!!👊💪.
I am going to take myself for a nice walk into our local town and get my steps in. I am then going to come home and settle down for the afternoon/eve, watching all the tennis.🎾🍓👌.
I have just calculated how many more working days I have left as a Probation Officer before I leave the service for good - 8 MORE DAYS!!! On the 9th day, I will hand in all my equipment and say my goodbyes!🥲. Wow!
Take care all and keep looking after “you” and doing your best.
”April fools - no more the fool”!
Pink Lady 🩷🍎.
Day 99.
Yet another miserable, rainy July day ☔️☔️. I will not allow this to dampen my spirits however. A good excuse to stay home and do some ironing this morning, whilst listening to some nice music. 👍.
It’s so good that Wimbledon have two courts with a roof each, otherwise, there would be hardly any tennis played at this rate! If this rain continues, I will just stay at home and use the time to relax and chill watching the tennis.
Was just thinking to myself earlier, how of late, I hardly think about payday and how long I have to go before it next comes around! Not that I have got loads of money in my bank account right now but it’s more than I had this time last month. My mantra still stands - “steady wins the race” and “patience is a virtue”!👌.
Day 100 tomorrow. I don’t want to obsess about such milestones. Us gamblers have done enough obsessing in our lives but for all the wrong reasons🥴. However, I am going to set myself some new goals that I am hoping will be realistic and achievable 🙏. Again, I will not rush/obsess over these goals. Instead, I will tackle them in a way that makes me feel comfortable, whilst still being able to focus on life in general. I will also remain patient in my manner. I have noticed that being patient, really helps me feel more calm and less anxious about my current financial situation. Knowing that in time, whilst remaining g.f, this will only continue to improve👍.
Take care all and go easy on yourselves.
”April fools - no more the fool”!
Pink Lady🩷🍎.
Day 100!
Some consider this to be a significant milestone and so they should 👏. For me however, I just see it as another successful day of not gambling. I think what I am trying to do, is to not obsess over g.f days/milestones/how soon I will reach my set goals/pay my debts off etc. Instead, I feel happier just going about my days/weeks, knowing that at the end of the day, I can say “I have not gambled”👍🙂. Goal setting for me is still very important however and I most definitely push myself harder/keep focused when I have some in place. With this in mind, I feel this is a good day to set some more. I am going to set 3 so as not to over burden myself so here goes……
1. Tesco credit card:
To reduce my Tesco credit card - I only have a £600.00 credit limit on it and I am fine with this. It’s good to have, in case of emergencies or when Sainsbo’s have their 25% off wine and champagne and I can cash in on that, saving money in the long run👌.
Target date for zero balance = 31st December 2024.
2. Petrol money:
On 19th August, I am starting work in my new full-time job. The office is just at the bottom of my road so I can easily walk to work and back👌. I have decided to put the money I would usually spend each month on petrol, into my savings account. This can go towards my son’s Birthday, which is exactly 2 weeks after Christmas Day! Money is often tight for most people in the month of January and whilst I have never let this affect his Birthday, it will be a nice little cushion to know that I will already have at least £150.00 put away for this 💷💷💷👍.
Target date for this = 8th January 2025 - my son’s Birthday!🎂.
3. To build up a balance in my bank account so that at the end of each month when nearing payday, I still have some money remaining. I will not put too much pressure on myself. I don’t exactly know what my net pay will be in my new job and initially, I will be getting paid weekly (takes me back to when I very first started work some 40 odd years ago)!,🤣. The main goal is to just have something still in my account when my next pay salary goes in.
Target date for this = September 2024.
This will do for now. I believe these are manageable and something positive to aim towards👍💪.
Off to my sister’s soon (wearing a mask)!! Poor thing has come down with the new COVID strain, which is apparently raging around our area and she is feeling pretty rough at the minute. Such a bonus that we only live around the corner from each other, for situations like this. I will drop some honey, lemons and paracetamol off and make her a nice hot drink and just generally make sure she has everything she needs to hand. It’s the least I can do for all she has done for me. Especially when I have had a “bout” of gambling, leading to more destruction 🙈. Only for her, I would have come unstuck on many occasions!
I will continue watching all the tennis later and have a sneaky Prosecco in the process - to mark my 100 days g.f, even though I said at the beginning of this post, this is not significant to me🤣. Any excuse AND I am on annual leave still!😜🥂🍾.
Take care all and keep fighting the fight!👊💪.
”April fools - no more the fool”!
Pink Lady🩷🍎.
Hello Pink Lady
Although you might not be overly keen on making too much of milestones, 100 days is a great achievement so a massive 'well done' to you! Thanks so much for continuing to share your journey on here - it's really inspiring.
It's great to hear about the next set of goals you've set - this is such a good way of staying motivated and keeping your progress going.
Best wishes to your sister for a speedy recovery and enjoy the rest of your annual leave!
All the best
Claire
Forum Admin
Congratulations pink!! 100 days is an achievement even if it is just the start, be proud of how far you've come and all you have from being in a better position now.
Your plans sound great. Fully hope you smash them all!!
Good luck 👍🏻
@brownie889 Thanks so much brownie 💙. How are you doing? Well I hope and still going strong. You should be on day 100 too from what I can recall??
Take care.
🩷🍎.
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