Gambling- the sure way of getting nothing from something! 11th May 2014

Thanks for the post hans,

Yep I know there a joke,preying on desperate people,mug punters like myself.

That urge has thankfully passed.

Day 96 today,the magic 100 on tues,I had my doubts I would get there 2day,I have struggled.

Things had been goin along smoothly,too smoothly,I had re trained my brain into the mentality of winning is worse than losing,this alone has kept me from gambling.

I had to sort some paperwork out for family credits the other day,stumbled across my 1 outstanding debts paperwork - £7470 a long standing debt which I've had for 10 years, (originaly a 5 grand loan) that I pay £60 monthly to. They will take 5500 to wipe the debt off.

This has played on my mind all wk,I've saved a grand and pd my overdraft since stopping gambling,but us gamblers aren't patient people,I just want this debt gone.

This is where the seed of gambling has re- entered my head.

I've been strong today,I've the wkd off,2moro will be a better day.

Hi Robby,

First off thanks for the post.

Mate can't wait to feel like 100 days is so attainable. Don't let it slip now. I'm fortunately not in as much debt as you, but I'm in an overdraft and owe my gf £2k for a holiday I said I was struggling to find the money for.

The way I look at it is every month I don't gamble the closer I am to being financially stable. It doesn't make it much easier but I know if I gamble then I ll be further away again. Simple but it works in my head.

Yeah cricket was dreadful couldn't believe it went 5-0, genuinely thought we had the 4th one! Batting was embarrassing.

Keep up the good work mate.

Stu

Thanks for the post Stu,glad you're marching on.

Cricket a shambles,when they snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory the other day it brought back memories of past bets that looked sure to win but some how failed.

I've had a big day today,maybe a turning point.

My mind has been set for a punt,really all brought on by thoughts of a debt.

I phoned my debt company today,made an offer of 3 grand to clear the debt of 7500,they previously would only accept 5500,but now they will accept 4320.

I've sorted these funds,all being well it will be paid on monday,I'm gona have to borrow 3 grand to do it,but 3 grand I debt is better than 7500.

A chance for me to be debt free come september after 12 years of loans,credit cards,iva's hanging over my head.

I'm now focused on paying this 3 grand bk. A new challenge,it will only help me from abstaining from gambling.

Spare money has always been a problem for me,something I'm gona have to deal with when I'm debt free,a good problem to have.

97 days gamble free.

Day 98,- all my thoughts are in paying back my last long outstanding debt.

Transfered money which has left me 1150 overdrawn,but to pay bk a 7500 debt for 4320,its a massive leap forward,should be debt free come september.

Day off today,no thoughts of gambling,I got my focus back.

Just for today I shall not gamble

Robby I'm happy for you but also envious and a bit bemused as to how after only stopping gambling in October and having lots of debts and an IVA etc for years how you can be gamble free come September?

As you know I have been 6 months random gamble free but for me I am talking 8 years to pay off my debts maybe even 10.

Thanks for the post Captain,I'm only happy to clarify my financial position,helps me re-live the s**t and stress gambling has put me through!

I went bankrupt in 98 owing 100k,lost my house etc.

I carried on gambling until I abstained for over a year in 2000 - thus when my recovery began.

I then went bk to gambling around 2002,was able to obtain credit cards,loans etc.

I entered a dmp(not a iva) in 2004 having debts of 43k.

I was paying bk just £30 a month to 9 creditors,my interest was frozen.

I met my partner in 2006,she moved in,my rent halfed,I got a part time job,she helped me save money when possible,I bent the truth a bit to my debtors,I had more spare cash than I declared.

When I had a lump sum I offered a reduced full and final settlement to my creditors,one by one I have whittled those creditors down over the years.

Most creditors took a fraction of I what I actually owed,but you get a 'P' on your credit report - partially settled,- tho the debt is written off.

I have struggled along the last few years,blowing money,ultimately trying to win a lump sum to pay off my last 2 debtors.

I paid off northern rock in 2012 after abstaining for 6 or so months £3320 for a 8 grand debt.

Fast forward to oct 2013,I owed HBOS 7500, I pay bk £60 a month- they have accepted an offer of 4320,I've had to borrow 3 grand,- all being good I shall pay 500 a month except july and god willing be out of debt in september.

These debts and the 'P' put on my credit report cant make 1 iota of difference to my credit score.because all my debts were defaulted over 6 years ago. I manged to get on my partners mortgage last year,I pay it anyway,but it was previously in her and her dads name.

I've had huge dollops of luck gettin out the s**t I was in. Roll on the summer. 100 days 2mo.

Thanks for the clarification Robby much appreciated.

Maybe I'm doing this all wrong, i've never gone bankrupt, or had a dmp or iva.

My worst scenario was when I remortgaged. ( I took advice and was advised to do that as opposed to an iva). Thus I have not 'saved' paying any debt. Everything I have borrowed to gamble with I have or am paying back. Following the re-mortgage I of course re-borrowed everything I could again.

Day 100! Good to write that,a milestone I had no faith in achieving back on Oct 13th.

Its been tough,I'm getting there.

Got to keep matching forward.

Defintely not watching so much sport has helped,self exclusions,not buying papers and lack of funds have all contibuted to me not gambling.

Now its the tough bit,trying to find a new hobby to keep me gamble free for life.

I must say, at the moment I don't want to gamble,I know that will not always be the case,I'm a compulsive gambler

Just for today I shall not gamble.

Well done on the 100 days Robby.

We have a lot of similarities, I too do not watch much sport now, just no interest, just proves to me how much I watched sport because I gambled on it, not for pure love of it.

Best of luck re finding a new hobby. People dont seem to believe me when I say I have been looking for alternatives for 6 years now but its true. I just have a very narrow interest of things. I have found plenty to do to pass the time and avoid gambling but nothing to give me any sort of buzz or competitive edge or motivation in the way gambling does.

Many thanks for the post captain,much appreciated.

I totally aggree with you,I don't think we will find anything that will give us the same buzz as gambling,its how were built,gambling becomes a question of life or death for me,the high of a win is so high,but the low is the lowest low. I think its learning to live with that mundane middle of the road life.

Tho I'm getting use to a mundane normal life,defo less sressed,have more time for my kids and in general more happier.

I've tried to learn to play the guitar-far too hard to keep me intersted,I still do running but I miss the team sports I use to play,football,darts,pool etc.

I've started selling things on *******,stuff I can get cheap for a moderate profit,I suppose you could call it a hobby,tho I do have to motivate myself to list items.

My thoughts do wonder back to gambling,I've still got that voice in me that thinks I can make a profit,but for now I'm not listening.

Robbybox

Just a quick line to say a huge well done on your 100 days continued abstinence, the rewards are there in black and white for all to see.

It is amazing to see what communicating with debtors does is it not??

f**k all the time I spent thinking the postman was my nemisis, when I found actually talking to debtors either produced offers like your recent one.

Great to see progress with a good outcome.

duncs stepping forward never back.

Day 1 starts again from now,I know its just a blip,but I've f***** up once again.

Gota a deadly email from a company that I'd forgotten existed,a little win sat,I thought I could handle just a fun saturday punt,my brain was just taken over. The weekly punt continued on sunday- another little win.

I started to think if I could just win a hundred a week- o was betting on horse head to heads,50/50 chance,a educated guess I thought.

Another little punt on monday,I find myself 270 up. Then today the inevitable happened,the bubble burst. Strangely I was relieved the bubble burst.

A big loss,that could of been worse,but its come at the worse possible time.

I'm totally P***** off with myself,lessons to be learnt,I'm to angry to think straight at the moment. One thing I know iis I know now I can quit this s**t,more barriers to be put up.

Sorry to read about your setback Robby. All you can do is learn from it, pick up the pieces and move on. From what you have posted, I'd be less concerned about the event that started the episode and more concerned about the fact that you were back in the mode of thinking like a gambler, when you hadn't been, or if you had you didn't act on it for 100 days.

Thanks for the post captain,appreciated.

Still thoroughly P***** off with myself,but im not gona beat myself up about it,ive been on the right path,just took a wrong turn.

I dunno if paying of my last major debt- thus leaving myself short of funds contributed to my thinking,-maybe.

Defo in a worst situation now,just gona have to tighten my belt for a few months.

It was amazing how one moment im clear thinking,happy and stress free.-then after placing my first bet,i was a nervous wreck.

It won.thus starting up the cycle again,another win followed,and that nite my mind started coming up with all sorts of scenarios,if i could win this amount.regain my losses from last october.

Yesterday when it all came crashing down,my firsy horse got stuck in the stalls,the second horse fell- all of a sudden i was chasing,i was bk to the gambler me.

I lost whatever i had available,it was`nt a huge amount,but enough.

It was what i turned into,i had no time for my kids,didnt wana read a story to my little girl,all i wanted to do was chase.

Ive surveyed the damage today,things aint as bad as i thought,ive been doing great.

No one can take the past 16 weeks away from me,ive had a blip,the mentality that winning is worse than losing has been once again imprinted on my mind.

Just for today i shall not gamble

Day 2 u could call it,I've come to terms with blip.onwards and upwards.

I've been tempted to chase my losses of thursday,but I've gota deal with it,get bk off the merry go round. Winning is worse than losing,gota keep that fresh in my head.

I can do this.

An family arvo out today,gona enjoy.

Hope everyone has a gamble free happy wkd.