Going down a very bad route

Well done

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50 days. Tomorrow will be my second payday.

Tomorrow it will be 8 weeks, this must be the longest I have not gambled in many years. It's also the first time I'm seriously trying to stop altogether, as opposed to just "getting it under control" or not gambling for a month.

I gotta say it's easier than I thought it would be, even though I still think about sports betting almost every day. Sometimes when I see a good betting opportunity coming up I even consider doing a bet. But my life has started to change for the better in the last 8 weeks and I don't want to risk it. Have been thinking about investing in the stock market instead, but even that could be dangerous for me. I used to do well in sports betting and I know it's possible to consistently make profits if you are very knowledgable about your sport, but my problem is that I can't control myself anymore when I'm losing money. I can't help but to chase my loses until I have lost eveything. I could see the same thing happening if I start investing in the stock market.

Dear whatever666,

just a note to say that investing in the sockmarket can easily go the same way as your football betting. It sounds like you yourself are very much aware of this, just wanted to confirm that you are thinking along the right lines, I would advise you to stay away from stocks and shares.

Keep up the good work, glad to hear you find the process easy and rewarding.

All the very best,

Eva

Forum Admin

Still going strong, next week I will hit the 3 months mark.

I still regularly check the new betting odds and read the sports betting forum where I used to be a member. Sometimes when I look at the betting odds of the matches next months, I fantasize about placing a bet on a tempting underdog to reach my money goals faster. I wish I could let go of these thoughts.
However, I never took any concrete steps towards placing a bet. I'm self-excluded on my two favorite betting sites and I never tried to open account at another site.

This is my chance to turn my life around and if don't turn it around now it will soon become very unrealistic to reach my life goals.

Hi whatever, well done on hitting the 3 months, thought that you might be dicing it a bit by regular looking at the betting odds, hope you don’t mind me saying,, i to used to do that and it did tempt me, it was an accident waiting to happen for me, and it did,, i don’t do that anymore, ,, i then went over to the free comp that one of the tv stations run, thinking that it was harmless,, who was i kidding,, no i packed that in as well realising that i was slowly being sucked in again, i was not letting go, that’s my addiction, but i won’t give it that chance, any chance, i can see it, i know it and i keep it chained up, my chains are off. All the best. Moving on keeping one step ahead guard Up, bobbyj/rainman

The way I follow sports I couldn't avoid seeing the betting lines even if I wanted to. And I'm too much of a sports fan to stop following my favorite sports.

Had a relapse this weekend, 700 EUR down the drain. I could have used that money to go on a holiday or buy a new laptop instead. Feeling bad about it, but gotta move on from this and not make the same mistake again in 2019.

Sorry you've had a relapse whatever666. it's good that you're determined to move on rather than letting it trigger a downward spiral.

Keep posting,

Deirdre
Forum Admin

whatever666 wrote:

Had a relapse this weekend, 700 EUR down the drain. I could have used that money to go on a holiday or buy a new laptop instead. Feeling bad about it, but gotta move on from this and not make the same mistake again in 2019.

How are you doing, are you getting on track

So, December was a bad month for me. In addition to the 700 I mentioned in my previous post, I gambled again between Christmas and New year and my total losses in December climbed up to 3500 euros. That's a major setback for me but it happened and I can't undo it.
In August I started putting some money in my savings account each month. I didn't touch that money but I went into a 3k credit card debt. I should be able to just about pay that off with my next wages, but it slows things down quite a bit and means I will be skint again next month.
It would be best for me if I had no access to a credit card. Depositing money into a casino account with my credit card is just too easy and only takes a few mouse clicks. While you're in that gambling mindset it only takes another mouse click to reload and it sometimes feels like it's only virtual money. The money in my savings account feels like real money and I'm more conscious about it. That's probably one of the reasons why I haven't withdrawn any money from my savings account yet and also it takes much more time.
I can't get rid of my cc as I need it for work-related expenses (which will be reimbursed later, of course) but I will contact my cc provider to decrease my monthly limit. While I plan on staying gambling free for the whole year, knowing that I could only gamble 500 in one credit card billing cycle instead of 3k if I do have a relapse, would be nice.

To be honest it takes one look at a shop and I have to go in. I have realised the only way I can not gamble in my current situation is to not have access to cash. So on days I am going out I will only carry cash I need, and a little extra. If you need your cards, make a note to leave it at places where you cannot go and use them on a whim.

Try not to be too strict on yourself. I got this from my counselling. self compassion. Give yourself money to treat yourself, better to buy that laptop, that car, and spend it all if you must, just don't gamble.

Good luck.

Day 37 GF....and still feeling like a massive weight off my shoulders...no longer a slave to my past inner demon.

Have no urges or interest in gambling....it took me a while to finally wake up to the realization that by continuing with the little it can't hurt bets I was keeping the addiction alive.

My health both mental and physical is improving and my bank balance in the black meaning I can treat myself and son now and again instead of handing it over to the casino or bookies.

Good luck to all who are GF

Bluemountain1

Mentally I'm doing okay at the moment. My financial situation obviously took a hit when I lost 3.5k in december and I'm still recovering from it.

I really really really need to stay gamblefree in 2019 so I can get some financial stability.

1 month down, 11 more to go.

Let's do this!

I think if u budget yourself on a spreadsheet u might do better. I have and over the past three years ive spent less each year and saved more. Seeing the gambling on a spreadsheet really shows u.

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