Ground zero

Day 123: no gambling today.

Day 124: no gambling today.

Hi Pellekanin, it's a good question. Horses and fruities were my vice. As a result I totally shut myself away from horse racing. I don't read the papers, look on the Internet, watch the morning line etc. For me horse racing no longer exists. However, last year I watched the Gold Cup and the Grand National. The gold cup was easier to watch without feeling an urge. The grand national was different, I felt sorry that I had robbed myself of taking part in a special national activity. It did stir up betting thoughts. Your choice, but be prepared for that gremlin to come back on your shoulder. Russ

Day 125: no gambling today.

I have been thinking about my finances again. I think it is the curse of gambling that one ends up obsessing about money, at least until the debts are cleared. Looking back, I think the main reason I first started gambling was because I foolishly thought I could win an extra bit of money, but I got sucked into what can be an exciting world away from my mundane existence, I enjoyed the thrill, won some money, lost some money, lost more, staked more, enjoyed it less, blew my savings, maxed-out my credit cards and watched it all blow up in my face until I had no money left. Now I am trying to rebuild my finances, but it is a slow process and that is a problem too. Gambling made me a thrill-seeker who wanted instant gratification. The emphasis was on speed and placing the next bet on the next race without losing a moment to stop and think. Now I am plodding through 2012 and, realistically, will not be debt-free until sometime next year. Only then can I start to replenish the savings I blew last year. It is a hard, tiresome slog, but I will get there eventually. Until then I hope boredom does not ruin my recovery.

Pelle. I agree with everything you posted. I am on the verge of 6 months gamble free but have not really put a dent in my debt. Debt free date is Feb 2015 Every week feels like hard slog at the moment, I just want rid of the debt am sick even thinking about it. But I know I have to keep going as I am.

It is so hard to plan for the future as it feels like my life is on hold and will be until this debt is clear.

I know gambling is not the answer but feeling this way for the next 3 years is not a plesant thought.

I could copy and paste that into my diary without alterations and it would 100% accurately reflect my situation.

Its interesting how many people seem to really focus on debt ,how soon it can be cleared and how frustrating it is when the amounts go down so slowly im the same myself . It could be a reaction to how far the other way alot of us were before we stopped gambling where money looses its value and debt bocomes just a number the impact of which kicks in when we stop and gain some sort of control .Hopefully in the long term we can adopt a more balanced view and use overdrafts and ccs in the way they were intended .

Good Luck Denis

Day 126: no gambling today.

I decided to ditch my BT home phone package yesterday and change to the O2 home phone and broadband package. I already had O2 broadband, but was paying too much for my BT phone line. I have managed to reduce my monthly home phone and broadband cost from around £35 per month to just over £20 per month. That still includes free minutes to international numbers, which is needed as my wife has family living in several different countries. I am looking to make further savings over the coming weeks. I need to check the cost of my British Gas Dual Fuel package against other energy suppliers. One thing I cannot get away from is that I have a £300 Thames Water bill to pay by the end of this month for the forthcoming year. However, I may see if I can arrange to pay it monthly in order to spread the cost.

Day 127: no gambling today.

I am going to an Indian classical music concert this evening with my wife and a work colleague. I am acutely aware that evenings out together are going to be extremely limited after the birth of our baby. However, I am sure we will find other enjoyable things to do together instead of going out to concerts and films. It is certainly cheaper to stay at home and watch a film while eating homemade popcorn rather than spending a small fortune at our local cinema!

Day 128: no gambling today.

Hi Pelle,

regarding the forthcoming sprog - 'take a chill pill'. Believe me,I know exactly where you are and exactly what you're feeling. words will do little good from me, I know that too. But one serious piece of advice I would give is to try to enjoy the whole experience. There's only one first time. I know it's not easy, and there's so may unknowns, but if the entire world can do it and have done it since life began, and if people can give birth in fields and planes and cars, and if you're in a modern and caring environment, really, there's little to worry about. Things go wrong - but most of the time, esp with healthy parents and an uncomplicated pregnancy, they don't. you'll regret it if you spend the whole time whittling. The second time isn't the same. One of advantages of having a hippy wife (and there aren't many) is that she really looked forward to the birth, and that made it easy for me, and I really enjoyed it all.

As for the other, v interesting about your phone package. Will check that out. I'm defo paying too much at £50/60 month to BT for phone/broadband. My OH is from Europe, and we have international calls too.

I should point out that I received a discount from O2 towards the cost of my home phone and broadband by virtue of the fact that I have been an O2 mobile customer for several years. Regardless of whether you are an O2 mobile customer or not, their home phone and broadband package is cheaper than that provided by BT. I went for the Anytime call package and the All Rounder broadband package. It came out at £22.75 per month including line rental.