Day 2: no gambling today.
Pellekanin
fella I hope you find the resolve to keep abstaining, the way for us to live a better life, to gift ourselves that 100% payrise.
I read with interest your posts, for me every time in my twenty years at it I had a period of abstinence, when I returned the losses were always greater and the stakes raised.
Keep making the right choice.
Abstain and maintain.
Duncs stepping forward never back.
I have managed to get through Day 3 without gambling even though the urges are strong. However, my real test will be when I get paid in two weeks time as I will have money available in my account again. For the time being I do not have any funds with which to gamble so my abstinence is somewhat forced upon me. I need to ensure that on pay day, I take control of my funds and pay off part of my massive credit card bill. At least I know that every penny I am earning at the moment is not going to be wasted as long as I abstain from gambling. I need to chip away at my debts and they will come down bit by bit. I reduced my debts after my last sustained gambling binge from £14k to £4k. They are now back up at £6k and I do not want this to get any worse. I urgently need to get my NatWest overdraft paid off as the bank are going to start charging a fee (as well as interest) for being over £25 overdrawn each month. How very generous of them.
I am reviewing my current spending on non-essential food items and changes have to be made. Although I have a sweet tooth, chocolates and sweets have to go (as do crisps) - they are not healthy anyway, are bad for my teeth and are a rip off (especially when one takes into account a Value Added Tax rate of 20 per cent). I am going to simplify my food intake and draw up a budget which allows me to eat cheap yet healthy food: fruit and vegetables to be eaten regularly alongside recipes from a wartime cookery book.
Day 5: no gambling today.
I have got through day 6 but had gambling urges throughout the afternoon. I am glad I stayed strong and did not give in as I certainly would have lost, not only on the horse racing but on the surprising cup final result. As I said before, I have barely any money at the moment and pay day is over a week away. I need to keep disciplined. I seem to remember from last time that getting through the first three weeks was the key as that is how long it seemed to take for my mental obsession with gambling to partially correct itself. However, as a compulsive gambler, I will never be safe but the longer I go without gambling the better as abstinence makes me a better person socially, financially and in terms of my health.
Day 7: no gambling today.
Just a quick message to say your doing great work with not gambling. I too have made it to day 7 and if we can do that then we can do it all over again. One day at a time and put the betting behind us.
Again, great work and good to see!
Day 8: no gambling today.
Day 9: no gambling today.
Day 10: no gambling today.
Day 11: no gambling today.
Day 12: no gambling today.
Day 13: no gambling today.
Day 14: no gambling today.
I am two weeks clean and looking forward to the week ahead. The more gamble-free days I put behind me, the better I feel both financially and mentally. I am heavily in debt but, if I do not gamble, it will not get any worse (unless something unexpected happens, which is always possible). I get paid on Wednesday so I need to stay strong and keep focused on my debt-recovery plan, which involves chipping away at my credit card balance while getting myself out of my overdraft by the end of June (before NatWest start charging in July).
Day 15: no gambling today.
Day 16: no gambling today.
Day 17: no gambling today.
Day 18: no gambling today.
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