I've recently kicked alcohol out of my life completely, want to join me? There aren't many benefits, just saving more cash, effortlessly dropping lbs, more mental clarity, the end of hangovers, and much more time and energy to focus on the things that matter. Honestly, I'm surprised it doesn't come up here a little more often!
Alright, Onemorebike: I'm in.
I started drinking when I was 21; I'm 46 now. With the exception of three weeks in 2014, I have had alcohol in my life on a near-daily/weekly basis for 25 years. I've long thought about the physical, mental and financial benefits of going sober (and the financial aspect especially since beginning the ways of the Mustache in 2014).
In fact, if I take my average spending on booze at $200/month and do the MMM thing and calculate investment at 8% return for 10 years, I get:
Nearly $37,000 I could have/could have had. Damn.
And add to that the mental tiredness, crankiness, lost productivity, and worst of all, the lost joy of living I often experience when I'm sober - and it all adds up to a good idea to give it a rest for a while. Maybe for a long while.
Today is Day 1. My goal is to go for 30 days, and possibly longer. The last time I lived like that I was 20 years old. This won't be easy, and habits are hard to break, but I've done many other hard things in my life so I believe I can do this.
Thanks for this conversation. I'm very glad to see it. And very glad to read all the posts everyone has shared!