27-year-old lawyer here, and I can't really remember the last night when I did not have at least one drink. I'm not super worried about the financial impact - I'm not sure I could carefully separate alcohol purchases from my restaurant and grocery spending to be sure how much it was costing me. Most of the alcohol I drink is either 1) paid for by my employer/clients, or 2) cheap from Trader Joe's. Nevertheless, I am joining you because this habit is bad for me, and I should have another way to relax/destress from work. ~14 drinks per week is no bueno long term.
Nice! I did my expenses when I was 23 and found I spent 4k a year on booze, drunk munchies, and drunk ubers altogether. I succeeded in cutting that in half in my age 24 year :). Best way to do it is just skip whole weekends and find something else to do. Its really amazing how much you can spend in one night 'going out'. For me it was about 50. 30 on drinks, 10 on food, 10 on ubers.
Try not drinking one night a week
Try not drinking one night a week
Is this a thing people do? Ahh fuck it: stretch goal.
Lawyers drinking? Say it isn't so!
Another lawyer here. I've cut my drinking down to zero for non-money reasons, and my last drink was over four months ago. Accordingly, my alcohol spend has been slashed by 100%, lol. I'm going to estimate that alcohol spending was about $50 per week. That's $2,600 per year, boys and girls.
LOL FIRE_at_45......I spent 3 years in Halifax during my undergrad. There were definitely many blurry Sunday nights at the Lower Deck.
Got invited out with friends for beers tonight. I'm going to probably have to be a hermit as I know that if I go out with them my willpower will break and there will be a nasty hangover and bar receipt tomorrow morning.
I also do the club soda with lime or a tonic water with lime. Tonic water does contain sugar, so you can substitute diet tonic water if you wish. It will also cure your malaria. No really, I haven't had malaria once since I started drinking tonic water.
wife just got pregnant so we're slashing ours by 100% for the next 9 months. not fair to her for me to drink and not her.
wife just got pregnant so we're slashing ours by 100% for the next 9 months. not fair to her for me to drink and not her.
godspeed, a designated driver is a terrible thing to waste.
Two days this week without a glass of wine after work, but that is because "after work" never really happened - I left the office well after midnight, and when I finally got home I wasn't going to waste my precious sleeping time drinking anything. So sometimes, being a lawyer means you drink a bit less than you otherwise might. :)
I'm spending Christmas weekend with my religiously no-alcohol family, so unless I want to sneak out to find a bar open on Christmas day (confession, I did this last year), it'll be a dry few days coming up there as well.
Yikes. I've only been in the office after midnight a handful of times since graduating law school. Perhaps 10-12 times since 2014. We are a small shop though and I've definitely heard some horror stories from my big-law friends working on Bay Street in Toronto.
My order of 24 bottles of wine from the wine-making shop (see the article on MMM's site entitled Fine Canadian Wine-making) should be ready in another two weeks. I am hoping that will last me from January 2017 to June 2017 but we will see. At $4.75 per bottle that is hard to beat.
True, but that Trader Joe's stuff is terrible and you have to double everything up here in Canada. I fear our OP would be a raging alcoholic down south :)
wife just got pregnant so we're slashing ours by 100% for the next 9 months. not fair to her for me to drink and not her.
I agree with you on not being able to tell the difference but I did have a bottle of TJ that was terrible. I wanted it to be good. I usually try and buy my wine based on getting it for less than $10. I don't drink enough of it to go for the volume buy.
I'm actually a beer snob as it was part of my career path. I've done a lot of tasting over the years. Here's the thing about beer. You can load up a really bad beer with hops and then you can't taste the rest of the defects.
Generally speaking with the big brewers (Bud, Miller, Labatt, Molson) you will get the most consistent tasting product meaning every time you buy you know what to expect. All that marketing crap about brewing in small batches is total BS. The smaller the batches the less refined the equipment. The big brewers all use computer automation and then blend massive tanks together for consistency. The same applies to wine.
BTW, the best beer in the US is Deschutes IMHO. Absolutely freaking amazing!!
https://www.deschutesbrewery.com/
wife just got pregnant so we're slashing ours by 100% for the next 9 months. not fair to her for me to drink and not her.
Congratulations!
I think it would be hard to ever make the pregnancy situation "fair". Do you plan to give up all the foods that make her sick? Sleep with nails under your hips to make it more fair that she can't sleep without horrible pain? (Actually- I think that's nice of you to do.)
Just know, if she plans to breastfeed your sobriety might need to go on a bit longer. Some women really hate the pump and dump that has to come after having alcohol.
<snip>
BTW, the best beer in the US is Deschutes IMHO. Absolutely freaking amazing!!
https://www.deschutesbrewery.com/
cant be 100% fair but we love craft beer and red wine ... also cost savings here cutting it out.
cant be 100% fair but we love craft beer and red wine ... also cost savings here cutting it out.
Set the savings aside in a college fund. Your future child will appreciate it, and you can appreciate the irony when you realize your non-drinking money is being frittered away by a college kid buying shots.
<snip>
BTW, the best beer in the US is Deschutes IMHO. Absolutely freaking amazing!!
https://www.deschutesbrewery.com/
Thanks for the recommendation! I'll pick some of this up on the way home tonight. The 'beer finder' map is cool.
On topic: This is one area of my life I know I should improve on, but don't want/not ready to. I like the idea of it being a 'stretch goal', haha! I estimate that I spent about $1000 on alcohol this year - mostly at home.
Glad to see so much enthusiasm for this topic. My alcohol consumption probably peaked last week with the holiday season, but has been nil the last few days. Also, most of last week's drinking did not involve any actual expenditure and was covered by family at various dinners and gatherings.
I've built up a nice reserve of alcohol from various Christmas gifts and I am hoping that this will last me until the end of February 2017. My 'home-made' wine should be ready by the second week of January and I am hoping that batch will push my reserves to at least April 2017. I'm going to try and drink everything I have in my apartment before I venture out to purchase new alcohol. I'm also going to be pretty ruthless about turning down opportunities to drink out at bars with my friends and colleagues.
And I fully agree with the above posts that aside from the financial angle, there are serious health benefits to reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption. I'm not at the point yet where I am ready to quit entirely, although it is something that I have often thought about, but I am going to resolve not to 1) Be hungover at work any day in 2017; and 2) Limit my drinking on work nights to one drink.
With full disclosure I used to do this regularly....that being having a few drinks during the week. You sound like alcohol is part of your social scene right now and I get it. I was a big drinker at your age.
Why not just cut the non social drinking completely?
I stopped drinking over two years ago. I never bothered lying when people asked me why. At first it was to save money, and I figured I could still participate in open-bar type events. But that turned out to be inadvisable, so I cut it off completely. I lost a little weight and started sleeping better. Cutting out coffee around the same time helped with the sleep too.
I've gotten into a couple conversations about early retirement from this, and I never want to deny myself the chance to talk about that!
I stopped drinking over two years ago. I never bothered lying when people asked me why. At first it was to save money, and I figured I could still participate in open-bar type events. But that turned out to be inadvisable, so I cut it off completely. I lost a little weight and started sleeping better. Cutting out coffee around the same time helped with the sleep too.
I've gotten into a couple conversations about early retirement from this, and I never want to deny myself the chance to talk about that!
Hey, virtual high five! I have to admit I get the weirdest reactions when I tell people I stopped drinking alcohol and coffee. Stopping one seems to be acceptable but both is down right heresy.
The next thing I tried to reduce/cut out was processed sugar. I was OK for about two months and did well over Thanksgiving but then people kept giving us chocolates and other sweets. It was in the house for about a week until I caved in. I'm not eating half a boxes in a day but I definitely fell of the wagon. I need to start giving them away somehow.
I've never been a coffee person (I can't stand the taste of it), but I was seriously addicted to diet coke for years. The caffeine addiction was actually secondary, but it was totally an issue too. I somehow managed to quit drinking diet coke completely right around June of this year. Cold turkey. I had horrible headaches for several days, but it passed in about 3-4 days. For me/us, drinking alcohol is more of a habit situation. You get to a point where you're programmed that when you do X you have a drink. Like when you're celebrating, or when you're depressed, or when you're watching football, etc. So for me, it's more about breaking those automatic habits than anything else. I have similar problems with eating junk food. It's triggered by situations.
I've never been a coffee person (I can't stand the taste of it), but I was seriously addicted to diet coke for years. The caffeine addiction was actually secondary, but it was totally an issue too. I somehow managed to quit drinking diet coke completely right around June of this year. Cold turkey. I had horrible headaches for several days, but it passed in about 3-4 days. For me/us, drinking alcohol is more of a habit situation. You get to a point where you're programmed that when you do X you have a drink. Like when you're celebrating, or when you're depressed, or when you're watching football, etc. So for me, it's more about breaking those automatic habits than anything else. I have similar problems with eating junk food. It's triggered by situations.
This book helped me identify my triggers and develop strategies to avoid or modify my reactions to those triggers. Also knowing that will power is limited helped me feel less guilty about being weak or lacking self-control in those situations.
I hope it helps you change the habits you want to break.
https://www.amazon.com/Power-Habit-What-Life-Business/dp/081298160X (https://www.amazon.com/Power-Habit-What-Life-Business/dp/081298160X)
Really impressed that you are calculating the true costs. The main thing is wanting to change. How hungover today? I was completely dry last night.
I stopped drinking over two years ago. I never bothered lying when people asked me why. At first it was to save money, and I figured I could still participate in open-bar type events. But that turned out to be inadvisable, so I cut it off completely. I lost a little weight and started sleeping better. Cutting out coffee around the same time helped with the sleep too.
I've gotten into a couple conversations about early retirement from this, and I never want to deny myself the chance to talk about that!
Hey, virtual high five! I have to admit I get the weirdest reactions when I tell people I stopped drinking alcohol and coffee. Stopping one seems to be acceptable but both is down right heresy.
The next thing I tried to reduce/cut out was processed sugar. I was OK for about two months and did well over Thanksgiving but then people kept giving us chocolates and other sweets. It was in the house for about a week until I caved in. I'm not eating half a boxes in a day but I definitely fell of the wagon. I need to start giving them away somehow.
i'm alcohol free for the next 8 months or so b/c my wife is pregnant. going on 3 weeks now. 0 booze. we used to go thru a case of wine and a six pack or 2 of beer a week. which is about 50 dollars a week savings. Projected savings over 9 months = 2k.
i'm alcohol free for the next 8 months or so b/c my wife is pregnant. going on 3 weeks now. 0 booze. we used to go thru a case of wine and a six pack or 2 of beer a week. which is about 50 dollars a week savings. Projected savings over 9 months = 2k.
Stick that in the market and when they graduate high school you'll have a nice gift for the kid, who can thank you for not drinking!
i'm alcohol free for the next 8 months or so b/c my wife is pregnant. going on 3 weeks now. 0 booze. we used to go thru a case of wine and a six pack or 2 of beer a week. which is about 50 dollars a week savings. Projected savings over 9 months = 2k.
I still did not set any tangible goal regarding alcohol. It is still such an accepted norm. I invited a few people over for dinner so I felt I needed to have a bottle of red wine just in case. Now I've tucked it away so I won't just feel like I 'need' a glass after work. Then once the bottle is open you have to finish it, right!?
I also want to reduce my sugar.
i'm alcohol free for the next 8 months or so b/c my wife is pregnant. going on 3 weeks now. 0 booze. we used to go thru a case of wine and a six pack or 2 of beer a week. which is about 50 dollars a week savings. Projected savings over 9 months = 2k.
Damn! How are you finding going cold turkey?
Checking in.
I haven't had a drink since NYE so zero alcohol spending here.
No soft drink either, which is my real goal.
all right folks.....here is my anti-Mustachian wall of shame final summary of my alcohol consumption/spend in 2016. All figures are in Canadian dollars:
Total estimated spend in 2016: $2,754.70 (FUCK).
Total estimated drink consumption, which was much higher than initially reported due to a spreadsheet error: 581 drinks
As for cutting back on the social drinking, I'm just going to need to take up a hobby to keep my time occupied, maybe I'll finally sign up for Treehouse and learn some coding skills on the side.I took up fancy group fitness classes last year and that helped significantly. Particularly because I was in an alcohol-heavy workaholic field and I found the stress relief of group fitness was better for me than whiskey as an after-work habit (or before-going-back-for-second-shift-at-office-habit).
Could you just work on ordering club soda or water instead? Offer to be a designated driver so you really have a good excuse to not drink?
As for cutting back on the social drinking, I'm just going to need to take up a hobby to keep my time occupied, maybe I'll finally sign up for Treehouse and learn some coding skills on the side.
I think coding instead of going to a hockey game seems like an extreme measure to not drink.I dunno, sounds way more fun to me!
Could you just work on ordering club soda or water instead? Offer to be a designated driver so you really have a good excuse to not drink?
As for cutting back on the social drinking, I'm just going to need to take up a hobby to keep my time occupied, maybe I'll finally sign up for Treehouse and learn some coding skills on the side.
I think coding instead of going to a hockey game seems like an extreme measure to not drink.
I was doing well, zero spend, until I hit the weekend and then everything went off the rails. Ended up spending approximately $110.00 Canadian this weekend (WTF). Some friends of mine came back from vacation and the social drinking got out of control. Although, part of that was $20 on one martini (double WTF) at a hotel bar, which I ordered without looking at the price, and another $25 was two beers at an NHL hockey game. The remaining $55 did come from one bar though. Overall, the actual amount of drinks was not that bad, but the costs spiraled out of control.
Looks like I will be trying the cold turkey method, at least until I can counteract the spend from this weekend and get back on track to my goal of reducing spend by 75%. I've been 100% off coffee since January 5th using the cold turkey method. The first day was hellish.
As for cutting back on the social drinking, I'm just going to need to take up a hobby to keep my time occupied, maybe I'll finally sign up for Treehouse and learn some coding skills on the side.
OMG, that would be terrible. You did not follow the advice to cut back slowly :). It is so much easier on your head to reduce your consumption of coffee until you are ready physiologically. If you find yourself slipping back try this method. It works. I am 7+ months now.
If you were watching the Leafs that is a good excuse to drink....but I guess you could be a Senator`s fan.
I am curious. How do you feel when the spending is going out of control? I remember MMM describing it like he was getting sweats over buying an avocado or something that was not in the budget. I can get a little this way so I am curious.
3 weeks no booze. Wife has to me out of choice. Really not that bad.
That's what it's all about. A HUGE part of drinking at home (non socially) is just a habit. You have to change your habit. Maybe find another reward on Friday night that satisfies this craving (i.e. a warm bath, movie night and popcorn).
Today is the 14th, so that's two weeks of no drinking and no alcohol spending for me.
Today is the 14th, so that's two weeks of no drinking and no alcohol spending for me.
Glad to see everyone doing well, same boat here (2 weeks of not drinking).
Have to say this past weekend was tempting, Friday/Saturday nights being the worst. The thought of having a beer rush in and won't go away for about 5 minutes (torture), but if you can occupy yourself with something else it all just passes. I find that as long as I make it to Sunday, the thoughts/demons leave me alone (until next Friday lol).
Since I decided to go cold turkey a few days before Christmas I have no desire to drink. I remember my wife saying "but you have a lot of alcohol at home who is going to drink those?". :-) I guess, for now, financial and health benefits of not drinking is winning. That doesn't mean that I will never drink in the future. But it wouldn't hurt to give my liver a break.
BTW, I have always been able make changes and don't worry or get bothered by them too much. Example? Here is my current view from my desk while I am typing this post. :-)
Just two days away from 50 days of no drinking/no alcohol spend for me (on the 18th). Probably shooting for 100, but haven't publicly declared it or anything. Last time I took this long of a break from alcohol it was ~6 months 3 years ago but due to medication, not due to any other reason.
Drinking too much caffeine though, partially to compensate I think (it's subconscious, it's not like I think "I want a beer, I should make myself an espresso" but it's around the same time of day/triggers for me.)
Now it's sort of a "don't break the streak" thing, which is kind of a bummer, because I want to have a whiskey occasionally without breaking my streak but I know that will demotivate me (there's a reason why after I lost my 512 day duolingo streak due to time zone issues, I fell off the wagon for months. Now that I'm at 412 days of duolingo again, I can't even consider stopping.)
Also what language are you working on for duolingo?
My biggest triggers have been watching people pour a whiskey on TV. I think "that looks good!"
My biggest triggers have been watching people pour a whiskey on TV. I think "that looks good!"
Fucking Archer! Every single episode.
I gotta go back to watching House on Netflix. Vicodin has absolutely no appeal.
^yea that!! Also, Scandal (Olivia Pope with a glass of wine & bowl of popcorn in her stupidly luxurious all-white loungewear).My biggest triggers have been watching people pour a whiskey on TV. I think "that looks good!"
Fucking Archer! Every single episode.
I gotta go back to watching House on Netflix. Vicodin has absolutely no appeal.
Jack Donaghy looks so smooth with his glass of scotch in his dimly lit office; wouldn't I look that cool on my couch?
Since I decided to go cold turkey a few days before Christmas I have no desire to drink. I remember my wife saying "but you have a lot of alcohol at home who is going to drink those?". :-) I guess, for now, financial and health benefits of not drinking is winning. That doesn't mean that I will never drink in the future. But it wouldn't hurt to give my liver a break.
BTW, I have always been able make changes and don't worry or get bothered by them too much. Example? Here is my current view from my desk while I am typing this post. :-)
I'd take the Bulliet in a heartbeat.
Also what language are you working on for duolingo?
Thanks for the congrats :-) Honestly, it's surprisingly easy. My biggest triggers have been watching people pour a whiskey on TV. I think "that looks good!" And then I think "But, really? Is it really as good? What about your streak?" And then I forget about it.
My SSO (statistically significant other) makes himself pretty fancy cocktails every night but that doesn't make me want booze at all - just the seeing it on TV. I think it's something about glamorous TV people drinking. A good argument for not watching TV, I suppose, but I'm not currently exercising willpower in that part of my life.
German is the one with the streak; I finished my "tree" a long time ago, so now it's just daily maintenance. I need to start forcing myself to have conversations in German so I don't lose my spoken German, but right now it's not my top priority. I'm also doing Russian on duolingo because I'm traveling the trans-siberian railway this year, but it's not really enough instruction to have that be my only way of learning.
I'd take the Bulliet in a heartbeat.
Closing in on week 3 of no drinking. With Friday/Saturday coming up just some encouragement for everyone still holding out.
Not sure about everyone else, but after being a social drinker for years and the 2 weeks of non stop drinking during the holidays not drinking has had some dramatic effects:
1. My focus and ability to concentrate has probably improved at least 3x.
2. I am a lot happier, this has to do with not being cloudy in the morning, regretting anything I did/said the night before, or hating myself for pissing away my night/day.
3. Productivity, this ties to number 1, but I feel I have a lot more time.
4. I feel great health wise.
wife just got pregnant so we're slashing ours by 100% for the next 9 months. not fair to her for me to drink and not her.
Ha! Solidarity, seriously. She's making a human with his DNA, it's the least he can do to show some solidarity.wife just got pregnant so we're slashing ours by 100% for the next 9 months. not fair to her for me to drink and not her.
What? You now have an automatic DD for 9 months and you won't drink?
Hmmmmm....
CHOKE. Bought a drink for me and a drink for Boyfriend at an ACLU fundraiser show Friday night. Total: $23 (plus tip). And Boyfriend didn't even like his.
Facepunch! Note to self, don't buy drinks at establishments that don't show the prices. If I had known my glass of wine was $10 I would not have had it.
... at least it was for a good cause? :(
$8 on a bottle of wine today while grocery shopping. Does it count if a cup of it is going in a recipe?
how about home brewing? Anybody do that to cut cost? I heard the start up can be costly but after that it's pretty inexpensive compared to store bought beer
It is much, much cheaper (.50-1$ bottle for good beer) after startup as long as you don't calculate out paying yourself for the time spent. I used to do it frequently, but I don't have the space to store carboys anymore. It's a fun hobby but it is a hobby, to be clear. It takes time & energy to learn like any hobby. It's easiest if you have a gas stove, but otherwise you can get a burner and do it outside.how about home brewing? Anybody do that to cut cost? I heard the start up can be costly but after that it's pretty inexpensive compared to store bought beer
I would also be interested in the math on this. My impression was that it was not cheaper even after startup.
how about home brewing? Anybody do that to cut cost? I heard the start up can be costly but after that it's pretty inexpensive compared to store bought beer
I would also be interested in the math on this. My impression was that it was not cheaper even after startup.
Biggest issue I've run across is getting tired of the beer after about 12 or 24... and then just giving the rest of it away.I used to make friends with other homebrewers & do trades of 6-packs at meet-ups which is fun!
Lot of badassity shown here!
Personally, I used to drink.. a fair amount. Pretty toasty most nights. Guesstimate $250/mo habit. All consumed at home. Felt guilty about it - till every evening.
2yrs ago I woke up with a hangover and had to drive 8hrs with it. Nasty. Went 100% on the wagon for about 2months. Don't crave it any more, and actually learned to be moderate, moderate.
Nice! I did my expenses when I was 23 and found I spent 4k a year on booze, drunk munchies, and drunk ubers altogether. I succeeded in cutting that in half in my age 24 year :). Best way to do it is just skip whole weekends and find something else to do. Its really amazing how much you can spend in one night 'going out'. For me it was about 50. 30 on drinks, 10 on food, 10 on ubers.
I've only had 7 drinks this month and all were related to building and maintaining friendships. I realize this type of reasoning could easily be applied to getting stubbly drunk but the most I consumed was two glasses of wine. This is significantly less than I used to consume. Yeah for me ;)
This thread seems to have been completely dominated by Canadians. Do we have drinking problems, or liquor tax problems?
This thread is timely for me. I had to step up my efforts to cut expenses and since I was in the $200/month on booze group, it was clearly and area to target. I wasn't happy with myself about this level of consumption because of the health and the financial implications. The health implications were more than just too much alcohol - I also had many days when I probably would have worked out in the evening if I hadn't had a glass of wine while making dinner.
I did a few experiments to see if there were good ways to reduce the volume and the cost. I drank nothing in July last year just to see if I could, and it wasn't particularly hard, which was reassuring. The problem was that once July was over, I went back to the same amount. In December I saw that a local wine store had a few varieties marked way down. I tried a few and found one that I thought was pleasant enough, so I bought a dozen (extra 5% off) to see if I would drink the same amount at half the cost, or drink more. I ended up drinking more, mainly because it was in the house. Still, as much as I don't like the high tax we have on booze, it does serve as a deterrent to me.
At the end of 2016 I analyzed our expenses for the year and wasn't happy with what I saw. It was clear that a change would be needed if we were going to meet our target FIRE date. January now looks like it will come in at $1600 less than our previous lowest expenses months in the last three years. $150 of that is cutting the wine by 75%. I feel better too, and enjoyed the wine I did have more (that might be a problem though...).
Congratulations to all who are making better decisions for their health and wealth.
Wow. You guys are an inspiration. I just can't quite remove the booze from my social life right now, but I am definitely reigning in the expenditure and amount.
7 weeks no booze ... have been semi tempted but the next day when i wake up its quite funny how i dont miss not having them.That! Me too! Both on the weeks & the feeling of "oh yea, awesome, I'm glad I didn't drink last night" the night before.
Progress! Our January spending on alcohol was 55% of what it was in December!Nice! I could probably drop to zero if I stocked up quite during a sale and bought enough to last for a few months. Would even be impressive, numbers wise... May have to see about that...
7 weeks no booze ... have been semi tempted but the next day when i wake up its quite funny how i dont miss not having them.That! Me too! Both on the weeks & the feeling of "oh yea, awesome, I'm glad I didn't drink last night" the night before.
There is definitely a balance between zero drinks, properly lubricated and awfully sorry in the morning. Sometimes I wind up further on one side than the other, but I am learning.7 weeks no booze ... have been semi tempted but the next day when i wake up its quite funny how i dont miss not having them.That! Me too! Both on the weeks & the feeling of "oh yea, awesome, I'm glad I didn't drink last night" the night before.
Agreed with the next morning feeling. It's the social anxiety/awkwardness the night OF that makes it feel very stressful to not have some social lubricant.
Maybe I should just become an anti-social hermit. Seems easier.
I'm getting so much better at socializing without a social lubricant, which was my hardest part, too, and I'm loving the feeling of accomplishment that comes from a sober social gathering. It's been a learning curve though.7 weeks no booze ... have been semi tempted but the next day when i wake up its quite funny how i dont miss not having them.That! Me too! Both on the weeks & the feeling of "oh yea, awesome, I'm glad I didn't drink last night" the night before.
Agreed with the next morning feeling. It's the social anxiety/awkwardness the night OF that makes it feel very stressful to not have some social lubricant.
Well, this year's 30-Day-Liver-Cleanse experiment is completed and it took it 40 days this time around. Last year about this time, I did the same thing and it was 33 days without booze. Now I get to sip my bourbon with my wifey.Beautiful. If you can stay away from Bulleit for 40 days, you are stronger than I.
I am still committed to drinking way less than usual. Now, back to my Bulleit. Cheers.
Well, this year's 30-Day-Liver-Cleanse experiment is completed and it took it 40 days this time around. Last year about this time, I did the same thing and it was 33 days without booze. Now I get to sip my bourbon with my wifey.Beautiful. If you can stay away from Bulleit for 40 days, you are stronger than I.
I am still committed to drinking way less than usual. Now, back to my Bulleit. Cheers.
I had a really awesome thing happen somewhat suddenly yesterday (I received a $6,000 grant for my startup business to match $1,200 I had been saving) and I wanted to mark the occasion somehow. Without going to a happy hour to celebrate, I felt a little lost for what to do. As I sat on the bus home, I thought about what I could do:
- Should I go out to eat? Nah, I don't really want to spend money on eating out because I'm saving the budget for when out of town guests come later this month. Also we already grocery shopped for the week and know what we're having tonight.
- Should I go to a happy hour and have a nonalcoholic drink? Nah, I can make that myself at home.
- Should I go pick up a kombucha or a fancy juice as my celebratory drink?
In the end, I came home, got a hug from my SO, and had a lacroix sparkling water left over from a networking event. Made a fabulous dinner, and went to the hot tub at my gym to read a book after my workout. And it turns out, that was a perfect way to mark the occasion. $0 dollars spent for the evening, no alcohol consumed, and I felt good about marking the occasion.
- Should I go pick up a kombucha or a fancy juice as my celebratory drink?
I had a really awesome thing happen somewhat suddenly yesterday (I received a $6,000 grant for my startup business to match $1,200 I had been saving) and I wanted to mark the occasion somehow. Without going to a happy hour to celebrate, I felt a little lost for what to do. As I sat on the bus home, I thought about what I could do:
- Should I go out to eat? Nah, I don't really want to spend money on eating out because I'm saving the budget for when out of town guests come later this month. Also we already grocery shopped for the week and know what we're having tonight.
- Should I go to a happy hour and have a nonalcoholic drink? Nah, I can make that myself at home.
- Should I go pick up a kombucha or a fancy juice as my celebratory drink?
In the end, I came home, got a hug from my SO, and had a lacroix sparkling water left over from a networking event. Made a fabulous dinner, and went to the hot tub at my gym to read a book after my workout. And it turns out, that was a perfect way to mark the occasion. $0 dollars spent for the evening, no alcohol consumed, and I felt good about marking the occasion.
I had a really awesome thing happen somewhat suddenly yesterday (I received a $6,000 grant for my startup business to match $1,200 I had been saving) and I wanted to mark the occasion somehow. Without going to a happy hour to celebrate, I felt a little lost for what to do. As I sat on the bus home, I thought about what I could do:Congrats!!!!!!!!!!
- Should I go out to eat? Nah, I don't really want to spend money on eating out because I'm saving the budget for when out of town guests come later this month. Also we already grocery shopped for the week and know what we're having tonight.
- Should I go to a happy hour and have a nonalcoholic drink? Nah, I can make that myself at home.
- Should I go pick up a kombucha or a fancy juice as my celebratory drink?
In the end, I came home, got a hug from my SO, and had a lacroix sparkling water left over from a networking event. Made a fabulous dinner, and went to the hot tub at my gym to read a book after my workout. And it turns out, that was a perfect way to mark the occasion. $0 dollars spent for the evening, no alcohol consumed, and I felt good about marking the occasion.
Entering week 6 of no drinking. It's finally getting easier, the thoughts are nowhere near as frequent as they used to be and I hardly think about drinking during the week.It is awesome that your thought patterns are changing, and you have some pretty great friends :)
We also had people over on the weekend, I was honestly super surprised how supportive everyone is. I had hard liquor at home that I keep for guests, but no beer. Once everyone arrived I told them what I am up to and why and said I will take orders and go to the store to grab them whatever beer they want...everyone decided not to drink for the whole night and insisted i don't get them anything. It took me by surprise, I know if I showed up at a friend's house in my old days and there was nothing to drink I'd probably be a bit disappointed.
This thread seems to have been completely dominated by Canadians.
Do we have drinking problems, or liquor tax problems?
It is 12 weeks for me of not drinking at all. I quit after my daughter was born and I am not planning to ever go back into this habit. I estimate it will save me about 3000 PLN (1$ is about 4 PLN - polish zloty) a year which equals to about 10% of our expenses.
First two months were hard for me, but now I rarely remember that such thing as alcohol exists.
Congrats! I'm on week 10. Not sure when I'll go back, probably not quitting forever but definitely enjoying the break - I have been surprised how much I have "forgotten" about booze, it's just not a habit anymore. I may be coming to Poland for the first time later this year!It is 12 weeks for me of not drinking at all. I quit after my daughter was born and I am not planning to ever go back into this habit. I estimate it will save me about 3000 PLN (1$ is about 4 PLN - polish zloty) a year which equals to about 10% of our expenses.
First two months were hard for me, but now I rarely remember that such thing as alcohol exists.
American! Booze is so cheap where I live (we don't even have sales tax) that it's almost worse because you can drink a lot for not that much money :-/This thread seems to have been completely dominated by Canadians.
Aussie checking in.
I slashed my alcohol spending 100%.
I also work in the industry, and friends sometimes open a free Caymus on a Tuesday, but... I guess that doesn't count at all and I'm terrible, nevermind. :p
It's kind of interesting... folks in the industry often drink a ton or very moderately. I have probably a drink every two or three weeks. Most who drink go out to bars. It's bizarrely wasteful. I feel bad for bars and restaurants depending so heavily on astronomical drink prices. Most are complaining that people order water more than ever before, which is probably a good thing on the health and Mustache scales.
US draft beer though is like, $2-$6. Canadian beer prices sound like American cigarette prices (ie, tax-designed to make you quit).
well we lost our baby this weekend. We had a nice steak dinner at home with a glass of wine each last night. Neither of us really even want to drink it feels weird and different. Likely will not be drinking still til we have a baby.
well we lost our baby this weekend. We had a nice steak dinner at home with a glass of wine each last night. Neither of us really even want to drink it feels weird and different. Likely will not be drinking still til we have a baby.
So sorry to hear about your loss ... people don't always appreciate hard how it can be to lose someone you don't really know yet. I hope you both can give yourselves space to grieve whatever amount you need.
I'm so sorry :( That's always hard. Definitely do what you need to cope with loss.well we lost our baby this weekend. We had a nice steak dinner at home with a glass of wine each last night. Neither of us really even want to drink it feels weird and different. Likely will not be drinking still til we have a baby.
So sorry to hear about your loss ... people don't always appreciate hard how it can be to lose someone you don't really know yet. I hope you both can give yourselves space to grieve whatever amount you need.
Yeah its tough but its a 1/5 chance so its not like we did anything just have to move on
I'm so sorry :( That's always hard. Definitely do what you need to cope with loss.well we lost our baby this weekend. We had a nice steak dinner at home with a glass of wine each last night. Neither of us really even want to drink it feels weird and different. Likely will not be drinking still til we have a baby.
So sorry to hear about your loss ... people don't always appreciate hard how it can be to lose someone you don't really know yet. I hope you both can give yourselves space to grieve whatever amount you need.
Yeah its tough but its a 1/5 chance so its not like we did anything just have to move on
My goal was to cut it out for 3 months and celebrate with some drinks at the milestone. I am starting to debate not drinking is to become a permanent part of my life or if I should risk having a drink again at the 3 month mark.My goal was 100 days (on day 78 now) with probably a drink at the milestone - and I'm also shifting my perspective. I'm realizing that booze was probably my worst health habit and the biggest interference with my goals (outside of my stupid ass rheumatoid arthritis, which I can't change, just treat). I am really enjoying being clear-headed and sober all the time. I'm enjoying not having to worry about "did I have too many to bike home, should I stay for another hour and drink water to sober up or take transit home?" I'm enjoying the ~$120 I've managed to save by doing "literally the least I can do". It feels like I got a raise without doing anything extra.
Before starting this I thought life without alcohol would probably be a boring life, one I wouldn't want to lead. With a new mindset now, that mentality seems to be doing a 180 on me.
Thanks for posting, it's always great to see others going through the same thing and sharing their perspective.I have a similar personality - I am exceptional at "all or nothing" focus.
I have nothing against drinking, my biggest issue is that I am obsessive, with that personality come habits like not being able to moderate certain things. If I put my mind to something, I go in 200% with laser focus, doesn't matter what it is and it gets accomplished - main reason I've been successful in my career and other achievements. The bad side to it is that I can form bad habits such as drinking (self medicating - turn off the obsessiveness), which makes it super hard to moderate. It's easy to either not drink or to drink, but the middle ground is a tough one for me. Kudos to all who can, for the rest of us it's a matter of making a decision and redesigning life around it.
My SSO just finished a serious upgrade a cocktail pouring robot he made (Barbot). I'm so proud of him but actually not tempted to drink at all. I can just enjoy showing it off.
You guys are all an inspiration. Somewhat embarrassed to report that, despite starting this thread, the last two weeks have been complete collapses of willpower. Tomorrow is another day though, and I'll keep trying!
I've realized that I have one friend in particular that accounts for almost all of my drinking, so I need to either avoid this person temporarily. or find non-alcoholic activities for us to do.
You guys are all an inspiration. Somewhat embarrassed to report that, despite starting this thread, the last two weeks have been complete collapses of willpower. Tomorrow is another day though, and I'll keep trying!
I've realized that I have one friend in particular that accounts for almost all of my drinking, so I need to either avoid this person temporarily. or find non-alcoholic activities for us to do.
As long as you are honest with yourself and don't abandon the idea regardless of failures you will succeed to whatever your terms of success are.
I felt a lot like you when I tried to moderate to weekends only (for years), it was not possible. A few small wins here and there, but over time back to square one.
I am not saying what I am doing now will work either, in fact I have no idea how to handle the future and I still debate if I am going to drink at my 3 month milestone, but the silver lining here is that with every passing day your confidence that you are capable of sticking to your word builds you up...I was not able to achieve that level of confidence with my moderation attempts, ever.
Well February is basically over at least as far as drinking goes. Time to tally the drinks.
-1/2 bottle of wine with a friend over dinner with their family & kids
-1 pint of tasters after a day skiing
-1 pint at home after getting home from said day of skiing
-1 pint sitting at home alone with no particular purpose
-1 pint at Canucks game
Total = 9 drinks (count pints as 1.5)
My relationship with alcohol is changing. By drinking less I have become very conscious of whether I am truly enjoying the drink or that it's just a habit I thought was delivering happiness.
The 1/2 bottle of wine was very enjoyable over dinner. To use YMOYL terminology it added to my fulfillment. Same with the pint at the bar with my friend after skiing. The pint at home added no fulfillment and I recognized it when I drank it. Same with the one that had no particular purpose. The pint at the Canucks game felt like 'the thing to do' with a friend. I cut my drinking right after that one. He had 4 pints, I had 1. It felt fine socially.
So, in summary I could cut this month's drinking down to 6 drinks that I really enjoyed.
Booze update!
I have haven't had a drink since Jan 11. I can't believe it and neither can my friends. They keep asking me if I am pregnant, ha.
Is this happening to anyone else too?
So, I made it past Friday night, which included going to a bar and a restaurant with friends. Everyone has been super supportive (in fact, almost no one has cared or questioned it), with the exception of my primary drinking friend with whom I did probably 80% of all my drinking.
This friend took it very personally and actually stormed out on me. That was hard, but if it comes down to it, I may need to risk losing this friendship if they can't accept that I'm going teetotal for awhile.
6 days so far. No cravings at all, just the above-noted social pressure from my one friend in particular.
So, I made it past Friday night, which included going to a bar and a restaurant with friends. Everyone has been super supportive (in fact, almost no one has cared or questioned it), with the exception of my primary drinking friend with whom I did probably 80% of all my drinking.
This friend took it very personally and actually stormed out on me. That was hard, but if it comes down to it, I may need to risk losing this friendship if they can't accept that I'm going teetotal for awhile.
6 days so far. No cravings at all, just the above-noted social pressure from my one friend in particular.
4 months of not drinking, I'd have to say I've now entered the "safe zone" where I don't have urges/wants whatsoever.
Hope everyone is doing well with their goals and if you are not don't beat yourself up over it. Start over after you reflect why you didn't succeed.
I'm really questioning writing in this thread, I have way more distance to go than anyone here it seems. Might as well start with the shocker.
2016 Alcohol Spending: $8381
My peer-group has a lot of hobbies that don't revolve around drinking but definitely include drinks whenever they're available.
My current goal is to start 'half' drinking (glass of water) and stop buying rounds / throwing filled fridge parties.
The number does include food at any restaurants when we've been drinking as I would probably be eating from home if I didn't go drinking.
Be gentle..
I'm really questioning writing in this thread, I have way more distance to go than anyone here it seems. Might as well start with the shocker.
2016 Alcohol Spending: $8381
My peer-group has a lot of hobbies that don't revolve around drinking but definitely include drinks whenever they're available.
My current goal is to start 'half' drinking (glass of water) and stop buying rounds / throwing filled fridge parties.
The number does include food at any restaurants when we've been drinking as I would probably be eating from home if I didn't go drinking.
Be gentle..
Wow, that's an astronomical number. That's also about my annual spend. Let's get that number down.
I had an eye-opening moment yesterday. It's time to not drink so much. I'm on vacation, but still, I'm 36yo now, can't party like I was 25.
fun fact:2016 YTD: $482.42
2016: $1040 spent on alcohol, or $86.67/month, or $20/week
2017: $0 spent on alcohol
I haven't had a drop of alcohol since new years....which is almost unbelievable...
To update this thread, I haven't drank since I stopped. Almost 7 months now.
Can't remember being in this good of a shape and I was doing pretty well before. Cheers!
A few days away from 250 days sober - so much money saved and many other benefits. Not sure what I will do in a month when I am in Russia on a train for 6 days straight but I hope that maintaining sobriety would be easy even with the language cultural barriers.Fill a vodka bottle with water and take copious swigs. You'll fit right in. Just don't offer it to anyone or your cover will be blown..
Last week I asked spouse (who does all the shopping) to buy no more alcohol. There's still some in the house but I'm ignoring it.
1 week sober as of today. That's the longest I've gone for years and years. I feel good and I'm (surprisingly) sleeping OK.
I'm just going to leave this here . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1gQ4iM6N4M
Last week I asked spouse (who does all the shopping) to buy no more alcohol. There's still some in the house but I'm ignoring it.
1 week sober as of today. That's the longest I've gone for years and years. I feel good and I'm (surprisingly) sleeping OK.
Congrats, AdrianC!
Since that post I have actually lowered my alcohol spend (~450$ a month) and am feeling better about it.
Although many in this thread have warned how much harder moderation is than abstinence, I am going to join in and try to moderate. Fire at 45's post about using the YMOYL concept of full utility was the most influential. The first beer at a social gathering has the most utility with the marginal enjoyment dropping exponentially afterward.
Good Luck! (to us both)
If I have a fridge full of beer I am a lot more likely to consume 1 or 2 beers without much thought or even much enjoyment.
I just quit my job and will be leaving NYC in a couple months
Nevertheless, my partner convinced me to have one beer with our tacos (a pairing which usually goes quite well) but it did not feel worth it. Maybe my tolerance is too high because I did not feel anything and regretted the empty calories later. Without the effects of alcohol, beer is just like a more calorie-filled soda and I abhor soda.