I have tried to stop drinking many times in the past, with varying levels of success. Right now, I haven't drank since November 22 (almost 8 months)! The monetary reason was the veil I put over it, although I was good at finding deals and free alcohol (think $6 handles of R&R whiskey). This has been very difficult for me, and this is the longest I've been sober since I started drinking.
Friends have been supportive, although at first they weren't as we enabled each other to drink more.
I'm glad I am not drinking and driving anymore, I am saving money, using my time more productively and living more healthily. I still feel the urge to have a drink almost daily... I didn't start out with much of a goal, because I didn't want a set date to drink again. I've been thinking about a year, just to experience all of the seasons without alcohol instead of drinks in winter to warm you, drinks in summer to cool you down, etc. I am growing my beard out for a year, then I'll reevaluate; same with alcohol.
A challenge for me is free alcohol and open bars... Open bars I have almost always overdid it, often embarrassing myself, trying to get as much free stuff as I could. Also, social settings are different without alcohol, and now I avoid settings where drinking is the focus.
The reason I have been successful this time is because about a month after me, my brother and his girlfriend took a break from drinking as well, though we didn't know about each other. Now, we have a sort of support group, shifting our addictive personalities to cooking real food, spending time together kayaking, climbing, building things, etc... This process has been much easier having like-minded people around, and I am really able to see the negative effects alcohol has had on my life and the ways I rationalize things to myself...