Author Topic: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.  (Read 51128 times)

TheStrenuousLife

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #50 on: January 01, 2017, 03:33:10 PM »
Alright 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

Note that my definition of "drink" is essentially a pint of 4-5% beer, one glass of wine, or one shot.  This figure is a bit of an inexact estimate as I would sometimes add 0.5 of a drink or more for particularly alcohol heavy beers (i.e. I count an 8% IPA as two drinks).

To put this spend and consumption into context, it is the equivalent of:
  • Just under 4 months' rent;
  • 2.25 work weeks;
  • A kick-ass 2-week (or more) vacation to Colombia or some other country in South America;
  • 1.59 drinks every single day (time to cut back not just cost but also quantity);
  • Approximately $230 a month, which using MMM's method of calculating the value of an expense over a 10 year period (multiply by 173), will add up to $39,790 out of my pocket by 2026.

 

TheStrenuousLife

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #51 on: January 01, 2017, 04:21:46 PM »
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.

Haha, moderately hungover, but not as bad as past years.  I left the party at 12:30 AM and was asleep by 2:00 AM. 

I also used alcohol that was gifted for Christmas so there was no additional spend.

TightFistedScot

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #52 on: January 01, 2017, 04:53:09 PM »
how many of you are starting your joyless january today? - aka alcohol free? caffeine free?

im considering it. definitely not purchasing any drinks in restaurants or pubs, but i also kind of want to see if i can go through the month without drinking.

i had a fairly tame NYE last night. 2 coffees with baileys before i went out (with the goal of staying awake til midnight, or even *gasp* 1am). then i had 3/4 bottle of wine at a party. i got tired/bored so actually came home at 11pm and went to bed. LOL! im only 31. in my defence, i had some really wild party days from 16-25.

activate: joyless january

boarder42

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #53 on: January 03, 2017, 06:44:38 AM »
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.

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #54 on: January 03, 2017, 07:04:48 AM »
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.

Virtual high five back! It's funny seeing which one people freak out over more, the booze or the coffee.

No processed sugar is impressive and one that I am not up to tackling.

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #55 on: January 03, 2017, 08:08:12 AM »
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!

boarder42

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #56 on: January 03, 2017, 08:56:29 AM »
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!

it all goes in the market every extra dollar.  i dont like to separate things as "for the kids" i dont budget.  my wife does with her money... i just know what i have and have large forced savings ( more than i actually make) that force me to side hustle just to meet that savings plus any extra i want.

Tris Prior

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #57 on: January 03, 2017, 11:11:29 AM »
I should probably get on board with this. I spent a LOT of money on booze over the holidays.

I don't typically have more than 1 drink per night (and not every night), but we've stopped buying/making anything sweet because Boyfriend is trying to lose weight and he can't control himself around sugar. So, a lot of times I find myself having a glass of wine in the evening in place of dessert. I don't even necessarily WANT wine, but I want a treat and that's the only thing in the house that qualifies.

Yes, I could go out for something sugary but I'm disinclined to do that in the winter, plus buying a single serving of dessert out is way more expensive than, say, baking a batch of something from scratch. Sigh. God, I miss baking. :(

Anyway: so far this year my alcohol spend is $8. (I bought a bottle of wine yesterday while grocery shopping.)

MEJG

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #58 on: January 03, 2017, 12:17:37 PM »
Alcohol free for the next 30 (and maybe longer)  NOT caffeine free.... maybe next month?

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #59 on: January 03, 2017, 09:58:16 PM »
Posting to follow.

Marty has been kicking my arse about booze, because the more I drink, the less I run.

I don't drink coffee or tea though, so I got that going for me.

TightFistedScot

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #60 on: January 03, 2017, 10:01:26 PM »
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?

boarder42

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #61 on: January 04, 2017, 04:47:49 AM »
Not hard at all really.

Metric Mouse

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #62 on: January 04, 2017, 05:01:15 AM »
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've heard it goes bad if you don't finish it right after opening.

Izybat

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #63 on: January 08, 2017, 12:21:53 PM »
I'm doing fairly well. I did give in and spent around $6 on drinks on Friday night, but feel good that today when my husband said he was going to the store to get drinks I didn't give in and have him pick something up for me. One good decision at a time.

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #64 on: January 08, 2017, 12:39:37 PM »
There is nothing like a hangover to motivate me to drink less. I'm new to my city and trying to make friends, so I went to a game night meetup last night and drank too much to ease the social anxiety. I also spent too much (the meetup was at a cool/overpriced bar downtown) but it's the headache and low-level nausea that is really spurring my current regret. I get hangovers maybe 3 times a year and always forget how terrible they are.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #65 on: January 08, 2017, 01:47:13 PM »
Checking in.

I haven't had a drink since NYE so zero alcohol spending here.

No soft drink either, which is my real goal.

Tanor85

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #66 on: January 08, 2017, 02:49:03 PM »
Pro tip: bring a small flask of gin when going out. Order Soda Water and discreetly make your own drink. Good times!

monstermonster

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #67 on: January 08, 2017, 03:05:31 PM »
I'm also joining! I made significant progress in 2016 from my usual average of $100/month on bars (not including food), and I stopped working in a line of work (fundraising & politics) where booze was de rigeur. I still spent $865.42 for all of 2016 on bars + alcohol for home, however - and unlike you, I don't like in Canada! I live in a sales-tax-free $4 pint area!

My goal for 2017 is simply to spend LESS on booze. I might not hit 75% less (especially as I am heading to Russia this year...vodka is part of the experience but luckily cheap) but I want to spend less overall. Shooting for less than $600 this year.

This was my 2016 alcohol spending (bar spending - just beverages- in orange, alcohol for home is in red).


Can you tell the three months I took off of drinking in the above graph? It's so obvious what booze does to my spending!

Currently I am on day 40 out of ??? days of not drinking. Possibly shooting for 100 but not totally sure.

Last Night

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #68 on: January 08, 2017, 05:42:47 PM »
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?

Cold turkey in my opinion is the most effective and easiest way to stop drinking.

I've personally tried moderation to curb unnecessary weekday drinking, but it doesn't work, for me and many others.  One small exception leads to another, then to another, and then you've failed your "controlled" drinking attempt and you are back to your old habits.  It's very easy to go back to your old ways.

I will note all big events coming up in my social life where i'd like to have a few drinks (weddings/holidays/etc) and plan my drinking around that.

For example, I have a wedding in March and that's the next time i will have a drink, the last one i had was on new years since that was another planned event i wanted to enjoy a good beer.

Works for me, moderation on a week to week basis is very tough and very few can pull it off - speaking about those who do have a weekday drinking habit.

DailyGrindFree

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #69 on: January 08, 2017, 08:09:47 PM »
Checking in.

I haven't had a drink since NYE so zero alcohol spending here.

No soft drink either, which is my real goal.

As @Last Night said, I would say cold turkey may be the best option. Right before this Christmas, I decided to stop drinking myself. It has been about two weeks. We will see how long it lasts. :-) No matter what it will be good for my wallet and liver. :-)

BTW, I haven't had a soft drink in last two years or so. I am trying to cut sugar from my diet completely.

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #70 on: January 09, 2017, 08:21:44 AM »
  I am on board!

I personally drank 536 drinks last year, this is a decrease from 650 prior year( my God!), the reduced amount is  still  10 drinks per week and I am not young.

I estimate the wife and I spend 3600 per year on alcohol, and my goal is to reduce our spending by 50%. I have 2 weeks under my belt with no alcohol.  I also feel like abstaining is a way to cut down our eating out budget because half our eating out is just "drinking out" with a snack.

BikeFanatic

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #71 on: January 09, 2017, 08:26:34 AM »
Quote
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

  I am on board!

I personally drank 536 drinks last year, this is a decrease from 650 prior year( my God!), the reduced amount is  still  10 drinks per week and I am not young.

I estimate the wife and I spend 3600 per year on alcohol, and my goal is to reduce our spending by 50%. I have 2 weeks under my belt with no alcohol.  I also feel like abstaining is a way to cut down our eating out budget because half our eating out is just "drinking out" with a snack. I also gave up coffee last month just miss it in the afternoons, herbal tea does not  help that afternoon drag [/quote]

TheStrenuousLife

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #72 on: January 09, 2017, 09:29:00 AM »
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. 


monstermonster

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #73 on: January 09, 2017, 09:31:47 AM »
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).

I'm a red panda

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #74 on: January 09, 2017, 09:33:17 AM »

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.
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?

I think coding instead of going to a hockey game seems like an extreme measure to not drink.

monstermonster

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #75 on: January 09, 2017, 09:34:35 AM »
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!

TheStrenuousLife

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #76 on: January 09, 2017, 09:36:53 AM »

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.
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?

I think coding instead of going to a hockey game seems like an extreme measure to not drink.

Lol you are right about the hockey, I would still go to a game and just get pizza or something.  I wasn't referring to the hockey game per se, but I do think it would be helpful to excuse myself from the social activities that purely take place at bars, at least for a few weeks while I build up some willpower and get used to being alcohol-free for awhile.

Last Night

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #77 on: January 09, 2017, 04:04:19 PM »
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.

25 for two beers is not bad at a game.

If I remember right, last time I was at the ACC for a raptors game i paid $18/coors light LOL.  Work expenses covered it, but that gave me sticker shock.  I still had two beers though ;)
« Last Edit: January 09, 2017, 04:06:35 PM by Last Night »

attackgnome

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #78 on: January 09, 2017, 04:17:25 PM »
I used to work a rotational schedule and on my weeks off I would crank through a 6 pack or equivalent in a day without breaking a sweat.

Between bars and drinking at home I was clocking ~$300 a month.

About a year ago, I decided to quit smoking and found that I had about minimal self-control at avoiding nicotine while I drank.

I pretty much gave up drinking to succeed at quitting smoking. I'll have a beer or mixed drink occasionally with dinner (i.e. once or twice a month), but I don't miss at all how much I was I drinking, how much money it was costing me, or how crappy it made me feel when I drank too much.


Tris Prior

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #79 on: January 10, 2017, 08:27:20 AM »
Oops, spent another $9.99 on a bottle of wine yesterday.

I don't intend or feel the need to stop drinking entirely but.... Trader Joe's has perfectly good wine for less than this. I'm not wild about their 3-buck-chuck (though I will drink it), but they have a couple brands that are $4 or $5 that are good. I just have to be more disciplined about making the 1-hour-each-way trek on public transport to get to TJ's, rather than running to the World Market that's a block away from my work.

monstermonster

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #80 on: January 10, 2017, 08:30:31 AM »
Went to a $5 movie at the cute dinner theatre last night, and since I'm not drinking, got tea instead of a beer. Was quite nice.

TheStrenuousLife

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #81 on: January 10, 2017, 10:46:18 AM »
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.

Haha no, I wanted to get it all done at once.  1 day of excruciating headaches, followed by 1 day of general haziness, then the cravings mostly went away.  The hardest part is smelling it in the morning at home and the office and resisting reaching for a cup. 

I definitely beat myself up when spending gets out of control and feel pretty embarrassed when it happens, so I think I can relate to MMM on that front.  But once I put it in my spreadsheet and see how it lines up with my goal of a 75% reduction in alcohol spend it is motivation to try even harder the next week.

boarder42

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #82 on: January 13, 2017, 03:46:44 AM »
3 weeks no booze. Wife has to me out of choice. Really not that bad.

TheStrenuousLife

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #83 on: January 13, 2017, 12:39:59 PM »
3 weeks no booze. Wife has to me out of choice. Really not that bad.

Good for you!  I have a social event at a bar tonight.  I'm going to try and limit myself to two pints of whatever is on special and then get the hell out of there.   So far my spend for this week is just $6.50 and I don't want to blow it all this weekend.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #84 on: January 13, 2017, 08:27:50 PM »
Today is the 14th, so that's two weeks of no drinking and no alcohol spending for me.

Tris Prior

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #85 on: January 14, 2017, 12:03:52 AM »
Went to a Bowie tribute night tonight at a bar. Boyfriend and I shared 1 very strong mixed drink (some sort of lethal punch involving gin and many fruity things) for $8 and that was IT. (Normally, we would've had 2-3 drinks apiece. Win?)

SachaFiscal

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #86 on: January 14, 2017, 08:56:50 AM »
I've been trying to reduce my drinking for a while but it has been difficult. Im hoping to eliminate buying alcohol to drink at home and just having one drink out once a week at most if I go out with friends or we go out for date night.  I think I've finally convinced my husband to help me out by not bringing home alcoholic beverages. Friday night I managed not to get a bottle of wine on the way home like I usually do so that's good.

Tris Prior

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #87 on: January 14, 2017, 10:30:32 AM »
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). 

Yeah, this is my issue too, for sure. I want a treat, but at Boyfriend's request there are no treats in the house.....  but hey, there's wine!

I've tried herbal tea but that isn't really doing the trick (probably because our heat - which we cannot control - is always blasting so hot drinks aren't appealing). Maybe I can start baking stuff he doesn't like. Things with coconut or oatmeal or coffee flavoring or other stuff he won't eat.

DailyGrindFree

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #88 on: January 14, 2017, 10:50:32 AM »
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. :-)


MonkeyJenga

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #89 on: January 14, 2017, 12:26:44 PM »
Nice going everyone!

A guy at happy hour on Thursday offered to buy me a drink. I asked for water. He laughed and asked me what I really wanted. I said water. He asked again, and I told him I stopped drinking two years ago.

Only then did he get me water.

We talked about my reasons for a bit, and I was like, eh, I could be happy drinking, and I could be happy not drinking. So why drink? I don't need it, and it's cheaper and healthier not to.

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #90 on: January 14, 2017, 01:18:15 PM »
Today is the 14th, so that's two weeks of no drinking and no alcohol spending for me.

Congrats - same here.  Consciously having a dry January - actually I'm trying a 35-day abstention, and it's easier than I thought.  On the odd evening when I think "gee, a glass of wine sure would be nice", I tell my monkey brain to STFU.

Izybat

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #91 on: January 14, 2017, 03:35:11 PM »
I think my total alcohol spending for January so far is approximately $15. It isn't nothing, but it's fairly low, so I'm happy for now.

TightFistedScot

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #92 on: January 14, 2017, 06:51:27 PM »
Today is the 14th, so that's two weeks of no drinking and no alcohol spending for me.

Me too! This is the longest I have went without alcohol for quite a while. 1-2 years for sure I think.

Last Night

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #93 on: January 16, 2017, 09:50:48 AM »
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).

renata ricotta

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #94 on: January 16, 2017, 09:59:26 AM »
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).

Does it help to know that I gave into temptation on Friday night, and spent the rest of the weekend regretting it? (I should have known that even if my total number of drinks was low-ish, switching from red wine to gin is a baaaad idea for me). It was free, because my friend's new boyfriend insisted in picking up the tab (he is over the top when it comes to the chivalry thing, something that would drive me batty if I were the one dating him, but whatevs). But it sucked, and you made better choices, so pat yourself on the back!

monstermonster

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #95 on: January 16, 2017, 11:13:40 AM »
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.)

TheStrenuousLife

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #96 on: January 16, 2017, 07:22:49 PM »
Brought the spend down to $32.58 CDN this week.  Still too high, but a lot better than $109.88 the first week.  Aiming for $25 or less this week.

Metric Mouse

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #97 on: January 19, 2017, 12:16:18 AM »
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.

TightFistedScot

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #98 on: January 19, 2017, 06:15:30 AM »
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.)

Damn congrats!

Also what language are you working on for duolingo?

TightFistedScot

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Re: Slashing My Alcohol Spend by 75% starting now.
« Reply #99 on: January 19, 2017, 06:18:58 AM »
19 days booze-free! :)

I have a confession. I've decided to drink tomorrow night! I'm going out to a really fun dance party with my friends and my new gf. It's the first time they are meeting each other and I'm really excited.

I could go sober, but it would be considerably less fun, and I would get really sleepy and want to leave by midnight LOL. I'm going to have a few pre-drinks (which I already have on hand so I don't have to spend any money). And limit myself to buying 2 beers at the bar which will be easy for me to stick to.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!