Alcoholism Support Group
Alcoholism is the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, even when it is negatively affecting your health, work, relationships and life. If you think alcohol is causing you to lose control, it's time to seek help. Our group is a safe place to vent, check in, get back up if you fall, and reach sobriety.
Good Morning --
Today is day 11 for me which is the longest I have ever gone so tomorrow will be a milestone for me.
I had a good weekend as far as Halloween / socializing / not drinking and I had my "a ha" moment which is sort of exciting as well.
I also hurt my knee which is a bit of a bummer but its feeling much better today although still not 100%. I hurt it doing some yard work - I was digging some holes for new plantings and hit a large rock and the shovel twisted and so did my leg / knee. It was stiff and swollen last night but as I said today it feels about 80%. Hopefully by tomorrow it will be back to 100%.
As far as my "a ha" moment - that came because of something dopey I did - I was going to move the boat trailer in our driveway and misjudged the distance between my truck and the trailer and wound up damaging part of the hitch on the trailer. It turns out I can get a replacement part - for $150 which is a bit of a bummer. Anyway, while I was looking through credit card statements and stuff to find out some information about the trailer I came across charges at the liquor store and this is where my "a ha" moment came.
During the course of a year my wife and I spent nearly $8000 on alcohol! About $6500 on wine and $1300 on either vodka, whiskey or tequila. My wife is primarily a wine drinker and if she were the only one drinking a bottle of wine would last her two days meaning a case would last almost a month. However, with me adding to the equation a case of wine lasts us about 10 days so of that $6500 about $4000 is what I drink plus the $1300 of hard stuff. (My wife will have an occasional cocktail with me but she pretty much sticks to wine).
Added to that $5300 per year of "at home" drinking the times we go out for dinner. Where we live wine or cocktails are $9 - $12 and "being good" I would only have two when we're out because I have to drive. So averaging $11.50 per X 2 per meal = $23 plus tax = $25 plus tip = $27. We typically go out twice per month so that's another $54 per month or $650 per year so when it's all said and done I spend almost $6000 a year on alcohol - that's $500 per month!
When I actually did that math and came to that realization I thought "What a total waste of money.." When I was younger and in college and/or working part time and I would go out with friends and a cocktail was $7 or $8 I would always be like "that's crazy" and so I'd order a soda which the bartenders would typically not even charge me for.
So that was my "a ha" moment.
Hope you all had a happy and sober Halloween weekend!
Rich
Today is day 11 for me which is the longest I have ever gone so tomorrow will be a milestone for me.
I had a good weekend as far as Halloween / socializing / not drinking and I had my "a ha" moment which is sort of exciting as well.
I also hurt my knee which is a bit of a bummer but its feeling much better today although still not 100%. I hurt it doing some yard work - I was digging some holes for new plantings and hit a large rock and the shovel twisted and so did my leg / knee. It was stiff and swollen last night but as I said today it feels about 80%. Hopefully by tomorrow it will be back to 100%.
As far as my "a ha" moment - that came because of something dopey I did - I was going to move the boat trailer in our driveway and misjudged the distance between my truck and the trailer and wound up damaging part of the hitch on the trailer. It turns out I can get a replacement part - for $150 which is a bit of a bummer. Anyway, while I was looking through credit card statements and stuff to find out some information about the trailer I came across charges at the liquor store and this is where my "a ha" moment came.
During the course of a year my wife and I spent nearly $8000 on alcohol! About $6500 on wine and $1300 on either vodka, whiskey or tequila. My wife is primarily a wine drinker and if she were the only one drinking a bottle of wine would last her two days meaning a case would last almost a month. However, with me adding to the equation a case of wine lasts us about 10 days so of that $6500 about $4000 is what I drink plus the $1300 of hard stuff. (My wife will have an occasional cocktail with me but she pretty much sticks to wine).
Added to that $5300 per year of "at home" drinking the times we go out for dinner. Where we live wine or cocktails are $9 - $12 and "being good" I would only have two when we're out because I have to drive. So averaging $11.50 per X 2 per meal = $23 plus tax = $25 plus tip = $27. We typically go out twice per month so that's another $54 per month or $650 per year so when it's all said and done I spend almost $6000 a year on alcohol - that's $500 per month!
When I actually did that math and came to that realization I thought "What a total waste of money.." When I was younger and in college and/or working part time and I would go out with friends and a cocktail was $7 or $8 I would always be like "that's crazy" and so I'd order a soda which the bartenders would typically not even charge me for.
So that was my "a ha" moment.
Hope you all had a happy and sober Halloween weekend!
Rich
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check out that smoke ring. It tasted really good. I smothered it with Maulls BBQ sauce which is Local to St. Louis and one of the best I ever had.....
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I was recently separated from my wife of 33 years and it's complicated. Anyway I rented a room about 15 minutes away and I see my kids about once a week. I see the people who own the house I live in once in a while but other than that I stay in my room where I do my cooking, wash dishes in the shower, read, color, and sleep. I get out at least once a day. I grocery shop and I attend 2 meetings...
I had something similar happen to me early in my sobriety. During the winter, my garage roof caved in from the weight of snow and ice. I was davastated and actually thought about going back to the bottle to seek temporary comfort but I called my AA sponser instead. He told me that good things happen from bad situations.
(Much later, I learned that this is called Divine Providence, when God allows something bad to happen, to bring about a greater good).
So I asked my sponser what could possibly be good from a building caving in so he asked me if I called my insurance company yet and I told him I did not think I was insured for out building so he suggested I call and check. It turned out, we were insured for 3 times the value of what it costs to build and the insurance guy gave us the full amount!
We were hurting for money at the time and we chose not to rebuild. So it turned out to be a welcomed relielf and we were able to get caught up on our bills!
If you stay the curse, I fully suspect you will see alot more of these miracles!
God Bless!
About the a-ha moment: As you go on in your sobriety you will notice a lot of extra cash in your budget that you are no longer spending on drinking. Enjoy it. When I got sober i first started getting acrylic manicures and hair extensions with that money. i made sure to thoroughly enjoy my alcohol savings.
Use your alcohol savings wisely, but as you continue to not drink you will notice you have a lot of extra money, so that's always awesome.
Congrats on making it to day 11!
It sounds like you've already put the $150 into perspective,'as you reap the financial benefits of not drinking.
Stay strong. Keep sending is more aha moments.