Gambling Addiction & Recovery Support Group
Compulsive gambling is an urge or addiction to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop. A preferred term among many professionals is problem gambling, as few people described by the term experience true compulsions in the clinical sense of the word. Problem gambling often is defined by whether harm is experienced by the gambler or others rather...
A bit more than ten months after quitting, I have finally gone from red to black. By that I mean, the cash and shares I have now exceed the credit card debt I owe. I expect that by the end of the year I will be able to repay the whole of my credit card debt.
I seriously don't know how I got into the extent of this mess. I remember as a young boy, I always wondered why people used credit cards - why on earth would you use money that's not yours?
I remember losing my first credit card $1,000, but somewhere along the line, somehow, that figure crept up to $10,000. What really didn't help was the credit card company charging me 21% on cash advances, which was what I'd do each time I lost - I'd automatically, WITHOUT FAIL, walk to the ATM and withdraw money.
My line of thinking was I could withdraw $500, and use that to win $100, which would cover the transaction costs and interest plus pay off the capital a little bit. When I lost that, I would tell myself "oh well, no probs, I'll just stop gambling and use my next paycheque to repay it".
But it was never that easy.
Once I reached that $10,000 amount, not only did I have to stop gambling (which, as we all know, is hard enough in itself), but I had to battle against the ever increasing interest imposed.
About 7-8 months after I quit, I did a balance transfer to a new credit card which would be interest free for 12 months. That has REALLY helped a lot! I never really understood the impact of compound interest until it was too late. Having 12 months of interest free period is really like giving me room to breathe.
If I can do it, anyone can. If you are like me who uses credit cards to gamble - DON'T! Cut it up right now!!! I am so much happier now because I can see how life just lights up when you're not insolvent, and I'm sure everyone here would be too.
Don't let the evil corporations and casinos take your hard earned money - fight the urge!!!
I seriously don't know how I got into the extent of this mess. I remember as a young boy, I always wondered why people used credit cards - why on earth would you use money that's not yours?
I remember losing my first credit card $1,000, but somewhere along the line, somehow, that figure crept up to $10,000. What really didn't help was the credit card company charging me 21% on cash advances, which was what I'd do each time I lost - I'd automatically, WITHOUT FAIL, walk to the ATM and withdraw money.
My line of thinking was I could withdraw $500, and use that to win $100, which would cover the transaction costs and interest plus pay off the capital a little bit. When I lost that, I would tell myself "oh well, no probs, I'll just stop gambling and use my next paycheque to repay it".
But it was never that easy.
Once I reached that $10,000 amount, not only did I have to stop gambling (which, as we all know, is hard enough in itself), but I had to battle against the ever increasing interest imposed.
About 7-8 months after I quit, I did a balance transfer to a new credit card which would be interest free for 12 months. That has REALLY helped a lot! I never really understood the impact of compound interest until it was too late. Having 12 months of interest free period is really like giving me room to breathe.
If I can do it, anyone can. If you are like me who uses credit cards to gamble - DON'T! Cut it up right now!!! I am so much happier now because I can see how life just lights up when you're not insolvent, and I'm sure everyone here would be too.
Don't let the evil corporations and casinos take your hard earned money - fight the urge!!!
Also for me, getting those payday loans paid off was HUGE. They were keeping me from being able to pay our regular bills, so we'd just keep borrowing and borrowing. But, I could not have paid off the credit card or the payday loans if we had not stopped gambling. That is what really allowed me to turn my financial life back around.
You give very good advice, Never borrow money to gamble with. never, never, never.
Lily
I wholeheartedly agree. Whilst on the credit card, I almost felt like I was invincible - I'd buy and spend freely, telling myself that I could pay it back later. For some reason, there is a sense of excitement and indulgence when spending money that's not yours.
But here's the trick - it IS yours. They make it so easily available for you, but it all comes at a cost...a very high cost.
I must admit, it was a bit of a hard switch to go from throwing money around to preparing a budget and allocating to myself how much I could spend each pay period. It was hard at first, but it has taught me the value of money, and it has made me a better person.
Thanks for your post.
I'm in the red in my checking account and I have no credit left on any of my credit cards. My dream is to get my finances together once again.
Thanks for letting me know it can be done.
Thanks for letting me now that quitting gambling can be done.
Thinking back on it though, we stopped gambling last October and in December we paid off 7 of our 9 payday loans. After that it's been pretty much smooth sailing. I have now paid off the other 2 loans and that was a great feeling.
After December, every bill we have combined, will take up only about 1/3 of our take home income. We now have a savings account and are socking away money into savings and into 401K. We want a future without overwhelming debt.