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...
You may think I'm crazy. You may be thinking "whaaa?! No good can come out of a gambling addiction!"
You may be right. But for me, one good thing that came out of all this was I learned the value of money. It may sound stupid, but before I started gambling, I had only been in the workforce for about 2 years. Having been on government payments for students before that, having a salary made me feel like a kid in a candy store - I didn't know what to do with it.
I guess you could say I was rather reckless with money, spending it here, spending it there, not really knowing why I ran out at the end of each pay period, not really having a plan with my money. I was basically just living day to day, with no eyes for the future.
But as I started to recover from my gambling addiction, it forced me to calculate and plan how long it would take to pay off my debt, what was the minimum I could live on, how interest worked, and what I should really be doing with my money.
It's kinda funny really, because gambling distorts your perception of money. In the midst of my addiction, I found that I wouldn't think twice about throwing $800 onto a roulette table, yet when my parents asked me for $50 to have lunch, I refused. Hell, I thought a $40 tie was too much, and yet I was all too happy to lose $800. It just didn't MAKE SENSE!
So as I near paying off my credit card debt (2-3 more fortnights to go), I am grateful for this very, very, VERY harsh lesson in life. It has taught me the value of money. Compound interest will no longer work against me, it will work for me. Casino odds shall not bankrupt me. And I will not squander away money to buy things I don't need.
You may be right. But for me, one good thing that came out of all this was I learned the value of money. It may sound stupid, but before I started gambling, I had only been in the workforce for about 2 years. Having been on government payments for students before that, having a salary made me feel like a kid in a candy store - I didn't know what to do with it.
I guess you could say I was rather reckless with money, spending it here, spending it there, not really knowing why I ran out at the end of each pay period, not really having a plan with my money. I was basically just living day to day, with no eyes for the future.
But as I started to recover from my gambling addiction, it forced me to calculate and plan how long it would take to pay off my debt, what was the minimum I could live on, how interest worked, and what I should really be doing with my money.
It's kinda funny really, because gambling distorts your perception of money. In the midst of my addiction, I found that I wouldn't think twice about throwing $800 onto a roulette table, yet when my parents asked me for $50 to have lunch, I refused. Hell, I thought a $40 tie was too much, and yet I was all too happy to lose $800. It just didn't MAKE SENSE!
So as I near paying off my credit card debt (2-3 more fortnights to go), I am grateful for this very, very, VERY harsh lesson in life. It has taught me the value of money. Compound interest will no longer work against me, it will work for me. Casino odds shall not bankrupt me. And I will not squander away money to buy things I don't need.
Yes, I always wondered about the perceptions of spending money too. I didn't want to pay $10 bucks for a movie but would spend that in a blink of an eye at the track. Where's the reality check? Well, I guess it's in the credit card bills and empty wallets/pockets. Now, I like spending my money at the movies or other activities. I say to myself, "well, I'm getting my money's worth" even if it's lousy because the movie ran, the projector worked and it gives me something to comment on. I can complain about it or rave about it, which is more socially acceptable that lamenting about why "horse #7 didn't come in".
I have a little longer than you to get up to speed. I have to be frugal for the next couple years but at least I have a faint light at the end of the tunnel. Have a good one!