I don't have the answers... I'm here searching for hope just like you. But I just wanted you to know that I read your post and joined this board because you need to know your not alone. Or maybe I need to know I'm not alone. I have to believe that there is hope for us both. Maybe we can start the journey today... We've already taken the first step which is to admit we have a problem. Maybe today can be our Day One instead of just one day....

I’m not great at giving financial advice, but I know you need to get in touch with companies you owe money to and set up payment plans. It’s not to late in your pregnancy to repair some of the damage you’ve caused. Please begin at day one with a strong plan to stop gambling. I know you’re scared to tell your bf what you’ve done, and I don’t know your situation, but if your relationship is strong confiding in him could help. Be ready for him to be angry, because who wouldn’t be? However, this is an addiction like any other addiction, it cannot be cured, only lived with. By not feeding this addiction you can begin to live a better life. I’ve had to come clean with my husband more than once, not once was it easy for either one of us. But it’s my truth, and my relationship is more important to me than lies. More importantly my truth is what I have to live with, in recovery I’m realizing I can forgive myself as long as I stay true to myself.
I know how scary your situation may seem to you at the moment, and on top of that being pregnant has to be horrible for you. I’m sorry. Please stay strong and keep doing the next right thing.

I am still paying off my debt and crawling out of the hole I dug for myself. For me, the first thing I had to do was stop gambling, as that was only digging the hole deeper. I encourage you to call the Nat'l Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700 or go to their website https://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/national-helpline-1-800-522-4700/ You can talk to kind, helpful humans who can put you in touch with resources in your area. The best advice I got when I first started in recovery was "just breathe and do the next right thing". It seemed impossible to do even that at first, but eventually the next right things started adding up and life got better. It's not magic or immediate, but one day at a time you can get your life back. I wish you strength!

As Robin said, making phone calls to your creditors can help. If you fully accept that the real underlying problem is not the current financial problem but is an addiction, you can then take steps to block yourself from doing it. Some of us have done the following: Lowering the amount of cash cards allow to take out daily, self-banning from gambling places, not carrying cash. Making ourselves accountable to someone else for our money and our time, rediscovering the other things you used to enjoy, journaling, using a payee for handling money, professional gambling addiction therapy. (I have done just about all of them.)

I don't know if this will help but there is a Federal agency that will help folks if they are close to foreclosure on the house they are living in----here is a link:

https://www.usa.gov/foreclosure

Hugs, I too had to just breathe and do the next right thing for my first few months gambling free. It is hard but worth the fight to get your sanity and life back.

Thank you all for your replies. Today is day 1 of no gambling and I am going to call a dent management counsellor on monday to figure out where to eve start with Bill's. I cut my debit and credit cards in half so they are kot an option, and need to make a goal of something to do on payday other then going right to the casino. I'm happy to not be alone and would love to start Day 1 together One Day.

Watch out for the scams by people who promise to get you out of debt for a fee. I would start with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service. Google CCCS and your state. These are non profit groups that help people get out of debt.

TheKayJay - I woke up this morning and let my mind wander to the idea of going to the casino just to play the free play, Almost convincing myself that I could just be satisfied with that... I never am and end of blowing money that I don't have from credit cards or other manipulations that I've figured out.

I almost.... But I clicked on the little bookmark I made yesterday on my phone and your reply literally brought me to my knees and I sobbed... In a good way. The fact that I'm not alone is enough for today to keep me from going, keep me focused. So I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I'm not sure where you live, but there are local agencies to help with the electric. Call the county social services, or local charities. Where I live Catholic Charities provides assistance to prevent electric shutoff in the winter.

I know that as a gambler, part of the allure is that there is an immediate result ... Win or lose. My brain has become accustomed to a faster resolution... The recovery, not as immediate. I have to retrain my brain to expect slower results. I have also put myself and my husband in debt that is drowning us. But I have to believe that if there was a way into this, then there is a way out. I just have to be patient.

Feel free to private message me, if you like. My situation is very similar to yours. I'm not pregnant but I have 5 kids, so I can relate. Haha

Here's to Day 2...

I can relate to you in so many ways. I am on day 1 again. The only things that has proved successful for the few months that I did abstain was gamblers anonymous meeting and putting roadblocks in place. I have no one to hold me accountable so that presents a huge challenge at times. At least you have time to get this under control before the stress of having a newborn starts. For me, feelings of guilt and shame are the hardest to manage. Financially, I would say prioritize what you need to survive. Then, worry about the rest. There is light at the end of the debt tunnel...it’s hard to believe it for me too. Sending you a big hug. You can do this!! So can I...I just have to utilize what I know will work to stop me from going to that awful place.

There is no shame in Day one. In fact, it is the most important day of your Recovery, because it is the day you decide to do something different.
Yestorecovery's post also has a link to the National Council on problem gambling. There is counseling available for little or no cost in many states that have legal gambling and those folks can tell you if it is anything like my state. My state provides counseling and education to problem & compulsive gamblers AND their loved ones (whether the gambler is in treatment or not) all paid for by our state lottery funds. I personally needed therapy to get quit, GA was not enough for me by itself.

Thank you all for your replies. It has been a week for me since I have gambled, but usually my trigger day is payday which is a week away. Every payday that I dont gamble I will consider a day of a new week. Thank you so much for the support you have no idea how much it helps a person to not feel so alone.

It’s frightening to anticipate a trigger, especially if it’s your payday, For sure you’re not alone, it’s easier to say today I will not gamble when you’re broke, Believe me, I’m writing this from experience. I can remember how quickly my brain would go from ‘today I will not gamble’ to ‘you can’t fight this’, in a nanosecond. Payday after payday after payday. I began to wonder why I even bothered telling myself I wasn’t going to blow it; it seemed ridiculous but maddening at the same time, I was lying to myself. No no longer meant no, I had zero trust in myself. I relapsed, if you can call it that, over and over again, it never got easier, just worse. And paydays weren’t my only trigger, I’ve realized I have many. The ones I seem to worry about the most are the one’s buried below the surface. Being able to call out my triggers helps me to deal with them. Calling them out, talking and writing about them seems to lessen their power. Call those triggers out!
A week without gambling, keep going. I keep thinking everyday is a payday for you without gambling, know what I mean? One day at a time. Your payday trigger might last longer than you want it to, be prepared for it, think about exactly what you have to do and why, I know it’s not easy, but given enough time away from gambling it will cease to have the same power over you become just a bad memory of how it use to be.