December 23, 201411 yr I have just noticed my ticker and I've not wasted nearly six thousand pounds on cigarettes in 18 months...nearly six grand!! Eyes popping out of my head. I'll be honest I did quit purely because of financial reasons, was getting too difficult to fund. Although I didn't notice any extra cash at first I did find I wasn't as low on funds each month as time progressed. The mental freedom is worth more than I imagined, or dared hope for, and to me that is priceless but I won't lie the extra cash is dam fabulous too! I have my Tenerife holiday booked, have taken MIL on lots of fab Christmas outings and am not sweating with worry at the thought of saving for a second hand car to replace my rust bucket in 2016...if it lasts that long..lol Freedom is priceless, worth more than money...but enjoy the extra money too as I certainly am ;)
December 23, 201411 yr I have just noticed my ticker and I've not wasted nearly six thousand pounds on cigarettes in 18 months...nearly six grand!! Eyes popping out of my head. I'll be honest I did quit purely because of financial reasons, was getting too difficult to fund. Although I didn't notice any extra cash at first I did find I wasn't as low on funds each month as time progressed. The mental freedom is worth more than I imagined, or dared hope for, and to me that is priceless but I won't lie the extra cash is dam fabulous too! I have my Tenerife holiday booked, have taken MIL on lots of fab Christmas outings and am not sweating with worry at the thought of saving for a second hand car to replace my rust bucket in 2016...if it lasts that long..lol Freedom is priceless, worth more than money...but enjoy the extra money too as I certainly am ;) I agree 100%!
December 23, 201411 yr I forth this?! A big part of my quit was financial too! It's been lovely christmas shopping this year. Pain free, the boyf saved from his quit money, and we finally had the florida holiday that I'd been saving for 3 years. The financial freedom alone is worth my quit. Thanks for posting. This one did a gentle reminder for me, appreciated. Thinking of you and your family Sharon, much loves from me to you. xx
December 23, 201411 yr Author Thank you very much Marti and I'm sorry I missed your Florida get away..but I was thinking of you, I promise. I use to blow my part time wages on cigs, I worked to fund it to be honest. I now follow the Dave Ramsey envelope system and only ever deal in cash (apart from bills that go out direct) and I now able to put extra towards my mortage and will knock 5 years off that! So that means stopping smoking has not only no doubt lengthened my life but means Lee and I can be mortage free and retire at 55! He has a fabulous pension. Had I carried on being a slave to the cigs, well, firstly would I even been around in 10 years, at 55 and secondly there would be no way we would have been financially secure to retire at 55...not a chance! Lee is over the moon as my stopping the silliness of smoking really does and will affect him in a good way too. I can not even begin to explain how stopping smoking has changed my life for the better on so many levels, just can't begin! I no longer have sleepless nights worrying that cash is low and how the hell am I ever going to get a grip on quitting smoking. I only wish I'd have done it years ago...still...better late than never.
December 23, 201411 yr Author That's a lot of money! Good job with your quit and enjoy early retirement! Thank you very much and congratulations to you on your 19 days...soon be 19 months xx
December 23, 201411 yr This is so lovely to see, Sharon. Personally, this year has been a lot easier than past years :) Please can you point me in the direction of the Dave Ramsey envelope system? Sounds good!
December 23, 201411 yr I'm so happy for you sweetheart....plans for a great retirement...it will be wonderful.. When I think of the money tony and I have spent on smoking.... The two of us for 50 odd years....it's criminal....a huge amount.... It doesn't bare thinking about to much....it would drive me nuts....what a waste of hard earned cash.... Crazy.... Xxxx
December 23, 201411 yr Author This is so lovely to see, Sharon. Personally, this year has been a lot easier than past years :) Please can you point me in the direction of the Dave Ramsey envelope system? Sounds good! Sure Ross http://www.daveramsey.com/article/dave-ramseys-envelope-system/lifeandmoney_budgeting/ I have been doing the cash only system since September and already it has made a huge difference! I budget x amount also for emergency pot money (toaster breaking/kettle stuff like that) so that if the can't plan for it things happen the cash is there. I also use the cash to pop back in the bills account, the very next day, if there has been an online emergency purchase. The supermarket shopping, with cash only, was the game changer! Have knocked at least £150 a month off the food shop bill. I was financially asleep as a smoker but now I'm wide awake and it's quite liberating...I love the challenge of keeping within the budget and watching our savings grow. I know Doreen the money we have wasted! I haven't dared work out how many thousands have been wasted in 30 years, it would make me cry. I am just glad to no longer be still wasting my money on crap. Onwards and upwards...as they say xx
December 23, 201411 yr Hey Sharon - great to see you and what a great post. I'm with you - it is amazing how much longer the money last when we don't set fire to it - particularly here is Oz where they are sooooo expensive. So happy you are making good use of what you are saving and able to enjoy extra treats in your smoke free life :-)
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