Giving up the Sweet/Savoury Stuff Support Thread! (All welcome!)

I have been eating and drinking far, far too much sweet stuff for the past year or so. It has had a detrimental effect on my teeth, waistline, and if I were to add up the amount I've spent over that year, quite probably my finances as well. I have been aware that I need to do something about it for a while now, but have not quite got round to it. However, something need to be done, and as the Moloko song I've just finished listening to states 'The Time is Now'.

I've had a hell of a stressful year and I've noticed that I end up reaching for a chocolate bar under such conditions. I'm at the library studying, so go to the vending machine for a chocolate bar for a break. I'm at work near Millie's Muffins and so end up getting a muffin from there as a 'treat', or, worse still on late-waking days with no time for breakfast, a breakfast substitute to keep me going until lunch. this is evidently not healthy, and has made me go up a dress size. I wasn't even happy with the one I was before, so as you can imagine, I am now :eek:!

I've considered putting the money I spend on chocolate/soft drink etc in a pot every time I don't buy something, but I have found this an ineffective method for me as I keep telling myself that if I stopped myself from buying it as a result of promising myself he money for another cause, I might have just not bought it anyway, so I wouldn't have spent the money, meaning there is none to go in the pot. Evidently, I need a new tactic, and one just occurred to me. I have been keeping an accurate spending diary for the past few months, but I realise that I have not really done much with it other than record what I've spent in it. I've never actually figured out how much I'm spending on 'treats' this way. I bet when I realise, I'll get a rotten shock!

So here's my plan: at the end of this financial month (I get paid 1 week before the end of the month so I'll go from there), I'm going to add up how much I have spent on snacky rubbish this month. When I pick myself off the floor I will then take the same amount of money out of my pay, and put it in a pot. This month, every time I buy a bar of chocolate etc, I have to take the money for it out of the pot and put it back in my purse, or wherever else the money came from. At the end of the month, any money left in the pot gets put in the bank to be paid off my debts. Hopefully this will make me realise just how much unhealthy rubbish I'm getting through, and also reduce the amount of money I'm spending on it. It will hurt to take money out of that pot, so I hope I won't have to do it often.

While involved in a discussion in another thread, it became evident that other people were having similar problems giving up their pet treats as well. If you want to give this a try, feel free to join. If you want to just post and tell everyone how good you have been at resisting your biscuits/soft drink/crisps etc, feel free to do so as well. You're all most very welcome!