A (non) smoker's tale

milliejon · 6 June 2006 at 8:07AM

I started smoking around 9 years ago when I was going through a divorce. Since then, I have increased from the odd one when I was out socialising, to 20 per day now.

I have been reading Allan Carr's book 'The Easyway to Stop Smoking'. Last night I read a chapter on the financial side of smoking. He suggested working out how much smoking had cost over the years.

I did this and thought I'd share it with you. I've based my calculation on smoking an average of 20 a day, at an average cost of £4.50.

7 days @ £4.50 = £31.50
52 weeks @ £31.50 = £1638
9 years @ £1638 = £14,742

Needless to say, I was very shocked at this amount of money. I then went on to compare this with my debt. As you can see from my signature, this is only £8000 (or so) less than my outstanding debt.

My original debt was around £30,000 when I got divorced, and when I started the DMP, 20 months ago it was still around £30,000! My debt is mainly made up of credit cards and loans to pay off credit cards. Credit cards that I used to buy cigarettes (amongst other things of course)! I had always only paid off the minimum amount on my credit cards. When you take into account the days when I smoked more, and then add on the interest on the cards, that probably accounts for a lot of the difference in what smoking has cost me already and the amount I owe.

I'm so shocked by this! I always knew that I couldn't afford to smoke, and had worked out how much it was costing me, but I never took the time to compare this with my debt.

I'm going to keep reading the book (in fact, I can't wait to finish it). He suggests that you carry on smoking whilst reading it, so that the programme works.

If only I'd known that those first cigarettes I had whilst having a night out, would contribute hugely to me being on a DMP, and costing me nearly £15,000.

I'll keep updating this so that I have a record of my achievements.

Wish me luck!

owessomuch · 6 June 2006 at 8:18AM

It scares me to think how much I've spent over the years on cigarettes!

I've also got this book from the library (very DFW) but I've not started yet until I finish my book at the mo.

My 16 year old niece has just started to smoke and I can not stress to her enough why she should stop now, the money is going to be another point to put across to her.

Best of luck with the giving up and I hope to be in the same boat very soon!

moggins · 6 June 2006 at 8:19AM

Good luck milliejon, I am having to quit before the middle of July but even Allen Carrs book and tapes isn't working for me, I don't know what to try next. DH is thinking of sending me to his parents who live in the middle of nowhere with no shops around so that I have no access to fags for a week.

milliejon · 6 June 2006 at 8:27AM

Moggins - perhaps you're finding it difficult because you have to quit. It's like being on a diet and telling yourself you can't eat chocolate. The only thing you can think about is chocolate!

I really do sympathise with you.

I hope the book will work for me!

spaghetti_monster · 6 June 2006 at 8:27AM

Good on you for making the desicion to give up!

I got my hands on a copy of that book a few years ago (I was a light/social smoker) and although I thought some of the things he said were a bit weird, some of his points really hit home and I haven't smoked since!

Maybe you could do something like save the money you would have spent on ciggies - so you have some positive figures to keep you motivated (ie. increasing savings or more money to throw at the debts)

Good luck!!

milliejon · 6 June 2006 at 8:28AM

owessomuch wrote:

It scares me to think how much I've spent over the years on cigarettes!

I've also got this book from the library (very DFW) but I've not started yet until I finish my book at the mo.

My 16 year old niece has just started to smoke and I can not stress to her enough why she should stop now, the money is going to be another point to put across to her.

Best of luck with the giving up and I hope to be in the same boat very soon!

Quickly - finish your book! Best of luck.

needmoney · 6 June 2006 at 8:32AM

moggins wrote:

Good luck milliejon, I am having to quit before the middle of July but even Allen Carrs book and tapes isn't working for me, I don't know what to try next. DH is thinking of sending me to his parents who live in the middle of nowhere with no shops around so that I have no access to fags for a week.

Good luck to all giving up.

I am having trouble finding that book but I suspect like you moggins it wouldn't do much for me either.

I really could bo far better things with my money, what keeps us so hooked!!!!!!:o

GreyPilgrim · 6 June 2006 at 9:39AM

It's a great book, I've plugged it quite a few times on this site. It's bizarre how you can be sitting there one day aching for a ciggy, and the next day you can be sitting in a pub surrounded by smokers and NOT EVEN WANTING A FAG.

One piece of really really really important advice guys. Carr repeats it a number of times, but I sadly ignored it. When you HAVE become a non-smoker again, don't do what I did...five months later I was driving somewhere and just thought "Hey, it's been five months - I might just have a quick tab to remind myself how nasty they were".

Duuurrrrr.

It's really easy to fall back in the trap, and I found it a lot harder to stop the second time.

What an idiot (*slaps self*)

Dead_Eye_Jones · 6 June 2006 at 10:08AM

Good luck, not only will you save money but you may be able to breath easier too!

I really dont know why the fags=money lesson doesnt get learnt, it seems a bit of a no brainer to me. I guess it goes to show just how addictive these things are

. I remember living off a tenner a week at Uni and my peers would be smoking their student loans around me. That was the difference to them still living with their parents 10 years on and me just buying a 3 bed semi in London.

Best of luck with quitting, could well be the key to a debt free future life...

Tr@cker · 6 June 2006 at 10:51AM

So what do you do when you actually enjoy a fag but realise how expensive it
is ? Ive smoked for 40 years no health problems also most people ive spoke to who quit put loads of weight on in a very short time, i think a lot of young girls start smoking for this reason-it helps them contol their weight although i wouldn't condone it.

CosmoCat · 6 June 2006 at 12:27PM

well done on reading the book and trying to quit, i would print out that figure and stick it where you could see it all the time. smoking is not just killing you physically, but also financially. maybe your dfw self will want to quit even more!!

my father was of the opinion that he had no health problems though he smoked for over fifty years, that is until he died at 70 with a rapid onset of lung cancer. he was quite a healthy man up till then. I too, loved smoking and believed that it was doing me no harm, until i got my first heart attack at 28. that was a good reason to stop.

it's true that nobody ever stops until they're ready. and it's true that there are alot of people who put weight on rapidly when they stop. but it is also true that there are alot of healthy not-overweight people who don't smoke.

Hope i don't sound preachy....and I hope the book helps you.
all the best.

A (non) smoker's tale

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