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Do ex smokers REALLY save money?

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Am thinking about how much i spend each month on smoking. I've saved a bit by switching to rolling my own (well with a machine) once i get home but still spend about £60 - £70 a month on packet cigarettes, tobacco and papers....

Thing is, do people who give up really save the money? Or does it just get spent on something else?

I would love to give up, especially before the ban in public places next year but would also like to save some of the money i dont spend on it. Maybe half for the pot and half for a night out each month.

Any ideas on how to be strict with myself to save the money and also keep me not smoking?

I'm going to aim for giving up next monday.
Last bet : 26th Oct 2006:j Debt free 25th Feb 2008:j Living "my" dream:T
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Comments

  • Gemmzie
    Gemmzie Posts: 14,876 Forumite
    Literally save the cash that you would usually spend on smoking.

    Save for something nice just for you
    No longer using this account for new posts from 2013
  • MinnieSpender
    MinnieSpender Posts: 2,975 Forumite
    When I gave up I "paid" the amount I hadn't spent on fags every day into my Barclaycard account via Internet banking.

    That's one way to see a result!
    :eek: What if the hokey cokey is what it's all about? :eek:
    Official "Bring back Mark and Lard NOW! or else (please)" Member 16
  • PoorDave
    PoorDave Posts: 952 Forumite
    500 Posts
    cantcope wrote:
    Am thinking about how much i spend each month on smoking. I've saved a bit by switching to rolling my own (well with a machine) once i get home but still spend about £60 - £70 a month on packet cigarettes, tobacco and papers....

    Thing is, do people who give up really save the money? Or does it just get spent on something else?

    I would love to give up, especially before the ban in public places next year but would also like to save some of the money i dont spend on it. Maybe half for the pot and half for a night out each month.

    Any ideas on how to be strict with myself to save the money and also keep me not smoking?

    I'm going to aim for giving up next monday.

    Work out what it will do to your debt free date if you just saved half the money, that way you feel like you gaining something in your life style (say you spend the other half on going out, but not smoking) Could bring your debt free date forward by a lot, then you're free!
    Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery
  • nillhouse
    nillhouse Posts: 217 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    As an ex smoker, truthfully, I dont see the money! It just gets spent on something else, like food shopping, or the bills.
    Tescos latest enemy.........
  • seven-day-weekend
    seven-day-weekend Posts: 36,755 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I haven't smoked for fifteen years, but some friends of mine tell me they spend 80 Euros a WEEK on smoking.....:eek: and that's at Spanish prices at E2.50 for 20. It wouild be over twice as much if they had to pay UK prices.

    I think that amount would make a good little nest-egg.

    I know everyone doesn't smoke to that extent, but I'm sure you'll be able to make a big hole in your debt if you don't smoke.

    Good luck....I can still remember how hard it is to give it up.
    (AKA HRH_MUngo)
    Member #10 of £2 savers club
    Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology: Terry Eagleton
  • cantcope
    cantcope Posts: 1,886 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker Debt-free and Proud!
    nillhouse wrote:
    As an ex smoker, truthfully, I dont see the money! It just gets spent on something else, like food shopping, or the bills.

    Thats what i was afraid of.

    Wasnt going to use the money to pay off debt as it would only make 2 months difference, was going to use half to save for christmas gifts/birthdays etc, maybe a weekend in a caravan next summer.

    Maybe if i succeed in giving up i should give the money to my mum along with my repayments and make it clear that its my "savings account"?
    Last bet : 26th Oct 2006:j Debt free 25th Feb 2008:j Living "my" dream:T
  • Arch-Angel
    Arch-Angel Posts: 184 Forumite
    That sounds like a good plan - as long as you can "see" the financial benefit. As a (struggling) ex-smoker myself you might want to consider simply putting it in a "copper jar" in your house; after a few weeks seeing the pot of cash building up nicely can be a big motivation to keep off the cigs!

    Best of luck!
    Never attach your ego to your position....
  • beanielou
    beanielou Posts: 95,530 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Mortgage-free Glee!
    I gave up just before the Scottish ban came in.
    You only see the money if you dont spend it all on chocolate!!
    I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.

    Lou~ Debt free Wanabe No 55 DF 03/14.**Credit card debt free 30/06/10~** MFW. Finally mortgage free O2/ 2021****
    "A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" Jane Austen in Mansfield Park.

    ***Fall down seven times,stand up eight*** ~~Japanese proverb.
    ***Keep plodding*** Out of debt, out of danger. ***Be the difference.***
    One debt remaining. Home improvement loan.
  • jessicamb
    jessicamb Posts: 10,446 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I havent seen the money yet but I've only been quit a couple of weeks. I'll be paying myself £4 a day as soon as I can afford it though.

    Good luck with giving up - read the Allen Carr book and keep busy then it doesnt seem so bad.
    The early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese :cool:
  • Arch-Angel
    Arch-Angel Posts: 184 Forumite
    jessicamb wrote:
    I havent seen the money yet but I've only been quit a couple of weeks. I'll be paying myself £4 a day as soon as I can afford it though.

    Good luck with giving up - read the Allen Carr book and keep busy then it doesnt seem so bad.

    I would make a point of "paying yourself" - get used to seeing the savings that you make by not smoking. It's a big motivational factor when you see that you're up £28 every week, or £120 every month or almost £1500 every year (sounds quite a lot now doesn't it??) :D
    Never attach your ego to your position....
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