ex and would be ex-gamblers support thread

riquelme

come on peeps, lets keep this going, whether we're strong in recovery, struggling or someone new looking for a bit of support. this thread has helped me in the past and im sure it can of comfort and help to others

personally im doing fine, no slip ups and into my 2nd year gambling free

Ames

That's great Riq!

I'm still putting links to this thread in any post that mentions gambling problems, I take the view that there's no point addressing the debt problems and not addressing the gambling.

GeorgeUK

No gambling for me since last stumble.
Finances will be a little tight as i have some card deals coming to an end, but will hopefully be able to get another either 0% or low interest for life of balance offer.

Glad to see you're still on track Riquelme.

Frozenace

I must confess, I had some pretty stupid situations before too. Recently I lost about 2k on spread betting, thought I would put 500 quid in and call it in if I lose, but 99% the spread betting companies make money.

Last year, I was milking some bingo sites for money and was about 15k up at one point, thanks to a few big wins and some loop holes.

Well, money goes as fast as it comes. I still occasionally gamble, but only if it's backed up by cashback offers and if the stake isn't bigger than the cashback.

Gambling is definitely no investment... and it can destroy your family too.

GeorgeUK

Hi NL4M.

This site is excellent if you are looking at ways of reducing your expenditure and finding the best way to get the most out of your money. Lots of tips and tools available to assist.

For the gambling, make sure that you close all your accounts so that you don't get tempted. You would need to open a new account to gamble and hopefully that should be enough to deter you. If not, this thread mentions some software you can use.

If you have used your credit acrds for gambling, they will have an extremely high interest rate as these will be classed as a cash advance. Post up a new thread on the DFW board and we'll see if there is anything we can do to assist.

The dark moods do go. It doesn't matter if you are angry at losing, angry at yourself for getting into this mess or just fed up that you can't catch any breaks. The first thing you need to do is accept that the money is gone and you can't get it back. You need to now look forward instead of back and you will gain motivation by watching your debt decrease. When you start working out strategies not to make money but how to pay as little interest as possible - it feels good. One of my 0% offers has just ended so instead of just accepting the 18% APR that it would revert to i now have another 6 month offer at 3.9%.

I have been repaying my debt for about 18 months now and have another 30 months to go if i don't have any payrises or bonuses in that time. I don't even want to think how much interest i would be paying out in that time on the debt i had. You can see from my signature i have repaid almost half my debt now. At the end of it i'm going to add up all the interest and transfer fees i've paid and compare that against what i would have been paying if i had just left the debt in my original accounts.

GeorgeUK

Do a serach on the site for Quidco (i think that's what it's caled). You may be able to get money back if you are also thinking of changing your utility or insurance providors. Uswitch and moneysupermarket are good comparison sites. You could also phone your current provider with the meter readings and if you have overpaid, you can claim that back.

Glad to see you're a little more positive today.

buddiebabe

I have been gambling again in the space of the last week i have spent £625.00 :eek: and £420 of that was last night. I don't really want to carry on anymore.... things are really getting me down i no longer no what to do money i made from ebay has been wasted due to the gambling
and my debt has gone up.

I felt sick but last night after i'd posted my story on my diary thread i eventually went to bed and i've had such a good sleep.

I know there is no way to get the money back and i won't be going down that road again.

I don't think i spent all the money in all the accounts i have recently opened..... they were all new sites i did to get cashback.... even though i knew i shouldn't do it .... felt sick all the time i was doing it.... constantly worrying when it would all go wrong and last nite it did. I will not be going back on them to find out. Im going to give my boyfriend all the user id's and passwords so that he can go on and close the accounts for me and if there is anything left in them get it withdrawn. I don't want to even go near them.

Im just gutted that i had this slip as over the last week i had made a bit of money on ebay and it now means i've sold all that stuff and i could have flung it out!

Anyway today is a new day and will be my first gambling free day.... am off to the shops now so will be away from the computer for a while. I have been using my boyfriends laptop so will be starting to use the desktop pc so i can't go into another room to hide the gambling. I will also install gamblock on the desktop pc and get my boyfriend to change my password to access the laptop. I just need to get my anti virus software installed on the pc first.

Sorry for letting you all down.

Buddiebabe x

GeorgeUK

I'm not going to tell you not to kick yourself for it - i know the feeling only too well and you need to get angry before you can get better. The important thing is that you are getting back up after the fall.

I think gamblock is a good idea - hope it hasn't set you back too much.

DF412

I was on the wagon for quite sometime when I decided to earn some extra money, via matched betting, to go towards my debts.

Things were looking good (profit of £350) when I decided to have a wee flutter on the American horses. I initially lost £50, chased it as you do and within an hour I had lost my float of £550!!! So I was £200 of my own hard earned down. Needless to say I was gutted and felt sick for a couple of days.

However, after a couple of days I got my act together and put it into perspective. I replanned my finances, as that £350 profit was going towards a c/c debt, and got back on track. Now I feel positive and tbh I had completely put it out of my mind until I read you post.

So in conclusion, put it down to experience and get on with things. I will never MB again as I know I don't have the discipline to do it. There is too much temptation so I stay away from it. Soon enough it won't be in your thoughts.

All the best

412

buddiebabe

Thanks for being there. I am still really angry with myself and feeling quite down about it. I had intended to spend the day cleaning and tidying the house but in the end we went out shopping.... the more i sat about doing nothing the more i was dwelling on what i had done making me feel more depressed.

I have accepted what i have done and know there is nothing i can do about it now. It's done and i need to move on. I can only say im glad i stopped when i did as it could have been so much worse.

Thanks
Buddiebabe x