How to change a habit

DigForVictory

From observation, a nice glass of wine is a reward, so you need to find a suitable replacement reward that ticks the happy but doesn't go direct to the waistline!

Possibilites that come to mind are:
San Pellegrino - both the sparkling mineral water & the fruit drinks (lemon, orange, red orange & grapefruit) - Costco has all these in slabs which is a great deal more economic than supermarket singles or even 6s.
Home made elderflower champagne & Home made ginger cordial (um, there may be quite a lot of sugar in these, so dilute them down?)

Mint tea is both a hot & cold drink - just the cold version takes a bit more planning.

There are a *lot* of herb teas - may be worth seeing if your local tea & coffee specialist (a) exists (b) will do you a "sampler". If yes, then do keep notes on what you liked so you can get either more of the same or another sampler similar to &/or including that taste.

Hoping you find a pleasant alternative drink, or that housework really does reward you!

LameWolf

DigForVictory wrote: »

Mint tea is both a hot & cold drink - just the cold version takes a bit more planning.

I like the sound of that - presumably you make it as usual, let it cool, and refrigerate it in a jug?

Effyb4

I find myself in a similar situation. I find having a lemon squash in a wine glass, gives nearly the same feel. The wine glass is definitely important and the lemon isn't too sweet. Cranberry juice mixed with water works for me as well because it has a dry feeling in the mouth like wine and isn't too sweet.

Fruball

If it is white wine you drink, try switching to apple juice with soda water. It has the same dryness and is very wine-like!

Also, join us here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/67687935#Comment_67687935

Horace

One thing that you could do is stop buying the wine and instead put the money you would have spent on wine into one of those terracotta savings pots that you have to smash at the end of the year to get the money out.

I gave my wine to my next door neighbours because I felt that if I opened a bottle then I would be inclined to drink it and I didn't want to step onto that slippery slope. I had a friend who also lived on her own and she ended up going through a bottle of wine a night, must admit that I distanced myself from her partly for this reason because when I went to stay with her I felt pressured to drink more than I wanted to.

I have alcohol in the house including some rather yummy homemade sloe vodka but I know my limits and barely touch it.

pollypenny

I love good white wine, so wouldn't spoil it with soda. In the summer, I'm happy to go with cheaper wine and enjoy a spritzer.

I don't think your habit is anything bad, OP. you just need to find a drink that you like to replace the wine. I like cream soda or occasionally, J2O.

Knitting is good, as my hands are so busy I rarely lift the glass.

gayleygoo

Two small glasses of wine is hardly anything to worry about. Annoying if you're trying to lose weight perhaps, but you're not polishing off the whole bottle every night!

Maybe aim to have 3 nights "off" from drinking the wine. (You may want to start your week on a Friday or any night that you will almost definitely want to drink wine!) then allow yourself four nights - or less if you choose - to drink two glasses without guilt.

As with any habit that costs money, it can help to calculate what you'd save if you stopped/cut down, and put the money in a jar towards something to treat yourself with.