As usual, I’m not urging anyone to do anything; I’m merely sharing my successful experience, and then—it’s up to you. And there’s no need to feel sorry for me, a teetotaler 😂😂
In 2016–17 alcohol left my life; it simply stopped bringing me pleasure.
After about half a year I realized that, while not pathological, it had still probably been a dependency, yes. Mostly a beer one, although as a former bartender I respected, valued, collected and enjoyed strong liquor too, giving preference to Scotch whisky. American Jack Daniel’s was held in no less esteem.
Related post: Freedom from addictions (any)
All of this brought a certain mental pleasure—relief, relaxation, a surge of energy, confidence, an expansion of my own limits, etc.—and also gave a sense of high status, belonging to the upper class. Naturally, in reality the fact of drinking expensive alcohol did not bring me any closer to some “elite.” Jack Daniel’s stood apart; I once wrote that as a child, after reading Harry Harrison’s “The Stainless Steel Rat” saga, I imagined how I would grow up and drink this American whisky (or bourbon, if you prefer). And so, the time came and it all happened… Well, never mind.
Gifts from traveler friends in the form of alcohol, plus our frequent trips with obligatory visits to Duty Free stores in airports, allowed me to get a decent understanding of alcohol and to keep quite a respectable collection at home.
And six months after quitting alcohol I realized not only what I described above. I very clearly understood that my brain works better. Fact. It’s not dried out, it doesn’t crave alcohol, it doesn’t ask to “relax,” and without another glass with ice it doesn’t feel—nor does its owner—incomplete.
But that’s all lyricism, isn’t it? Let’s turn the conversation to practical matters.
Simply by putting it into numbers. We live in Europe, two people. Prices are accordingly higher than in Russia. A glass or two of wine or beer in a venue a couple of times a week, plus sometimes the same beer–wine at home (and/or I’d have something stronger) comes to about €100 a month (give or take). That is, UP TO ONE HUNDRED EUROS A MONTH PER PERSON!
€1,200 a year. ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED F***ING EUROS A YEAR! PER PERSON! Free money!
If you’ll allow, here’s my advice. I’ve written repeatedly about finance-tracking apps. The advice will be useful to both those who already track and those who don’t yet. So. Download another, SEPARATE FINANCE APP. Any one will do—it will have only one function anyway. Have you guessed which? Right—to track alcohol expenses. Yeah-yeah, username, get to know yourself better! ) Take a store receipt—enter in this app only what went for booze. Take a restaurant receipt—the same, enter only the alcohol expenses. Add it up for the month—voilà, my friend, here’s another reason to be freer. Imagine how much you can gather in a year if you put this into a separate piggy bank? Give it a try!
And you know what? Between us (shh-h-h), let me whisper:
– I usually recommend not spending saved sums but putting them to work (at least buy some foreign currency or put them in the bank at minimum interest). But in this case… Yes-yes… exactly! Spend it! On yourself and on that family member who perhaps also took part in the saving (so the kids will get a little break from gifts this time, yeah). Treat yourselves, enjoy, have fun!!! (Just don’t drink, hehe 😁 ).
Prosper.
p.s. Well, at least try it for a week or a month—it’s already good!
