2 powerful ways quitting alcohol is making me wealthy
Eight months ago, I was in such a dark place.
It was summertime and the sun was out late every day, but I still felt like I was living in perpetual darkness.
Yes, every day was the exact same:
- Get up
- Go through the motions of another day of accomplishing nothing and disappointing myself
- Get drunk
- Go to bed for another night of terrible, restless sleep
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Ad infinitum.
Every day I pissed away with alcohol, the further away I got from the dream I always knew would bring me actual happiness: starting my own business.
But the poor sleep, poor energy, and poor health that come with alcohol abuse always kept that goal out of reach.
I was wasting my potential, and time was marching on faster than ever.
Would I always feel like a loser?
Less money, mo’ problems
Meanwhile, despite making a great salary at my day job, I felt like I was never getting ahead financially.
Every week, more money was going out than was coming in.
Today, significantly less than a year later, I’ve completely turned things around.
My business, comprised of 5 different income streams, is starting to thrive.
And the actual financial costs associated with alcohol are gone.
Are you still looking for a reason to quit booze? Allow me to present one.
Eight months ago, my house and vehicle were falling apart and I was going further into debt every week.
I had no idea how I was going to turn the tide.
Today, I calculated how much money the decision to quit alcohol has already made me in 8 months: $13,035.34
Let me tell you how.
Alcohol kills your body and your finances
How did I arrive at that number?
Well, alcohol kills your finances in two ways.
The first is the actual cost of the addiction.
Alcohol costs money. If you drink a lot every day, the way I did, it costs a lot of money.
I’ve already written a couple of articles on this, and I’d encourage you to check them out if you’re interested in the true cost of drinking:
- I spent a staggering amount of money on alcohol
- How much your bottle-a-day alcohol habit is ACTUALLY costing you
In, the first article, I relived an exercise I did the first time I tried to quit alcohol back in 2019.
Here, from that article, are the numbers I came up with re: the cost of a full year of alcohol addiction:
Regular drinking: 325 days x $12 = $3,900
Restaurants: 32 x $25 = $800 (in retrospect, this was probably a low-ball estimate)
Holidays/parties = $250 (this was almost certainly low)
Vacations = $200 (again…)
Total: $5,150 per year
Yikes!
The second way alcohol kills your finances is the opportunity cost.
This also cuts in two ways.
The first, which I note in Article 2 that I posted a little higher up, is what you’re not doing with the money you’re spending on alcohol.
As I wrote, if you invested your money instead of spending it on booze:
After five years at 8 percent, compounded monthly, you would have $26,745.58.
After 10 years, you would have $66,592.36.
After 15 years, you would have $125,957.91.
And after 20 years, you would have $214,403.43 (!).
If someone offered you almost a quarter of a million dollars in a lump sum to quit today, would you do it?
Another drawback is that alcohol kills your optimism and motivation to go out and earn more money.
For career types, that could mean poorer performance at work, limiting opportunities for advancement.
If you’re more entrepreneurial like I am, it means not having the energy to chase your dreams after your family and work responsibilities are taken care of.
It also makes you more likely to quit when the going gets tough.
When I was younger, I was a serial business starter.
I launched more websites than I can count, but when they didn’t show immediate, massive returns, I just gave up.
It was much easier to go have 5 beers and watch a hockey game.
Now, I’m up at 6 a.m. or earlier every day, chasing my dream of working for myself.
And the money is really starting to roll in.
In the eight months since I quit alcohol:
- I have SAVED $2,880
- I have EARNED an extra $10,155.34
A better path
The point of this article isn’t to brag.
It’s to show you that even a Regular Joe like me who felt like a total loser just eight months ago can turn things around almost on a dime.
Eight months ago, I was tired, sick, and directionless.
Today, I’m an optimistic, energized, five-figure small business owner.
And I’m just getting warmed up.
Maybe you’re not particularly entrepreneurial and your interests lie elsewhere:
- Maybe it’s being the best teacher in the world
- Maybe it’s being a great artist or musician
- Maybe it’s being a great father and husband
- Maybe it’s being hot as hell in a bathing suit
- Maybe you’re happy building a career and want to start climbing that ladder again and making up for lost time
When we’re caught in the alcohol hamster wheel, everything seems impossible.
I’m here to tell you from personal experience that when you finally stumble off of it, you realize that anything actually is possible.
Go get it!
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