If you read my last post, you know I was trying to do something…well that something is quitting smoking.

I’ve tried numerous times to quit, but many have been a couple day attempts or hours even. It’s been over 4 weeks now. I’ve just been telling myself, over and over, smoking is not an option.

Hope you are all doing well.

Tear jerker…

And something on the lighter side…

Sigh. I actually started smoking about 2 weeks ago. I didn’t want to post about it because I feel so bad. Even as an anonymous blogger, I feel like I let my readers down. I let myself down too. I got re-hooked by a simple meltdown, a bad day. This is not the end. I will try again.

Woohoo, 31 days! Smoke-free. Well, I did smoke a few way back in week 1, but never bought a pack.

Now it’s all about remembering even one more re-lapse could startup the bad habit all over again. It’s not easy…everytime I have coffee, I think about a cigarette. Everytime I’m done eating, I think about a cigarette. Everytime I use the bathroom, I think about a cigarette…hah, just kidding. But the point is, a habit that was just engrained in everyday life, is now gone.

Last I heard, Financial Train Wreck and his significant other are also doing well breaking the nicotine addiction. If you have some time, post a comment there and tell them to keep up the good work!

Thanks to SingleMa…definitely feeling the vibes!

To date, $69.75 saved! Woot!

So I rarely look at advertisments unless a very unique item is presented to me…well this time, as I was checking how many grammatical and spelling errors I could find in my posts, Google presented me with this ad for “Linkman - The Habit Reversal Device.” It was a full image ad, and it worked! This product is interesting, but I’m not convinced it’d work…It’s a device that grants you permission to smoke in intervals. The intervals get longer and longer, until finally you’re weened off of cigarettes. But hey, an ad that actually convinced me to look at it…Interesting…BTW, just a short update, I haven’t gone back to smoking…

You know, I don’t wish bad things on tobacco companies, and I really believe in a free market. Whether they lied or deceived people, I don’t know…I made my choice to smoke, and I have to live with it. I believe that’s one of the major problems in society, where we always need to find someone to blame…My belief is that the final blame always comes down to ourselves. We make ourselves better that way. Went off on a tangent…*slaps myself*. Anyway, reading this article, made me grin…

Thanks to Financial Train Wreck and Mike @ The Useless Tree for posting up more support! If I ever miss anyone, let me say sorry up front…I’m not a very organized blogger.

So far, so good…the first day was difficult, and I definitely felt the effects of nicotine withdrawl. I had a small headache and was pretty irritable. It’s the 3rd day now, I’m starting to feel better. I did have a couple of periods where I wanted to go buy a pack…but didn’t. I also tried not to hang out with my friend who smokes…for obvious reasons :).

Thanks to lamoneyguy, who gave me some good advice, “It’s a combination of will power and a change of attitude. The will power alone will never be enough. Like some who decides that today is the day they get out of debt, the change in attitude is most important.” And to mbhunter who said, “One way to help you stick with it: Set up a jar or a sub-account, and put the money that you don’t spend on cigarettes in the jar. Save half of the money and use the other half to celebrate after you reach a milestone.” Two pieces of advice I totally agree with…I need to setup that jar…

Thanks for the support! Having this blog has helped a lot so far…knowing that I can go back and look at something to remind me, gives me a little more oomph to skip that urge. It’s awesome! Let’s see if I can hit a week.

04.07.2006 - It’s not been over a month! I just hope I can keep this up…what’s scary is that even a month later, I still have urges. Man, it’s a hard habit to kick. My day 31 update.

03.07.2006 - Smoke Update: Day 3

03.05.2006 - Original Post:
This blog offers me a rare opportunity to try and quit smoking with some accountability. I don’t have to tell friends I’m quitting, which is great, because usually that comes with an automatic reply of “rrrriiiight,” a sense of disbelief, and then the next topic of discussion for the day. Don’t get me wrong, my friends want me to quit, it’s just that I’ve tried so many times.

I started smoking when I was in college, not sure exactly when, but about 8 years ago. I don’t recall exactly how I got started, but I do know that I initially just wanted to try. I thought it wasn’t that bad, and it gave me a “buzz.” That buzz quickly wore off and turned into an addiction. I started off smoking a pack a week, which moved to a pack every 3 or 4 days, and now to half pack a day.

I have to create a benchmark to become a “non-smoker” so I’ll use 12 months since Money and Investing mentions that. A pack of cigarettes costs, on average, about $4.50.

My goal: 12 months of no smoking! Of course beyond that, but I have to start somewhere.

My plan:
- Quit cold turkey.
- Update this blog on my progress, not sure how often yet.
- Track my total savings because I quit and the number of days.

My reason for quitting:
- For my health. I want to be able to not only live longer, but enjoy my years living…not breathing heavily just to make it up 10 stairs.
- Get rid of this nasty cough that hangs around all the time.
- Stop worrying about the next time I can smoke.
- Save money.
- Don’t smell like an ashtray.
- Just to quit. Damn this habit!

Any words of wisdom? Wish me luck.