How to Save $82,800
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I wonder if it is better to write on impulse or if considered thought given to a piece is better? I don’t know if it is a problem or not.
Maybe a good outcome could be a combination of both.
Like just now, a thought occurred to me. That impulse to write. It’s almost like the craving I used to get when I wanted a cigarette. Nothing and nobody better stand in my way if I wanted a cigarette. That’s how I felt as my fingers hit the keyboard just now. And, you know what? I liked it. It was like that deep breath you take as you inhale all those nasty toxic chemicals into your lungs. How can I describe it like that? I did it. And, I loved, loved, loved smoking.
I couldn’t go into libraries for about five years.
It was a sadness I bore because if I did, I wouldn’t be able to smoke. Ditto for movie theaters. The only thing I can say in my defense is that I was hooked.
Do you know how I finally quit? I thought about how much money I was spending. At the time a pack of cigarettes was edging toward $5 with a carton at $50. I went through one and a half cartons each week. That really added up and was a huge chunk of our monthly income. I think a pack goes for $9 now.
It was horrible quitting.
It was also the second time I had quit. The first time my quit time lasted about three years. This time? I’ve lost count. I do know it was after I learned how to channel, so based on that I’d say maybe 1996 or 1997? Does that sound right?
Are you asking me, Dear?
Uh, yes, I guess I am.
It has been 8,232 days since you quit.
Are you kidding me? Okay, I’ll figure that one out. Jesus, almost 23 years. You could be right. Using your numbers that would put it at 1999. That actually sounds about right.
Oh, ye of little faith.
Okay, so figuring a carton was $50 in those days and I would have smoked 6 cartons a month, then that would be 72 in a year and then 1,656 cartons over the 23-year period of time. That’s $82,800.
That friends, is what made me quit. I have saved $82,800 over those years by not smoking.
