As some of you may or may not know, part of my debt balance is due to gambling. I would spend many hours gambling, chasing my losses and essentially spending money I did not have.

This continued on for some time, until one day I woke up and realised the situation I was in. After that I stopped gambling completely and started to sort out my debt and financial problems.

I realised that I could not continue with the way things were going. It was not how I wanted to live my life and although there will be pain along the road to recovery, once it is all over I can start living a more financially secure life.

It was too easy

With easy access to credit at the time I was gambling, and a complete disregard for responsibility, I proceeded to start digging the hole I am now sitting in.

Would things be different if I could actually see the money I was spending? I am not sure, possibly but I will never know the answer to that question nor will I ever want to find out.

Credit Cards, Loans, Payday Loans and Overdrafts helped keep the gambling addiction alive. I was burning through money at an alarming rate. However because I could not see the physical cash, psychologically the amounts did not seem that big. They were just numbers on a screen.

Looking back now I realise that the amounts were very big. I can’t change that though, and I certainly won’t dwell on it. What’s done is done and nothing can change except what I do since the dark days of gambling.

Why Gamble?

For some people it is a perfectly acceptable form of entertainment. For others who lack self-control, it can be a very destructive past time. I fall into the latter group.

I know not why I gambled like I did. I think I was possibly bored or trying to escape something. All I do know is that I did gamble and the consequences of that gambling now surround me.

My gambling problem revolved around online casino sites and bingo. I was unable to control myself and the amounts I was spending soon started increasing. I was effectively chasing my losses. As you can tell, I kept on loosing.

I don’t blame anyone or  anything for what happened. I only blame myself. I was weak. I could not control myself until the damage had already been done.

The Debt Aftermath

At the time I write this post, I owe just over £40,000 so around half of this figure is due to gambling. Perhaps more due to the fact that I borrowed money to cover normal expenses because of spending money on gambling.

Then there is the Payday Loans and all the interest I paid on those as well. All in all it has left its mark and it will take some time to get back on track.

So my advice is if you are in debt but are gambling. Stop. Stop before it is too late.

Getting Help with Gambling

If you are struggling with debt, and are gambling to try to escape that debt, it is very likely you will end up in more debt just like me. Had I addressed the situation sooner, I might have possibly avoided some of the debt I have today.

Money worries affect a lot of people, and gambling can see like a way to win enough money to solve all your problems. This seldom happens and all that does happen is you make the situation much worse than it already is.

If you would like to get help with either money problems or need support for gambling addiction, there are several organisations listed on the helpful links section of this blog.