Cutting Costs.

I'm trying to quit smoking.
.
.
.
Again.

My last attempt was at the end of 2007 - which i will add was somewhat successful as i made it to 5 weeks. But due to an unforeseen circumstance of my neighbor's mistress being murdered below my apartment and a certain someone pouring on the hatred on me, i succumbed to the evils of nicotine.

I calculated that a standard pack of 18 cigarettes costs about 4 Euros = RM20. I used to smoke about 10-15 sticks a day and the amount varies depending on my state of mind, intoxication level, boredom and situation.

Then when i moved to Germany my funds were down to a bare minimum. I was lucky to even be able to afford groceries. Even the occasional take-away coffee from those coffee wagons was considered a luxury.

Yes, i definitely learned the value of Money. Damn this exchange rate.

But my 15-year habit made it nearly impossible to give up. So i tried buying loose tobacco and that ended up being far more cost effective. I eventually taught myself how to roll minus the aid of a machine. Tricky at first but determined to make decent looking cigarettes without them resembling joints.

Eventually with much practice and patience my nimble fingers were able to put together a cigarette + paper + a slim filter in record time.

Majority of people who hand roll their own cigarettes will tell you that their cigarettes taste far better than those pre-made ones. And it's true. They will also prove that the burning time of a self rolled one is much slower, in turn saving money in the long run. Something to do with a different kind of paper. Somewhere i read that normal cigarettes use some kind of sugar laced paper which in turn makes the paper burn much faster hence smokers tend to smoke more as they only get a few drags per stick.

Then a few months ago, i swapped from my regular loose tobacco [which would last me about a week per bag] and cost a little over 4 Euros to a cheaper brand that tasted much better and was only 3.65 Euros.

But now we are told that the prices of tobacco and cigarettes are going up again, if they haven't already.

J and i calculated that if we both quit smoking, we'd save around 300 Euros each per year! That's if we continue buying the cheaper brand and that's NOT including the random normal packs we might buy. I mean if it means a partial plane ticket to fly half way across the world, then i'm all up for it.

So i'm taking it slow.


I'm down to the last scraps of dry as ass tobacco = enough to make a total of 1 cigarette. Not the best and not really worth it. But like in all emergencies, it is there to tame the bitchiness should it arise.

I think my partial collection of empty slim filter plastic bags dates back 7 months: 120 pieces x 13 bags= 1,560 cigarettes. And that number doesn't include the normal filters and those cigarettes that we smoked without filters.

So yea, it's quite a lot.

But i'm proud to say in the past 4 days i've smoked a total of 1.5 cigarettes!

And when the craving hits, i treat myself to two drags - which isn't technically "QUITTING" but the taste is rather off and that usually encourages me to put it out again.

So we'll see how long this lasts.

J's been really good at it, he's gone cold turkey! And he used to smoke way more than me per day.

Maybe if i put my mind to it, it'll be like my sudden decision to become vegetarian over night. I mean it's already been 6 years sans flesh. Why can't i do it with smoking? I mean if i wanna have kids ONE DAY, i said one day not anytime soon, i should start somewhere. Right?

Let's hope i don't get into binge eating.

...

It's way too early. I need to go back to bed. I can already hear the craving calling out to me. Repeat: Mind over Matter.