What’s it costing you to maintain your head on a weekly basis?

I'm on a very similar trip, I gave up smoking tobacco years ago, drinking and class A's were next to go replaced by lots of exercise .If I need to maintain sanity I have one small bong full and that's it.

Gave up the rollies i loved 19 years ago for health reasons,im really glad i did, couldnt afford it now it would be 50 quid a week.

Ive pretty much given up the herbals,way too expensive,it used to cost me about 100+ a month when i could afford it but not now and with regular roadside checks and the stuff staying in your system for days/weeks im not risking losing my license,id be totally fucked.

I drink a case of Stella (18) in a week or two and or maybe a bottle of Italian red so no more than 15 quid a week thats all i can afford....i have cut right back on other things like cakes pastries sweets biscuits and other unnecessary crap and lost two stone without trying,so Lager or wine is my only luxury and sometimes proper chocolate off internet supplier.

The irony... I used to drink at least a bottle of wine a day plus lager and told it is a health risk.The only reason ive cut back is purely cost since government raised minimum alcohol price.

Previously id taken prescription opiates and other pain drugs for 15 years and told if i didnt stop them id die from liver failure,so ceased taking them.

Drinking not really for my sanity- which is at best,variable-more a case that it numbs the back pain at night so i sleep better.

Maintaining sanity - I go through phases depending on my mood , sometimes weed, sometimes strong lager or a certain spirit that i have taken a fancy to - sometimes to excess so costs can vary. I know when its getting excessive so i knock the spirits on the head and go back to aldi 4% beer. As NRT has said above, a couple of cans a day helps to take away the worst of my back and shoulder pain.

Other times artificial crutches just don't cut it and the dog gets some really long walks which both of us enjoy. Other times I'll ferret or even buy some random junk and turn it into something else just to give myself something to do - usually giving it away at the end. Luckily most of it is auction or car boot purchases so little to no financial cost.

The one thing i do pay out on is old computer hardware as i have an interest in it, although technically it doesn't cost me money as i always either buy below market value or buy as a job lot and sell off the stuff i don't want to offset cost. I have explained to the missus that in the event of my death, even though she regards a lot of it as junk, that it is worth good money and to sell appropriately.

The one thing i haven't had to do again is go back to prescribed antidepressants - it was the last time, and pulling myself out of that hole, that changed my way of thinking and made me realise that i had to put myself first.

Of course if we are talking about maintaining sanity then i have to mention the missus, she puts up with a lot - but i also give a lot back. We have a different type of relationship than i have ever had before, both of us understanding each others issues and foibles. To a lot of people that know us it seems strange but it suits the pair of us.

Anyway, did this reply answer your question? Probably not, but it was a great post and it will be interesting to read other peoples responses.

Well, we've cut down over the last few years to three or four bottles or cans of beer or cider a week between us in summer, and just the occasional can in winter, switching to about one bottle of wine a week or less in cooler weather, mostly consumed at weekends between us.

Rarely buy spirits, but sometimes get given a bottle at Xmas, which generally lasts well into the spring, as we just have a tot in a cup of tea or cocoa now and then.

I rarely smoke anything these days; the O/H doesn't like the habit, so it has to be around a mate's place. The smell clings, though.... Still got a small amount of stuff put by, but rarely tempted.

Probably £40 to £50 ish per week for alcohol, tobacco, legal pharmaceuticals and soft drink caffeine habit.

Not great but could be worse.

Never smoked, rarely drink nowadays (though I was a real heavy drinker a couple of decades ago) except for the odd GnT and haven't used any 'herbal' substances for about 20 years. My habits are more costly than any of them. I do arts and crafts to keep my sanity and I inflict what I make on family and friends though I do make things for myself as well. It can cost between £150 and £250 pounds to make a quilt. I currently have about 8 on the go and supplies for a further 6 or 7. In the last 2 years I've handed off about 5 and a whole heap of smaller stuff like the things I posted pics of on the creativity thread by BeadyJean. I have all kinds of other stashes as well. Still cheaper than therapy of which I should probably have had copious amounts over the years, no hangover, coming down or smokers cough. It doesn't STOP my bouts of depression and severe anxiety but it does help to be able to make something colourful.

Maintaining sanity costs, love the ter, maintaining sanity, yep needs must at times, got to let loose and have some play time otherwise I'd implode. I've been T total from alcohol for 15 years at least now, got bored of it, that is the one drug that I felt slaughtered my body the worst. I probably get through 50 G golden virginia a fortnight so not a heavy smoker but I do enjoy my roll ups, I gasped at your 100 G a week Highwayman. I rarely do weed as I dont deal well with the brain melting high THC content it's bred with, I do like my high grades sticky charis and creams and traditional dark morrocan, usually have a couple of single skinners in the evening to chill out and read etc, dont own a TV so it is useful for self entertaining, so the cost of that is barely registerable, if I put a monetary value on it I dont suppose it costs me a fiver a week. When I came back from Europe festivalling road trip I bought 3 packs of 10 baccy, it's a bit less than half price than UK prices which is a huge saving and will last me a year at least, so I'm up to £15 a week maintaining sanity. I wont count going out to festivals or partying as thats not a weekly thing. I do succumb to a bit of class A but thats a treat when good is about so not a weekly count, probably over a year £300 twice a year which gets an eigth per £300 of marching powder, so all in all I'm low cost and cheap to maintain and I count my blessings I do not have to have prescription meds for anything. I am so glad and chuffed I do not drink booze. Ah coffee, i probably use 1 packet of Machu Pichu organic coffee a week, hey big spender, so really for me, it boils down to per year it's a grand total of £29.50 a week.

I spend most of my spare cash on petrol or diesel to keep me sane , I am a real petrol head , my truck drinks it , my van drinks it , then there is the trike , the chop and my kawasaki drifter all need filling up all the time ,

gave up smoking the good stuff a few years back after going to the 5th funeral for good mates dying of cancer , just come home and threw it all in the bin and gave my proto pipe to my son ,

was getting silly though got to the stage where I was using skunk as baccy for my hash spliffs

now about a tenna a week on some sort of alcohol that me and my partner drink some nights , either a bottle of red wine or to , or a few cans of brew or if we have had a result a bottle of kracken

so probably about £100 -£200 a month on fuel and alcohol

Quote from Highwayman

boneheaddread that’s a lot of fuel. If only our Country was a bit bigger, Im sure we could all do with a popcorn sutton character

living in the next wood to us.

Have you thought about brewing/mashing your own alcohol? I know strong spirits can be our downfall, but a little and less often can make for a sweet kick for little buck.

Can a chop or drifter be made to run on potcheen? or some form of distilled alcohol?

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Spose I could always just make my own crystal meth and just pretend to be driving

My prescription drugs are free because I'm over 60 and CBD oil is around £70 a month I guess.

I don't smoke and I can't drink with the painkillers I take. Never liked the buzz of dope or weed, Class A probably not a good idea as a daily fix.

My dog and general lifestyle, living in the truck, keep despair at bay. All together it adds up to quite a lot I suppose.

Hi. It's the legit kind, I don't know how to get the other. So the stuff I use has no THC in it but I have found it useful for pain, not so much reducing level of pain but I feel less stiff and more well. The main benefit for me has been mood, I have been much much better since using the oil. It does take a while for it to work - months, so you have to stick with it.

You can mail order from Bristol CBD - or go to the shop. Some health food shops have, but I don't recommend Holland and Barrett, very weak.

I drop the oil under my tongue and hold for 30 seconds. Dose is individual and pure guess work but I use 8 drops a day.

HTH.

A lot of illegal stuff about being sold by the usual dealers so I hear!,i have never used so not sure on the purity etc

Quote from Highwayman

How do you acquire your CBD oil? Do you know what’s init? Quantities/formula? Is it legit?

Google CBD Brothers I get their Blue Edition does give me a subtle lift,i buy 2 bottles at a time from them you pay the same price postage for one bottle.

Or you could try knocking up a bit yourself which is simple ,the right amount of THC is the thing you have to be careful with.

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Never drunk alcohol, never smoked, never done drugs other than prescribed but still led a fulfilling and very, very happy life thanks to my kids, the special woman in my life and pets as well as my work. Guess I must be the luckiest guy in the world. Watched friends and aquaintences get ill or die from different substances and I feel very lucky that I just don't like such stuff.

As with you Highwayman, i don't regret a second of my years spent off my head i had a great time. Like you too, am very aware that i was lucky to make it through relatively unscathed, unlike quite a few people i knew along the way.

Now all i need to keep me sane is a couple of mugs of herbal tea a day

Yorkshire tea?? You must be rolling in cash, I'm on lidl cheap brand if things get any worse I will be hanging them out to dry and re use !

As a note to those looking, CBD brothers had issues with a rogue trader who set up a replica website trading as them but it wasnt, they are now called the original alternative, link to them here

https://theoriginalalternativeofficial.com/

They are fully transparent with the content, percentages and sources with several types and more being added as time goes by and they are always happy to chat for further info, I will say they are the best by far with their own on site labs as they make it all themselves, they are not just peddlars retailing bought in CBD.

I didnt know about the rogue trading.I bought from the CBD bros about 4 years back but disappointed by the lack of pain relief from the product even though it was supposed to be the strongest available in Europe.

Quote from NomadicRT

I didnt know about the rogue trading.I bought from the CBD bros about 4 years back but disappointed by the lack of pain relief from the product even though it was supposed to be the strongest available in Europe.

It was earlier this year, someone who was connected to them business wise got the hump over something and started trading masquerading as them, that has been put to a stop now and they are sole traders as they always were, they are the best at it. Now for pain relief, CBD with no THC isnt going to give much if any pain relief. It helps loads with things like anxiety, panic attacks etc and can calm the mind Also if someone has smoked some high THC weed etc thats got on top as in too strong and you start having a whitey, Indica CBD balances it out and calms it right down.

For things like seizures, parkinsons, real pain etc, it needs to be THC oil not CBD to have a real time effect to help.

It was recommended as pain relief....I find weed good but having given up smoking i dont use much or often.Alcohol dulls the pain too.