For A $100.00 A Day, You Can Support An Addict…

O.k. Maybe the title of this blog seems a little bit outrageous. Primarily, this was to get your attention (worked, huh?).

In a group I was presenting the other day I asked the question, ‘how much’ did you spend daily on your habit? This $100.00 was one answer I received; although most thought this to be a low estimate.

So, let’s do the math. $100.00 a day X 365 days in the year, makes for a grand total of $36,500. Hmm, X 10 years we are now up to $365,000! Ah, I would like to buy a house please.

Nice chunk of change, huh?

I have found over the years that when people are actively using seldom do they have enough money for anything other than their drug(s) of choice.

Looking back to my full-time days on the comedy scene (stand-up/comedy writer) I can remember times when a buddy that made $1000.00 to $1500.00 for a weekend at the local comedy clubs would take a swing by the radio station where I worked the morning show to ‘borrow’ a couple of bucks to get back to their apartment.

Money all gone.

Amazing how fast the money can go is it not? Hotel rooms, cocaine, plenty of booze, friends (actually using buddies), etc, etc, etc.

For some people financial ruin can expedite their getting into recovery. This reminds me of the patient one time that said to me, ‘thank God I never got bagged for a DUI when I was actively drinking years ago.’ My initial thought which I kept to myself at the time was, ‘yea, thank God, if that had happened maybe you would have gotten into sobriety sooner, huh?’

Families need to proceed with extreme caution when a loved one with an active addiction issue asks them for money. What is the money for? “Oh, I need it for transportation to the detox.” Really? I’ll be more than happy to drive you there instead.

I do not doubt for a second that some families truly believe that by giving their active loved ones money they are helping them.

However, this more often than not has the opposite of the desired effect. If I ‘bail’ them out of having to face their own consequences from using, then in effect I am condoning their use and aiding and abetting their addiction to keep going.

This co-dependency can run for years; they manipulate us – we enable them.

Not healthy for either party.