Tips on Avoiding the Fobts

[Ferg]

23 minutes ago, TheKingInTheNorth said:

Hmmmm it’s difficult, I play way too much FOBT and I’m probably on the verge of chucking them despite dropping a JP at lunchtime there as they’re starting to annoy and frustrate me.

My situation is not dissimilar to you in that my other half despises the machines as they have wreaked havoc in our life’s before but she doesn’t mind if I have a “reasonable” punt on football or horse racing (our definition of “reasonable” differs wildly though 😂)......

Its all relative, if your going down the bookies with your last £25 and doing it in then that’s not reasonable if you think about it? In fact putting £10 on is probably unreasonable at that point as well as that’s  40% of your money. Can you afford to lose 40% of what you have?

What is reasonable to you is probably very different to what is reasonable to me but to make a generalisation, If you had £300 per week income and your household bills and living costs take up £150 per week that leaves £150 at that point I would think that £30 or 20% of your “disposable” income per week would be reasonable for you to spend as you please on “entertainment”.

Thats of corse if you can manage to do that without spending more or even worse eating into your essential living costs. If this is what you find happening then it’s time to give it a miss at least for a while as this indicates problem gambling to me. Spending the rent on gambling is the road to ruin (I’m not saying you do, just generalising to make my point).

wish you all the best.

Thanks mate ya tbh I'm always skint as I live on a very tight budget(wife ,2 kids and bills).any money I spend is usually loose change as we operate off a joint account so I do have control in that sense I never bet rent or Bill's money.The £25 today I actually won off a £2 stake on the footy sunday(west ham,liverpool,arsenal win btts).

Last December I won £400 off a £1 acca so I kinda dream of that again.i never intended on spending 25 today but again was down £15 on the fobt and my last £10 I placed on Samoa-29 which lost so instead of probably putting 5/10 quid down I'm now 25 down in essence.i don't like to admit it but I do have a problem but luckily I'm not critical levels atm.i find myself on tilt very easy once the first £5 on fobt is done I know the lot is going in.perhaps I need to just stop especially deceiving the wife too .our marriage is already on the ropes just struggling to get out of this rut.thanks for your advice pal

[TheKingInTheNorth]

21 minutes ago, Ferg said:

Thanks mate ya tbh I'm always skint as I live on a very tight budget(wife ,2 kids and bills).any money I spend is usually loose change as we operate off a joint account so I do have control in that sense I never bet rent or Bill's money.The £25 today I actually won off a £2 stake on the footy sunday(west ham,liverpool,arsenal win btts).

Last December I won £400 off a £1 acca so I kinda dream of that again.i never intended on spending 25 today but again was down £15 on the fobt and my last £10 I placed on Samoa-29 which lost so instead of probably putting 5/10 quid down I'm now 25 down in essence.i don't like to admit it but I do have a problem but luckily I'm not critical levels atm.i find myself on tilt very easy once the first £5 on fobt is done I know the lot is going in.perhaps I need to just stop especially deceiving the wife too .our marriage is already on the ropes just struggling to get out of this rut.thanks for your advice pal

No worries, honestly it doesn’t matter if it’s thousands, hundreds or tens, if it’s straining your marriage you should stop.

Stop, get on a sound financial footing and rethink then. I know because that’s what I had to do. Nothing is forever.

good luck.

[LiamJ]

Heres what may be some slightly helpful advice. Everything else aside, you are definitely doing this for money more than entertainment. That's why you're so easy to be on tilt. Think of it this way, you end up losing £25 a week yeah.. that's £100 in a month. And I guess you dont win a bet a month usually do you? So you're not even looking at winning money back are you.

Your mrs isnt happy with it, its affecting home life.. go in to every bookies and say, look I'm self excluding and I want you to know my face. Self exclude and give it up. 2 months time you will be fucking buzzing you did it, get home life trusting and happy again. Womans always boss unfortunately and you gotta make her happy.

I struggle myself with staying away from gambling so I know your pain, but you can do it pal