552 days, 8hrs 4mins, 52seconds. 22094 cigs not smoked

[Diablo]

Sometimes I get asked how I quit smoking, do I miss it etc etc. vaping was it. Patches nearly killed me, literally. Thought I was having a heart attack on them at one point. So after the failed patches I smoked for another year or so, then started vaping. Ce4 shit, not great, knew on first day they wouldn't do. Tried vivi Novas, they were the nearest to a full commitment without crazy need or desire for analogs. But average though the vivis were, they worked well enough to keep me on the right track. On the day I started vaping I took no cigs to work, didn't buy any to replace the ones I finished the night before. But not having the cigs made me want them more. So day one, bought ten.i needed them on me just in case. Smoked 2 (dual fuelling).Day two, smoked one. Day three, smoked one. Day four , thought if I can do four days on only 4 cigs, why not none. gave the last ones away and not bought any since. (There is a chance I have those 4 cigs out of place, but I definitely gave six away 4 or five days after I started vaping).

tonight I sat looking at the mech side of my vaping kit (well, most of it), and you know what? I am very aware I don't miss the cigs at all anymore. But I am also aware that my vaping habit is a new addiction. Since quitting,when cigs were at the 9 pound a packet mark in our local petrol station, I have looked at the vaping side in a different light. A twenty pound spend on something vape hardware related is going to likely stick around,while the cigs likely just ended up in a landfill. As a result I have bought a lot of stuff.

according to the vapemate app I have not spent around nine grand on cigs, nor have I smoked twenty two odd thousand cigarettes. I like that, more for the fact that I haven't been stealth taxed to the tune of around seven grand by the cocks in government than anything else if I am honest.

I have however spent a lot of money on vape gear. Near on a grand in total (again, that's vapemate keeping track). The app shows 800 ish, but I know I forget things here and there. But I don't care. Tonight I saw huggets carbon fibre drip tips, cost? Less than ten bensons. Not even a hesitation, bought and paid for.
this despite having a significant amount of drip tips now. Same for the mech mods, mostly clones, not too dear and easy to balance off against cig prices. So again, despite having Vv/Vw stuff, lots of tanks, genuine mods, clones, side button, bottom button, magnet switch, spring, hybrid, copper, steel and lord knows what else, the collection is still growing. Batteries from 14500 through 26650 and plenty of mods to use with them. Yet still I await deliveries from FT. Brass, not got any brass mods, til the one I ordered last week arrives anyway.

i hear a lot of vapers say they haven't saved any money. I am sure for many that appears true, especially so if you didn't take out the money you would have spent on cigs and put it elsewhere (I did, every day, for the first year at least). In my case I put the money in a jar every day, so the bank account showed no difference. But guess what, it paid for the holiday tickets and fuel that year, along with bike insurance, tax and mot and still had money left over, then after a year it paid for a small car to faff around in (4 grand). Admittedly, the main account showed no difference, but the savings account (toy fund) was awesome. rather than money going in a jar it went into savings account instead when the risk of too much money being in the house worried the other half.

i don't do the money transfer thing anymore. No need to. It helped me when I first quit, and now at 5 or 6 hundred days, I just appreciate that the shiny stuff is enough of a reminder. Along with a jar I filled with cigarette dimps in my last days smoking.

For anyone just starting out on the vape route, find a way to hammer home the benefits. Not just health, or how much you are not spending on cigs, but do something constructive with the money, don't just let the bills eat it in your normal account. We all found the money for cigs, yet so many quit only to then still not have any money. Something is very wrong when that happens. We should all benefit in some way from quitting that leaves us with something better than an ashtray full of dimps (or a jar in my case). I still have the jar, now relegated to the garage, but I also have lots of shiny mods, tanks and a car, and above all, the knowledge of how much I avoid losing on cigs every day. My smoking habit would be costing me nearly twenty quid a day by now. Vaping was the only reason I managed to break that addiction.

So, my vaping addiction and constant purchases of vape gear? Do I see that as bad? No. I see what the picture below shows, a kind of hobby, one that I share with others here in the forum, and a fix for my shinyitus on an irregular basis.

For anyone who got this far in my ramblings, thanks for reading it, I am not sure why I wrote it if I am honest. But for anyone who understands where I am coming from, post a pic of the stuff you bought in place of the cigs. Whatever it is,be it your vape collection, a garden shed, a car (I can't be the only one). Whatever you feel you bought using the money that you would have sent up in smoke, or if you like, the money you would have given our loving government in tax. As a feel good measure, it's nice to know in some weird way, that quitting cigs got a lot of us some nice stuff, and in a weird way almost for free.

Seventy odd percent tax on cigs. Never forget it. Whatever happens, don't start giving it to them again.

 

[Chegs]

I used to have to go to the garage as soon as the funds were available in the bank on a Sunday evening to buy a pouch of tobacco (£16+) which meant my smoking was costing upwards of £32 per week of cash I couldn't afford to "set fire too" The GF returned from the garage shop and announced that they sold disposables & did I want to try one.I returned from the garage & sat up half the night sucking on the disposable waiting for the cravings to return,they didn't.I waited until next pay day & bought 2 clearo CE4's and a largish Ego battery which replaced my smoking completely,until it required recharging.I had to wait until the next payday(2 weeks)to buy another Ego battery,once I had 2 batteries and 3 CE4's,a couple bottles of crappy cheap juice I set to & smoked until I had no tobacco left,stubbed out my last cig & went to bed,next day started vaping & haven't given cigs a 2nd thought.Once I had gathered up a variety of vaping gear,we were noticing no more trips to the garage late Sunday night,no more red letters demanding payment of bills,no more "robbing peter to pay paul" type sessions in the notebook & regularly finding we still had cash spare if I wanted to add to my collection of mods/attys.The car could be taken for MOT,taxed,insured,repaired & used whenever we required it.I bought a bloody great caravan (6 berth tourer) upgraded the home internet to fibre then rarely bothered with the use of the desktop PC as I now own a tablet,the GF & daughter have laptops,no more texts from the mobile provider saying unless I paid the outstanding bill my service was restricted.Yes,we still have money worries but nothing like as stressful as they were as we no longer have to make sure I don't run out of tobacco first before buying in food etc.

I used to feel like this vaping malarky wasn't a cheaper method of obtaining my nicotine,until I had a range of gear.Now,I still sift through the websites looking at shiny but rarely consider the item as a "must have" item.I'll think about it,waying up the pro's/cons either over a few minutes or few weeks/months and discuss with the GF whether
a) do I really need it
b) can we afford it(yes)
c) what difference will it make
d) is there a cheaper alternative vendor

and finally,can I build the same.

This often means I'll post in a vendors thread saying I'll be buying x,then change my mind so often I should be a woman

 

[brynglas]

It's amazing how those Stinkies add up.
Wow,22094.Beyond belief.

 

[Diablo]

So quickly I forget. I always fail to remember that I was a heavy smoker. My financial savings despite initial outlay were always there from the start and only got better. I forget there are people who used to smoke a lot less, or who smoked rollies. For some, I can see that initial outlay being more expensive than smoking, especially so during the learning process of finding what you like, or if the things you like aren't so cheap. It's all about balance. But always, the act of quitting (for those who didn't do duty free ) takes away the stealth tax.

One thing I forgot to mention, I had a mate stay over the other week, big argument with wife. He smoked 5 cigs while he was here and I made the mistake of letting him smoke in the house, it took the best part of a week for the stale smell of cigs to go away. Funny, I don't mind being around smokers, but the stink those 5 cigs (nearly two and a half quids worth, that's about half the cost of a 10ml liquid from my usual supplier), but the stink really was horrible for those following days. Now a full ban on analogs at home, not even in the hall with the door open. It's now the porch with the door shut.

i always said I wouldn't become the cough cough, oooo smoking, kind of person, but in our home, definitely have changed. Still stand with the smokers on the wall of death at work though.

 

[onbalance]

I personally think I am saving my money still although I have spent quite a lot this month, it is still less than the 10 pound a day I was spending on cigarettes. As like many of you on here vaping is a hobbie for me and something I enjoy so I am constantly looking at vaping products but I am able to control it, I am happy with my mvp 2.0 and don't feel the need for another device currently as it is serving me very well. I don't mind spending on juice as It's always going to get used, unless I don't like it I just end up giving it to someone or swapping. I spent more than 300 pound a month on cigarettes, to smell like a arsehole and so happy I have the equipment to continue not to smoke as like yourself I have been vaping on and off for a couple years but the egos with ce4 were not cutting it for me. I now look at smokers and feel sorry for them, I vape a lot but it does not affect me like smoking, I used to wake up feeling that my heart and chest are going to collapse and used to cough so bad I couldn't sleep, now that has all stopped and the best thing about it all is i don't smell anymore,what's the point having a wash and sprucing your self up everyday to smell like a ashtray

 

[Diablo]

Funny thing these days. Every time I see someone in a group light a fag I think 50p (more likely 40 odd, but 50s easy to keep track of). Can sit chatting and see someone easily go through a couple of quid, never mind when one of the 'I forgot my cigs' brigade triggers a crash.

 

[Panter]

Great post, thanks for sharing.
I've spent a quid short of a grand on vaping, according to my app but that's including absolutely everything, wire, juice, postage in giveaways, every penny.
I haven't bought anything for quite a while now and am £230.00 up which is nice
I'm actually getting a bit bored of vaping now, its becoming more of a chore than a pleasure, think I need to focus in sitting and relaxing when I'm vaping rather than just doing it subconsciously or out of habit.
It's all good though. Long term plan is to ideally give it up, either way I'm NEVER going back to smoking, that's a certainty.
I think its a great idea to put the money you save aside, like so many people I haven't done that and it just gets swallowed up.
But, although the savings are obviously a very good thing, it was never about the money for me so just the health benefits are a big enough boost to keep me going


EDIT: Oh, and congrats on the epic quitting and savings!