Quitting smoking saves money

There is a little recognized hole in the quitter's arsenal of strategies, which can sometimes defeat what is otherwise an excellent stop smoking plan. You need to be aware of the role of money in your smoking behavior if you want to leave it behind successfully.

A pack-a-day smoker, can expect to save a lot of money when quit. It appears that the price of cigarettes will continue to rise in coming years, as will the financial rewards of quitting. Logic says that when you stop smoking you will be financially much better off each year. Most likely you even not be able to get a salary raise that good. And you won't be paying any more tax on it than you are now!

Start a piggy bank with the money you save by not buying cigarettes. It is a way of giving yourself something - and we all like to receive a gift. And you have to fill it up every day, for as long as you have been smoking. It is money. If the money you save disappears into the black hole of household needs, you risk feeling missing cigarettes!

To improve your chances, plan to continue spending (or putting by) the same amount of money on yourself for at least a month from your stop date. Spend it on something tangible and pleasurable for yourself, so that when you see it and enjoy it you can acknowledge that this is what you are choosing to give yourself now.