In this Wholesome Path Blog Series about women and alcohol freedom, I am inviting you to focus on the pros of going alcohol free this year, not just for your health, but for your bank balance too. If you’re a genuinely light, occasional drinker already going alcohol free or contemplating eliminating alcohol from your diet, this article probably isn’t for you. You’re not spending much, and alcohol isn’t costing you heavily. It might just be the reminder you need to stay focused on the positives of an alcohol free lifestyle.
“What you gain back isn’t just financial, it’s time, energy, clarity, and capacity. But if finances motivate you, let them.”
But if you’re a grey-area drinker, problem drinker, heavy drinker, someone who buys alcohol often (or daily), in bulk, regularly drinks more than planned, binges, ends up doing rounds, orders takeaway at the end of the night, or loses days to hangovers – this is for you.
If you’ve taken sick days because you couldn’t function.
If you’ve been in and out of the GP with anxiety, fatigue, burnout, or stress.
If alcohol quietly props up your lifestyle more than you’d like to admit.
This is for you.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably already changing – or ready to.
Here’s a practical exercise I suggest to all my clients in therapy: Do a cost–benefit analysis of your alcohol use. Take some time out, sit down, and write out the facts and figures. No judgment. Just honesty.
Start by looking back over the last three years and roughly calculating what you’ve spent on alcohol. Then double it. Most moderate to heavy drinkers underestimate their true consumption. We forget, minimise, avoid or cringe at how much is spent on alcohol.
And don’t just count the drinks.
Include:
- The extra bottle of wine in the shopping trolley
- Pre-drinks, late drinks, holiday drinks
- Rounds you didn’t even want to be part of
- Taxis because you weren’t the designated driver
- Nightclub entry and bar tabs
- Late-night takeaways and “hangover cures”
- Sugary drinks, caffeine fixes, paracetamol, Solpadeine, sodavines
- Cigarettes or vapes you buy before, during, or after a night out
- Extra GP visits linked to anxiety, fatigue, or stress
- Money you owe people back on Revolut
A bottle of wine now costs €10–€15.
Six beers? About €12.
It’s very realistic that a moderate drinker could save €50–€150 per week, depending on their habits. Over a year, that adds up quickly. Many women I work with who start alcohol treatment quickly realise they could save €3,000 to €10,000 plus a year simply by cutting down or cutting alcohol out altogether. Now that is an incentive to keep you focusing on an alcohol-free lifestyle.
Try the handy DRINKAWARE calculator and work out how much you are drinking, and how much you could save by changing your relationship with alcohol!
Now here’s the part most people forget: tax.
That money you spend? You have to earn it first. If you’re paying 21% or 40% tax, that’s already money you’ve worked for before it ever hits your account. Continuing to drink the same way next year means continuing to earn just to lose it again.
This exercise isn’t about guilt. It’s about focus. It helps clarify your why.
Ask yourself:
- What would I do with that money at the end of a year?
- How much have I really spent over the past few years?
- How would I like to invest that money positively going forward?
- What luxury or gift could I reward myself with by going alcohol free for 6 or 12 months?
What you gain back isn’t just financial, it’s time, energy, clarity, and capacity. But if finances motivate you, let them. Work out what six or twelve months of low-alcohol or zero-alcohol living could give you back, and let that be one of your many incentives for change.
This isn’t about deprivation. It’s about reclaiming what alcohol has quietly been costing you.
Orlagh Reid is an IACP Psychotherapist, Addiction & Recovery Counsellor and Coach. She is host of The Wholesome Path alcohol freedom community for women in Ireland - A postive health community helping women to go low and no alcohol. Subscribe HERE to The Wholesome Path emails for exclusive content and online events. Ready to give up alchol but need professional help? Book an online one-to-one with Orlagh Reid today.
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