Having No Appreciation When Handling Money

Addicts Waste MoneyWhen we are dealing with extreme cases of alcoholism, we must understand that the alcoholic will spend everything he has to get pleasure. They have no appreciation for the value of saving money or even spending an inheritance. Handling this area of their life is far from being under control and can be to the extreme of being out of control.

Unfortunately this type of behavior will take many people who drink excessively down the wrong roads. Once they have a couple of drinks in them, they will be on the hunt for even more pleasurable and expensive things. The thing about it though is that it was the alcohol which they consumed first before they wasted their money on getting a harder substance.

A typical evening, when there is no work the next day for the alcoholic, will leave the problem drinker being dead broke the following day. The only thing that is in his or her possession is a hangover.




I have known several people with this type of addiction where the will spend everything they have in order to get satisfaction for the moment. I watched a buddy of mine one night handling his money very carelessly. Within an hour he had wasted over three hundred dollars. If he had not been drinking at the time, I’m certain he would have never spent that kind of cash.

Once again I must state that this is sadly enough something that we as family members and friends of alcoholics must let go of. This type of behavior is what alcoholism can be like for many individuals. We did not cause them to be this way, have no control over this problem and cannot change this type of behavior.

There’s nothing we can do to stop a problem from spending every dime they own. We can, however, protect ourselves from being taken advantage of by them through not giving them any money. We need to see the reality of the situation, set boundaries and let them suffer the consequences of their own miss guided decisions. When we cut them off from our help and let the suffer the consequences of spending all their money we stop enabling the alcoholic.

If the alcoholic has no appreciation for their own money, they will surely not have any respect for our hard-earned cash or the hand that they borrowed it from. I’ve witnessed a couple of inheritances being totally wasted by problem drinkers.

This is just a part of many alcoholic’s personalities  that we must accept.

Now, not all problem drinkers are this way, some could be considered functioning alcoholics. These types of people can save money and even make tons of money while drinking in excess on a daily basis. Handling funds properly and having a respectful appreciation for it seems to come second nature to them. They will basically only throw cash away on the alcohol that they consume. Eventually though their enjoyment of the toxic liquid will affect them physically.

When people consume alcohol they will dance more, talk without inhibitions, sing excessively and spend more. The concept of being frugal with the funds gets thrown out the window with the first drink or two. Because of the alcohol, people unfortunately get a lot more liberal with many things that are not good for them, their friends or the family they are associated with.

So, I’m going to suggest that if you’re close to an alcoholic who is wasting money and has no appreciation for the family or even a close friendship, just accept it. If you want to say something to the problem drinker, then address their frivolous spending only once. After that, let the entire matter go and let them suffer the consequences of their own miss management of the funds they have been entrusted with by God. After you talk to them, about handling their money in a more disciplined manner, do not have any expectations because this type of behavior is a common trait among alcoholics.

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