Dry July and August

July 16, 2010 | Filed under Body, Money

I’m having a dry July and August.

Dry July is an online social community where an individual or team can sign up to the challenge of a month long sponsored abstinence from alcohol. The funds raised from participants’ sponsorship directly benefit the lives of adults living with cancer right across Australia.

Dry July is about clearing your head and making a difference. Get healthy, challenge yourself, encourage positive change and a healthy attitude to alcohol consumption. We hope you embrace the concept, take on the challenge and ensure Dry July has a positive effect on your well-being as well as the well-being of others.

I’m not doing this to raise money – indeed, I’m not even registered on the website. This is something I’m doing for myself, and more importantly, for my wallet. I spend too much money on alcohol when I’m not particularly dependent on it. It’s the glass of wine when I go out to dinner. It’s the bottle of wine or six pack of beer/cider when Dylan and I are having a night in. It’s the bottles of vodka I bought when I went through duty-free shopping at the airport.

I’m no connoisseur of alcohol. It’s not that I drink it because I love it and can’t do without it. I drink it because it’s a beverage, and I’m thirsty, or I want a drink with my meal. But I equally enjoy drinking mineral water, soft drinks, juices, cordials. Why spend $20AUD on a six pack of beer, or $7AUD for a glass of wine at a restaurant, when I’d be equally as happy paying $3AUD for a bottle of cordial that will last me the whole week, or nothing for a glass of still water?

So, that’s the reason I’m cutting out paying for alcohol for July and August (though if I’m attending a birthday party with an open bar, I won’t say no to a glass or two). I’ll save an easy $100AUD over the next two months, and perhaps go part of the way towards reducing the beer belly I’m gaining.

4 Responses to Dry July and August

  1. Good luck! :)

    Nellie on July 16, 2010 #

  2. Good luck! I often contemplate giving up alcohol for a period of time (usually for Lent) but I never actually do it because it is way too much a part of my life. My friends would all be confused and I’d have to work a lot harder to make non-alcoholic social plans with friends of my choosing, instead of going along with their alcoholic ones, etc… which sounds really sad as I read this, lol. But I’m 23, so that’s the age where that’s typical, neh? (That’s what I will tell myself.)

    gem on July 17, 2010 #

  3. Let me know how it turns out. I’m sure it’s a lot easier to do it in the southern hemisphere’s July/Aug rather than northern, because it’s not summer – less beach, bbq, partying and events all round.

    I was pretty proud to not have drank for majority of last semester, but during these holidays… well yeahhh. Uh oh.

    Amanda on July 18, 2010 #

  4. Good, so you’ll be ready to fund my 21st birthday then!

    Stephanie on July 25, 2010 #

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