The Best Savings Account for a recovering addict?

Hi

Yes its all part of continuing to discuss your feelings with people close if you can. You also need to be self excluded from everywhere in the area, on your way to work and around work. You talk through whether you are likely to try and break blocks and what any vunerability issues might be.

Now with the bank account its always best for larger sums of money to be with someone else and not in your control.

It should be easier to restrict daily withdrawal limits in cash for a current account  but the banks make that more awkward than it should be. I didnt go out with cards for a long time..I do now but Im never complacent and I still inform my parents on a regular basis what my financial position .Without informing your bank of compulsive gambling they are not really set up to offer this kind of help.

I didnt want to go down the route of telling my bank or any financial company I have been a compulsive gambler. I sought the main help from my family and they stood in the bank with me watching me paying all my bills and getting up to date...they then monitored me ensuring I couldnt gamble a penny of their money again.

Initially and obviously they ensured that if I was still going to gamble they would easily know and it would be amounts from an allowance that couldnt do too much damage. I found however that I didnt break blocks or gamble....it did draw a line I could work with

Savings accounts is a difficult one...standard Santander savings accounts offer instant transfer into my current account which isnt good for a recovering gambler. I think it can be done on the servicetill also which is no good

You can tie your money up for longer but I would dispute that 24 or 48 hours is good enough. I think you can tie it up for years to get the slightly bigger amounts of interest but access is still available with penalties...helps but is it good enough for someone in recovery? you need firther advice

My main fund is with my parents...with good reason I can have some of it with close monitoring. for a car or insurance for example..yes I like to involve them or my girlfriend because I still respect/fear the power of an addiction that was destroying me.

I dont want their trust. I defrauded them out of hundreds and thousands of their money to bail me out time and time again

I think its all sort of a bigger picture of support and measures. I knew that I could not be in town with any aimless time or access to more than a small shopping allowance. I hate that town now...it was always depressing and I stay well away...I go where Im happier in a local village...not a gambling machine in sight

I dont think you can do this with just your willpower and savings accounts. I believe the support from people close is very important.

I know what my trigger points may be...rubbish job travelling away with lot of  stress and they would be very worried so would talk some more 

My best advice is that you are going to have to give it more thought, protection and measures than just differing bank accounts.

Best wishes from everyone on the forum

If I was u I'd either give money to parents for safe keeping or think when u want \ will need this money eg 5 years and open a is a savings with no access whatsoever on it lock it up for five years and pay into it monthly.  I had to start by not going to town with any cards on me so I knew I only had the cash on me to use eg no trips to cash machine.  

Hey Alec,

I asked my sister if she’d set up a seperate account in her online banking that I could directly send money to.

I haven’t told her I have a gambling problem (yet) but rather than I simply can’t not spend money that I have access too. If i’m not gambling, i’m looking for pointless things to buy just because there’s money there. I think i’ve become so used to having no money each month, I always just throw it away! 

Anyway, I get paid tomorrow. I will be paying my bills, payments to my debt / credit cards and then sending the majority of the rest to that bank account that I won’t have direct access to. 

I’ve struggled each month for years now with little money to spend due to gambling, so I know I can survive with little leftover in my account. Except this time I will be building up my savings in the background!

hmmm i dont think there is a bank that can hold your money for a certain amount of time incase of emergencys i thort this when i joined monzo as the savings account had a lock on them so you put money in and set a date to open it but then i found out you can open it at anytime when i contacted them and asked what on earth is the point he said it was illegal for them to withold my own money incase i needed it in an emergency so unfortunaly i din think its legal or it would be a blessing wouldnt it get paid lock £400 up till the month after 

but yes i agree with the family and friends i give it my stepdad he is theee most carful person with money hes saved all his life and he loves it when i give him money coz he knows im saving 

There is accounts known as notice savings accounts. You usually have to give about a months notice. Also some isa saving accounts you usually have to get in contact and there will be a penatly to taking money early. Basically just avoid easy access accounts. The  notice savings accounts are a good way to stop impulses especially for long term saving.

It depends how far in recovery you are. I am at a stage where i feel safe to start saving alongside paying off my debt,im not complacent just more aware

Lou x