How I could've been a millionaire...if I’d started at 19.

This is a photo of me at 19. Go on, laugh. I did. At the time I thought I looked like a young Simone de Beauvoir. 

Looking back I realise I looked like an extra from Corrie. 

         But this blog isn’t just about self-humiliation. No, that’s just a by-product. The real point lies in my right hand. The one in the photo....and yes, it’s a cigarette. Probably a posh one knowing my teenage pretentions. I thought smoking was such a cool look then. So do many teens now, yes - even today with all we know about the links with lung cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer. Such a shame that Kate Moss was seen smoking on the cat-walk. She's a role model for young girls who are at greater risk of long-term addiction the earlier they start.

          Fortunately I came to my senses in my twenties and stubbed out my last ciggie. But just think - if, from then on I had saved all the money I didn’t spend on cigarettes (now £6 a pack and a pack of day amounting to £168 a month) I’d be sitting on a really tidy pot right now. With the right investments it could have amounted to a cool million!

          If you want to ditch a daily (or dirty) habit, and save the money you used to spend on it, why not calculate just how much those savings will amount to taking account of compound interest using an on-line tool?

Love Not Smoking out this week.

        This week we had national No Smoking Day on Wednesday 9th March. On that day Ben and I also released our latest book, Love Not Smoking: Do Something Different (Hay House). If you smoke, or have a loved-one who smokes, do take a look at it. 
        We’re getting amazing results using the Do Something Different method to help people quit. If you buy from Amazon you can get a copy for less than the price of a packet of cigarettes. The app, available from the App Store or the Android Market, is just £2.99. Or you can download a free extract here.
        Smoking isn’t cool, as I’ve since found out. Saving money, being healthy and leading a full and positive life is. That’s what Love Not Smoking is all about.