- Now 36, Ambus Hunter explains how his gambling addiction over 10 years ago made him broke.
- Now he is out of debt with a net worth of $600,000 while offering financial coaching in his spare time.
- His journey required sacrifice, and those who gamble must be mindful.
Heading to the past into 2011, Ambus Hunter’s only debt was his monthly payments on the lease of his car. In fact, he already had $2,000 saved up. However, this all changed when he went to Las Vegas.
That experience, especially when it came to a specific type of game, which is roulette, had him hooked, and his gambling addiction was about to form. After returning home from his trip, he regularly went to casinos in Pennsylvania and Indiana to grow and feed the burgeoning gambling addiction.
It only took around six months after his first-ever trip to Vegas and subsequent growing gambling addiction that he could balloon his savings to around $11,000. Then everything came crashing down. A month later, he had nearly lost all of his savings just playing roulette and couldn’t find himself stopping either.
Right before hitting rock bottom, he remembered the day he took most of his remaining funds out of his bank account to gamble once more and for the last time. It took 30 minutes for him to lose half of it immediately. He lost a bit more before leaving, with possibly a ‘few hundred’ dollars remaining.
That was when he felt it was time to start combatting his gambling addiction, as he practically had no money left.
Hunter says, “My gambling addiction had me forget to prioritize important aspects, even to take care of myself properly, personally and professionally. It was also when I started going into debt due to unpaid credit card bills.” He went on to say, “Now was the time to make a change; otherwise, I may never be able to if I go any deeper.”
The good news is that he finally got himself out of debt, which has only become a memory and a learning lesson.
Nowadays, the Baltimore native has been able to not only beat his gambling addiction and get out of debt but also amass his net worth to around $600,000. This is actually three-quarters of a million dollars in a mix of investments and savings strategies and a mortgage debt for his home. He keeps two jobs, one where he works part-time as a financial counsellor and the other working for the Department of Defense as a program manager.
It wasn’t completely smooth as there was a deterring incident during his journey of recovery from his gambling addiction. However, he felt this was because he felt ashamed and tough-headed to seek all the necessary help that was needed.
Ways to get yourself out of financial holes
Beating his gambling addiction was Hunter’s first of many steps to getting back on his feet. From there, it’s about understanding the ramifications of his actions and realizing that money was lost forever.
“No need to beat yourself up. Just make sure to clearly understand what happened and move on. Then, you’ll be at peace and know you can fix the issue.” Hunter said. Step one was recovering the initial amount he had lost, around $10,000.
He focused on cutting unnecessary costs, such as eliminating the internet at home or cable television. Instead, he would use data from his cell via tethering if he needed access online. He also completely stopped other costs, such as eating food outside, managing his utility bills and minimizing going out with friends. Only the core items such as food and rent, paying his car and the gas he needed to get to work.
One job wasn’t enough for Hunter, so he actually found two side hustles as a brand ambassador and mystery shopper to help replenish his savings. Within only four months, he was back to his original savings levels, and then he moved on to his next stages.
Hunter gives out three core bits of truth to focus on; “Have clarity for your financial plans,” “build and deploy that plan,” and “automate when you can.” That last piece is about automation in savings, such as direct deposit or contributions automatically to retirement accounts.
Remember, gambling platforms will always be there to entice you back
If anyone asks him specifically about gambling, Hunter always answers with a “tread carefully” type of response. With such ease of access to it these days, it’s even more important now to practice moderation.
“They know how to lure you in the first time and have you wanting more. This leads to a gambling addiction, as your brain overproduces dopamine.” Hunter goes on. “If you’re going to do it or try it out, make sure it works for you. Remember to know yourself, meaning you may want to avoid it at all costs.”
Besides experiencing gambling addiction, the information he discusses is starting to show up more often in research studies. For example, the UCLA Gambling Studies Program co-director, Timothy Fong, has already mentioned how sports betting is extremely addictive.
“You are combining a huge demand and desire from the American consumer and mixing it with an industry that specifically works to retain their customers. It can easily lead to disaster.” Fong said.
Hunter’s situation happened before the huge increase in gambling opportunities, specifically sports betting. He’s concerned that what happened to him, from gambling addiction to fighting to get out of debt, may now occur on a massive scale.
“This access to gambling is going to have some leading their lives to the devastation they’ll need to climb out of in the future. But, it’s also something fresh and new, so we will likely overconsume it first.” Hunter said.
He did make a note that he’s not against the industry. “Gambling is a form of entertainment, but we just need more education about it so people can play, but also responsibly, with access to help when they need it to combat gambling addiction.”
