I think that the key thing to remember, is that everyone is different. I started vaping in February, and haven't touched a cigarette since. It was an instant success for me. Sadly that's not translated into a financial saving, simply because I like my big battery mods, VV devices and repairable atomisers too much.... oops! (don't tell the wife)
On the other hand, my wife started vaping not long after I did... think it was more because I didn't discuss quitting with her, I just did it... vaping for her means something different... for her it's being able to smoke inside when it's raining outside, or being able to smoke in bed. If she's stressed she reaches for a cigarette, she doesn't reach for her PV... what it has done, is it's taken her from a 20 cigarette a day habit to a 5 cigarette a day habit. Of course I would prefer it if she didn't smoke at all, but in the meantime 5 has got to be better than 20, though 0 would be best of all!
Sooner or later, it seems like anyone who smoked much before and switches should come out ahead. Even if you buy an ego kit and various "stuff" the first month to get started, and add a Buzz Pro the next month, and a Reo the month after that, then a Provari, a Darwin... Well, sooner or later, maybe it takes six or 8 months, but you should have pretty much everything. There are only so many high end mods. If you have a buzz pro, a Reo, a Provari, a Darwin, maybe there are one or two more - but at that point you've got everything, and anything you buy is only going to do the same thing as the stuff you already have. And then you're down to a few small things each month. A little juice, a few cartomizers/atomizers/tanks. To me, it seems like it's going to eventually come around to where you aren't buying the big money items very often, and at that point, you're going to start coming out ahead financially.
Naturally, the more you smoked before you switched, the easier it is to come out ahead. The more expensive cigs were in your area, the easier it is to come out ahead. (I've heard some places they are almost $10 a pack? Closer to $4 a pack for me, smoking no name cigs.) And the more important the financial side is to you, the easier it is, because if it's important, then you probably won't buy 5 or 6 high end mods.
If you count health related costs - future hospital bills you avoid because you stopped smoking - then it's no contest. Not to mention, you'll just plain feel better.
I'm more like your wife - quitting isn't easy for me. I'm still smoking some. Not a lot, but some. Even so, I'm ahead financially, and I suspect I'll always be a little ahead, even though I'm planning on buying a couple of mods now and then. I was spending around $350 a month on cigs. Now I'm spending maybe $50 or $60 a month on cigs. Even if I never quit, and I buy a couple of good mods over the next couple of months, I'm still saving money.
I haven't pushed to quit the cigs. I haven't ever tried to just not smoke at all. (Well, not since I got my first PV.) I never really thought this would work for me. But from the day I got my ego, I sort of naturally cut down from 3 pad to 1 or 1.5 packs, without working at it. I was vaping when I wanted, smoking when I wanted. I knew I was smoking a lot less. And then I noticed that often I would light a cig out of habit, without thinking about it, and that as soon as I did, I would think "I didn't need this. I should have grabbed the ego."
At that point, I started to believe. So I started putting my cigs someplace I couldn't reach them without thinking about it. Not next to the computer - not in my pocket. Usually on a shelf where they aren't within reach. That way, I have to get up and go over there.
I still get cravings. Usually, right after eating. It'll take me several cigs after a meal before I get rid of the cravings. The best day I've had, I smoked 4 or 5 cigs.
At one point, I thought I was going to quit completely, just try to not smoke and force it. But I got sick, and I got to reading about various withdrawal symptoms that some people get, and I decided not to push it too much. I'm 95% sure that when I got sick, it was not related to smoking or vaping or quitting in any way, but I did get nervous.
So I decided that I'd smoked 3 packs a day (or more) for many years, that I'd smoked for 30+ years, and that I'd be better off going a little slower. So since the 10 or 12 a day I'm smoking now is fairly easy, I've done that, to let my body adjust a little slower.
My plan right now is to get a VV mod (I'm hoping that a higher voltage vape will help with the cravings), and set a limit of 6 cigs a day, for 2 weeks. Fewer if I can manage. That will be my final step before I actually quit. And after that 2 weeks is up, to quit smoking completely.
That's my plan, at least.
Even if things stay where they are, and I keep smoking a 1/2 pack a day, I'm still thrilled. I consider it a huge, huge success. I'd tried to quit many times before, and it got me nowhere. I was very addicted. I guess I still am. But I'm smoking a whole lot less than before. And for the first time, I actually believe that I will quit.
... I'm still about $200 in the hole.
