title: Python - Store variables in a list that save each time program restarts
body: <p>I am stuck on a seemingly simple task with a Python Twitch IRC Bot I'm developing for my channel. I have a points system all figured out, and I thought it was working, but I found out that every time I restart the program, the list that contains balances of users resets. </p>
  
  <p>This is because I declare the empty list at the beginning of the script each time the program is run. If a user chats and they aren't in the list of welcomed users, then the bot will welcome them and add their name to a list, and their balance to a corresponding list. </p>
  
  <p>Is there someway I can work around this resetting problem and make it so that it won't reset the list every time the program restarts? Thanks in advance, and here's my code:</p>
  
  <pre><code>welcomed = []
  balances = []
  
  def givePoints():
      global balances
      threading.Timer(60.0, givePoints).start()
      i = 0
      for users in balances:
          balances[i] += 1
          i += 1
  def welcomeUser(user):
      global welcomed
      global balances
      sendMessage(s, "Welcome, " + user + "!")
      welcomed.extend([user])
      balances.extend([0])
  
  givePoints()
  #other code here...
  
  if '' in message:
      if user not in welcomed:
          welcomeUser(user)
  break
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>(I had attempted to use global variables to overcome this problem, however they didn't work, although I'm guessing I didn't use them right :P)</p>