Don't Be Hatin'

I have to chuckle over how people are people...and can be amazingly similar over the generations.  When we were younger, Dad & Mom took us to Florida every couple of years starting when I was seven years old.  A co-worker of Dad's would complain and say "Man, I wish I was rich like you and could go to Florida every two years!!".  Dad finally got tired of hearing him say it so he sat him down and added up all of his cigarette purchases and booze purchases over a two year period.  Once he had the total, Dad pointed to it and said "There...that is our trip to Florida!!".

Beginning in 2001, Dave and I started going to the Caribbean every winter.  It is amazing how we would hear the same (or similar) comment from friends or co-workers "Wow, I wish I was rich like some people who can afford to cruise every year!!".  Let me give you an overview of how we can cruise every year....

1.  I grocery shop using flyers and tend to plan our meals around what is on sale!
2.  I rarely buy any clothes retail, unless they are on the sale rack and have their prices slashed dramatically.
3.  I buy most of my clothes at Frenchy's.
4.  We buy a used car and drive it until it is just about dead.
5.  We run our own business and can deduct many of our household expenses that pertain to our home office.
6.  We rarely go out to eat at restaurants.  For one thing, I hate spending money for things that I can make myself and another thing is that Dave's very restricted dietary requirements make it very high maintenance to order a meal in a restaurant.

When we select a cruise, we generally go for the cheapest one we can find on-line and we take an inside cabin, which is always the cheapest option.  We do not take any excursions through the ship as I scour the Web for great excursions that go for half the price than the cruise lines charge.  We take the local bus, if at all possible, and save a lot of money that would be wasted on cabs (ex: on St. Maarten, we spend $1.50 for the bus to the beach instead of paying $7 per person to go to the exact same beach).  Also, we spend very little on the ship.  We buy bottles of water at a grocery store before embarking and check them with our baggage instead of paying $4 a bottle for Evian on the ship!  We generally don't spend a whole lot more to go on a cruise than most people would pay to go to a resort in the Dominican or Cuba.

It is amazing what people will spend on cars, houses, clothing, restaurants, coffee, the newest gadget, etc. and not even think twice about why they can't afford to do other things....like travel!!  I can't even say that we sacrifice during the year in order to take a cruise every year.  It is more that we choose to spend our money in certain ways throughout the year so that we can afford to go to the Caribbean.  We prefer to spend our money on experiences and memories instead of stuff.  Others may make different decisions on how they spend their money but if they really, really wanted to travel, an amazing number of people could make it happen.  Now, don't get me wrong...I know that some people really are living in very tight financial circumstances and truly cannot afford any luxuries.  I am talking about those who do actually have the money but it gets spent on other things that they decide are more important.

So, please, don't be hatin' each year when we head south☺  We aren't rich...but we are truly blessed!