Figmentations

Do we really need to hire someone to regularly clean our homes or take care of our lawns, have a personal assistant or personal shopper, pay frequent visits to a chiropractor, get pedicures and manicures, or massages, or attend expensive seminars, multiple times per year?

Once we are used to the convenience (and benefits) of these kinds of service-sector amenities, and we see our neighbors and co-workers indulging in them, they are hard to give up. Plus, these things are important for the health of our service-sector economy, too, right?

What if we can learn to be happy with or without spending money? Maybe knowing that we could easily give up those kinds of things, if necessary, would be a good skill to acquire? As Suze Orman has suggested, what if we only spend money on things that we can truly afford to and not spend money when are only able to afford things on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis?

After watching Cruise Inc. Big Money On the High Seas, where we hear how cruise ship profits are earned from on-board spending (in particular, drinking and gambling) and are not from cabin fares (which include free food and shows), I thought of an interesting experiment to test….

Could you go on a cruise at the heavily discounted rate of $35 per night, with a simple inside cabin with no views, and not spend any additional money, AND still have a great time?

I would assume that most people probably can’t.  Then, try adding this additional twist to the experiment:

How much do you think you could charge people for a frugal cruise course that teaches them how to have fun without spending money?

How dependent are you on the service-sector for your happiness?

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