Very personal question for all of you.

[MrsPete]

[quote name='dougp26364']For years we lived in a cheap, inexpensive, mobil condominium . . . At this point we have less payments and more income . . .
It took YEARS of skimping and saving but by age 40 we were financially sound with decent disposable income . . . It took a long time to get to the point we're at. [/QUOTE]

Hey, that's MY STORY! It's a great plan, isn't it?

When we were married (almost 15 years ago), we had $200 between us. We made do with only one car for three years, we buy used whenever possible, we skimp on groceries and other temporary purchases. We got our first credit card about five years ago (when we realized we could EARN using them), and we've never carried a balance -- why would we spend money we have not yet earned? The point is that we've always lived beneath our means. We don't earn specially large salaries, but we know that there are famlies living on less -- we've always lived as if we earned less than we really do.

I'm not 40 yet, and we have NO DEBT, and our kids' college accounts and our retirement accounts are healthy. It wasn't always fun when we were newleyweds, but it certainly was worthwhile!

[pboedeker]

Check out our cruise history link..

We cruise often and usually take our extended families with us. I shop around like crazy and usually let price/port be the deciding factor on which ship we sail. Sailing out of a homeport saves $$$ on airfares.

Friends always give us a hard time about cruising so much... but we just nod and agree. We both own our own business and never get away from the cell phone when we're state-side. But get us on a ship and then - we're really on vacation.

As for taking so many "other" people with us...these are people that are important in our lives and we don't get to see them often enough. Having 7 days on a ship to relax and visit and rest makes "catching up" a snap. Also, not having to cook for the entire family is divine.

Sometimes you have to look at the bigger pictures. Sure, most people can't afford to take 28 people on a cruise. But when you consider it their Christmas, Birthday, Anniversary and everyother gift giving occcasion for the year..it's not so bad. There isn't a price on the quality and quantity of time a cruise offers our family!