What would YOU be willing to sacrifice...

[YB Nrml]

I've stopped buying books and now I use the public library. Saves me hundreds of dollars every year.

 

Ditto for us, also no cable, no gifts for b-days or holidays. In fact we're moving to a place where mortgage will be 1/3 what we pay now, smaller town less amenities but heck, we don't do anything anyway. Saving to cruise is our new motto! :D Doesn't feel like a sacrifice at all!

[oldrailfan]

We don't smoke or buy lottery tickets, don't belong on a bowling league, seldom eat out, and stay home on weekends. It's worth it to cruise!

 

We don't have HBO and Showtime but not giving up the basic plus cable.

 

Amen to that - not giving up basic-plus-HD cable, cable-VOIP, and 10MEG cable internet for ~$150/mo, no matter what.

 

We get our annual cruise, additions to our firearms collection (we both shoot), lots of pretty jewelry, anything my wife or I want or need. Land and house paid for, car paid for - what else do we need? We sacrificed in our earlier years so we'd be able to "kick it" now.

[MamaParrotHead]

My husband's cigarettes!!! I wonder if he will agree :D

I HEAR ya, sister! if ONLY. :rolleyes:

[dustyroad]

i also am giving up my dish ( i am really sick of paid programming and infamercials :mad: ). i dont eat out anymore except once a month and then it is at bishop buffet for around $10. i dont go too the mall and i am strongly forcing myself too not be a impulse shopper at the grocery store. i dont charge anything on my charge card anymore exept for my cruise cabin, flight and hotel. a fellow employee and i trade off driving too work so we can save on gas for our cars. my whole family has cut back alot on christmas and birthday spending. setting in the back yard with a fire burning in the fire pit, a can of beer too drink and cooking a hotdog on a stick is much more relaxing and less costly than going too a movie. there are lots of ways too cut my spending so i can go on my cruises.

[salty dingo]

We no longer pay for cable T.V.

Good Lord, I am right there with you. I did not pay for cable either, until I got married, but DW loves her TV shows.

[moonandsun]

If we cut out our cable TV we would save $4200 per year. We currently pay $350/month

Good Golly, you have been robbed. Call the police.

[echotumi]

only buy meat ect when on sale we have a big freezer. no movies either .

[chasinraynbowz]

DH and I both gave up smoking..... in fact, today is my one year anniversary of being smoke free!!

 

For us, that is 2 cruises!!!!

[The_Geek]

Good Golly, you have been robbed. Call the police.

 

LOL Well I do not watch much TV, my wife does. There are shows I watch, but most of them are speciality channels that only come bundled. So to watch a certain show I like, I pay $25 per month for the bundle. It is high, but making the payments are not a strain so I do not mind. As someone who specialized in Intellectual Properties, I do not feel right stealing content by downloading it illegally online. I pay for the movies I watch, the music I listen to and the TV shows I enjoy. I know I could get all of that for free, but I am not okay with stealing it.

[nbsjcruiser]

If we cut out our cable TV we would save $4200 per year. We currently pay $350/month

 

Tell me this is a typo - no way you spend $350 a month on TV. That's impossible.

[The_Geek]

Tell me this is a typo - no way you spend $350 a month on TV. That's impossible.

 

well that includes about $50/month on Movie rentals On-Demand

[Crusin Hogs]

I'm about to give up my XM Radio that I have had for many many years. $27/month won't buy a cruise but will go a ways to paying for some expenses onboard.

 

I'd give up our landline too and save about $45/month if I thought DW's head wouldn't explode if I did. :rolleyes:

 

I would never give up my XM , no way could I ever go back to

the sound quailty and commercials on FM . We go to yard sales

and buy small items ,that we Ebay , Easy to double to 10 times

your money, We also Ebay ALOT of Hot Wheels cars, Huge market

on Ebay for them. Pay for a cruise every 2 to 3 months that way

Ebay paid for our 52'' flat screen:D

[evandbob]

DH and I both gave up smoking..... in fact, today is my one year anniversary of being smoke free!!

 

For us, that is 2 cruises!!!!

 

Congratulations! At $10/pack (NY prices) , two people smoking one pack a day = $7,360 per year.

 

Not to mention how much you save on health care and life insurance. Make sure to notify these carriers so you can get discounts.

 

Now that you'll probably live longer, you have more money to enjoy those extra years too!

[dustyroad]

well that includes about $50/month on Movie rentals On-Demand

 

:eek: there is no package worth $300 a month in my life time, let alone having too pay for other movies that arnt included for that price. i would have too watch tv 24/7 and still wouldnt feel i got my moneys worth. wow, i dont even pay that much a month for my rent and i live in a nice house with a large yard.

[LiveLoveCruise]

LOL Well I do not watch much TV, my wife does. There are shows I watch, but most of them are speciality channels that only come bundled. So to watch a certain show I like, I pay $25 per month for the bundle. It is high, but making the payments are not a strain so I do not mind. As someone who specialized in Intellectual Properties, I do not feel right stealing content by downloading it illegally online. I pay for the movies I watch, the music I listen to and the TV shows I enjoy. I know I could get all of that for free, but I am not okay with stealing it.

 

Someone is downloading content? Well, to each his own.

 

You don't have to steal TV online anymore... They have internet TV... Alot of internet TV. News stations, local stations, sports, movies... (It's the 21st century)

[lady_cruiser]

I'm already started by limited myself to one soft drink a day, making my own coffee at work and eating out with my office staff only once a week.

AND, when I retire at the end of the year I'll save more money because I am the one who buys the musical birthday cards, brings donuts once a month and always buys the cakes for everyones birthdays. And since I do this on my own I will be saving a several hundred dollars a year. While it doesn't sound like much this will cover my gratitudes on every cruise I take. Not to mention the money I'll save on gas and car insurance since I commute 60 miles a day, five or six days a week.

[marshhawk]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]PBS is wonderful TV watching, we gave up cable over a year ago, and only miss the F1 races, and we can go to a restaurant to watch that with a local F1 club. Stopped ordering books on line, found a used book store(two book clubs a month)Stopped with the Christmas and birthday gifts, now they consist of , your Bday gift is a scuba dive inxxx when we are ona cruise. Your Christmas gift is an onboard credit. We still have tooo much stuff around here, and I could sell most if it, but for some strange reason, it just sits around collecting dust. I work a full time job, and a part time job, and I sell jewelry....gave up drinking, take my lunch to work, eat out only once a week, haven't had a raise in three years, and the prices of everything go up, but I will not not take a vacation and cruising is still the least expensive option.:)[/FONT]

[joshchristine100700]

[quote name='Kurbanfan']We do a family cruise every December for Christmas.....instead of gifts.......that is the gift....[/QUOTE]

This is what we are trying this year with our kids...these memories have to last far longer than the toys they get every year that they play with for the day then loose!

[The_Geek]

[quote name='LiveLoveCruise']Someone is downloading content? Well, to each his own.

You don't have to steal TV online anymore... They have internet TV... Alot of internet TV. News stations, local stations, sports, movies... (It's the 21st century)[/QUOTE]

To watch the shows and movies I want to watch , you would have to steal them. Not all specialty programming is available online legitimately for free. Also, many of the websites that offer programming for free are not available outside the continental US, without forging my IP by spoofing. This is another thing I will not do. While Netflix is now available in Canada, their content selection is very lack luster. Outside of my intellectual Property beliefs, I would also consider my time worth more than $350/month. To chase around everything my wife wants to watch on TV in an HD format, and the specialty programming I want to watch , would not be worth my time.

[LiveLoveCruise]

[quote name='DGB_KTB']To watch the shows and movies I want to watch , you would have to steal them. Not all specialty programming is available online legitimately for free. Also, many of the websites that offer programming for free are not available outside the continental US, without forging my IP by spoofing. This is another thing I will not do. While Netflix is now available in Canada, their content selection is very lack luster. Outside of my intellectual Property beliefs, I would also consider my time worth more than $350/month. To chase around everything my wife wants to watch on TV in an HD format, and the specialty programming I want to watch , would not be worth my time.[/quote]

I didn't realize that you weren't in the U.S. I did hear that it can differ according to your country. I have access to over 4000 channels and HD. No "chasing invloved" unless you mean searching a menu. (which has to be done regardless)
Live sports, news, local and international. But, again, I'm not in Canada, so I can't speak on that.
I have (what my generation) calls "Super TV"

I'm pretty sure your time IS worth more than $350 a month, though. Hell, that's what I charge an hour. I believe that we share the same Intellectual Property beliefs. So, no arguement from me there.

My question was simply... what would you be willing to sacrifice? In other words, given a choice which would you prefer... the cable or the cruise? Most of us can afford both... But, I'd take the cruise, hands down!

[The_Geek]

While Canada's Intellectual Property Laws are pretty lenient compared to the US, we do not have much legitimate access to free specialty programing online. While the major stations offer their shows for free online, you have to watch them in 5-8 minute increments, which is rather annoying.

My billable hour rate is above what I pay for TV so it is not an issue. If it was, I would give it up though. I would rather cruise than watch TV. Actually I work a lot, so the 2 vacations we take per year are more important to me than most things we do for leisure. I would not give up snowboarding, which probably costs about $1500/year all things considered, but TV would be gone hands down.

Sorry for getting this discussion off it rails there lol.

[Beverley792]

[quote name='Tapi']The cost of our upcoming cruise aboard the Fascination for 3 passengers in an oceanview cabin is roughly the cost of one month of day care for our infant son.

I guess I can try to find people to take care of our son for a month and use that money to go cruising instead! :D[/quote]

But as a Childcare provider, I would charge you to hold the spot for the month if you were full time. So you would end up paying double:D

[CruisinManiac]

[quote name='LiveLoveCruise']We no longer pay for cable T.V. for more than one reason. But, I noticed recently that over a year we'd save enough $$ for a Carnival Cruise.
Even if that would've been the original reason, I'd still trade in a second.

If given a choice... what other luxuries would you trade?
NFL, Family Portraits, Birthday Parties, Christmas Gifts, Dining out?[/QUOTE]

We don't go to NFL games, have family portraits. DH and I give each other a cruise in the fall to celebrate our birthday's and anniversary, and don't give each other gifts. We do celebrate Christmas with gifts, however and dine out frequently. In addition to the fall cruise, we usually take another in the winter or spring, using bonus money.

What I would sacrifice to cruise more often is my DH's Country Club membership. Isn't that nice of me? :D

DH spends enough playing golf each year that we could take one or two more cruises a year in a balcony! :eek:

[*jess*]

We don't have cable and we live on a budget. I'd much rather have days in paradise than tv lol.

[hookedoncruises12]

Definately give up Christmas and dining out. I'd sell my soul to be able to cruise all the time! LOL