On taking things to extremes... the budget conundrum

The cruising community has no shortage of factions on a lot of subjects, and one that really seems to get people riled up is the whole cruising budget discussion. Over at Cruisers Forum there is a thread with over 200 posts on the subject of "Can you cruise on $500 a month" and the gist of the thread, as I read it, is some say you can and some say you can't.

Of course, it's not that simple and what bothers me is that it gets polarized and political which is never helpful as passions rise folks tend to quit thinking and before you know it people are telling people their mothers wear army boots!

The thing is both sides of the argument could learn from the other side to their own benefit and learning is always a good thing! The other problem is that once polarized it becomes political, and the less politics of cruising we have the better.

So where do I stand on the $500 a month cruising budget (me being Mr Cheapseats, need you ask) and is it doable?

Doable... for sure, and if done right, nowhere near the realm of dumpster diving, sacrifice and deprivation that those who pooh pooh the idea will point at. Those with some brain cells can even do it in something approaching style and luxury... as it is not at all about doing without but simply losing the waste and superfluous baggage we don't really need to carry around.

Which sort of brings up back to the political and polarization subject... If you are choosing to be cheap to prove someone wrong, make a point, or set a record, it's not going to be fun so why bother? Cruising should be fun and it should be done in style and comfort as life is simply too short not to make the best of it.