Prosperity Project Day 12

It's Day 12 of the Prosperity Project, and today we get to spend $12,000. This would be easier to do if today were our first day here. But we've been at this for almost two weeks now, and have pretty much bought everything we ever thought we wanted. At least I have. My needs are few and I'm not much for wanting a bunch of stuff. So I'm heading into some uncharted territory here as far as knowing how to spend lots of money on myself.

Yesterday was Saturday, so I went to my favorite florist for my flowers of the week. I've worked out an amazing deal with Terry Black at Abracadabra Flowers and Gifts, so now each week I get a beautiful arrangement of cut flowers for only $10. I always thought fresh flowers were a luxury for people with lots of extra money (or their own garden), so one of the first ways that I've been affirming my abundant wealth is to have fresh flowers in the house at all times. Clyde runs the store there, and every week he makes me something beautifully zen using the freshest flowers in his store. My Saturday morning trip to the flower shop has become one of my favorite weekly rituals, and I've enjoyed both the flowers and my time with Clyde.

When I got there yesterday, Clyde was a bit harried because he is leaving this morning for a seven-day Caribbean cruise with several friends. Now I live right next door to Port Canaveral, so I see cruise ships every day. I've been on two cruise ships in my life. One was a day cruise; we floated around just past the three-mile marker where it's legal to gamble. I don't gamble, but I thought it would be fun to go out with my girlfriends and hang out on the boat. I was sick the entire time.

The second time I took a cruise was in Scandinavia. I was on a concert tour with the Brevard Community Chorus. We sang five concerts in ten days, in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Now that was a trip to remember! Toward the end of our tour we took an overnight cruise from Oslo to Copenhagen. This time I didn't get sick, but my room was way on the inside and was like a large coffin with a bathroom. Although the food on cruise ships is legendary, neither of these two experiences made me want to voluntarily ever cruise again. I just didn't see the appeal.

Until yesterday. While he was making my arrangement, Clyde took me online to view pictures of the ship. I politely looked at what he showed me, and then got really excited! Clyde, a veteran traveler, showed me a beautiful suite that was larger than the entire house I live in now. It had a separate bedroom and living room, a huge bathroom with a tub, and a large balcony overlooking the ocean. The boat is Freedom of the Seas, right now the largest cruise ship in the world. The shopping deck is built to look like a town, with paved streets and store fronts. The restaurants are elegant, and Clyde and friends wear tuxedos to dinner. In my wildest dreams I never imagined anything so upscale.

So I have Clyde to thank for today's adventures in spending money. With $12,000 to spend today, I think I will take the boyfriend on an elegant romantic cruise of the Eastern Caribbean. We'll go to Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, where we'll pop over to St. John's for a day, then on to St. Maarten. We'll need to buy some formal wear for dinner, and there should be plenty of money for shopping.

$12,000 My share of royalties from the play I co-wrote with my friend, Lee.

$ 1,200 God's Money goes to Tropical Motivation (Total $5,200)
$ 2,500 Wealth Building Account (Total $18,500)

I have to stop here and say that there's a big part of me that still feels it's wrong to spend such a large percentage of this money every day. The working-class part of me that doesn't trust money feels like I should be putting most of it in the Wealth Building Account in case the gravy train stops pouring gravy. But, since the purpose of this game is to get over feeling like that, here goes!

$ 5,000 Passage for two in the Royal Suite of Freedom of the Seas for a 7-Day Cruise
$ 1,300 A tux for the boyfriend, and several beautiful dresses for me.
$ 2,000 Spending money. I want to bring home gifts for all my friends.

That was fun! For two people who still live in a tiny little cottage on the island and drive sensible cars, we sure know how to vacation!

So, now it's your turn. How will you spend your $12,000 today?