Relaxation on the Cheap

So what has the best ROI (Relaxation on Investment)? Before we get to that, it is of course going to depend on the person. Different people receive differing amounts of relaxation from things. Now, I'm sure a few will argue that if you can't afford to relax, then you shouldn't. But that is a myopic point of view. We have to look at the larger picture, build up of stress will make us sicker, and this will most likely cause us to have trouble making a living. Thus, relaxation is more like taking a shower. Sure, can skip it and save money in the short term, but in the long term, it will stink.

Since I am a man, I know, at least for me, alcohol tends to have the highest ROI. Now this isn't the case for all men, it may induce more stress in some cases. But, generally, for men, alcohol tends to have the highest ROI. This is probably why more men have become alcoholics (although I have heard that the number of women becoming alcoholics is on the rise, is that due to the recession?)

What about for women? I don't know. I would like to hear your opinion on it. So, simply rate things by how much stress they relieve and then divide that by the cost of the thing. So, for instance, going on retreat: let's use a 0-100 scale for the stress relief. Maybe it has a 90 for stress relief, but it ends up costing 500$ for the plane ticket and 1 week of pay. Whereas, a date might have a 30 for stress relief, but only cost 50$.

What are your ideas for relaxation?