I've been to the Casinos and watched thousands of dollars cross the table from player to dealer. I don't gamble either, so there are certain types of people the casino experience won't work on. Besides addicts don't change their addiction and their pleasures. Casinos are focused perfectly on gambling addicts. It's not for alkies, or druggies, or for shopaholics….casinos are designed for gamblers to get their high.

And I think this says a lot about consumer debt as well. When you use the magic credit or debit card, the transaction of cold hard cash is easier and it's easier to mistake the money spent and become overdrawn, where the bank racks up fees like the casino against you. This is why when my child saved up all of his money to buy himself an ipod, we took him down to the store and he paid for it with his own cash. He exchanged the money for the item, and his sense of ownership, of working hard for something, and taking care of it in turn is much greater than ever before.
When we exchange money for things, it's certainly convenient and safe to do it with plastic, but sometimes, the metric of cold hard cash teaches lessons about saving, restraint, control, and value unlike anything else.

As a business person, I try to keep this in mind as I speak to clients, so they understand exactly what they are paying for, and how they can value it for themselves. Because I am not trying to manipulate people to spending more than they thought, but to exchange money for actual knowledge and value to build their business, and they need to see the worth, now and as they move forward.