Even people who haven’t lost their homes—or their fortunes—have started to worry, as their paper profits have evaporated and the recession seems to be deepening. And though luxury marketers like to argue that the ultra-wealthy are insulated from economic slowdowns, in the current climate of widespread hardships, even those who can may choose not to splurge. As Robert Frank puts it in his Wall Street Journal blog, The Wealth Report, “Nobody wants to be the oblivious guy with the champagne bottle who’s still dancing after the music has stopped.”

Here in Sarasota, businesses from salons to restaurants to fashion boutiques are reporting slumping sales, attendance at pricey black-tie galas—the mainstay of local social life—has dropped significantly, and even the well-heeled are beginning to trade money-saving tips on everything from monthly facials to travel. “Most of Sarasota’s wealthy are self-made people,” points out Karin Gustafson, who as president of the Sarasota YMCA Foundation works with donors of major means. “They got it the hard way, and they know it can be taken away.

But even if they’re cutting back, Sarasotans still want the good life. They’re just being smarter and more creative about how to find it, like the arts leader who, because of the falling dollar, is substituting a month in San Francisco for his family’s usual sojourn in Italy.

We asked some Sarasotans how they’re living large for less, stretching their dollars without sacrificing the pleasures that matter most to them.

Paul Boyd decided to make a change when he realized he was spending a fortune on a fishing boat that he used for just a few months a year. A Brit who bought a second home in Sarasota 17 years ago and has been trawling the Gulf of Mexico ever since, Boyd explains, “I live here 90 days a year less two—the maximum the U.S. government allows, and that’s part of the problem.” The cost of absentee boat ownership no longer made economic sense when he learned about Waves Boat & Social Club. “Waves took my boat as part of my membership; I’ve been saving substantially and stress-free with no maintenance hassles ever since,” he says.

Asked how much he’s saving, Boyd hesitates. “If I tell you how great a deal it really is, Carissa may raise my fees,” he quips. Carissa Ellis founded the club four years ago and has grown it from 17 members to 240 and from one location in Cortez to three, including two in Sarasota. “Many of our members are like Paul,” Ellis explains. “They owned boats, weren’t using them, and gave them to me in return for membership, quantifiable savings and peace of mind.

With a little prodding, Boyd admits to slashing all maintenance costs, which were often considerable and eliminating dock slip fees of $3,600 a year and $300 of annual insurance. Ellis says a basic membership in Waves is $3,900, but seasonal rates like Boyd’s are negotiable, and there are lots of options and specials. But what cinched the deal for the Brit is that he can request, and always gets, the same 20-foot fishing boat he traded in for membership.