I'm actually pretty impressed by those of you who stop when you run out of money. How do you keep drinking when you run out of money? Well, theft. Duh. Or you exchange sex for booze. Or you quit buying food, or you max out your credit until you're facing bankruptcy. Which you then don't file for, because who can figure out bankruptcy law when you're drunk?
I can't really recommend alcoholism.
I think most of you are talking about risky drinking behavior that stops short of alcoholism, although obviously you're the experts on yourselves, and I'm not. It is possible to slip across the line from "problem drinking" into real addiction, though, so please be careful. As a couple of you have mentioned, you can get to a point where your brain is so stripped of dopamine that you feel like shit no matter what.
There have got to be people who managed a perfectly-timed escape on the nearest bus when they were really in danger of pickling their livers, but most seem to fuck it up. Personally, I can't so much as microwave instant oatmeal when I've had a BAC of .4 for a week.
Anyway, in the spirit of supporting informed choice, I recommend avoiding alcohol addiction if you possibly can. Aside from getting hooked on heroin, it's about the most awful thing you can do to yourself. It probably won't even kill you quickly.