[OrigamiSensei]

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English: Native language
Spanish: Three years of high school classes, can speak, read and write some but far from fluent
French: One semester of community college, can speak read and write some but far from fluent
Finnish: From some books and audio learning programs, can speak and read a little

Living in SoCal gives my Spanish some practice, and regular business trips to Europe do the same for French and Finnish.

I'd like to learn Italian and German and then I'd be done except for attempting to increase fluency.

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I would consider this not knowing anything but English. You might be able to say you are a Spanish beginner unless you were some super high school student that learned a ton and practiced a lot.

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It's far, far from fluent but in all three cases it's more than just phrasebook. I think you're greatly underestimating the utility of even minimal levels of education and communication. I also think you're underestimating what can be learned via independent study and some practical usage in-country.

I have numerous colleagues who can't communicate at all in any foreign language and rely completely on English. If we're traveling together they regularly look to me for guidance at airports, hotels, and restaurants and dealing with people like taxi drivers. So can I hold a significant conversation? In general, no. Can I use what I do know to ease my way through a lot of very practical situations? Absolutely.