This is a post that will probably change a million times before it's final final. The reason for that is not because I keep thinking of other ways to spend the money, but because I'm torn over what I would give away and how much and when and ... gah! It stresses me out, and the money isn't even real! Imagine if the money were real. I'd be a wreck.
But there are some things I would like to do if I won the lottery. In no particular order, here they are (another list!):
Donate to Humanitarian Aid and other welfare-based charities
Retire early (I'd do this after a few years so I'd know how the money had "settled")
Design and build a house - a one level house that would be easy to get around in old age (the plans are already in my head, just need the cash to do it)
Buy property (like, 25 acres)
Adopt or buy more dogs
Spend a lot of time researching a successful way to build/run/manage a homeless shelter
Do Family History
Travel (in order to do Family History, of course)
Learn how to make my own cheese, yogurt, etc.
Grow a HUGE garden
Maybe even make a community garden (fun, right?)
Take all sorts of college courses on whatever topics I wanted
Make a gazillion quilts
Have a library in my house
Have an outdoor kitchen
Make sure each of my siblings had a home that was paid off and a vehicle (or two) that was paid off
Pay for a funeral plan and buy a cemetery plot
Make an iron-clad will
Volunteer at schools to help kids learn to read and write
Tutor for free
Make my own bread
Cook and cook and cook and bake and cook and bake and bake
Buy ATVs so I could ride with Mom
Learn photography and buy a very nice camera
Have an indoor gym and an outdoor tennis/basketball court
Make pajama pants for every family every year for Christmas
Write, write, write, write, write
Maybe even write a book
Buy an iMac so I can write a book
Projects, projects, projects - I could project every day
Do a lot of reading and studying
Visit the temples around the world
Build a cabin and property in the mountains so we have a family time share
Have a paved walking/running trail around my property
Have a built-in fire pit station
Plant a lot of trees
Grow fruit!
Eat better - a lot better because of all the cooking and baking
Regularly make homemade ice cream
Make my own pasta - with my Kitchenaid Mixer and all its handy tools and attachments
Join or create clubs (book club, sewing club, quilting club, etc.)
Make my own curtains
Take a few classes in interior decoration/design
Start a scholarship fund in memory/honor of my mom and dad
Get healthy and stay healthy
Exercise every day (lots of dogs = lots of walking)
Have a projector and a white screen so we can watch movies outside
Take the family to Disney World - all expenses paid by me
Have a totally awesome two year supply of food, water, and whatever else
Find a place to put a barn (because I like them)
Build a pergola
Share my garden crops with family and neighbors
Maybe learn to ride a horse (the thought actually scares me as much as I'd love to do it)
Pay off the homes (or buy homes for) a few of my very close friends
Live debt free (after the government sucked me dry paying off student loans, of course)
Make my own weed killer and perfect it (dang dandelions!)
Learn how to knit and crochet (but I don't know how much coordination it would take or if I have enough of it to manage)
Build up the town library with books, magazines, etc.
Start my own newspaper or magazine
Learn how to make pottery
Paint ceramics
Be organized (oh please let me win the lottery just for this one!)
Make a play house out of an Airstream trailer
Install a playground (a big one) on my property for the neighbor kids
Stay busy with civic stuff and be involved in the community
Maybe teach some music courses (big maybe - not sure if I'd enjoy this or not)
Spend every minute I possibly could with Mom
Have enough money, time, and strength to take care of Mom in her "old age", or provide the means for someone highly qualified to do it
That's a long list, I know. Basically, I just want to do good and have the time to do good. I'd retire, yes, but I'd live a VERY full life and not just sit around being dull or boring. A lot of good comes from donating, so I definitely want to do that, but I think more good comes from actually doing. I want to get out there and do good. Learning is also important, so that would be at the top of my list. Never stop learning.
The thing about winning the lottery is that you could let it all go to your head, blow all that money on cars or gambling or whatever, and never accomplish good in the world around you. That's what happens to a lot of people. There's even a well-known curse on lottery winners that most of them end up going bankrupt. For me, I want to have nice things (as in secure things, e.g. a nice home), but I'd like to spend my time learning, growing, and doing.
Think how much a community garden could benefit a neighborhood, especially if some of those neighbors were really struggling to eat (much less eat well) and what that good food would do for them and their families. The idea would be that I pay for what is planted and provide the property to grow it, but each family that wants to participate has their own little "plot" to care for. If they let it become overgrown with weeds they lose their portion. If they care for it and love it and encourage its growth, they reap the rewards when it's time to harvest. It's an "earn your keep" mentality, but also provides a way for the earning to be there for some people. It's just a cool idea I've been mulling over for years.
Same thing with the homes and vehicles for my siblings. I would want them to always have a place that they owned outright. And, of course, I'd want them to have a vehicle that was new and capable of getting where they needed when they needed to get there. I would want reliability for them, not just for me.
I realize much of these would take a lot of money to accomplish, but many of them would require mostly just time and effort. If I won the lottery and retired, I'd definitely have the time to put in the effort to make them happen. And a lot of lives could be blessed from that time and those efforts. How many people can afford to volunteer at a school? Not many, but it would be so much fun! Those kids would be able to teach you so much. What you could teach them would be invaluable as well. It's a win-win. And I'd love to do that kind of thing.
Wishful thinking, right? You can't win unless you play, right? All true, but it's fun to imagine what I could or would do! All good things, I hope. For now, I'll keep dreaming.
I enjoyed reading this and learning more about you that I didn’t know.
ReplyDeleteFirst, if you won the lottery, I would not even let you give me money. To every man their own. Paying off my mortgage or other debt while it is a nice gesture could only mess things up.
There is a community garden here in my valley and it has served the ward members well.
I think it is well to note that in life there is a time and a season. You would be surprise to learn of the amount of volunteering that goes on; often times we don’t see it or hear about it.
It is human nature that unless we are doing the simpler things in life, when a bigger opportunity comes our way, we are most likely not going just suddenly do what we think we ought to do. In other words, if we are not volunteering in small ways when we can, then when we win a lottery or have more time we are less likely to volunteer because other things will get in the way.
Yes, wishful thinking but do keep dreaming. I do hope you win the lottery because what you shared is noteworthy.