Week #16
If you had an enormous amount of money all of a sudden…what would you do with it?
* pay off all debt
* tithe 10 percent
* give anonymously to those I know who live unselfish lives and minister to others
* pay for college for my son and help my daughter buy some fun things for her new home
* provide horse back riding lessons for S
* art lessons for M
* demolish our two old bathrooms and modernize them
* encourage my husband to write and record his music
* take the whole family on a cruise!
* hire a personal trainer (’cause I need someone to kick my butt into gear!)
Those who know me IRL know that very little would change about me if a bundle of cash landed in my lap. I am not tremendously attached to material things although a little financial security would be an amazing thing. I would still use coupons at the craft and grocery stores, go yard saling and thrift store shopping, and try and be a good steward of all that I have. I’m sure I could find some guilty pleasures (like a few more stacks of scrapbooking paper – ha! and redecorating our bedroom) but I would hope I would make wise decisions and bless others through my finances.
What would YOU do with a windfall?
I would start a fund to help others with the financial burdens of adoption.
1. Pay all our debts including what we owe my parents and all the debts for our company that went under last year.
2. Replace my minivan which died this week.
3. Get oldest daughter who’s being discharge from residential treatment early, into partial day hospitalization program, which also isn’t covered by Medicaid.
4. Summer camps for the kids.
5. Savings for college for the kids.
6. All the remodeling and repairs for the house we haven’t been able to afford.
7. Classes for getting my LMSSW back.
8. Adopt again?
9. Take all the pets to the vet.
10. All the medical tests and treatments we’ve been putting off because we don’t have health insurance.
11. Therapy for me.
12. Go to all the Trauma Mama events.
We are so much alike. 🙂
I would pay off the few small debts that we have.
I would spend a bit on activities for the kids. (They don’t need STUFF, but I often wish I could afford a few more activities and field trips.)
LOVE “Treasures” idea of starting a fund to help others adopt.
And … wanted to let you know that I put up an Adoption Parenting Challenge today “Conflict Avoidance” that I would LOVE to hear your thoughts/insights on. 🙂
Blessings & Hugs,
Laurel
Ooooh! This is fun.
1. Pay off my unit, rent out and move to somewhere closer to work in a house not unit with my partner who hasn’t owned a home since his ex (who owns and has NEVER had a job) cleaned him out some years back and he was too nice to fight her or go to court.
2. With the money saved (and earned from renting) adopt a baby (I’m childless and partner doesn’t want kids so cannot afford the cost alone). Failing that, if I chose to keep the partner instead of the baby, get a dog! (No, not equating dog with kid, but it’s a second best.)
3. Buy a town house for my partner’s mum who has lived her whole adult life with a horrible bully who refuses to let her live in anything other than a construction zone. She has never had a beautiful space of her own.
4. Increase my monthly payments to Amnesty International and Oxfam.
5. Anonymous gifts to people I know need it.
6. Pay for a Colombian family I know to lift themselves out of poverty (I currently give a small amount but want to do so much more).
7. Do a watercolour course (ok, that sounds small, but I never just bite the bullet and spend money on it!)
8. Pay a professional organiser to help me clean my PIGSTY! which would probably pay itself off by selling off all the stuff I don’t need.
9. Buy the BEST holiday for my Mum that I know she wants (Christmas markets in Germany)
10. Buy the best holiday for my Dad that we already did but want to redo (outdoor skating and pond hockey across Canada).
Oh I LOVE these lists!! They allow one to fantasize…