Lottery

I heard on the radio today that one of the lottery games is up to triple-digit millions.

Don't you always fantasize about what you would do with that kind of money? I do. Every time. Actually, I meant to text Mr. T and ask him to buy a ticket at some point today. Oh, well.

I would take payments, I think, instead of the lump sum. I'm pretty sure they take more out if you do the lump sum. And who needs that much money all at once? I like the security of knowing I'd have x amount coming in every month or year or however they do that.

The very first thing I'd do is hunt down Dave Ramsey and put him (or one of his underlings) in charge of me. Be like "DON'T LET ME BE A FOOL, DAVE!" Then I'd complete Baby Steps #2 and 3 - pay off debts and have a decent savings account.

I think I'd want to donate next - to my church, and World Vision. I've been contributing to World Vision since high school. Supposedly I'm helping this kid in India. It's only $30/month, so I'm counting it toward good intentions and assuming they're doing the right thing. I'd probably also put money toward animal rescues. PAWS, and a couple other local ones, including the few ladies in my hometown that are trying to get things under control.

The hard part would be dealing with friends and family. I'd want to share with everyone, but who is "everyone"? Maybe I'd just agree to pay off everyone's debt, or give them up to x amount. So if the amount is $50k and they only have $20k in debt, they'd get $30k in cash. Only immediate family and close friends. But who is a "close" friend? And who is "immediate" family on Mr. T's side? Technically he doesn't have any full siblings. But he's got about 20 step-siblings (only slight exaggeration) and three half-brothers.

I don't know about work. I'd probably quit. Or maybe not. I might stick around to get all the sites live, and then go. Or stick around to train someone? I dunno. I'd definitely buy a Smart ForTwo, though. And a sexy scooter. Mr. T would probably get a vehicle upgrade, too. And a scooter. Or a motorcycle. Whatever.

Ooohh...I'd definitely pay someone to get our yard in shape. Back and front. Cut down trees, sort out that slope in the backyard, plant new trees. I wouldn't have a permanent lawn service or anything - our yard is too small. I also don't think I'd move. I would get a state-of-the-art alarm service.

I think I'd still want to DIY a lot of home reno. And be a lot more confident, since I knew I could always just hire someone to fix it if it went south. But I'd pay someone to do big stuff, like put in hardwood floors. Build a built-in shelving unit I want for the living room. I'd also need to pace myself. Don't want to redo the entire house in a year or anything.

The thought of having children would be a lot less terrifying. Well, financially, anyway. The whole "raising them" thing would be terrifying. Maybe even more so. Kidnapping for ransom, people wanting to marry them only for their money...

Mr. T would definitely open his own shop. Not sure if he'd stay where Two-Tone is now or not. It would be an amazing feeling to know we could do that and still be financially stable. AND WE COULD HIRE PEOPLE! How sexy would that be?!

Alright, I've gone too far down the slippery slope. In reality we're not going to win, mainly because we don't buy lottery tickets. We're going to work our butts off and hopefully retire with a nice little nest egg and NO DEBT. Healthy, with tons of friends and family around. Mmm... Now that is a dream worth having.