So, over at BlogHer, it’s NaBloPoMo, or National Blog Posting Month. Really, I think they sort of celebrate this particular event every month there at BlogHer, but it’s a really big deal in November. The reason I bring this up, is because during this celebration, they post a bunch of writing prompts to help get people through the month, and I was intrigued with the very first one: If you found one million dollars in the morning and had to spend it by nightfall, what would you do with the money?
That’s a fun thing to think about, isn’t it? I mean, everyone can probably pretty easily rattle off how they’d spend a million bucks, but to do it in one day? I like to spend money, but that’s a lot of dough to get rid of in, what—twelve hours, fifteen? Of course, it could be easy enough if you decided to go big, something like a house. Even around these parts, you could easily drop half that on a home in a matter of minutes, and with a little effort, you could probably find something you liked that would let you drop in all in one fell swoop. But I think that’s not the way I would go.
I think I’d start with cars. For myself, as much as I love my Hondas, I’ve always had a hankering for a Jag. But I’ve never actually driven one, so it’s hard to say if I’d really like it once I had to live with it every day. Still, I think that’s what I’d go for. After all, if I hated it, I could sell it and buy myself a new Honda with the proceeds. And for Brian, he could have that Corvette he’s always wanted. I’d still make a trip to the Honda dealership, though, for new cars for my kid, and my sister and brother-in-law. I might even pick one up for my nephew, though it will still be a while before he needs a car (barely over a year though; they grow up so fast). I figure that ought to take me through a quarter of it, maybe even a little more.
After the cars, I’d probably spring for a whole new kitchen remodel. Of course, it wouldn’t be completed before nightfall, but I feel quite certain I could pick out my appliances and flooring, as well as hire a contractor and work out a design with a pretty good idea of budget needs—it’s sort of amazing how quickly you could make decisions about things like that if you didn’t have to worry about cost.
Next, I’d make some travel plans. Again, I think as long as I spent the money, I’d be within the rules, even if I didn’t get the benefit of that spending just yet. For sure, I’d book at least three trips: Disney World and Australia, both including travel for me, Brian, and Billy, as well as Tanya and her family. I’d also book one of those around the world type cruises for just me Brian and me. I might also buy a few airline mile vouchers just to keep on hand for the next time I want to take a trip somewhere but no longer have my windfall bag of cash. By this point, I figure I’m up to about five hundred thousand.
No doubt there would be at least a few electronics purchased, too. A giant, wall-sized television, couple of new computers decked out with the latest gadgetry, and definitely an iPad, which I’ve been wanting forever but just can’t justify. And maybe new smart phones for the whole family, with the bill prepaid for a couple years or so. In the grand scheme of a million dollars, though, these few things are just a drop in the bucket, though they would probably end up being the things I used the most out of my entire day of spree shopping.
I’d like to make sure my son and nephew had school money for any education they’d like to pursue, but since higher education institutions don’t really have gift certificates, I’m not sure how that would work. Do you suppose buying a CD would count as “spending” the money? Well, it’s my game, and I’m saying that it would. I figure if I set aside about a hundred grand for each of them, that ought to get them through most of a college degree, even if they picked some place sort of fancy. By now, I think I’m up in the neighborhood of seven fifty.
Lastly, I’d make sure there were no immediate needs that any of us had—clothes, home repair, medical bills. Surely there wouldn’t be more than fifty grand there, even if one of us had some sort of major home issue and we all decided we needed entirely new wardrobes.
At this point, I think I have taken care of all the basic needs of my closest family, as well as some fun splurges, too, and I think I’ve still got about two hundred thousand left. That would go to charitable contributions of some sort. Maybe just a flat out donation to something like cancer research, or maybe buy a bunch of necessities for homeless people, or spread it around to different causes and agencies. But I’d find someplace useful to direct the money.
All in all, it would be a pretty busy day; it takes a lot of work to do all that running around and spend all those dollars. But it would be the most fun day I’d had in a really long time!
