If I Had a Million Dollars ... (Penny Rader)

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5 Items You Would Buy with a Million Dollars.  That's our topic this month and I've been thinking all month about how I would use a million dollars.

After I tithed to the church and made a hefty donation to Lexi's LAMB Foundation, I would buy (not necessarily in this order):

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1.  A home so I never, ever have to deal with a landlady again.  Not a mansion. Just a nice place with at least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms; a library, an office for my writing with cool shelving  units for my crochet supplies; a big kitchen for my hubby to cook in, a doggy door for Cougar (I have no clue why he has a cat name -- that was his name when we got him almost 15 years ago.); a bright, fun laundry room with a really cool red washer/dryer set; a self-mowing yard with lots of gorgeous, gnarly trees & a spectacular, spacious tree house; a garage with a spot just for my car so I never again have to scrape my windows before going to work.

2.  A super reliable car with a built-in GPS and cool safety features so I can see what's behind me when I back up, if anyone's in my blind spot, etc.  It'd be especially cool if it was able to drive itself.

3.  Homes or paid mortgages and vehicles for family members.

4.  The services of a professional organizer and housekeeper. Oh, and a cook for when my hubby is gone or wants a break from slaving over the stove.
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5.  A cruise to Alaska, complete with whale and dolphin watching, the aurora borealis, the glaciers & national parks, followed by visits to all the remaining states, a tour of Pete Nelson's tree houses, and leisurely trips to Scotland, Ireland, and England.

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That's my five.  What's yours?

12 comments:

Ashantay said...

I enjoyed reading your list. I hope you get the money so you can experience all those activities!

Joanie said...

I bought a Powerball ticket this morning, Penny, so if I win I promise I'll share with you! LOL!

In the meantime, my top five ways to spend my first million would be:

1) Start my own small publishing house so I can have the joy of calling authors and say "I want to publish your book!"

2) Start a free marketing service for authors, so they can focus on writing more great books faster and not have to waste time and brain cells figuring out all the ins and outs of marketing.

3) Get the biggest cabin on the biggest cruise ship and sail until I either get tired of being waited on hand and foot as I criss-cross the globe, or I find the perfect place in the world I want to live and I stop there.

4) Find small nonprofits that really need help and give them each the cost of one employees salary per year. I have been a grant writer, and the hardest thing to get funding on is employee salaries--it's almost impossible unless you start a new program each time and then hire new, and then you can only get the first year or two funded for salary. It's such a Catch-22, since you need people for programs, but you can't get funding for salaries for established needed programs because they don't need new component programs.

5) I would pay for a marketing blitz for my hometown. It's small, but fun, and has great atmosphere, and I think the world needs to know about more small towns before they get swallowed up by bigger city expansion.

This was a fun question, Penny! Thanks for the opportunity to explore ideas I didn't know I had!

Joanie

D'Ann said...

Black Angus cattle! A lifelong dream!

Penny Rader said...

Thanks, Ashantay! That would be too cool.

Penny Rader said...

Ahh, Joanie, that's so sweet.

And I love your 5 ways to spend a million dollars.

Re #4, there's a nonprofit close to my heart: Lexi's LAMB Foundation. My daughter, Kathy, started it after we lost her baby girl, Lexi. She would've been 8 this past summer. This coming Christmas Eve will be our 8th year to visit the kiddoes in the hospital.

I love small towns. Where is your hometown?

Penny Rader said...

I hope you achieve your dream, D'Ann!

Barbara Bettis said...

What wonderful plans for the money, you all have! I guess if I want to dream, I'd better buy a ticket :) Good luck everyone!

Unknown said...

Very interesting post, Penny!
I love daydreaming about what I would do if I ever was blessed with extra. Keeping it to just five things is going to be a challenge. :) All after tithing, of course. ;)

1) Definitely the first thing I'd buy is a house in the country. Like you, it wouldn't have to be a mansions. I'd enjoy anything, but something with enough extra space for family to visit would be amazing. I'd love just enough land and space for a pond and animals with a big barn and a nice outbuilding for a workshop.

2) Each of my kids would get enough cash to buy a home as well, or pay off where they're at. Plus, enough to pay off debts and student loans so they could start debt free with what they'd need. Plus, enough to start a business or investment of their own. My daughter would love a salon and one son is a chef. I'd love to get him his own restaurant.

3) Investments that would make it possible for me to retire and never have to work outside the home again. I'd be able to sit back and write, write, write and visit grand kids. :)

4) Oh - I'd love a car for myself too.

5) I'd love to take my daughter and daughter in law on a shopping spree. A complete new wardrobe make over. All those things I've thought maybe some day I'd be able to buy myself.

This was fun. Now you have me dreaming again. :)

Anonymous said...

Well, 1) I'd pay for concierge doctors so I'd never have to waste time again in a doctor's office (it's an age thing…); 2) a bigger apartment for my daughter who is returning home from Colombia in June with boyfriend in tow; 3) a better car with reversing camera etc.; 4) flights--wherever, but they've gotten ridiculously expensive in case you haven't noticed; 5) a family trip, not sure where, maybe Barbados?

Mary Gillgannon said...

I agree. This is fun. 1)I have a nice house but it's old and there are some renovations that really need doing. And I'd put in a balcony outside the spare bedroom next to my office so I could plants on it and see them from my writing window.
2) More trips. Maybe if I could afford 1st class I could get my husband to go back to Ireland with me. He hates the long flight over.
3) Help my kids, of course.
4) Donate money to my favorite animal charities, both wildlife preservation and humane societies.
5) I have a great job (working at a library) and I'm not sure I'd retire. But I'd like to reduce my hours a bit. I could do that not except I'd lose our health insurance. So I guess buy health insurance so I can do what I want.

Joanne Guidoccio said...

Hi Penny, Great question! Enjoyed reading your list.

If I had a million dollars, I would...

1. Move to the Pacific Northwest coast and buy oceanfront property.
2. Help my nieces with their education.
3. Donate to the Canadian Cancer Society.
4. Help friends with mortgages and other debts.
5. Start fresh with a new look...new wardrobe.

Joanne :)

Melissa Robbins said...

I love the idea of a self-mowing lawn. Can it self-weed the flower beds too?