Winning the Jackpot: A Girl Can Dream

Maybe it was watching the royal wedding, maybe it's the rain or maybe it's my mood, but I've been thinking and planning in my head. If I won the lottery, and mean a giant pot, like Mega Millions or the Powerball, this is what I would do: 

1. Pay off mortgage, car and debt;
2. Get an office space away from my home for me and DH;
3. Get a babysitter & go on a weekend long date night {Money's been tight; it's been a while since we have had a date night of any length.}
4. Put the house on the market;
5. Start looking for our modest dream home;
6. Pay cash for our new home;
7. Put college money in annuities for the boys;
8. Put retirement money in annuity for us;
9. Go on a real, honest-to-goodness family vacation every year {never have}
10. Sit down as a family and decide to which charities we wish to make large donations. Two of my favorites: St. Vincent de Paul and Minnesota Public Radio;
11. Send my parents on their dream trip;
12. Buy my parents a home in the Twin Cities so they can visit for months at a time;
13. Have two washers and dryers installed in new dream home;
14. Have two dishwashers installed in new dream home;
15. Go visit our families more often;
16. Sign up for a yoga class {my first};
17. Get a pedicure more than once a year;
18. Get DH a massage more than once a year;
19. Revamp my wardrobe, nothing too extravagant, just good quality, stylish, well fitting clothes;
20. Not work so much, which would enable me to;
21. Exercise more, sleep more, volunteer more and do more with my kids;
22. Randomly pay for people's coffee, gas or lunch; fill parking meters when low; and
23. Take boxes of pizza or sandwiches to homeless and domestic violence shelters on a regular basis as a family.

It never hurts to dream about what it would be like to have enough money to not have to worry about paying bills or unexpected costs or go on vacations or randomly help others, etc. Dreaming is what keeps me going each day.

What would you do if you won the lottery? Have you ever made a mental list or even gone as far as I have and typed it up? Do you buy lottery tickets? Do you have a strategy to picking the numbers? Maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket. I'll be back to legal issues next week. Over and out...

Anna

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Comments

[Crystal]

Amen!! Many of our items parallel! I love randomly paying for peoples meals & coffees with my "extra". I just long to be able to do more mission work and fund those who've got a true God led ministry & calling. Let's pray for one another ! <3
Crystal
Domestic, But Not Martha
www.domesticbutnotmartha.com

[Heidi]

No shocker, but this would be so awesome! Pay off mortgage, buy a new car (like one of those "fancy" minivans when you push a button the door automatically opens!), go on an extravagant trip and bring my whole family (mom, dad, sister) and make a huge donation to my alma mater. The list goes on!

[Jen]

Fabulous list. Mine is remarkably similar. Depending on the amount of winnings, I'd also give sizeable amounts to our parents and siblings and small amounts to close friends.

You should try to take a family vacation even if you don't win the lottery. They don't have to be expensive and you (adults AND kids) will remember it forever.