Take the money and run. August 5, 2010
Posted by ourfriendben in wit and wisdom.Tags: aspirations, dream vacations, windfalls
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Our friend Ben and Silence Dogood occasionally get e-mails offering us “great” deals on travel to Morocco, to resorts in the Smokies, to culinary tours of Provence and Tuscany. Well, as it happens, we’d love to go on any of these trips, but we can’t afford to. And if the money suddenly fell into our laps, we’d probably spend it painting the house or buying a less-used car.
But it never hurts to dream. So, our friend Ben was wondering, what would you do if the lottery leprechaun suddenly showed up at your door with a check for $3000, free and clear? Would you:
* Take that dream vacation
* Save it for a rainy day
* Pay off your credit card
* Buy a membership in a golf course or country club
* Get something that’s needed fixing for a long time repaired
* Buy something you’ve always wanted but couldn’t justify paying for
* Attend a class or course, such as the Cordon Bleu or the Martin Guitar Workshop
* Put it in an account for your kids’ college
* Spend it a bit at a time on little treats: movies, music and books you’ve always wanted; luxurious yarns and handmade needles; expensive artisanal cheeses, wines, chocolates, and olive oils; choice perennials, bulbs, and shrubs for your landscape
* Treat yourself to long-anticipated trips to the City (whichever one that is for you), having fabulous meals and seeing concerts, ballets, special exhibits, plays, whatever (our friend Ben refuses to even speak the o-word)
* Take the summer off and travel cross-country
* Add a deck, water garden, pool, fence, terracing, or other major feature to your landscape
* Finish the basement or attic
* Upgrade your appliances
* Get better insurance
* Buy a cemetery plot
* Get your own professionally designed and maintained website
* Buy more lottery tickets
* Get a medical procedure (voluntary or necessary) done that you’ve been putting off due to lack of funds
* Buy a horse, boat, motorcycle, ATV, golf cart, superbike, Segway, Vespa, or other preferred but nonessential means of transport
* Attend every model train, Star Trek, quilting, or other expo in your area of interest for a year
* Self-publish your book
* Learn a new career skill
* Spend it willy-nilly and be shocked at how fast it’s disappeared
* Pay your way into a celebrity event and rub shoulders with the stars
* Enjoy the perfect meal at a four-star restaurant, with expensive, exclusive courses and wines
* Stop clipping coupons
* Your own preference here!
Disclaimer: Our friend Ben has no idea how much it would actually cost to buy a cemetery plot or even a golf cart; we’re just fantasizing here.
What would Silence and I do with this little windfall? Probably something boring, sadly, like asphalting our parking square or fixing the plumbing. Or maybe we’d set it aside to pay this winter’s fuel oil bills so we didn’t have to keep the house at 55 degrees throughout the cold months.
But in our hearts, our friend Ben would buy a fabulous old Pueblo pot. Silence would take one of those courses. Or maybe we’d throw caution to the wind and take that trip to Morocco!
What would you do?
I would immediately deal with Hedge! I’ve traveled enough this summer and have no need to get more stuff….Mr I would head to New Zealand:) gail
Ha! “No need to get more stuff” certainly applies here, too, Gail. Poor Hawk’s Haven is overstuffed already! But New Zealand, now… sigh. Good luck with Hedge! We know the feeling.
You’ve listed just about all the possibilities I could think of here! Gosh, it’s hard to separate the “shoulds” from the “wannas” . I’m afraid I’d have to opt for repairs since we really need to fix up the house to get it ready to sell. But yeah, it would be great to forget all that and head off to Tuscany!
Sigh…