Wealth

What is important to me are family, friends, pets, and my education; and the ability to help others through my current and future careers.

But, every once in a while I get a twinge of envy for the very wealthy. I was reading posts on a board devoted to English Bulldogs (I just acquired one from a shelter) and one of the ladies was showing off a pic of her birthday gift from (I assume) her husband: a brand new Ford Mustang.

I know money can't buy what's really important, but every once in a while I daydream of being very wealthy. Do y'all ever think of what it would be like to have a LOT of money?

Originally Posted by lucille

Do y'all ever think of what it would be like to have a LOT of money?

I do and I bet most people do too. Wouldn't it be nice to wake up in the morning and not have to balance your checkbook to see if you can fill your gas tank or just get $10 in gas? Not to have to wait until you get your paycheck in the bank before you mail your bills off? Oh the life. I wonder if having all that money gets kind of boring after awhile because after all you can buy almost anything you want so therefore you probably don't want anything. Oh forgive me, I'm rambling here.

I wouldn't buy material things like a huge house or anything like that. (Can you imagine what it would take to clean a huge house? Of course if you have that kind of money you could hire a maid. But then again, who wants a stranger to have access to your house and personal belongings? Ahh just rambling, like I'm ever going to make that choice. hahaha)

I do travel in the states and I absolutely love it but my dream is to be able to travel abroad. Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Egypt, Madagascar, Galapagos, Belize, and tons more countries. I have friends who went to South Africa recently and they came back and told me to save up for that African trip because they had a great time and I quote them, "And we don't even like animals. It would be your dream vacation." I about died laughing. They didn't even take pictures! They are really wealthy, though and have been everywhere imagineable therefore have "seen it all".

Right now I want to be disgustingly wealthy to buy the kids and my Dad really nice stuff, and I want some of those really fancy geckos. I also don't want a big fancy house. Maybe new furniture. And new racks for the geckos.

Do y'all ever think of what it would be like to have a LOT of money?

If people didn't think about it, there would be no big Powerball jackpots, would there? Ah, dreamers like us....

I don't know if my day to day life would change much. Yes, there'd be a bigger house, and there'd be more travel. I'd still work, but it would be as a philanthropist. There are certain charities and churches and scholarship foundations and schools that would be exceptionally happy if I came into serious money.

I don't sweat it, though. I know this isn't a dress rehearsal, and I do what I want to do now, but on a smaller scale than what I'd do if finances allowed more splurge. I give plenty of time and money to worthy causes, prioritize my travels, and spoil my family within reason and fiduciary responsibility

(and I'd still do all my own cooking, but I think the first money I might spend would be on a housecleaning service!)

Ah money, what a silly thing to be a slave to, what a silly thing to worship...

I completely identified with the idea of having to balance the checkbook before affording things. Hubby and I were very poor from time to time and I can remember going through and raiding his and my coin collections so we could buy gas to get to work. We've had a huge stroke of luck for the last year. First we decided to sell some stuff on eBay and were shocked to find that we had approximately $4000 in JUNK sitting around the house! Then we both worked this last summer, which meant we weren't counting pennies by the time we got paid again in the fall. (we're both school teachers) Then I had a run of luck and got three different consulting jobs for publishers (of course I've only received one of three paychecks so far) and then if that wasn't enough extra funds, I was asked to work an extra hour class because they didn't hire enough teachers (there weren't enough teachers TO hire). So hubby and I have been extraordinarily blessed and for the last 12 months have been doing very well financially. I don't feel guilty when I buy myself a "SOBE" every couple of days. I ate nice yummy salads all summer. OF course for hubby and I this means that we get to spend twenty or thirty more dollars every month without feeling the pinch.

Now if I had some SERIOUS money, I always dream of what I would do with that. Our current house is TOO small. We would buy a larger one, probably in a greener and cooler state too. But the real dreams really center around having housing and transportation without having to scrimp and save for it. I don't know if I would stop working, but I would perhaps take a break and see if I could actually write that "great american novel."

But, even if our unpurchased lottery numbers never get selected, I know that hubby and I are very comfortable and highly blessed. So I really have no major complaints. It's nice to dream, it's nicer to have the important things already.

two words: college loans. If I suddenly came into an obscene amount of money, I'd pay them off, pay off my one credit card, buy my parents' house, my aunts' house, and my other aunt and two cousins a house (they just recently moved back to MI), and of course one for me; various close friends would also get large gifts like houses or cars. I'd also like a gaggle of animals, of all sorts. I'd like basically a pack of dogs, some great danes, mastiffs, rotts, dobies, and that damn mutt I have now. Maybe even some kittens, who knows? A few horses, and a few rooms full of pythons, some boas, and lots of little geckos.

Getting a graduate degree on my own schedule would be nice, and so would travelling - I really really really want to go to Madagascar, Australia & New Zealand, the Galapagos, Hawaii, and see more of Europe. After all that, I'd put half my money into savings so that I never have to work if I don't want to, and give the rest away to various charities, scholarships, and research. There are A LOT of reptile genomes that need to be sequenced.

I sure do think about having money. I'll be checking my Powerball ticket tonight! With all the herps I have, mostly turtles and tortoises, I could use $$$ to build my pond, put in all the tortoise pens, upgrade indoor enclosures, maybe add on to my house so there would be more room for indoor habitats. I'd love to have a 2nd story for a huge master bedroom/bathroom/sitting room. I could buy my parents a retirement home, and I'd buy myself a small house or condo in La Jolla, CA for my visits to San Diego. Maybe I'd get a small apt. in NY and buy season tickets to the NY Yankees games! I bought a new Honda CR-V about 3 months ago because my old Accord was too uncomfortable for my very bad back. Now I have a monthly car payment which I'd pay off in 2 seconds once I win the lottery! I'd keep my job for a few years because they need me, maybe 5 years, then retire early without having to worry about how much (or how little!) my SS and annuity would pay me. It's fun to dream. :scatter: