Tell All Tuesday: The Money Tree

With the economy being what it is these days and many people (me) being on budgets so tight they squeak, there are a lot of things that are being pushed from the "necessity" to "luxury" category....hence the birth of my now-favorite saying:

Someday when we're rich and famous we'll _______.

Money is so tight that the blank is getting easier to fill with smaller and smaller items and the saying has become sort of abused. I have been overheard saying,

"Someday when we're rich and famous we'll take the whole family to see a movie in theater."

and

"Someday when we're rich and famous I'm going to go buy lunch at Arby's."

Obviously we can eat at Arby's (once a month) or go to the theater (every 6 months) but the sentiment remains-everything these days is so freakin' EXPENSIVE! Seriously~when did a matinee start costing $14?! Why on earth is the grocery store trying to charge me $8 for a pack of soda?!

It's pretty easy to wish in the moment to not have to wince every time you part with a penny, but when Hubby and I were complaining brainstorming about our finances I started wondering....what would I do, really, if we suddenly came into money? [Forget the fame-I really don't like the idea of people following me around.]

What if I won the lottery?

The current estimated Powerball Jackpot is $45 Million. If I won that $45 million dollars my initial reaction would be shock considering that I don't play the lottery and-hello-it's $45 million. I would be especially appreciative in that moment that Hubby knows CPR. But after recovering from shock? Then what would I do?

Well, I can tell you what I wouldn't do-I wouldn't tell a single solitary soul. Besides Hubby of course (we do file taxes together and all, plus I love him and stuff), but no one beyond that. Money may not be the root of all evil, but it certainly has a way of coming between people and turning children into spoiled brats...so it would be my goal to be the first ever super-top-secret-millionaire.

After that I would start spending!

First and foremost, I would take $5 million and do something I have always wanted to be able to do-pay other people's rent/mortgage. I have always thought that it would be a fantastic idea to volunteer at soup kitchens, food banks, and shelters and meet as many people as possible-so that I (who is in this scenario the super-top-secret-millionaire) could then covertly look them up and pay their rent/mortgage for an entire year. Can you imagine the looks on their faces when their landlord/mortgage company calls them up and says they don't have to pay...for 12 whole months? What a huge burden lifted! What an amazing opportunity to take care of the other parts of their lives that have been struggling while they focused on their immediate housing needs. Especially if someone didn't have any home at all, to be able to give them the gift of free housing for a year would be the most helpful gift I could ever think to give someone-and with $5 million how many people could we help?

Next I would set aside money for Hubby to start a business building, fixing, designing, and selling classic cars. I would set aside $3 million to pay 6 employees a good wage for 5 years while the business built up and $5 million for business expenses. Nothing boosts the economy more (and helps individual families out more) than creating well paying jobs. Plus Hubby loves tooling around with old muscle cars anyway-if I didn't help him start a business he'd be doing it as a hobby anyway! So why not? We're super-top-secret-millionaires.

After that I would buy a home outright. Not just any home-I want a nice old farmhouse with a covered porch and lots of character. I want 6 rooms-one for me and Hubby, one for each kid, one as an office, and one for guests. I also want the classic red barn to convert into a shop for Hubby. I want lots of acrage for the kids to roam on. In our area (which we love and would never move from) that would cost about $600,000. And, because we're pretend stinking rich, I would give myself a hugely generous $400,000 decorating budget to round out our beautiful totally mortgage free $1 million farmhouse.

Of course, we would have to get to and from the farm....so I'd ditch the Taurus and buy a Chrysler Town and Country with Swivel N Go seats for me (yes, my dream car is a minivan-sue me) and a Barracuda for Hubby (because his dream car is NOT a minivan). That would cost us about $60,000 for both.

Let's see...what else? Oh, of course I would go nuts on the electronics! I'd buy cell phones-not just cell phones, but iPhones-for Hubby and I. I'd buy a couple big screen TVs, get Hubby that XBox 360 he's been wanting, buy myself a delicious delicious laptop and a state of the art digital camera, upgrade our MP3 players, get a surround sound system.....Oh yes. I can see myself splurging with insanity on gadgets. Let's say $40,000 worth of gadgetry.

Let's see....that brings the total up to $15 million. Huh. I guess it is more difficult to spend money than I thought. After that I suppose we would set aside $6 million for each of the kidlets and just use the other $12 million for vacations and every day stuff.

That's a whole lotta Arby's!

So Tell Me friends, followers, and visitors.......what would you do with $45 million?

To participate in Tell All Tuesday
*Write a post answering the Tell All Tuesday question.
*Include a link to my original post.
*Don't forget to put yourself in the Mr. Linky below, and to read other people's answers to this million dollar question!


Thanks everybody!