Friday, July 20, 2012

Winning the Lottery vs. Being Content with Life Today

Today's prompt is "What would you do with the money if you won the lottery?" Since only 1 in almost 200 million people actually win the Powerball lottery (according to Money Crashers), I haven't given this question much thought.

I don't buy lottery tickets because I think - with odds that poor - that it isn't worth the money spent. I would rather spend the money on something more meaningful.

The three grand essentials of happiness are: 
Something to do, 
Someone to love, and 
Something to hope for.
~ Alexander Chalmers ~

That being said, if I happened to come across a large sum of money, these are things that I would do:

- Pay off all debt so a 100% cash-only way of life could be lived.
- Set up an emergency fund so six months to one year of living expenses could be paid.
- Put money in the retirement fund.
- Put money into college funds for Sophia and Olivia.
- Invest in long-term care insurance.
- Give a percentage of the money to help those in need, animals, and the environment.

If there's any money leftover, I would like to:
- Purchase some items that should be replaced (e.g., washer/dryer, car, carpet) and some items that would be nice to have (e.g., a few new clothes, shoes, boots, and coat for each person in the family).
- Travel to each state in the United States.
- See the continents that I haven't yet been to (Africa and Antarctica).
- Make updates and repairs to the home and barn that need to be done.

I'm sure that I could come up with lots of things that I would want. I could dream of all the wonderful things that I would love to have. However, the reality is that what is important is being happy and grateful with my life at the present moment.

Be content with what you have; 
rejoice in the way things are. 
When you realize there is nothing lacking, 
the whole world belongs to you.
~ Lao Tzu ~


5 comments:

Nicole GF said...

We don't buy lottery tickets either, but it was so nice to dream about it as I was writing my response!

Anna Murphy said...

A very nice thought to start my day. We do need to be content with our status.

Carrie Robinson said...

We buy tickets only when the lottery winning amount is crazy huge. But I guess that kind of defeats the purpose since our odds of winning them are even less with more people buying tickets then too, lol! But you never know... someone has to win it, right? ;)

Unknown said...

I agree, we should all be content with what we have.

Rita said...

If I do buy a lottery ticket I try to buy them when the amount is low so my chances are better. I'd be thrilled to win a mere million dollars. ;)

I'd pay off debts, too. (School loans.) Probably pay off Dagan and Leah's debts if I had enough money and then buy a car. :) If I won any more than that I'd have to think about it more. Fun question, though.