If you won the lottery and got $50 million

[Garga]

...what would you do? I'll start:

 

1. Get a great financial adviser.

 

2. Not tell my friends. (Or the relationships would get strained.)

 

3. Build a new house on a pretty tract of land. I live in a semi-rural area so there's lots of pretty land around here. The house would be somewhat small. I prefer a rustic/country look. I'd have a nice big country kitchen with a round table in the middle. And it would have to have at least one secret passageway, one secret room, and lots of hidden nooks and crannies.

 

4. Anonymously pay off my friend's mortgages.

 

5. Anonymously help people financially who need help (ie--didn't get into their financial troubles because they were lazy or making selfish choices). Like our local library is tiny, was forced out of their location, and needed a building, so a local man just gave them a building. I'd love to be wealthy enough to do things like that.

 

6. Once the kids move out: join an organization that travels the world helping with disasters (like, I'd go help clean up the oil spill right now. Or help people after natural disasters.) The Red Cross or somebody.

 

7. Or get a job opening a photography studio and not have to worry about being good enough at it to earn a wage. Just opening the studio for fun.

 

8. Install a heated swimming pool that I can use year-round. (This might clue in my friends that I have some money hidden away somewhere...but what can you do?)

 

What would you do?

Edited May 1, 2010 by Garga_

[Aggie]

We would, without a doubt, buy St. Jude Children's Hospital whatever they need. Or just give them most of the money to use as they see fit.

 

I think we'd keep enough to get our dc through college and build a nice home, though.

[Cindyg]

All I want right now is an indoor riding arena. I have a horse. I have a trailer. I am blessed. :)

[Heather in Neverland]

I would start a tuition-free classical christian school in the city of Detroit

[SonshineLearner]

I would.... purchase a home in another spot for myself, and a home the lot over for my parents. Both would be one story... ranch style. I would have fun picking out the house things like... the coolest wood floor... with these kinda grooves that I saw.... (looks like the logs were split... and then just polyurethaned.

I would make sure to save enough money for.... the maid.... She would come once or twice a week. It would be lovely... she would change the sheets. I would have a dog washroom. I don't mind washing up and brushing the dog. I would have someone come to trim the nails....

I would build my husband an incredible garage~workshop combo.

I would have a financial planner... I would give all friends and found relatives... the financial planner's card...

I would still feed my dog raw... but I'd have enough I would buy the premade kind.

I would adopt one or two children younger than my youngest. (around a 5 and 3 year old or so)

And... if I really wanted to feel rich after my chiro appt and massage.... I might just get my nails done.

(Did I say that I'd donate my van to someone and get a jeepish looking thing... for us?)

 

:)

[SonshineLearner]

I would start a tuition-free classical christian school in the city of Detroit

 

There's a Classical Charter near Ypsi... perhaps they could be the model :) Oh yes, do you mean private??

 

:)

[Jean in Newcastle]

1. Dh would quit his job and pastor - in a heartbeat!

 

2. Pay off bills, including the mortgage

 

3. replace our rotting deck.

 

4. I know I would give money to people and organizations but that would take more thought and prayer to do it wisely.

[myfunnybunch]

After I got a handle on the financial management piece....

 

1. Take my sisters on a great vacation. They could both use one.

 

2. Travel with the family.

 

3. Build our dream house in the country and hire a housekeeper to clean it.

 

4. College fund for our children and for my sister's children.

 

5. Donate a great deal of my time and money to charity.

 

Cat

[Baseball mom]

We would, without a doubt, buy St. Jude Children's Hospital whatever they need. Or just give them most of the money to use as they see fit.

 

 

:thumbup: That is very good one

[OnTheBrink]

I'd put my son through college, and put some away for dd's college. Heck, I'd finish college myself!

 

Build a house, buy dd a horse, donate to charity, donate to my church, travel, help those who need it.

[Tap]

I would like to help people who would like to be foster parents but can't due to logistics. Especially families that would like to help family but can't due to financial problems. Helping to finance an appropriate home, furniture or vehicle could make a big difference for some people. Some of the closest knit families I know are those who have little money. They are often the ones who choose time with their children over careers and other adults. These families have so much to offer, but often can't afford to size up vehicles and homes to accommodate the additional children.

[caitlinsmom]

I would....

 

invest a portion of it right away.

pay off our home and buy one for my father who is basically homeless.

pay off all student loan debt (our only debt really)

get dh permanent dentures.

save enough for all the kids college funds.

get a makeover at some fancy spa.

donate a large portion to a charity that helps abused women get the skills they need to support themselves and their children.

donate to my local charity that helps people in our community

build and donate a new library to the town

stock the library with at least one book that is found on a classical list! buy a TON of great books for the library.

 

In the end I would plan on giving nearly all of it away to people who need it more, the community, and other worthwhile charities. There is no way I would ever need that much money and really I wouldn't want it.

[Peela]

Some ideas I might do:

 

Buy pieces of land around our city's outskirts (rural/semi rural, 5 acres up to 25 acres or so) and set them up as kin's domains. That means, whoever lives on them turns each of them into a paradise, self sufficent and environmental friendly, all organic, full of fruit trees and gardens, in order to pass them onto their children, down the generations. It is a vision for the future that I really resonate with, and it is my dream to have this for myself...it would be nice to be able to give it to some others as well- especially others I wouldn't mind having as neighbours.

 

I would probably buy a place on the other side of Australia as well, so that I could have a change now and then. And maybe a little apartment on the ocean front in the city.

 

I would travel- I would love to spend more time in India, and go to South America. Also Europe.

 

I would help my dad get top cancer treatment and eliminate his financial concerns, and help my mother go to whatever doctors exist in the world that specialise in fibromyaliga and her complex endocrine issues.

 

I would visit my brother's family more often and pay off their house (quietly- they woudl know but not the extended family), and visit my cousin in New Zealand.

 

I would probably buy a house each for my two kids.

 

I would get my husband to work for free. He loves what he does.

 

I would keep my eye out for ways I could contribute my wealth, that would appeal to my quirky personality. I always thought that those micro loans they give to women in third world countries to set up small businesses for themselves, are a brilliant and worthy idea.

 

I would do a lot of workshops and personal growth things around the world, and get regular massages, and eat only organic food. If I ended up realyl, really busy, I think I would like an organic, raw food chef for dh and I. Yes, of course a housekeeper if we were really busy, too.

 

I know that some sort of "work" would happen for me, because I wouldn't be happy just indulging myself all day for the rest of my life, but I think it would come when its time, and it might be something I couldnt conceive from where I am at right now.

[Rosie_0801]

Pay off our, and my siblings' student debts.

Buy a house with a little bit of land for ourselves, one with a lot of land for my brother, and a small house each for my sister and father.

Buy a small flat (apartment) for each of my kids.

Fill a glory box for dd, and a "war chest" for ds with some of the expensive kitchen appliances like grain grinders, (not)soy milk makers and good quality blenders.

Pay for remedial Pilates classes for my mother, if she wanted them.

Buy a few investment properties to generate income.

Set up some scholarships for rural deaf students.

Fund programs to teach female refugees English. Mums with preschool aged children usually miss out on the government classes.

Donate a large amount to my sister's NGO, bit by bit so she isn't overwhelmed. She wants to move into an area of Kenya where no other NGOs go. She has some realistic ideas for helping them toward self sufficiency and I'd love to be able to fund some of them.

Do something similar for remote areas of Australia. I don't know anyone involved in such projects, though my brother has told me of a few he's heard about.

 

Naturally I would hire a housekeeper, travel and buy lots of books, but that hardly needs to be said, does it? :)

 

Rosie

Edited May 1, 2010 by Rosie_0801

[Hannah]

* Buy land and pay for the building of Special Education school in our area (there is currently nothing). The school would also provide adult education for parents and care givers of special needs children.

* The school will have enough land and I'd employ an experenced person to set up a substainable food program. Families will be required to volunteer if they benefit from it.

* Set up respite services for parents of children with special needs in our area.

* Sponsor the startup of small businesses that employ special needs children.

* Buy a house each for my sisters, brothers and children.

* Set up a college fund for my children, nieces and nephews. They'd only receive funds if they continue to pass each year and I'd also expect a set amount of volunteer hours each year.

* Allow our extended family (about 40 people living on 4 continents) to meet for a vacation every two years.

 

Do I still have money left over?

[TammyinTN]

I would buy each of my daughters their own home and fully fund college.

 

Take care of my parents and inlaws, my SIL's family.

 

Invest a large percentage.

 

Fund scholarships for military children.

 

Travel all over the world.:auto:

[Renee in NC]

Pay off all our debts, my mother's debts, my brother's, my father's, one of my friend's...you get the picture. Mostly the people who have learned from the mistakes they made.;)

 

Buy some land in NC and build a log house.

 

Build a barn.

 

Fence in all that land.

 

Buy horses for the dc (I have promised them!)

 

Buy my dh a truck to replace the one he sold.

 

Get my 7 and 9yo boys the help they need.

 

Hire an "Alice".

 

Buy a house in FL for when we come visit.

 

Give my FIL enough money so he can retire now instead of waiting 3 years.

 

Setup a trust from which I can help people with the financial resources they really need - a true hand up. That might be a car that doesn't breakdown every week, weatherization for their house, money for training, etc. I don't want to just help with the symptoms, but rather try to solve the actual problem. I know what it is like to make big mistakes that change your life and then not to be able to do anything about it.

 

There is a lot more on what we call our "Powerball" list. It is a game we play around here.:D

[momofkhm]

That's a lot of money!

 

1. Tithe - in the form of paying off the church's mortgage. Probably anonymously.

 

2. Buy/build a new house with land - 10-20 acres. Not like you gals out west who have 100's of acres.

 

3. Put lots away for college educations and retirement.

 

4. Pay off mortgages for parents, IL, brother.

 

5. Mission trips - I've been feeling the pull more lately, but how to afford expense and time? Besides, if I have that much money, I will need to keep the kids grounded.

 

6. DH would most certainly give up his job! :) I don't know if he'd do something he always wanted to or just be home and putter around.

 

7. Indulge in hobbies.

[FriedClams]

Tithe

 

Pay off our house and then buy land/build in the country. Nothing major, but nearby and 50 acres. (Help family members with their mortgages)

 

Set aside money for kid's educations

 

Donate to our local library - particularly the children's section.

 

Do something about illiteracy in our state through a Christ centered literacy program - something unique and out-of-the-box that shares the gospel with people.

 

Buy a lot in our neighborhood that we all use to cut through for walking - so if it sells we all lose out. Even though we'd move from here I'd buy it, pave a path, landscape it and leave it anonymously to the neighborhood. I also love the idea of buying empty lots in the town and getting them ready to plant and having community gardens.

 

Support missionaries in the Navigators.

 

Buy a laptop. I really want one but it's been on the wait-for-later list.

[woolybear]

I can't believe it. The first things I thought of were all homeschooling things! Sigh. I guess I might have a few things I could do with money after that.

 

Let's see:

 

Buy curriculum

Manipulatives

Wonderful Art Supplies

Science equipment

 

then: (Okay, maybe first.:)) Pay off all my bills

Pay off mortgage

Get a new vehicle for dh

Maybe get a cute little cabin in the woods or by the sea for vacations

Save,save,save

Oh, yes. Definitely need a good financial advisor

[nono]

Well, it'll be $25 mil after the govt. get its cut.

 

• I'd keep a couple mil to pay our insurance and taxes here in coastal New Jersey.
  
• I'd keep enough to have my own car and driver, which will help me remain independent in my old age.
  
• I'd have my hair "done" more frequently, so as to not embarass my children :)
  
• I'd give the rest away.
  

 

[KidsHappen]

I would buy a house in my dd's cul-de-saq and one for my brother too. I think that would be all the houses in her cul-de-saq but at least be could all be together. Then we could worry about polishing our old housing and selling it at our leisure.

 

I would pay off any debt and buy a second family car.

 

I would help the girls get started in their own apartment and pay for their college.

 

For the first time in my life I might worry about trying to decorate my house.

 

I think I would get a maid simply because I am in too much pain to clean as much as I would like on a regular basis.

 

And I would try to refrain for buying so many books that I would have no place to store them all. As a matter of fact, I may solve that problem by becming a large patron of th library.

 

I might seriously consider a wardrobe consultant for my youngest two to help them manage their ridiculous amount of clothing. Maybe someone who would come in once a month and serious declutter the closets.

 

ANd I would take my girls to Disney. They are almost grown and leaving home and they have never reallt had achance to go. I think that it would be really enjoyingble at their ages and something that they would always remember.

 

Maybe more arts, musics, acting, sports and other extracucciculuars.

 

So as you can see, no drastic changes,just small things that would make life a little easierand more enjoyable.

 

I am not looking for a radical life change. Iam quite happy with my life but is would be nice if things to be just a little bit more confortable,

[Peela]

Fill a glory box for dd, and a "war chest" for ds with some of the expensive kitchen appliances like grain grinders, (not)soy milk makers and good quality blenders.

 

 

Rosie, I really like that idea. You know you all need a Thermomix, dont you? :001_smile:

 

And since you are not into soy, what do you use your not soy maker for- or intend to use it for? I am pretty sure you can make most milks in the Thermo.

[gingersmom]

In no particular order-

 

1. build a house with indoor/outdoor pools (water park theme)

2. buy homes in England, France, Italy and Argentina

3. buy a dozen or more German Shepherds

4. Give all the money to Parkinsons Research

5. Spend very little and make sure that for generations to come they will be beneficiaries

[MissKNG]

Bummer, I don't gamble so this will never happen!!

Edited May 1, 2010 by MissKNG

[Hockey Mom]

Give 10% to church.

 

Give 10% to our missionaries.

 

Donate an unspecified amount to animal charities. Specifically, places like Dog Town.

 

Establish trusts for my kids.

 

Buy a 'fishing efficiency' for Dh.

 

Buy a bigger boat.

 

Buy a house on Sanibel Island.

 

Spend one year traveling to every NHL hockey arena in the US and Canada.

 

Pay off debt.

[JoyfulMama]

Have my dh quit his job so he can farm full-time. Pay off the house and property we currently live on, and buy the surrounding properties.

Beyond that I don't think I could wrap my head around.

[elegantlion]

1. Call my aunt to handle investments

2. Buy a class A motorhome and a trailer to pull behind it

3. Travel (the homeschool American tour) & visit friends & family

4. Find 5 acres somewhere and have dh build us a house. Yes, his labor, our labor, so that we can hand it down in the family. Nothing huge, more cottage, than mansion.

5. Take care of our parents

6. Hire the kid who works with dh to be our groundskeeper

7. Park the RV, take a world tour. Ireland, Egypt, Italy, Greece, Japan, and Australia (maybe not all at once).

8. Make a dentist very happy, with an open mouth and an open wallet.

9. Take our son to the resort dh and I stayed at in Costa Rica.

10. Take my ds and my mom on a Canandian Rail trip.

11. Build a real science lab, in a nice detached shed away from the main house.

12. Pay to restore a turn-of-the-century park in my hometown.

13. Finish homeschooling ds, although I'd outsource more, sit and write and ds can go fishing or golfing.

[Pippen]

I would tithe, but I'm pretty sure our church would take money gained from the lottery. Likely it would be education-related.

 

1) Pay off our mortgage-just three years left so that would be a drop in the bucket

2) Fund college, set aside money to help my mom's future needs

3) Replace our vehicles (my husband is driving a 22 year old car and mine has 95,000 miles

4) Retirement savings

5) We'd stay put in our house at least until our kids were done with school, but we desperately need to update flooring, carpets, kitchen cabinets and bathrooms.

6) I'd buy the musical instruments I always wanted and couldn't afford (piano and a good euphonium)

7) Donations toward the local historical society and a public library branch that's needed in our town.

8) Housecleaning service--I'd be happy to never have to clean another bathroom again as long as I live!

 

I think that will probably take care of my share after Uncle Sam takes his.:D

[Pippen]

My list just keeps growing as I read the other responses. I'd like an RV to travel too!

[LizzyBee]

1. Spend a year traveling.

 

2. Build a large but unpretentious house. I like brick colonials, but my dh likes rustic homes, so we might have to build two. I grew up in a place that's so rural we have to drive through the boonies to get there, so maybe we'd build a rustic vacation home there. :D

 

3. Take occupational therapy with my dd's therapist! :D

 

4. Donate large amounts to my church and other worthy causes.

 

5. Buy my dh a couple of upper end sports cars.

 

6. Provide a monthly income stream to my mother.

 

7. Increase the budget for my kids' college education and weddings.

 

8. This should be #1 - QUIT MY JOB!!!!!!!!

 

Of course, for this to happen, I'd have to buy a lottery ticket, which I think I've only done twice in my whole life.

Edited May 1, 2010 by LizzyBee

[LisaKinVA]

1. Tithe and Give

2. Build our house, no loan required -- with solar electricity, geothermal, and lots of solar light.

3. Pay off my parent's mortgage.

4. Pay off IL's mortgage and help them finish building their B&B.

5. Set aside $100k for each of the children (trust-fund/college fund... if they don't need it for college, can use for down payment, wedding, etc.)

6. Build my parents a new house, and fix up the one they currently have. Rent it to a family I know that is in need, for what they are currently spending to rent a 3BR apartment, putting half of their "rent" in an escrow account they can use as a down payment to purchase house in 5 years, if desired).

7. Help another family I know, that is upside-down on their mortgage and in a very small townhouse, out of their townhouse and into something a bit more comfy. "Rent" that property to another family that has hit difficult times (anyone see a theme here?)

8. Build DH's "dream workshop" -- and help him get started in his own business. Once his own business gives us enough money to cover health insurance costs, basic living expenses... let him quit said job (we've lost investment income so many times, due to meltdowns... I don't want to count on it).

9. Help siblings any way I'm allowed (student loan debt)

10. Hire Latin/Math/Music tutors for children that will come to MY house, and oversee those subjects with dc, allowing me to work on the others with dc.

11.Buy whatever curriculum/resources I wanted. Like entire LOF series, Chalkdust series, TT series, Norton Anthologies, science equipment, school computers that work ;), art supplies.

12. finish out my scrapbook room the way I dream!:lol:

13. Be ready and able to travel wherever, whenever I wanted, and help however, and whomever I wanted.

[StaceyinLA]

We do have a large family and I would want to at least put money up for my kids to build homes and stuff, then I'd help out all of those in my family that are struggling. I'm sure I'd want my kids to have newer, safer cars, and I'd splurge on some actual matching furniture for all of the rooms in my house!

 

Beyond that, I'd LOVE to adopt a couple/few more children and donate money to various organizations (St. Jude, orphanages, churches, etc.).

 

I've also always wished I could afford to just walk around in stores when people are checking out, or shopping, and they look like they might be struggling, and give those people money or pay for their stuff.

 

I'd like to go to restaurants and leave giant tips for the struggling college kids.

 

I guess I would just really enjoy doing random acts of kindness. I love those things that just make me feel like I am really doing something that makes a difference to someone.

[LanaTron]

I would: 1. pay off our debts; 2. replace our old, falling apart mini-van w/ some type of hybrid car; 3. buy a house (we're still renters); 4. invest; 5. pay for kids' college, and possibly pay for them to go to private high school; 6. help any family who need help; 6. give to church and charities; 7. travel.

[dansamy]

I'd start a foundation to provide scholarships to better-than-average-not-quite-brilliant students who have financial need. (EFC of $5k or less) There's loads of money made available to kids who get 4.0 GPAs and 30s on the ACT, but not so much for kids who are 3.0 and 26-28. Also, there's more need-based aid for kids whose EFC is $0. Kids whose families are expected to contribute but really aren't able to contribute as much as the nice neat gov't form claims they can can easily be priced out of college by the lack of additional aid.

 

Of course, I'd do that after I looked after my own first. Church donation, foundation/trust for my children, piece of land, build a house, debt free, retirement, etc.

[kalanamak]

All I want that I don't have is:

1) to retire (to the cliche "to write the Great American Novel")

2) get a house cleaner

3) donate small amounts to good causes all over the world.

 

If I were younger, I'd have liked to travel the world and record English accents and dialects.

 

Oh yeah, 4) buy a little art for the house.

[mycalling]

Buy lots of land in south central KY, build a big main house, set aside money to build each of my kids homes on the property when they start families.

 

Buy an RV with trailer and travel the US, then ship it overseas and travel Europe...then sail everywhere else while home is being built.

 

Invest in DH's distribution business and build a HQ near property.

 

Help build parks and start community outreach for rural Appalachian children.

[Tutor]

...what would you do? I'll start:

 

1. Get a great financial adviser.

 

2. Not tell my friends. (Or the relationships would get strained.)

 

3. Build a new house on a pretty tract of land. I live in a semi-rural area so there's lots of pretty land around here. The house would be somewhat small. I prefer a rustic/country look. I'd have a nice big country kitchen with a round table in the middle. And it would have to have at least one secret passageway, one secret room, and lots of hidden nooks and crannies.

 

4. Anonymously pay off my friend's mortgages.

 

5. Anonymously help people financially who need help (ie--didn't get into their financial troubles because they were lazy or making selfish choices). Like our local library is tiny, was forced out of their location, and needed a building, so a local man just gave them a building. I'd love to be wealthy enough to do things like that.

 

 

 

Dh and I have talked about this before, and your first 5 are top of our list, too.

 

We'd also like to travel, anonymously help others in need (we have been the recipients of this type of gift so many times!), we'd buy some land to build our sustainable, artsy commune on, and adopt two more children (we feel like there are a couple of people missing in our family right now).

 

It would be so nice to be able to work because we *have* to to serve others and our own spirits rather than for just enough money to get by while struggling to help others and find work that pays *and* that we enjoy.

Edited May 1, 2010 by Tutor

[AuntPol]

1. Tithe.

2. Pay the outrageous taxes from winning it LOL.

3. Pay off all our bills.

4. Set up a collage/trust for kids needs

5. Set up a retirement fund for us. Do some investments.

6. Fix up this house and then donate to the church for missionaries to live in. Ditto Cars.

7. Help out some relatives and friends who have always been there by paying off mortgages, etc.

8. Build a nice house (with a huge library/homeschooling room) on a nice piece of land, with heated pool and horses.

9. Buy an RV and spend a year or two traveling the country. (Nice to do while house is being built)

10. Be able to outsource Spanish, Latin, Music, Art and buy one of each curriculum, buy all workbooks for each kids, etc.

11. Ditto the dentist comment above and perhaps get a personal trainer.

12. Definitely a maid and someone to do the lawn.

13. Love to create a budget line to help those I encounter with need. I would love to do something cool like go into the homeschool store here and give them $1000 so that the next people in line get their stuff free and then donate all my no longer needed homeschool stuff to the free box instead of cosigning and trying to sell to get some money back.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Not necessarily in order, but:

 

1. Pay off this house and let MIL and SIL live in it.

2. Buy new house for our family.

3. Pay off siblings' and cousins' mortgages.

4. Buy my mom a condo.

5. Give a large endowment to my college. (They gave me lots of scholarship $$).

6. Take all my girlfriends on a trip to Europe.

7. Travel.

8. Give money for education fund to our temple.

9. Give money for charity work that our temple does.

10. Set up a battered women's shelter.

11. Open and run a scrapbooking retreat place.

12. Fund my children's and god daughter's educations and set aside money for them to get established as adults.

13. Give large donations to the orphanages in India and El Salvador from which various members of my family have been adopted.

14. Have a humongous party!!!!!

[hornblower]

Tell no one.

 

Get more dogs.

 

Dh would quit his office work & pretend to 'consult'.

 

Hire a cook & cleaner.

 

Travel - we'd like to go to Egypt and take the kids to Europe.

 

Set up a mobile slidng scale spay and neuter clinic which would travel the entire province.

[Shelly in IL]

1) give our church the rest of the money needed to build a new facility.

2)Re-do my kitchen, bedroom/bath, and add a laundry room on the main floor.

3)Re-do our barn (not a ton of money, but would be nice to pay someone else to do it).

4)college, mortgage, siblings mortgage, etc.

5)buy house in hometown so I don't have to stay with parents on visit!

6)buy 4 quadrunners

7) Pad the savings account

8) maybe have a brow lift and my double chin removed!!!

[ocean_eyes]

.

[Mejane]

Give half away to charity and family, and spend the rest on a really secluded spot to live. Lots of land. Without people around. Maybe a small island? :D

[Wendi]

I would...

 

Give $5 million to my church.

 

Replace my car with a minivan.

 

Start a foundation/ministry to help our sister church in Uganda care for their orphans and pay for education, grants to start small businesses, etc.

 

Pay off the mortgage of a struggling single mom I know (anonymously).

 

Buy a house on the beach.

 

Dh would be able to write the book he's been wanting to write.

 

Travel! Think of the field trips! :001_smile:

 

Another thing I'd like to invest money in is some kind of organization to assist young adults in Russia who have been aged out of orphanages.

 

Wendi

[Impish]

I would like to help people who would like to be foster parents but can't due to logistics. Especially families that would like to help family but can't due to financial problems. Helping to finance an appropriate home, furniture or vehicle could make a big difference for some people. Some of the closest knit families I know are those who have little money. They are often the ones who choose time with their children over careers and other adults. These families have so much to offer, but often can't afford to size up vehicles and homes to accommodate the additional children.

That's an excellent idea! I know that lack of room, and $$ to rent/buy a larger home is what keeps us from fostering/fostering to adopt. There's just no way we can swing it where we live now.

 

For us:

 

• 10% immediately goes to the children's hospital in my area.

• Move to the acreage we dream of...and have a house built, completely to our spec's, off the grid on the same property. I just refuse to live in the city a minute longer than we must! :lol:

• Pay off our small debts, and take care of some loved one's mortgages and debts.

• Travel. First to somewhere warm and lovely, to sit and make plans!

• Buy the furniture, appliances, clothes, shoes, tools, etc etc that we've always longed for, but could never afford or justify buying on our budget.

   

 

[Lolly]

1. Set up investments/savings/and trusts.

2. Buy both my parents brand new cars.

3. Go to that resort in Costa Rica EL was talking about and take along a few certain friends and their families.:D

3. Live life as usual, but stay in nicer hotels when I take the kids to swim meets.

 

Quite honestly, I don't think I would it would change things much at all.

[Pajama Mama]

I joke with my family that if I won the lottery I would buy Southfork Ranch(think J.R. Ewing). My family is so bad at keeping in touch. I figured that the only way to keep in touch is to live in the same residence.

 

I really would want a house with land and horses. Dd is a fanatic for horses. It would be a one level for my son who's in a wheelchair--or a house with an elevator. I would build on the property a place for my parents and in-laws to stay. Maybe we would live near NASA in Florida since ds12 is into astronomy.

 

Take ds10 to the best doctors and therapists in the world. His medical problems can't be fixed but I'm sure there are therapies out there to make his life better/easier.

 

I would donate a lot to my son's school(It's a school for disabled kids). Maybe build a new wing in my son's name.

 

I would set up college funds for my kids, nieces and nephews and my friend's kids who lost their dad recently.

 

We would travel quite a bit. I would order an RV that is handicapped friendly.

 

We would definitely take care of any close family members like paying off my mom's mortgage. I would love to pamper my mom and MIL.

[mcconnellboys]

Tithe.

 

Pay off all debt.

 

Buy my husband a nice car.

 

Buy my family's farm and start setting it up as a sustainable farming operation with some of my cousins as managers.

 

Set up trust funds for my children.

 

Help out my sister's children.

 

Redecorate my house.

 

Get my older son a new car.

 

Contribute to some charities that are of interest to me (and do some traveling with them to do the work, too).

 

Buy houses for a couple of people I know who could use them (or pay off the mortgages of a couple others).....

 

Travel!

 

Travel some more!

 

Write a few books in my spare time......

[Rosie_0801]

And since you are not into soy, what do you use your not soy maker for- or intend to use it for? I am pretty sure you can make most milks in the Thermo.

 

Intend, *ahem* , yes, still in intention stage.

 

The booklet has a trillion recipes for soy and soy blend milks, but it also has a few for other bean, nut and grain milks, so I'll be fiddling around with them, when I get to it. The main purpose is to try and find a recipe that uses flax seeds, as a reliable way to get some omega 3s into ourselves. Flax oil tastes nasty and requires refrigeration, whereas the seeds, as long as they are whole, don't.

 

Rosie