After the last lotto drawing I started wondering exactly what would I do with all that money if by chance I did win (oh and can we say total tease on one of my tickets I had 3 of the numbers).
I decided that first off, I would pay off all of our debts, hire Gloria Allred to sue the hubby's ex for all of his past child support, build the house of my dreams, get a chevy trailblazer or a chrysler pacificia (I guess if I had millions I wouldnt' have to worry about gas costs so the trailblazer would actually be an option for once lol), and take the kids on a shopping spree.
Then lol (oh yeah i"ve got it all planned out I'm a total dork I know), I'd buy a new car for my mom, grandma, aunt ann, and aunt debbie (my uncles Donnie and Mark really don't need new cars lol). I'd put a huge credit on all of my grams bills, and then I'd help my cousin Angie get her license back and pay for her to go to college so that she could finally get the degree she'd need to be a PE teacher. Oh I'd get my sister in law a new car too lol (we're not talking high end expensive cars lol) and then put a whole bunch of money into getting Brit (my niece) taken care of. LOL oh and then I'd fly all of my friends from here and from the E! boards to some awesome locale for a big party!
Then I'd have to give back to the community. 1 of the things I'd love to do is set up a fund for young mothers to pay for college and their expenses. So they wouldn't have to rely on the state as much and so they could get a head start. I would buy a bunch of land and build appartment complex type buildings on it and a great state of the art day care center. So that the girls can get out on their own and have a place of their own. It would work a lot like dorms too. Then when they'd go to school, they could take their children to the daycare center. We would also offer sitting for part time jobs. This is the important thing though because no one would be allowed to work more than 20 hours per week. Only because it would distract from their studies too much. That's just part of the plan for it lol there's alot more but I don't have all day lol.
Then I'd like to invest in some kind of place for the kids in town. There really is nothing for them. Oh crud i have to get dressed Beth ahas a dr. appt.
I hate to sound negative, but $1 million is hardly anything these days. First of all, you'd only keep about half of that, after taxes, but even assuming that you could keep the entire million, it might not go quite as far as it might have fifty years ago!
Definitely, pay off any debts, and buy a house. Property is the way to go...
Now, if I were to win one of those mega millions lotteries ($200 million or more), I would do A LOT with that!
Of course, the first thing that I would do would be to establish multi-million dollar trusts for my three grown kids, my two nephews and their wives, and my youngest nephew's three children. Then, I would donate many millions of dollars to my former boarding school (which could definitely use the money), and several of my children's schools. After that, I would anonymously provide for my longtime neighbors, and close friends.
I would share with the members of the doll club that I belong to (and am currently president of), the ladies who work where the club meets who schedule our meetings, and the man who sets up our room for us before each meeting, and who cleans it up afterwards.
I would share with you guys...
And, presuming that I still had lots of millions left after all of that, I would take a deep breath, sit back, and decide how else I could put the responsibility of having received this enormous good fortune to good use.
Oh, yeah -- I would also buy myself a diamond ring the size of my fist! Other than that, I pretty much have everything that I want...
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"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
lol, yeah. I actually saw a million dollars at first too. But then began to read all the things Jess said she would do and realised she meant millions...
The first thing I'd do is set up trusts for my kids and family, buy a somewhat bigger lot and build my dream house, then buy a few condos in the downtown core for investment.
Then I'd find my parents the most fabulous retiremenet home with lots of help and services for them. Right now they live in a four level house and the stairs are too much for them. My mother broke her hip and is in surgery right now. She'd love to be in a bungalow. Please send a prayer for her, okay guys?
She was supposed to be in surgery at 3 this afternoon, and here it is 5:40 and still nothing. She's lying there in a hospital bed with a morphine drip and hasn't had any food since Wednesday dinner. She only weighs 94 pounds and I'm worried sick. I know it's a routine surgery, and it's done all the time, but I feel so helpless for her. I've been running back and forth to the hospital for 2 days. The nurses are kindly, but as long as my mother doesn't complain of pain, I suppose she's not at the top of the list. Sometimes I just hate this health care system.
Yes, it's "routine surgery", but not routine for you or for your mother!
I hope that, by now, it's happening for her, and that she will emerge repaired here shortly...
It's a terrible feeling to sit helplessly by when someone you love needs attention, and is in a vulnerable condition. Just remember ONE thing, KaeEll: The doctors and nurses work FOR you and for your family. They are HIRED to perform a service, and their fee is hefty (insurance or not). People in the medical profession tend to forget this sometimes -- doctors more than nurses.
You have the right to DEMAND attention, on your mother's behalf, and you have the right to raise a ruckus if your mother's needs are not being met. (This from someone who doesn't like to rock the boat! But, I have LEARNED...)
You are your mother's best advocate, so keep on their fannies if you're not completely satisfied with how the staff is addressing your mother's needs.
Email me if you need to rant or the additional push to smack someone around!
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"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
Moore's right (as usual lol). When my grandma's pacemaker/defibrulator first started acting weird we took her to the hospital and the first doctor looked at her and told her that she just had a muscle spasm and was scared by it. Well, we knew it wasn't heck it looked like she had a demon baby in her kicking the heck out of her. Luckily I told the doc we weren't going anywhere until it stopped and after an hour a different doctor came in and knew something wasn't right.
Well anyways about your mother, I hope she feelse better quickly. Many prayers, good thoughts and all coming her and your ways.
Thanks! Mom's surgery went very well and I spoke with her this morning as she was having some breakfast. She was alert and chipper! They finally wheeled her to the OR after 8 last night - 46 hours after her fall. Apparently they'll be keeping her in hospital for 10 more days. Seems she's enjoying all the attention there.
We'll tear through the Saturday errands and visit with her for a while this afternoon.
Moore, we have universal health care up here. Doctors, nurses and other health workers are paid by the provincial governments, not by the patients themselves. Doctors have a cap on earnings as well, so greedy guts doctors tend not to stay in Canada. Every citizen and landed immigrant carries a health card entitling them to free care across the country. Until very recently, it was a free service, but those of us with an income above a specified level must pay a lump sum annually. The highest amount for any individual is $900 a year.
I fear that causing a ruckus over not getting the attention one would like might end you up in a psych ward, LOL. Canadians tend not to create much of a fuss over such things and take what comes with patience. However, if a doctor is incompetent, and we sense that's the case, quietly seeking another opinion is what happens regularly. But that isn't always so easy because in order to see a specialist, one has to have a referral from another. It's a flawed system, but that's the trade-off. And it's always about politics and money. Grrrr.
lol. this is a popular topic at our house. we often fantasize what we'd do w/a megamillion $$$$ lottery win.
~~~ get a divorce...son & dau would claim winnings so hubs can't touch lol ~~~ pay off debt. ~~~ pay for both kids' college educations ~~~ buy hubs a condo of his own & set up a trust account for him to live off of (he's an aloholic who will never change his life, but i can't cut him loose as he is our sole income & i can't work ~~~ ill.) ~~~ buy acres of land so we can build three homes on it. one for me, one for each of the kids. a kennedy compound situation. ~~~ cars for the kids ~~~ find a charity & support it liberally ~~~ decorate my new home EXACTLY the way i want it ~~~ invest ~~~ oh yeah, split the money 3 ways but put the kids' share in a trust account until they are older
kris
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an ABC soap fan since i was a teen. favorte hobby is reading mysteries & legal or medical procedural mysteries
KaeEll, I am SO glad to hear that your mother came through the surgery so well, and is enjoying the all the attention. Good for her!!! (claps)
My point about the doctors' being "hired" wasn't so much about the money paid to them, but the point that YOU are in charge of your own medical care, or that of a loved one, and that the medical team is in a SERVICE industry, whether they want to acknowledge it or not. Sometimes doctors can become a bit arrogant, and treat their patients as though they're twits who have no capability (or right) to direct what they need to have done.
I've learned over the years that it's REALLY important to have a family advocate in the hospital to be certain that one's needs are met. It's sad, but sometimes it IS the squeaky wheel that gets the most attention.
I don't mean to sound so negative in saying this, but I'm afraid that I've seen too many things slip through the cracks in hospitals, and/or nonchalant medical staff. It makes a difference when there's someone around to march up to the nursing stations and say, "My (whoever) is now thirty minutes overdue for his/her pains meds, and that's unacceptable. He/she is in enormous pain, and needs the meds now. Get them!"
(I'm really, actually NOT the "b" word; I'm usually quite polite! However, I could tell you MANY medical stories, so in these kinds of situations I've learned to become as aggressive as necessary, WHENEVER necessary!)
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"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
I understand your point, Moore, and thanks for that. Mom is right across from the nurse's station and from what I've seen so far, they are doing a fab job of keeping her needs met. She can call them just by yelling out, and they're there in a flash!
kris wrote: lol. this is a popular topic at our house. we often fantasize what we'd do w/a megamillion $$$$ lottery win.
~~~ get a divorce...son & dau would claim winnings so hubs can't touch lol ~~~ pay off debt. ~~~ pay for both kids' college educations ~~~ buy hubs a condo of his own & set up a trust account for him to live off of (he's an aloholic who will never change his life, but i can't cut him loose as he is our sole income & i can't work ~~~ ill.) ~~~ buy acres of land so we can build three homes on it. one for me, one for each of the kids. a kennedy compound situation. ~~~ cars for the kids ~~~ find a charity & support it liberally ~~~ decorate my new home EXACTLY the way i want it ~~~ invest ~~~ oh yeah, split the money 3 ways but put the kids' share in a trust account until they are older
kris
You sound like me, divorce the alcoholic and put the money in someone else's name! I'd buy two homes, one vacation home and one in this area so the kids could finish school with the friends they have. Buy both of my parents homes too. And of course 3 college funds. I'd travel as much as I could.
