I have a very important announcement: I did not win the lottery. I do not have one million dollars. But, it’s fun to spend imaginary dollars anyway, zero guilt and zero product depreciation and no buyer’s remorse. One of my favorite day dreams is generating a list of what I would do or buy with the following sums of money, were they to magically appear in my wallet/off-shore account: $100, $1,000, $10,000, $100,000, and $1,000,000. The last time I wrote this list was almost two years ago, it was interesting to see what would stay the same and what would change.

$100:

I am embarrassed to say that this is the exact same thing as it was two years ago: all new underwear. Have I bought new underwear in the last two years? Um, yes? At least, I’ve bought a few, and I tossed some of the more threadbare ones…but I still feel like I have grungy underthings. That is a very very sad state of affairs to face every morning for TWO YEARS. To my credit, I did invest in two new sports bras, no cheap purchase for necessary job requirements (hello, bazoomas!).

$1,000:

I’d absolutely spend this on things for our yard. I’m talking citrus and pomegranate trees, leafy palm trees, oleander and jasmine, and bright bougainvillea everywhere. I want some grass to relax on, a fire pit, and some patio furniture so we can spend time out there without resorting to camp chairs. I realize that in just a few short months the temperature will be in the triple digits almost constantly, so we’ll probably need one of those mister systems as well so I can sit in the shade and be misted with cool water and have someone fan me with a palm frond and feed me grapes. I’m gonna need more than $1,000 for this, aren’t I. Hmmm.

A note: Blue Eyes and I upgraded to a California King sized mattress a few months ago, and it is heaven. This was my $1,000 wish from two years ago, and hey, look at that, wishes do come true! So, by the same logic, in two years my backyard should be GORGEOUS!

$10,000:

A new master bathroom. Now, the room is not nearly as offending as the yellow-tile monstrosity I lived with for almost 10 years in Salt Lake, but it certainly is in need of an update. The shower is fiberglass and permanently stained and mucky around the edges. The tub is hardly deep enough to cover my nickles when I get into it. The vanity drawers are wonky, the counter top is yellowing and stained, the faucets for the double sinks don’t match, the lights aren’t hung evenly, and the whole thing is just a little too creamy for me. I did paint it all a brighter gray instead of the sad brown it was, and that did wonders. But I would love a free-standing claw-foot-like soaking tub, a shower with a seat in it so I can easily shave my legs, and a shelf to hold all my bath potions. I would like to update the vanity and have the counter top raised about 6 inches to prevent crouching whilst negotiating my mascara wand or toothbrush. I want more than one outlet (!!! WHY?!) and better storage options and I want everything to be a lot brighter and cleaner. Don’t worry. Every single time I go to Home Depot I walk through the tile and vanity section swooning over anything that isn’t standard builder’s fare, circa 2002.

$100,000:

How would I spend $100,000 right now? Well, the beauty of this list is how easy it is to change, and how often you can re-imagine your shopping list. And, my list doesn’t have to be at all practical or rational, so, here it goes: I would quit my job and take a series of international adventures. I want so desperately to go exploring, I want to go to Iceland and Scotland and Scandinavia. I want to go to Turkey and Greece and Jordan and Morocco. I want to spend a month, at least, wandering around China with a jaunt up to Mongolia and another over to Japan. I want to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Inca Trail, I want to visit Antarctica and the Galapagos Islands, and I could spend a month in the museums of Paris, or Rome, or Cairo (or Moscow or Beijing or, basically, any major city you can imagine). Can I live in a village in Nepal? And wander around New Zealand? I want to go SCUBA diving in Belize and take the Trans-Siberian Railroad from Moscow to Vladivostok. I’d take the longest North American road trip that ever was planned and see everything and everyone I possibly could. I’d visit all the US and Canadian National Parks, including the ones in Alaska and Hawaii.

$1,000,000:

• I’d enroll in a Master’s Degree program as soon as possible, ideally one with major chops and a lot of research involved. I’d love to spend my days as a student again, or, really, for the first time. I worked all through college (like, 40-50 hours a week, not 10-12 hours a week) and to be able to just spend my days studying and writing and learning…well, it’s my Millionaire Dream.
• We’d pay off our house here in Arizona and finish up the remaining projects (those listed above, and a few other tweaks here and there, mostly cosmetic). This isn’t our forever house, so I don’t particularly want to go overboard, and I doubt we’ll stay in Arizona for very long after Blue Eyes’ kids are in college, so I don’t really feel the need to upgrade to a different house either. But, a few improvements to make this house a little better and still maintain a solid resale value, that I’d definitely do.
• I’d buy land for our forever house, somewhere with unobstructed views of stunning rocky mountains with year-round glaciers or snow-pack on the peaks. My dream house has a two-story library and plenty of space for a full-size grand piano. I want a hot-house for year-round tomatoes and limes and a big, bright kitchen for all my culinary messing around. Plenty of bedrooms for visitors, a sunny art studio for me, large garage and shop for Blue Eyes… I’ve been sketching some version of this house for at least twenty years, another ten won’t really matter too much in the end.

So, how about you? How would you spend such sums? And please, even if you would probably sock it away in a retirement account, or pay down your mortgage or put it aside for your kid’s tuition….give me something FUN to chew on, mmmkay? It’s imaginary money, dream big!

I’m a list person, always have been, probably always will be. I make lists for everything you can imagine (and probably a few things you can’t imagine) and consider list-making a completely legitimate past-time. One of my very favorite day dreams is coming up with a list of what I would do or buy with the following sums of money: $100, $1,000, $10,000, $100,000, and $1,000,000.

Now, one of the rules of this day dream is that one cannot put these monies towards something boring and sensible like “my IRA” or “my future child’s future college tuition.” I realize that may be super exciting for some people, but it makes this game an exercise in Who Can Act Like The More Responsible Adult, and that’s just no fun whatsoever. My day dream, my rules.

$100:

Splurge on all new underwear – new undies is one of life’s greatest pleasures, I think, and I do not treat myself nearly often enough.

$1,000:

I am dreaming about a new mattress, I don’t even know if you can buy a really great one for $1,000, but I hope so. I want one that basically feels like you are sleeping on a cloud, or on a pile of feathers from angel’s wings. My back is about 30 years more decrepit than the rest of my body (thank you, car accident), and a mattress to counteract these pains on a nightly basis would be freaking amazing. Blue Eyes demanded new, high threat-count sheets a few weeks ago, and they have been totally dreamy. Adding a new mattress to that? I’m counting sheep already!

$10,000:

Wouldn’t it be lovely to take this kind of money and go on some kind of extended around-the-world trip? I mean, you could also blow it in a week in New York or London if you stayed in fancy hotels and ate at all the amazing restaurants and went to shows and such. But I’m thinking of something a lot more low key with the large expenses being airplane tickets and living on a minimal amount per day. Of course, I’d probably need about 3 months of leave from my job, but that obstacle is not the point of this day dream. I’d start in China and move through Nepal, India, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. If there was still money I’d head to Patagonia and work my way up South America with stops in Peru and an extended wander around the Caribbean. (Alternately, this would be just as amazing wandering around Europe, North Africa and the Middle East for 3 months, but that isn’t my first pick.)

$100,000:

This number breaks down into a couple of line items:

• I would use this as tuition money for a Master’s degree. Lately I am leaning towards an advanced degree in Project Management because I feel it is marketable in a wide range of disciplines, yet also completely applicable to where I am right now. Now, to find the actual program.
• I would buy Blue Eyes a Harley Davidson, and buy myself a fantastic set of leathers to ride with him (who knows, maybe I’d also go for my own motorcycle?).
• New bedroom furniture; what we have is a mishmash of items that are either thrifted, handed down, or 15-year old IKEA-quality furniture. It’s time. (Yes, this could have been included in the $1,000 or $10,000 category, but, ultimately, I’d rather have a mattress and 3 months wandering the world instead of a new dresser, so that’s why it’s listed here.)
• Probably also a fantastic international trip to somewhere amazing, with a few luxury things thrown in. I’m thinking Paris or Rome or Spain or something where living is kind of expensive and good living is even more. Sign me up!

$1,000,000:

A house. Absolutely, and with no question, a house. (Technically I could put a hefty down payment on a house with the $100,000 sum, but it’s my list and I’ll organize it as I want to.) I love where we live right now, I’ve been in this apartment for 7.5 years and in the same neighborhood for another 5. But I am ready for a garage, for a garden, my own washer and dryer, and walls that I can paint. I would LOVE to be rid of my yellow tile + minty aqua tub combination; I fantasize about white subway tile and in more than one tiny bathroom. Houses in my neighborhood are crazy-expensive, even for the lackluster fixer uppers and the ones that are nearly condemned. There are a few other neighborhoods in my current city that I would consider living, but the real estate there is nearly as expensive. I mean, Blue Eyes and I could easily find something we loved for considerably less than a million dollars, but the inevitable renovation and furnishings (see: 15-year old IKEA-quality furniture, above), and that sum suddenly seems much, much smaller. Components of a dream house for me would be a dedicated library room, and a living room large enough for a grand piano. And then also, a grand piano. (See how that $1,000,000 shrinks when you add a Steinway into the mix?)

With the leftovers, I’d like to buy some land in Montana, somewhere in the mountains. Maybe near Bozeman? Or perhaps the Bitterroot Valley? I’ve only been there once, but it is one of the most gorgeous places I’ve ever seen. Those soaring snow-capped rocky mountains always will feel like home, even if they aren’t the mountains that guarded my own childhood (which, for the record, also feel like home, but a good-sized plot of land (i.e. more than an acre) at their base is not in the $1,000,000 budget. Seriously. It’s insane.)

So, how about you? How would you spend such sums? And please, even if you would probably sock it away in a retirement account, or pay down your mortgage….give me something FUN to chew on, mmmkay?