Even if I could afford to do it, I would not live in a McMansion. They are ubiquitous here in central Illinois, and I find them annoying. They lack character, and to my mind they’re little more than status symbols. For a similar outlay of money, I could buy a spacious and beautiful older home in the city, with some character, which is exactly what I’d do.
Even if I could afford to do it, I would not stay at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at Walt Disney World. I love WDW more than anybody, but to me the GF is everything that Disney isn’t. WDW is fun and enjoyable; the GF looks stuffy and imposing. Genteel Victorian elegance just seems out of place at WDW. For a similar outlay of money, I could stay at the Polynesian, which is exactly what I’d do.
Even if I could afford to grocery shop without comparing prices and using coupons, I wouldn’t. For one thing, I think it’s kinda fun to find the best deals I can. For another thing, if we were rich, I’d simply track how much money I saved every week by shopping sales and using coupons (very easy to do-they put it right on the bottom of the receipt at my store) and donate that amount to a charity I like.
Even if I could afford to, I wouldn’t hire someone else to raise my kids. Sure, I’d hire someone to do the housework and similar drudgery. But I wouldn’t hire a nanny. I like raising my kids myself.
Oh, and I’m totally with you on the McMansion! I’d spend the same money (or less!) and buy a big old renovated farm house on a big plot of land in the country someplace.
Even if I won the Powerball tomorrow, I wouldn’t:
[ul]
[li]stop shopping for clothes at Goodwill[/li][li]buy a second car[/li][li]buy a McMansion (totally agreed - blech)[/li][li]eat fois gras[/li][/ul]
I like this topic. In general, I wouldn’t spend money on items I don’t actually need. I’d spend it on vacations, a cabin, my family, and my community (I listed these subconsciously - in order of selfishness, I guess).
Quit working. I LOVE what I do, really. I’m blessed that way.
Live in a McMansion. I’d buy a house (instead of renting an apartment), but I’d want one that was older, with some charm and character and in need of cosmetic repairs (I can paint and hang dry-wall and stuff). And it wouldn’t be very big - there’s just me and the dog and cat.
Wear/buy expensive jewelry. I don’t like the look of yellow gold, so I wear silver only, and I’m not a big fan of gemstones. Plus, I’m clumsy, and I camp and hike a lot.
Buy very expensive clothing. I might change my shopping habits from thrift stores and Target to someplace with slightly better quality, but I can’t imagine doing the $500 jeans thing referred to in another thread.
What I would do:
Travel more.
Shop at Whole Foods more (I mean, it’s like a museum of food!)
Give to charity.
Volunteer more, with the free time I’d have by hiring a cleaning service ('cause I hate to clean, but I am kind of a neat freakish person).
I wouldn’t have LASIK. My feeling about this is 100% attributable to the fact that my dad lost the sight in one eye because of cataract surgery gone bad, but I won’t undergo voluntary eye surgery, even though I know lots of people who have had LASIK with wonderful outcomes.
And I’m with StGermain. Manolo Blahnik? Whuh?
I would buy a cottage on a lake. Maybe something bigger than a cottage, but definitely on a lake, not the ocean. Not for year-round living. A get-away kind of place. Because I have no interest in the resort thing, either.
I wouldn’t buy expensive jewelry, but I’d buy art! Wouldn’t a Dale Chihuly chandelier look fabulous in that lake cottage?
I wouldn’t move. While I’d enlarge the place a bit, adding to the size of the MBR, including a MBR bath suite, bumping out the kitchen, and adding a deck, the woods and critters are too precious.
Heck-I went to grille some steaks on Saturday, late in the afternoon, and heard from the woods: hoo-hoo-OO-hoo-OO repeated. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t see the owl. Knowing it was there, that close, was enough.
Live in Manhattan. (Sorry but I fucking hate the place, beyond weekend visits)
Quit working. I might quit doing what I do now, but I wouldn’t perma-retire.
I also hope that I would not lose a sense of perspective and overindulge in materialism. I think I’d probably treat my family and friends before myself, but I would upgrade some stuff for sure (car, buy a pad in SF, slightly nicer clothes…though I don’t give much of a shit for Hermes or whatever, but hell yeah I’d buy a D & G dress).
I think I’ll have to work my entire life. If I were a zillionaire, I might quit my job and become a full-time philanthropist. But I can’t imagine just sitting on the sideline, doing nothing.
I *can * imagine myself doing it, easily, but I wouldn’t want to give that kind of example to my children. So I’d keep on working.
I wouldn’t want to hire live-in help (or whatever the euphamism is for"servants" these days). I wouldn’t mind someone coming by a couple of timesa a week to clean, but the thought of some stranger puttering around the house, day and night, creeps me out.
