# Even if I could afford to do it, I would not... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 17, 2008, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272 "2008-06-17T22:59:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/1 "2008-06-17T22:59:12Z")
Even if I could afford to do it, I would not live in a [McMansion](http://thequbeexchange.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/mcmansion.jpg). 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](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2207/1518941572_11546cb261.jpg?v=0), 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](http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/gf270.jpg) 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](http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/poly29.jpg), which is exactly what I’d do. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/2 "2008-06-17T23:02:42Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Chum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@Chum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chum)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/3 "2008-06-17T23:10:14Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![krisolov](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krisolov/32/3724_2.png) [@krisolov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/krisolov)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/4 "2008-06-18T00:53:22Z")
I wouldn’t: -Run for President. I’m too private a person. -Quit working. Quit my job maybe, but I need to have a purpose I work towards. -Have a bunch of hangers-on, a posse. I’m really turned off by that whole need for attention thing. -Develop a hard-core drug addiction. I know my comfort levels and that sort of stuff scares the crap out of me. -Own an expensive car. I just think I’d worry about it too much for it to be enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/5 "2008-06-18T00:55:44Z")
I wouldn’t buy a flashy car. As long as it has AC, a radio, and gets good gas mileage, I couldn’t care less. Buy jewelry. I like star sapphires, but big ropes of diamonds and pearls? Nah. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/6 "2008-06-18T01:04:42Z")
Quit my job buy a big car hire some-one to paint I would hire someone to chauffeur my new Prius. And to clean the top of the line paint off my top of the line brushes. And to empty the dishwasher. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/7 "2008-06-18T01:22:13Z")
I wouldn’t buy those expensive ladies shoes. THey look uncomfortable, and anyone who would pay $400 for a pair of shoes is insane. StG ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/8 "2008-06-18T01:27:20Z")
Wait wait, is this one of those ‘I’m saying I wouldn’t, but that just means I really would’ kinda threads? Cause if I were rich, I really REALLY wouldn’t vacation in the Bahamas. much. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/9 "2008-06-18T01:42:34Z")
I wouldn’t Hire someone to clean my house. I don’t like having people in the house. I would hire someone to do my yard, though. Live in a McMansion. They’re so cheaply made. Live in any place too big to keep clean, for the aforementioned reason of not hiring someone to do it for me. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/10 "2008-06-18T03:33:48Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/11 "2008-06-18T04:11:43Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/12 "2008-06-18T05:13:57Z")
I wouldn’t let those nay-sayers talk me out of building a bowling alley in my house. 😃 I wouldn’t buy a bunch of cars I’d never use. One car and one motorcycle for each of us. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/13 "2008-06-18T05:28:50Z")
I wouldn’t… Man this is tough. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/14 "2008-06-18T05:35:12Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/15 "2008-06-18T05:36:27Z")
[QUOTE=krisolov] I wouldn’t: -Run for President. I’m too private a person. -Quit working. Quit my job maybe, but I need to have a purpose I work towards. -Have a bunch of hangers-on, a posse. I’m really turned off by that whole need for attention thing. -Develop a hard-core drug addiction. I know my comfort levels and that sort of stuff scares the crap out of me. -Own an expensive car. I just think I’d worry about it too much for it to be enjoyable. [/QUOTE] I’m with you, up to the car part. If I’m insanely rich, I want a Lamborghini or Veyron to drive around a track I’ve had built. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/16 "2008-06-18T05:37:00Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/17 "2008-06-18T05:44:30Z")
[QUOTE=anu-la1979] Quit working. I might quit doing what I do now, but I wouldn’t perma-retire. [/QUOTE] 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. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/18 "2008-06-18T05:59:46Z")
[QUOTE=lobotomyboy63] But I can’t imagine just sitting on the sideline, doing nothing. [/QUOTE] 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. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/19 "2008-06-18T06:23:14Z")
- buy gold jewellery or diamonds. - buy prestigious brands of anything. - stay in expensive hotels when travelling. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272/20 "2008-06-18T07:59:59Z")
I wouldn’t become a high roller or such even though I like a bet. I dislike casinos - I find them very much a boring place. I would not want to go to Monaco or Aspen. Maybe just once, but that would be enough. And I wouldn’t buy a pretentious large house. When I did travel, I would travel first class. Just cause I could- even though it is really a waste of money. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/even-if-i-could-afford-to-do-it-i-would-not/453272.md?page=2)