Windfall
My blogging challenges continue. Yesterday I was posting at my cousin's house because our internet and phone system were down. Jason figured out the problem late last night and fixed it. I did some serious blog checking around 11:00 last night - it was good to be back. Then today a whole new set of problems occurred. Tornadoes and tornado activity swept through Grant County and neighboring counties, and the Wuertley home was not spared. To make a very long story short, we have no power, and I have no idea when we will have power because one of our very large trees snapped, is blocking Wabash Ave., and it brought down all the power lines. Since we live on the same road as the hospital, and ambulances frequently race down our road, I am hoping the situation will be taken care of quickly. So obviously our internet is not working today. Has anyone else ever been out of power, yet you still act like you have it. For example, I walked into the bathroom and flipped on the light. DUH! Actually I did that twice in 10 minutes time. So the girls and I have temporarily moved into my parents' house (they are still on vacation) and I have fired up their computer, and the blogging continues!!! So on to today's topic (sorry for the lenghty introduction.)
"Windfall" is a new show on NBC on Thursday nights. The premise of the show is that 20 friends/acquaintances win the lottery, and each is the recipient of 20 million dollars. Each week the viewers see how the money changes their lifestyles and relationships. I've thought about this topic before, but watching this show has spurred on conversations between Jason and I about what we would do if a large sum of money like that came our way (we don't play the lottery, maybe an inheritance or something.) Having that kind of money instantly brings up a lot of questions in my mind:
#1. Would I still work? This got me thinking about why I actually do work. This topic in itself could be another post, but bottom line is some of my motivation for work is the money. The lifestyle choices that we have made are such that my income is needed; it's not extra that I can do with as I wish. However, I do most days enjoy my job (had a little rough spot this year where I thought I needed a change, but I'm on the upswing), and after nine years of doing the same thing, next year my responsibilities are changing a little, and I think I will enjoy it even more. If I could pick any job in the world for me to do, this one would be in my top five, if not #1. And even though money is a motivation for me working, it's not the only reason I do.
#2. Would we move out of Marion? I don't think so. With the exception of Jason's sister who only lives 4 hours away, our parents and siblings live in town. Three of our living grandparents live in Marion, and the other lives in Greentown. My only living aunt and uncle live in town - (and we don't want to forget my cousin and her family, who we are not only related to but are also very good friends with.) For some maybe that would BE a reason to live out of town, but we love hanging out with our extended family, so for us, it is a big positive. We are very involved in our Sunday School Class and church. Why would we want to move?
#3. Would we buy/build a bigger house? I would like to think no. I really like where we are at, and not only have we invested money, but also a lot of time in improvements and getting it the way we want it. However, we do have a long way to go, so I would spend some of the money on the following for our house: air conditioning and an attached garage. And this may sound obnoxious, but hey, I just got all this money - I would put a huge rec room above the garage, and I would dig a basement under the garage for a theatre room. Then I would also put it a pool with a nice deck around it. And while we're at it, I would reattach the toilet paper holder in the bathroom and put a pipe under the sink in that bathroom so we wouldn't have to keep emptying the bucket like we do now.
#4. How much money should we give to the church? In my mind this one would be pretty easy. I think a straight 10%. There's obvious reasoning behind that amount, and it answers the question quickly.
#5. How much do we give to other people, and who gets it? This is the toughest question, I think. I would definetely want to share the wealth with parents, grandparents, and siblings. What about extended family past that? We have cousins and aunts/uncles that we are closer to than others. The closer we are to that individual, the more money they get? What about close friends? I wouldn't want to appear condenscending, but I wouldn't want to be stingy, either.
I don't think anyone can say for sure what they would do with the money unless they are actually in that situation. The same holds true for Deal or No Deal. Our family watches that game show, and on several instances we have yelled at the contestants about their stupid decisions and watched them lose several thousands of dollars, yet we don't know what we would really do if we were in that situation. But if a windfall came our way, I would like to think that I would pay off all debts, do our home improvements, put back money for retirement and the kids, and then give the rest away. Okay, and I would probably buy myself a new car (not that I don't love my 1998 Accord that has chipped paint.) Then we wouldn't have to worry about it anymore, and hopefully we could continue to live our normal, simple life.
I was thinking about this post today as I was driving to Ft. Wayne to do my coupon shopping, dreaming about what I would do with millions, when a flying rock cracked my windshield. We just had that windshield put in a few months ago because another rock had cracked the windshield and it spread into a large crack. Then the storm hit today, causing some damage to our property (I'm sure insurance will be involved, and we will be paying the deductible.) Funny how quickly you can be brought back to reality.
"Windfall" is a new show on NBC on Thursday nights. The premise of the show is that 20 friends/acquaintances win the lottery, and each is the recipient of 20 million dollars. Each week the viewers see how the money changes their lifestyles and relationships. I've thought about this topic before, but watching this show has spurred on conversations between Jason and I about what we would do if a large sum of money like that came our way (we don't play the lottery, maybe an inheritance or something.) Having that kind of money instantly brings up a lot of questions in my mind:
#1. Would I still work? This got me thinking about why I actually do work. This topic in itself could be another post, but bottom line is some of my motivation for work is the money. The lifestyle choices that we have made are such that my income is needed; it's not extra that I can do with as I wish. However, I do most days enjoy my job (had a little rough spot this year where I thought I needed a change, but I'm on the upswing), and after nine years of doing the same thing, next year my responsibilities are changing a little, and I think I will enjoy it even more. If I could pick any job in the world for me to do, this one would be in my top five, if not #1. And even though money is a motivation for me working, it's not the only reason I do.
#2. Would we move out of Marion? I don't think so. With the exception of Jason's sister who only lives 4 hours away, our parents and siblings live in town. Three of our living grandparents live in Marion, and the other lives in Greentown. My only living aunt and uncle live in town - (and we don't want to forget my cousin and her family, who we are not only related to but are also very good friends with.) For some maybe that would BE a reason to live out of town, but we love hanging out with our extended family, so for us, it is a big positive. We are very involved in our Sunday School Class and church. Why would we want to move?
#3. Would we buy/build a bigger house? I would like to think no. I really like where we are at, and not only have we invested money, but also a lot of time in improvements and getting it the way we want it. However, we do have a long way to go, so I would spend some of the money on the following for our house: air conditioning and an attached garage. And this may sound obnoxious, but hey, I just got all this money - I would put a huge rec room above the garage, and I would dig a basement under the garage for a theatre room. Then I would also put it a pool with a nice deck around it. And while we're at it, I would reattach the toilet paper holder in the bathroom and put a pipe under the sink in that bathroom so we wouldn't have to keep emptying the bucket like we do now.
#4. How much money should we give to the church? In my mind this one would be pretty easy. I think a straight 10%. There's obvious reasoning behind that amount, and it answers the question quickly.
#5. How much do we give to other people, and who gets it? This is the toughest question, I think. I would definetely want to share the wealth with parents, grandparents, and siblings. What about extended family past that? We have cousins and aunts/uncles that we are closer to than others. The closer we are to that individual, the more money they get? What about close friends? I wouldn't want to appear condenscending, but I wouldn't want to be stingy, either.
I don't think anyone can say for sure what they would do with the money unless they are actually in that situation. The same holds true for Deal or No Deal. Our family watches that game show, and on several instances we have yelled at the contestants about their stupid decisions and watched them lose several thousands of dollars, yet we don't know what we would really do if we were in that situation. But if a windfall came our way, I would like to think that I would pay off all debts, do our home improvements, put back money for retirement and the kids, and then give the rest away. Okay, and I would probably buy myself a new car (not that I don't love my 1998 Accord that has chipped paint.) Then we wouldn't have to worry about it anymore, and hopefully we could continue to live our normal, simple life.
I was thinking about this post today as I was driving to Ft. Wayne to do my coupon shopping, dreaming about what I would do with millions, when a flying rock cracked my windshield. We just had that windshield put in a few months ago because another rock had cracked the windshield and it spread into a large crack. Then the storm hit today, causing some damage to our property (I'm sure insurance will be involved, and we will be paying the deductible.) Funny how quickly you can be brought back to reality.
posted by Deb at 5:20 PM
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9 Comments:
Deb-
I must say, another good one! I have watched the show a couple of times and I love Deal or No Deal. I have often fantasized about how I would handle a windfall of money. I agree with you about 50% of the time. Would I work? Absolutely NOT! I would work at doing what I love which is scrapbooking, yard work (this is a new one for me), reading, etc. Would I move? Probably not. I'm pretty rooted in the Sunday school class and church as well. Would I buy/build a bigger house? I would probably build onto this one. I love this house and the property, but I would love to have a big master bedroom, walk-in closet, and master bathroom suite. Church- 10%. Others? good question. I'd probably be pretty giving until I felt people were trying to use me, then I might get ticked off. :) I'm sorry to hear about your windshield and property. It's a good thing you love your job! :) I'm going to be picking up sticks for a good long while tomorrow. I guess it's a good thing, I enjoy that yard work, huh? :)
Just curious about driving to Ft. Wayne for coupon shopping? My best friend Amanda lives there and it is just SICK how much money she saves with coupons. Isn't it the same in Marion? We don't have any grocery store in 100 sq. miles that will even DOUBLE a coupon, much less triple it... Yup, I'm complaining, it REALLY ticks me off!!!
Holly-
Ft.Wayne used to be coupon mecca of the world. Meijer and Kroger used to triple up to 50 cents ALL THE TIME and double up to 1.00 ALL THE TIME. Plus Meijer would price match almost anyone. Then it all started going downhill. Kroger still triples/doubles, except they used to price match Meijer, and now they don't price match anyone, which is too bad because their prices are outlandish. Meijer only doubles up to .50 now. This all changed a few months ago. Yep, we are pretty much in depression. Marion Marsh and Lances will occasionally triple - maybe once every 3 months, but their prices are comparable to Kroger. I may do a coupon post sometime if the mood hits.
Holly-
Ft.Wayne used to be coupon mecca of the world. Meijer and Kroger used to triple up to 50 cents ALL THE TIME and double up to 1.00 ALL THE TIME. Plus Meijer would price match almost anyone. Then it all started going downhill. Kroger still triples/doubles, except they used to price match Meijer, and now they don't price match anyone, which is too bad because their prices are outlandish. Meijer only doubles up to .50 now. This all changed a few months ago. Yep, we are pretty much in depression. Marion Marsh and Lances will occasionally triple - maybe once every 3 months, but their prices are comparable to Kroger. I may do a coupon post sometime if the mood hits.
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We were hit pretty hard too, but we got lucky that no trees fell down...but we did have to run to the basement due to Berlin's tornado siren. Our electricity also went off and on for awhile. Beau's house got hit by lightning and now their dishwasher and washer/dryer doesn't work. (yikes) and a tonado hit 10 minutes from our house, damaging all kinds of homes and businesses...hope they were all insured. (Had to add that for my hubby's sake)
Money? #1- Get a new car...seeing that we will finally be replacing my 1989 Beretta with a mini van...I'd really like to have my own set of wheels on the side for all my "mommy" outings! (HA!). #2- Help a few loved ones get out of BIG debt. #3 Invest and Add to Children's college fund. #4-I'd love to build a house out in the country with a good "Hilly" scenic view....with 8 bedrooms...one for Burke and I and then 4 for all our kids and then 3 for you/Jason, Jen/Scott and Mom/dad...for when you come for visits! ;) #5 And give the rest to Our Church and Outreach Programs! (I also agree with you on giving 10% and beyond to the Church!)
Deb, your posts make me think, and I like that! Thanks for your comment about us being more than extended family but "very good friends." We feel the same way, and it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside like when I read Kelley's blog and her family's comments, :)
Money: I have thought about it before...we would pay off the house (our only debt) and tithe (or more) to the church. We would build up our savings and the "emergency fund" we are suppose to have (right, Kelley?).
Jim so wants to go to grad school, so that would be God's provision for that to happen and still allow me to stay at home with the kids.
Jim and I have discussed how it seems like so much stress in our life is somehow connected to money, but it may also be God's way of keeping us dependent on Him as well as showing us amazing ways He can provide (which I may post about more specifically later today when I am not holding Madelyn and can type with two hands.)
Deb, First I must say you have a lot going on in that mind of yours. I love it. Second, I am very concerned that you have a bucket under your sink to collect water. My brother should take care of that! Next time I'm over you have to show me. Third, I too love to imagine what I would do with a lot of money. Logically I would say take care of debt and then save the rest. But since I am married to a spender and dreamer, I would have to be realistic. We would probably buy more things we desperately "needed" and be in as much debt as we are now. Don't tell Scott that!
Jen, I just read your comment! Yeah, Jason and I don't really see eye to eye on how to spend the money, either. They say money causes the most arguments between husbands and wives - I guess it doesn't matter if it is too much money or too little money. About the bucket under the sink - Jason likes camping so much that he wanted to incorporate his own greywater tank in our house :). Actually what happened was the girls would clean their paint brushes and paint cups in the sink, and I think the paint hardened and plugged the pipe.
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