Half a Billion

I'm sure you all saw the calamity that was the Mega Million lottery. For half a billion dollars, I would cause a calamity too...probably. 


Yes, we bought a few tickets. We're not regular lottery players, but a couple of times a year we go "eh, why not?". So of course that got me thinking, seriously, what would I/we do if we had won?


If we won that kind of money, yes, we would quit our jobs. One reason being, although you hire a money manager and financial adviser, managing that kind of money can be a full time job on its own...one of us needs to be free to do so. Secondly, with the economy still somewhat in the toilet...we need to be creating jobs with that money, not taking up two. Third, because we could.


Now what you're really wanting to know...what I'd blow some cash on.


The first thing I'd do, and I think Kyle would agree, would be to rent out the best restaurant in Houston and fly all of our family and friends down to celebrate. Heck, we could rent out a few restaurants and do a progressive dinner. And I'd change outfits in between each restaurant. 


As far as the house goes, we'd live in the one we're building. I absolutely love the house and we don't really need anything bigger or more elaborate. It's perfect for us. That being said, I would probably purchase another one...either a lake house or a ranch somewhere in Texas. A country, outdoorsy getaway somewhere. 


Speaking of ranches...I don't know that I'd have my own full-blown ranch. Mainly because ranches are a lot like a restaurant, yes, you can hire someone to run it for you, but unless the owner is intimately involved in the day to day activities and decisions...it's just not run the same. So, I'd simply buy an awesome horse (or five) and board them at a trainer's. Being that I wouldn't work anymore, I'd be free to travel and show all over the country. 


I would, however, purchase some miniature donkeys and pygmy goats to put on my little country retreat. Because I love them.


I'm fairly positive we'd also buy a plane. We like to travel and our immediate families don't live close, so that would be a fantastic way to see everyone on a whim. I could also easily spend a year traveling around the world, staying several weeks in a country at a time. Being that we don't have kids, this would be the perfect time to do so.


I'm sure somewhere in there Kyle would like to be a partner in a professional football or basketball team. Believe it or not...the only type of sports team you could buy outright with the lottery winnings would be a hockey team. We grew up in Oklahoma...hockey, although fun to watch, just doesn't really resonate with us.


So, that's a little glimpse into what multi-millionaire retail therapy would look like for me.  Kind of make my steals at Ross and Marshall's look a bit puny now. Oh well, back to work I go.