What I Would Do With $150,000

Recently, a few people won a huge some of money in a big'ol lottery. They won a lot of money, millions. I go to college and teach ESL in the evenings, I cannot even imagine what I would do with $1,000,000 dollars, let alone more than that. I can, however, imagine exactly what I would do with $150,000. Though I understand that the likelihood of me ever having that much money is slim.

First:

I would put away $70,000 in an interest accruing account for graduate school. I'm going to get my graduate degree in Counseling and Art Therapy. :-)

Second:

I would drop $25,000 to pay off my present debt, most of it student loans.

Third:

I would open another account and put $15,000 in there in case things ever got really bad. That's enough for me to live meagerly and pay rent for a year.

Fourth:

I would give $15,000 to charitable organizations, because if I have that kind of good fortune I need to give some of it back.

Fifth:

I would invest $15,000 in my health. Going to the doctor for a physical, getting my teeth fixed (I need implants, and my jaw is too small for my teeth), going to a nutritionist, and getting whatever medicines it might turn out that I need.

Sixth:

I would give $5,000 to my parents, because they've given me so much.

Seventh:

I would put $4,000 in an account to begin saving for a small, portable, eco-friendly, economically friendly,  light-on-the-grid home.

See link about a family who did something like this, it's so awesome: http://dynamicsubspace.net/2011/06/05/family-of-three-live-in-320-sq-ft-custom-built-house-cost-20000-no-mortgage/

Finally:

I would put $1,000 dollars in my bank account to make life just a little easier.

Who knows, maybe I would get enough scholarships and grants for graduate school that I could redirect some of that money to the house. That would be really awesome. It will be awesome, period, if I can get most of my grad school paid for by scholarships and grants. 

If you would like to help me by donating, feel free to leave a comment and I'll get back to you, you can even say where you would like the money directed. If not, that's fine, at least I put it out there. :-)

Imagining a Good Future

I've really be struggling with seeing the future as positive, especially with the weight gain and that I believe I didn't get into the graduate program I applied for.

So, taking a cue from Glee (as loathe as I am to admit it), I'm going to set out some things I imagine, in a future 10 years from now. A happy future.

The world has not collapsed and I do not live in abject poverty. Instead I am happily married. He is nerdy and a little strange, maybe a little too thin, maybe a little to literal. He adores me because he can't understand why I love him so much and I adore him for much the same reason. He is kind and sweet, prone to many things but getting angry isn't one of them. He is interested in charity, in conservation, an active believer. He encourages me to be better than I am just by being around him. He is a good man.

I have children, at least two. And they run around our small house with youthful joy. We don't watch much tv and that is reflected in the innocence of our children. I adore my children. They are unique, and under my care.

My parents are still alive, and my mother still talks to me on the phone, and she visits to see the family, to love her grand kids the way she loves me.

Latest art piece. Just thought I'd show a success in the present.

I am a successful art therapist. I graduated with honors and I take joy in helping other people heal.

I am not obese and I am content with my imperfect body; the media has lost its hold on me. I do not work overtime. My debt is being quickly paid off.

I live in a place with sidewalks and street lamps and where it is often sunny.

I have a few friends who visit often, and who I visit. They laugh with me.

I believe I have completed what I need to do, I can claim reasonable use of my life. If I loose all I have than  I am okay because I had it and I will greet death like an old friend should he come for me soon.