Mental Meanderings

What if YOU won the lotto?

What would you do with $375,000AUD if you won the lotto? These thoughts started running through my head today. They're nice to think about but I'm trying not to get my hopes up. Odds are I didn't win. But since the chance is there the thoughts wander.

You see, each Thursday my mother and I buy a 25 game slippick each, syndicate style. That's 50 games with winnings split between us equally. It's $13.60 per ticket and we consider it a donation to charity because someone, somewhere, wins that money if we don't.

The lotto is a gamble. Except that the players win instead of the house. I'm sure the house pulls in a pocketful too but each week players take home some money. Lots of people don't take home anything but if they keep playing odds are they will at some point. The same with any game.

Anyway, today I was reading the local newspaper and apparently someone in my suburb bought a winning ticket but hadn't claimed it as of when the paper went to print. So it's got me a little more excited about the possibility. I mean think of it. The odds of winning are extreamely improbable in general if you consider 1 in millions. In this case it's 50 in millions but it's still incredibly remote. But if someone bought one in this suburb then it's more like 50 in thousands. Much better odds.

So on the basis of improved odds I've started dreaming of what I might do with that much money. The paper said it was a ticket worth about $750,000AUD and I'd split that with my mother leaving me with $375,000. What would you do with that much money?

My first thought was to buy a new house and renovate this one completely and rent it out to someone and buy a car and buy a boat and buy an island and... and... and... *chuckles* Then I reigned in my thoughts a bit more seriously. While I've never seen that much money in my lifetime it's still not infinite and would run out quickly.

So, a list of five (for you Scarlett)

1. Pay out the mortgage of the house so that I owned it in full. = $120,000.

2. Finish the renovations on the house I have planned. = $40,000.

3. Buy a car. = $30,000.

4. Investing for the future. = $175,000.

5. Donated to chartity. = $10,000.

I'm considering how much I'd also save no longer having a mortgage and the interest and returns on that investment. It would hopefully accumulate to the means of buying a second home but it would also give me the security to face a future where income isn't guarenteed.

Obviously the list isn't fixed. It's actually hard to decide how to spend so much money. It's hard to decide how much not to spend. It's also hard to believe in so much money. I mean consider the fact that it is about 15 years income for me. If I put that in the bank I wouldn't have to earn a dime for 15 years.

It's all a pipe dream. I mean the odds are still 50 to thousands. *chuckles* But yeah, it's interesting to think about. What would you do with $375,000AUD? And for the Americans reading let me do a conversion based on the current exchange rate. *grins* What would you do with $281,783.15?