Monday 9 November 2015

How to spend 50k in a day

Recently, I was posed the question about how I would spend $50000 in a day. I thought, I could be all serious and put it into the mortgage, but then I thought, no, that's not very fun. It's $50000 I didn't have before and I'm playing 'let's pretend' so I'll spend it in a spectacular (imaginary) fashion. 

Then I thought, oh, I could fly everyone to Disneyland and we could go on rides and eat junk food until we're sick with happiness. But that seemed like it would be pretty stressful, hopping on a long haul flight with two kids and then dragging them all around a park that they'd honestly probably be too young to appreciate. So then I sat down and thought about the things I love best. Easy! I love my family, I love to be social, I love to eat, and I love to feel pampered and have fun. It was a bit easier after that. Words started to flow better. I had a great image of this fabulous reading nook that I would build in my house, and then stock with a comfy mattress and pillows and reading material galore!
With the funds that I didn't manage to allocate to books, I thought I'd develop a bit of a sharable area on my front footpath. I already have a passionfruit vine accessible to the street, but I thought it would be fun and social to make a sort of community garden and add in some herbs and things and get to know my neighbours better… and I like the idea of being a little bit of a rebel and doing some urban footpath gardening.
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Then I thought, no, what if after all that hard work, something like this happens and I'm made to remove it because someone complains?

And then… I just thought, much as I love the idea of that comfy reading nook (oh how I love it!), there are people out there who need more than I. There are people out there who also love their family, but can't be with them. There are people who love to be social but the world won't socialise with them. There are people who love to eat but have no food. There are people who don't even know the meaning of pampering and fun.

So instead of feathering my nest with a reading nook and adding to my edible garden, I would give that $50k to places where it would make a difference.

People who could help those children in detention centres and refuge camps. Who could make them smile and give them back a little bit of hope and dignity and show them compassion and help them be well. Those places would appreciate having a library and the books I would have bought, I'm sure.

People who need to eat. I'd get them staples and a couple of special things too, because everyone loves a treat, especially coming into the season of festivities.

I've been with both my children when they needed operations or stays in hospital. And I know that it's a pretty grim place for parents and children. My edible garden would be much better placed on a hospital roof somewhere to provide a little area for those who need it.

I could go on and on. But I'd run out of money. It's not 'fun'. It's not 'creative'. But I think I'd feel a lot better spending such a sum these ways than any other.

1 comment:

  1. I love this - every since childhood I've got great pleasure from planning how I'd spend money, even if the sum is $1 (something about getting the best options appeals to me hugely; I don't think I'm money obsessed!). As I've got older the idea of spending on others has come into it and your rooftop garden idea is brilliant. I adore that reading couch too :D

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