Off the Beaten Plan

plan: to devise or project the realization or achievement of

Money Can Buy…

They say that money can’t buy happiness. Well, I don’t have enough money to say whether that’s true or not. But I’ll tell you what – there are some non-material things that money can buy.

I received an envelope in the mail Monday from the federal government (along with the 2010 census). It looked an awful lot like the bonds that come for the kids around their birthdays, and since my son is having a birthday soon, I didn’t bother to open it.

On Sunday, I looked at our bills. I paid bills, and looked at what was coming due soon, and I felt The Pinch. The seriously it’s going to hurt soon Pinch. The savings is gone, there’s bills and mortgages coming due, and pretty soon, I’ll be robbing Peter to pay Paul Pinch.

It shouldn’t have worked out like that. I should have received a tax credit related to a home purchase about three months ago. I shouldn’t have had to replace my car so soon. We shouldn’t have had plumbing problems and car problems and all that other crap that creeps up.

But we did, and we dealt with it like a lot of other people do – credit cards, savings when we had to, etc.

So suddenly I’m trying to think of all the possible ways we can squeeze more money out of anything. Where can we earn more money? Where can we save money? What can I sell (without selling the house)?

Tonight I opened the mail a full six days earlier than usual, and along with the census I opened that envelope with the bond. I have never been so happy to not see a bond in my life – it was the tax credit money.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

What can money buy? Money can buy security. I’ve now got the funds to shore up our emergency fund.

Money can buy a clear mind. I don’t need to stay up late sweating over bills and how to pay them.

I’m calmer now, but I need to think a bit. I need to talk with my hubby and probably a couple other someones to get a really good idea of what goes where right now. I may wait to do anything until I see what’s what in terms of taxes.

I really, really need to get a decent budget. But it’s almost midnight, and I won’t get that done tonight. It’s a battle for another day. Wish me luck.

Money Can Buy… was published on March 16th, 2010, with the tags , , , under the Financial, Planning category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

Money Can’t Buy Happiness – But If It Could…

money buys happiness?I’ve heard that money can’t buy happiness, and though I don’t have a lot of experience in that area, I tend to agree. Buying things won’t make you happy, or get you friends, or whatever. But I still like to think about buying things, and I was just in the shower and I thought, what if…

What if you had a million dollars and you couldn’t spend it all on yourself?

I know someone who drives an old junker with bad brakes because they can’t afford anything else. The money simply isn’t there. So I would buy them a new car, and pay for the car insurance for the first year.

I know another someone who does well at their job, but really wants to start their own office. I would invest in that.

I would buy state of the art technological equipment for my current employer – once they find a new building.

I have a two friends who are single moms, and another who might as well be. I would help them start saving for their kids’ college educations.

Since one million dollars isn’t enough to quit my job and move to San Diego, California, I would have to redo my house. I know someone who is struggling whose husband is a general contractor. I would hire him to replace all the windows, remove the wallpaper that is everywhere, rip up carpet, replace appliances, finish the basement, upgrade the hot water heater thing, everything except finish the floors. I have a friend whose brother does that.

I would also hire the above mentioned guy to fix my parents’ house up to sell so they could buy a one-story home with a lower payment so they don’t have to worry about the stairs anymore.

I would give a lot of money to local food banks, the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, local homeless shelters, local women’s shelters, and local animal shelters.

I would give every staff member in my office, associate assistants included, a big fat bonus for 2009. We’ve all had a rough year, and we need to know that we’re appreciated.

I would make the biggest donation ever to my favorite writing program for 2010’s event.

I know someone who is really struggling financially and emotionally. I would wipe out their work related debt and pay for their apartment for a year so they could focus on getting their feet under them without taking a step back. (This would most likely have to be done anonymously.)

Just to be spiteful, I would make a donation to a very left wing charity in the names of some very right wing people in my office. Is that mean? Well, anyway…I can’t be good all the time.

I would of course start worrying not only about my own kids’ educations, but my husband’s and my retirement as well, and put some funds towards that.

And if I still had money left, I suppose I would buy a bunch of beer, a grill, and some bratwurst and throw a major party in my teeny tiny back yard for the neighborhood and friends from the office. BYO chips, salads and desserts. And kids would be totally invited to drink all the soda they could handle.

I think those things might just make me happy.

Money Can’t Buy Happiness – But If It Could… was published on December 7th, 2009, with the tags , , , , under the Completely Off Topic, What If? category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.