If I Had a Million Dollars…

Barenaked Ladies songs aside, we all know that in this day and age, a million dollars won’t get you very far. I remember a time when I was around nine years old, my dad would sit beside me and contemplate what he would do if he won the lottery. He always said, all he would need is one million dollars to live comfortably. Now, we’re lucky if that amount pays off our mortgage and debt.

If I won a million dollars, the smart thing to do would be to invest it all. I would live exactly how I’m living now, and keep it in investments and use it for retirement income. The problem with that is it wouldn't help my kids, or us right now when we need help.

So, the thing I would actually do with it is this: I would pay off our debt. My husband and I would obviously continue working, and we would purchase a new home. That alone would free up our income to pay for the things we would need outside of a home. We could furnish it, pay for the bills and property tax, and otherwise, live a pretty comfortable life.

The problem is, I would have to rectify the reason we got into debt in the first place. It’s great to be able to buy your home and pay off your debt with a large lump sum of money, but if you don’t change your habits or attitudes, nothing will change. You will go straight back to being in debit, living in a beautiful home with double the taxes.

I think that’s why a lot of new “millionaires” fall into debt so quickly. First, they’re not used to having so much money and have never had to manage it before. Second, their bad habits get them into trouble. When it feels like you have seemingly unlimited money in your account, it’s easy to spend it. Also, once you create the habit of spending it, it’s hard to stop.

You need to learn how to handle your finances and be on a budget (again, budget does not mean limit necessarily, it means you have money goals) and learn how to be smart with your money and also responsible. What would you do with a million dollars?

Thanks for reading!

Sandra