Ramsay from Moneyed Up contacted me about his $500 Giveaway* going on until December 1st to promote the new blog and asked if I’d review it on BFS. I couldn’t come up with more than “hey, look, a big giveaway!”, so I turned it down at first, but he then asked what would I do if I won.
I’ll be honest, I do daydream about winning millions in the lottery (that I haven’t bought tickets for lately…hmmm…), but I never really put thought into smaller amounts that I actually have a shot for – like this giveaway or even the pots at the local Bingo hall. What would I do with $500?
My first thought would be to do what we normally do with extra money – 50% to savings or the mortgage, 25% to the vacation account, and 12.5% to each of our fun money accounts. Yes, that sounds good to me. But, what if I had to come up with something else?
Here’s what I daydreamed about last Tuesday:
- I could visit a blogging friend or one of the blogger meet up groups that pop up in different states. I could use the $500 for airfare and a rental car for a long weekend.
- I could buy 500 Mega Millions or Texas Lotto tickets and hope for the best.
- I could play 25 computers of Bingo. That’s 1650 cards per game…I’d probably make some money off of that, lol.
- I could put it towards our annual vacation – $500 would cover 1/4 of our normal costs or we could really go wild when we want fruity drinks.
- I could buy a second laptop for our house since one of our current two is dying a really slow death and annoying the crud out of me. This idea sounded like the winner since the laptop situation is bugging me a little on a regular basis.
What would you do with $500?
*In the interest of full disclosure, the link above is a referral link. That means I will get an additional entry into the $500 giveaway if you sign up for the giveaway using that link. So click away – I want that laptop after all. 
You know, just stick it in general funds. Maybe put it towards the mortgage. We’re pretty dull in terms of spending until you get into the multi-million dollar range. That there causes lifestyle changes for us.
The money would actually go toward the new laptop I was just forced to buy because our home computer got the stupid blue screen of death. It has been a bad year for computers at my house.
@Nicole, that would have been my 2nd choice, but the laptop won out.
@Everyday Tips, yeah, it’s like a computer gremlin has snuck in and is messing with you. Sorry.
Gremlins seem to be on the rampage these days. I’ve been noticing that not only in our own house but across blogs as well. Hopefully repair folks are giving the economy a little boost!
Probably put it towards debt, or using it for the tree that really needs to be taken down in our backyard.
$500 would go into my house fund or my Roth IRA account (I need to get back to adding into that again).
Half would go towards a DSLR camera for my wife, half would go to debt. We’re boring, but dedicated.
O/T: Hey Crystal: What do you think about this guy’s post on housing in TX?
http://www.stepawayfromthemall.com/2010/09/why-watching-house-hunters-is-bad-for.html
@Nicole, yep, tons of small jobs ready for the willing.
@Rob, call around about that tree. I was told our dead pine tree would cost $250 to bring down, but after a few calls, I talked one group into $105.
@Jenna, Roth IRA is a good idea! I need to start our 2nd Roth as soon as our emergency fund is back to servable – $5000-$10,000 would make me feel more secure.
@Jason, the camera sounds fun and debt payoff feels good, so I think those are great decisions.
@Nicole, I could read the post but couldn’t comment on it from here.
I think it’s hilarious that the guy could even afford a $2000 a month payment for housing – that would be all of my take home pay every year. He lives in a more expensive part of the country and should stop whining since he could move. He can move to Texas and find a perfectly awesome house for $150,000 and retire on a few years of his pay, lol.
Mr. BFS and I paid $114,000 for a 1750 sq.ft. 3 bedroom house but we “only” make $82,500 a year combined. I bet he makes more than that all by himself. If he doesn’t, he really should move…
Posts like that and comments from my coastal readers make me shudder at the idea of ever living somewhere so expensive. I’m glad people enjoy it though or Texas would get too crowded.
I think I would buy a low end computer desktop, so the kids could do their homework (their current one sucks).
Or maybe I’d buy a faster internet pipe (mine is slow).
Ahhh, or perhaps lawn services for the summer (next year)
But most likely, I’d get my air conditioning fixed in my car (this summer has been killing me).
@Money Reasons, I vote for the A/C – I get grumpy when I’m hot…
I like these hypotheticals….
The “fun” version would be to spend $50 on a fun dinner for 2 out, $150 on a class for my daughter (she’s bright, but I want her to get extra math help to get better), $50 for tickets to a sporting event, and then save $250.
Not that a young child would find math fun now, but it will be fun for us to see her do well!
The “practical” version would be to just save all of it:)
I splurged on a second computer. It was $500. I’m very happy to have it.
I’ve been wanting to do a weekend in Boston or NYC, but have been too cheap to pull the trigger on that. That would probably be what I used it on if I won.
@Squirrelers, I like your fun spending (even if you still save half, lol).
@Sandy L, a fun weekend trip sounds great to me!
With $500 you can live a month without worries in several countries!
@Niko, yes, but would they be countries that we’d want to live in?
You got that right! Some times an expensive life is living better.
I like your option of buying 500 Mega Millions tickets.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot with a single ticket are 1-in-175,711,536. But if you buy 500 tickets, your odds of winning would be 1-in-351,423.
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