Jackpot Dreaming

As I write this post, on Wednesday night, the Powerball lottery hasn’t been drawn.  We don’t usually buy lottery tickets, but will sometimes buy a ticket or two when the Jackpot rises high.  Yes, I know that I’m more likely to be struck by lightning than win the lottery, but it’s the more the entertainment of the matter than an actual belief that I’m going to win.  Unfortunately, I forgot to buy a lottery ticket so, unless nobody wins the drawing, I’ll have to skip out on the "entertainment’ this time around.

Like many people, I’ve found that I need to live within a pretty tight budget.  There are a ton of items that I’d love to buy, but my finances nix those plans.  So what would I do if I won a big lottery jackpot?

First, of course, I would pay up all of our debts.  Our home mortgage and other loans would get immediately paid off.  Once we had no more debt, I’d put a nice big sum of money into bank accounts for the both of the kids for college, in our own bank account to save, and in a trust for the kids to access when they get older.  I would also give family and friends some money.

Next, with debt and saving out of the way, I would turn to spending some money.  I would buy a new car for B.  Mine isn’t too old, but I might splurge and get a new one also.  I’d go on a bit of a tech/geek spending spree, buying some computer equipment, DVDs, and the like.

My biggest purchase, though, would be a massive Disney World vacation.  I would pay for not only B, the boys, and me, but for my parents, B’s parents, my sister and her family, B’s brother and his family, and perhaps some other relatives.  We would fly to Florida, stay at a deluxe resort, eat at the best restaurants Disney has to offer, and have fun in the parks as one big happy family.

If you won a big lottery jackpot, what would you spend your winnings on?

NOTE: The money image above is by n_kamil and is available from OpenClipArt.org.