In preparation for a new year and a fresh start, I thought I’d throw a question out there:
What would you do first to use up the money if it was unlimited?
A big house? Cars? A designer clothing closet the side of an apartment?
Shoes stacked up all around the walls and colour coded.
But after you’ve filled your closets with all the clothes and shoes you can possibly imagine, including all the best furniture in the world in the most ideal way possible, where do you go from there?
And that’s the way you should be thinking about your life because if money was not in the picture at all.
It may never be possible to use a jet plane to get to work every day, or to basically go on shopping sprees in any and every major city in the world every single weekend.
However,what you want to do if money wasn’t in the equation is the stepping stone to finally realizing what your dreams are.
It sounds SO cheesy but this is stuff I hear all the time:
Well the first step is to identify the goals and the dreams so that you can pin down what makes you tick and then figure out how to get there in the fastest, most efficient way possible.
And if they’re all on the back burner and totally clouded by the fact that money is the noose hanging over those dreams, then you end up procrastinating and putting them off to the side.
Then, it becomes too late and you are only left with regrets.
Or maybe you end up spending more money because now you have to get in vitro fertilization because you waited too long.
Life isn’t totally spontaneous, and sure, people get lucky all the time however behind all of that, you may just find that a lot of it has to do with them having thought about their goals.
I’m sure those people actually did some rough planning on how to make it work and how to get to that point, even if those initial plans ended up falling through.
So, this is not a total poster for running out, quitting your job and doing what you’ve always wanted to do – jet around the world… but it’s more of a way to get you to lie down on your bed, uninterrupted for 20 minutes, and think about what you want.
What you REALLY want, if money was not in the picture.
Money or getting out of debt is a very easy goal to work towards, believe it or not, because it has a finite resource and actual numbers that you can see in a bank account.
Pinning down your heart’s dreams is a lot harder because you have to dig deep and face the facts.
Okay, enough with the Oprah talk.
I’m going to leave you with a story I read on Millionaire Mommy Next Door, called The Mexican Fisherman.
An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.”
The American then asked him why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish. The Mexican replied that he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, senor.”
The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”
To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.”
“But what then?” asked the Mexican.
The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich; you would make millions!”
“Millions – then what, senor?”
The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about 
I’ve been thinking about this for awhile. If I didn’t have to worry about money then I would pursue my artistic passions.
There are writers, artists, designers who make great money out there, enjoy their lives without starving and don’t have day jobs they hate. I’ve noticed the ones that make good money and aren’t poor are the ones that usually aren’t afraid of marketing and promoting their art and themselves. So that’s my goal now.
I’d buy several houses in several places (Canberra, Mauii, Byron Bay) and then I’d pay off my parent’s mortagage and buy them a house here in Australia where I imagine I’d continue spending most of my time. Then I’d get serious about self-funding the documentaries I want to make and donate big time.
If I had a bunch of money … I think I’d move to NYC or SF and join some investor’s circles! Haha. I like being at the cutting edge of thought, innovation and technology, and I’d love to bankroll some great startups. I’d probably be a venture capitalist, a real estate mogul or an entrepreneur … which is “sort of” what I am now but to a much smaller degree!!
I don’t really think this kind of thinking applies for me. If I had millions my life would change– I’d buy a house in the SF bay area and do a lot of charity stuff that I would flit around about like a dilettante. I don’t do that now precisely because what optimizes my happiness when I don’t have millions includes having a fulfilling job in my field which I could not have in the SF bay area. Money *does* enter into the equation. I can’t get closer to happiness than I am now without a lot more money because I don’t want to make trade-offs that I wouldn’t have to make if I had that money.
Love that story, it’s fabulous.
I would volunteer full-time anywhere around the world, wherever I could be of use, because I wouldn’t have to worry about covering my expenses. I would also donate a heck of a lot more than I do now. I do both of these things whenever I am able but I would go full-time if money were no object.
I don’t care much for acquiring things, but I might rent a few small apartments as “home bases” in various parts of the world to help with this, and let others stay for free when I wasn’t there.
If money weren’t an option, I’d travel my butt off. I’d help people who needed help with their families and their relationships. I’d do a lot more learning about different cultures and different people. I’d have children! I need to work towards this but it’s definitely hard.
1. A 5 bedrooms, 3 baths house in a safe neighborhood.
2. A new car. I’m thinking either a Honda Accord, Mini Cooper or hybrid
That should be enough for me.
As for me after I paid off all of my debts…I would go on the vacations/see what I want to see (call it my travel bucket list), buy some land and build my dream small house of about 900 sq. ft., give some to friends and family, and then make a lot of donations.
This is such a great post… You really hit it on the nail… The story you gave is really great and basically puts it all in a nutshell.. I really enjoy your blogs.. You are by far my favorite minimalist blogger… Keep up the great work.. I look forward to your posts… =)
FB – you are so right and gave me a lot of food for thought. If money wasn’t an issue, what WOULD I do with myself? I think I need to do a little soul searching (as I suspect most of us would if we wanted to spend our time at least somewhat productively).