Ten on Tuesday 1-29: If I Had $1,000,000

This week on Ten on Tuesday – 10 Things You’d Buy If You Had a Million Dollars (and you had to spend it on yourself)

Oh, now this could be fun. Well, to start with, these guys had a few ideas (and I will be totally shocked if I’m the only person who worked these lyrics into their post somewhere):

If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
I’d buy you a house
(I would buy you a house)
If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
I’d buy you furniture for your house
(Maybe a nice chesterfield or an ottoman)
And if I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I’d buy you a K-Car
(A nice Reliant automobile)
If I had a million dollars I’d buy your love

If I had a million dollars
I’d build a tree fort in our yard
If I had million dollars
You could help, it wouldn’t be that hard…

If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I’d buy you a fur coat
(But not a real fur coat that’s cruel)
And if I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I’d buy you an exotic pet
(Yep, like a llama or an emu)
And if I had a million dollars
(If I had a a million dollars)
Well, I’d buy you John Merrick’s remains
(Ooh, all them crazy elephant bones)
And If I had a million dollars I’d buy your love

If I had a million dollars
We wouldn’t have to walk to the store
If I had a million dollars
Now, we’d take a limousine ’cause it costs more
If I had a million dollars
We wouldn’t have to eat Kraft Dinner
But we would eat Kraft Dinner
Of course we would, we’d just eat more

If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I’d buy you a green dress
(But not a real green dress, that’s cruel)
And if I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I’d buy you some art
(A Picasso or a Garfunkel)
If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I’d buy you a monkey
(Haven’t you always wanted a monkey)

(OK, I always liked the reference to Art Garfunkel’s little-acknowledged career as a painter.)

But anyway, to return to the subject at hand…Barenaked Ladies talked about what they’d buy for someone else. The question at hand is what I would buy for me.

  1. A house. Yeah, I’d buy a house, and that wouldn’t just be for me. But I live in Southern California, where it wouldn’t be hard to burn through the whole million dollars right there – and I’m not talking about a mansion here, just a pretty nice house. I discussed this with my husband, and we decided that to make the money go further, we actually wouldn’t buy it outright. At least 50% down would make our mortgage pretty reasonable, and would allow us both more house and more money left to work with. Heck, a million dollars doesn’t go nearly as far as it used to, so it’s not like we’d be able to quit working anyway.
  2. A Mini Cooper S. I’m in love with those cars. It’s nice to be in love with a car that’s not very expensive; maybe I’d even buy two.
  3. Furnishings for a reading room in the house. Bookcases along at least two walls, nice lighting, comfortable seating, and a desk with an ergonomically supportive chair. Also for the desk…
  4. The largest MacBook Pro, or equivalent, I could get. I love my MacBook, but my eyes crave a bigger screen sometimes, and I need to “go pro” for a larger laptop. And speaking of my eyes…
  5. Vision-correction surgery. My particular combination of severe myopia and astigmatism cannot be corrected with the LASIK procedure (I’ve been evaluated for it). However, there is an alternate procedure that involves a lens implant. It’s newer, less common, and more expensive than LASIK, and I’ve been told it would probably be my best bet to leave glasses and contacts behind. I would be signing up for that as quickly as possible! (Actually, in terms of timing, this would probably be the first thing I spent any of the money on.)
  6. A personal chef – for weekdays only. I enjoy cooking when I have the time to do it. Since we’ve already established that I’d most likely still be working, though, I won’t really have the time except on the weekends, so it would be excellent to come home to a prepared meal.
  7. A wardrobe of custom-tailored clothing. I am a little tricky to fit, being short and somewhat curvy, and having my clothes altered to fit me properly is a luxury I’ve only been able to indulge in a few times (all involving wedding-related apparel). I don’t think I’d go for flashy designer stuff – I’ve don’t covet it now, and it’s hard to imagine myself being OK with spending thousands of dollars on a skirt, even if I could – but well-made clothing sized just right for me? I’m definitely up for that.
  8. Good shoes – a dozen pairs, at least. I tend to have trouble finding shoes I like in my size, which is 5. Many women’s shoe stores start their size range at 5-1/2, but one place I’ve had a lot of luck with is Payless. Consequently, I have a pretty sizable collection of cheap shoes, and I’d be glad for the chance to upgrade it.
  9. Six months off for travel. I haven’t decided where I’d go yet…maybe some of the places on this list, or on this one?
  10. Books. I’m sure I could use up whatever money was left this way.

You’ve probably thought about this one yourself – what might you spend your million dollars on? If you really can’t think of anything, check out the main Ten on Tuesday post for some ideas.

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10 comments

  1. LOL I almost started mine quoting BNL as well 😉

    I love the Mini Cooper. Some day, when all the kids are out of the house, I’ll get myself one.

    and it’s good to see more people choosing “books” as an answer. I was beginning to think I was alone in my love for the written word 😉

  2. Jennifer – I like making people laugh – sometimes even on purpose! 🙂 (That’s actually a running joke between my husband and me.)

    Sunshine – That’s probably my second-favorite line, after the Garfunkel reference.

  3. I love those Mini Coopers! I told my husband that I want one if ever my current dream car ever has to be replaced. It would actually be quite funny because my husband’s more the small car person, whereas I like the medium size ones.

  4. LF – What’s NOT to love about a Mini? I first fell for them back when I saw one in The Bourne Identity. Tall Paul thinks they even have room inside for him, and says he can see my driving one…maybe someday. 🙂