You can't win if you don't play

Last week was a big drawing for the MegaMillions lottery with a pay out of $1.6 billion. I mean, that's more money than I can even fathom having. It's an unimaginable amount of money. While I am not one to play the lottery, with everyone talking about it, I got the itch to play a little. I mean, why not? I decided to get in on the fun and buy tickets, because after all, you can't win if you don't play. I went to a local convenience store and bought three lines and automatically felt some hope. In reality, the odds were were ridiculously low to win, but the little excitement of "what if" got me and it was just fun to be part of the action. So many people I know who usually never play the lottery also bought tickets too, so we were all talking about what we would do if we won. A girl can hope, right? In the spirit of having disposable income, I decided to compile a list of what I would do if I happened to win all the money. 

1) Quit my job (DUH.)
2) Pay off my the rest of my student loans (thankfully its not that much anymore. In fact, I could pay it all off today if I wanted, but with low interest on there, I just haven't done so yet, but actually may very soon.)
3) Buy my parents a winter home somewhere warm so they can be snowbirds.
4) Take everyone in my family on a luxurious vacation including a couple nights on a super yacht- Below Deck style.
5) Put money away for my nephew and (future) niece's college funds. 
6) Purchase a penthouse apartment here in Chicago AND in New York. (In Chicago it will be overlooking the lake and in NYC it will overlooking Central Park. Each will also have a private deck or balcony and a ridiculously large closet for my workout clothes and shoes.)
7) Book my bucket list Safari vacation including a private tour to be in the wild with the Silver Back Gorillas.
8) Hire a personal trainer and personal chef.
9) Make some charitable donations to Crohn's and Colitis Foundation and other charities near and dear to myself and my family.
10) Invest a significant amount.

This is just the beginning of how I would spend my winnings. I am sure I would find other ways to spend it wisely (like travel even more and buy more workout clothes and gym shoes, naturally). It's a nice escape to think about what I'd do if money were no object. What would you do if you hit the jackpot? Have you ever thought about it? The possibilities are pretty endless.

Even winning a simple $1 million would make me happy. It wouldn't allow me to quit my job, but would allow me to buy a pretty decent apartment, pay off my loans, and go on a nice trip or two. I'd take that.

Obviously, I didn't win the big money because I wouldn't be sitting here writing about all my wishes, I'd be busy out making them a reality. However, I did win $10 by matching three numbers so that was a minor victory. Since I came out on a little on top, I used my original $6 to buy three more lines on the next mega millions (which I lost), and then decided to use my $4 profit to buy two more lines on the upcoming Powerball that has a $750 million (really $428.6 million cash) payout. It's not $1.2 billion, but I think I could make it work. Are you going to get in on the action tonight? "Someone's gonna win lotto, it may as well be you?" (or something like that) isn't their slogan for nothing. Go big or go home. And if not, keep your fingers crossed for me!