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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