Money

As the world economy continues to shudder, money is on the minds of many of us. So, tonight I first pose three questions:

What would you do with a million dollars?
What would you do with 10,000 dollars?
What would you do with 100 dollars?

I am fortunate to have regular readers from around the world. So I have re-posed the question in the top three nation’s currencies, at current exchange rates:

What would you do with 1,046,026 Australian Dollars?
What would you do with 10,460 Australian Dollars?
What would you do with 104 Australian Dollars?

What would you do with 503,347 British Pounds?
What would you do with 5,033 British Pounds?
What would you do with 50 British Pounds?

What would you do with 7,937,500 South African Rand?
What would you do with 79,375 South African Rand?
What would you do with 793 South African Rand?

Then, ask yourself, what would you do with those different amounts of money if you couldn’t spend any of it on yourself.

Me? I’d take the million and pay off the mortgage on our home. We’re halfway through the note, with the worst of the interest already paid, but it would be a big relief to own it “free and clear” as the saying goes. Maybe we’d even have a mortgage burning party, the way folks did, once upon a time. Then I’d see what I could do for my family members’ mortgages. (I wonder how far that million dollars would stretch?!) Then I’d put a rush on the new roof, the new windows and the paint job. Oh! And I’d love to get off the grid, so solar and wind power here we come! Hmmm... I fear I’m already way over my million dollar budget!

$10,000? Well, after a million dollars, that’s a serious cut in pay! I’d pay some bills, and set the rest aside for the new roof, but I wouldn’t call to put the same rush on!

$100? This inflation is gobbling up the resources faster than I expected! I’d go to a bookstore with Chuck and then out to dinner. How much we spent at the bookstore would determine where we dined.

Now for the non-me-me-me version:

With a million dollars, I would still want to help out my family. There are mortgages and school loans and weddings and... But I would also look at the charities and organizations we support: like the MSPCA, Mama Maria, the American Civil Liberties Union, Friends of Acadia and the Alzheimer’s Association. Because this is a critical election year here in the United States, we would contribute the maximum allowed by law to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Then, even though I am registered as “unenrolled” here in Massachusetts (small “i” independent), I’d send some money to the Democratic National Committee, because without a majority in Congress we’re in for more gridlock.

$10,000? I hope my family will forgive me, but it’s all going out the door to the charities and Barack Obama’s campaign.

$100? Wow, where would it do the most good? How could I make the greatest impact? Or does even the smallest stone tossed in the pond still send out a worthwhile ripple? O.K. Half would go to the American Red Cross because they help people in the worst moments of crisis and devastation. The other half, no surprise, Barack Obama’s campaign, because I’m looking toward the future.

What would you do?

Is it just me, or does anyone else have the Barenaked Ladies song “If I Had Million Dollars” running through their mind right now?