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Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Powerball & Your Relationship: How They're Connected

Tonight the Powerball drawing is a record $1.5 billion. I don't usually play the lottery and I know the odds are less then favorable, but I bought a ticket anyway. I bought the ticket because, like most of us, I like to dream. What would I do if I won a ton of money?
I started telling my husband my lottery winning ideas: the house upgrades I'd like to make, that Honeymoon we never took, a dog for our daughter. He told me we didn't need so much money and that he'd give most of it away. Certainly I understand giving a bunch away, but couldn't we fantasize about the fun things we could do with it first? That's when he said some magic words: "We haven't even won the lottery and it's tearing us apart already."
Now, he said that in a funny, humorous way. We were joking about it all and it wasn't really tearing us apart, but it got me to thinking. Big decisions, like what to do with a billion dollars, need to be approached as a couple. It's a great way to check in with each other and make sure you're on the same page. It's true that neither I nor anyone reading this will probably win the lottery, but dreaming about it together can be a relationship builder.
After our initial conversation about our winnings, my husband and I sat down and had a more serious look at what we would do if we didn't have to worry about money. The first thing we both agreed on was to set aside a huge portion for charitable purposes. There are plenty of worthy organizations out there and it forced us to talk about causes important to each of us. We also think it would be fun to play "angel donors" and go to crowdfunding sources and anonymously help the many individuals and families in need.
The next thing we want to do is use it as a teachable moment for our children. Granted they are quite young, but they understand that it costs money to buy things and they can't get everything they want. That said, we know animals are very important to our 4 year old daughter, who very badly wants to adopt a doggie. We don't have the funds for a pet at the moment, but if we did we could show her how donating money can help nurture and save the lives of many animals. Of course, we'd get her a dog or two as well.
Then we talked about work and what we'd really like to do if money wasn't an issue. My husband would pursue his passion for music and further his music non profit and I would focus on my writing, publish, maybe launch a new magazine or website. It made us fully aware that these are goals we can aspire to with or without a billion dollars. 
Talking about winning the lottery helped us learn more about ourselves, our relationship, and what's most important to us. If you haven't done so yet, I encourage you and your partner to sit down and discuss what you would seriously do if you won the lottery. You can even relate it to your wedding planning. If money wasn't an issue, how would your wedding look? What would you do differently? Are you both on the same page? Continue the conversation from there. What did you learn? I'd love to know. 

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