"If I Had A Million Dollars...."

"If I had a million dollars
If I had a million dollars
Well, I'd buy you a house
I would buy you a house

And 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
And if I had a million dollars, I'd buy your love"
ED ROBERTSON;STEVEN PAGE

I often read tug2.net where the following articles were discussed recently.  In a Forbes article from May 28, 2013, The Windfall Effect:  What To Do With Surprise Cash, Tom Anderson writes “ 'A lot of emotions can be attached to this sudden wealth depending on where their money comes from,' says Robert Pagliarini, a CFP® and president of Pacifica Wealth Advisors in Mission Viejo, Calif. About 70% of his practice is focused on clients who have been surprise recipients of large amounts of money. 'You need to address the emotions first. Otherwise, you are going to make very bad financial decisions.' "

A September 6, 2015 Forbes article by Neale Godfrey, How Stupid Can You Be With Money?  Ask Lottery Winners, "Your first stop has to be to sit down with a financial planner.  If you need to go to see two, do it. The plan should be conservative and be something that will last a lifetime.  Whatever the net proceeds are, they need to be spaced out throughout your life. The winner should only have access to the monthly allotment, that’s it. Ask the financial advisor to put you on a monthly allowance...I do not feel that playing the lottery is the best financial planning tool; however, the lessons learned are universal."

So if you can imagine winning a million dollars (or more), try to imagine what your biggest fears would be and "reverse engineer" your resistance to big money.  My mom used to say she didn't want to have a bigger house because she didn't want to clean it.  Well......if she won the lottery she could have hired someone to clean it.  I've heard people say they don't want to be rich because they wouldn't know who their friends were....I think it's fairly easy to figure that out.

If you are afraid of saying "no" to your third cousin's request to buy a private island, practice healthy boundaries now.  If you are worried about getting seasick on your yacht, maybe start with a sailboat.  I promise we can work through your money fears, but it always begins with awareness of those fears.

More than once, I was at the store and I had a substantial coupon that I couldn't use.  When I offered it to the person next to me, I am often turned down.  Do you turn down "free" money?  Yes, we need to be aware of scammers, but that shouldn't be our only decision-making factor.  Have you refinanced your mortgage, called for a lower credit card rate, shopped for a lower phone plan or less expensive insurance?  So many people are "leaving money on the table".  If that is you, ask yourself "why" and go back and pick it up!!

It's overwhelming to try to do everything at once.  One step at a time, Baby!!  You deserve to have less financial pressure in your life.  Help yourself work through your emotions before you win the lottery then, make sure you find a financial planner after you win ;)

Have a great day!!

xo
Conni