"If you had a billion US dollars, how would you spend it?" This is the prompt question for today's Bloganuary challenge. I've never put very much thought into that before now, despite hypothetical questions like this being posed fairly often. I would think the best thing to do with a lot of money would be invest it and save a lot of it to get good returns and make it last even longer. However, the prompt specifically says "How would you spend it?" So, I'm going to assume that in this theoretical situation, I am spending all of the money.
Now, what would I spend it on? I would probably want to spread it out into 3 categories of spending: 1) Comfortable living, 2) hobbies and interests, and 3) donations and charity. For the first category, I would immediately pay back my student loans. Then, I would get a small but nice house for myself. I'm not planning on having a family, so I don't need anything big. I also don't fuss over fancy interior décor, so it doesn't need to be anything grand. Comfortable living would also include getting myself a new car - something green and fuel efficient, so I don't have to feel as guilty driving. I might even go as far as hiring someone to help around the house.
As for hobbies and interests, I would probably be spending a ton of money here, but I'm not exactly sure how. I might put a lot of money into advertising a novel or children's book I write. I could pay for fancy illustrations and book tours, too. I'm sure I would also spend a lot on books, anime, and manga. Alcohol and weed would take part of the budget too, and I might pay for some culinary schooling to learn how to make delicious, authentic sushi.
Everything I've said so far is possible to accomplish as an upper middle class citizen of the US. I'm currently close to the poverty line, so that still sounds like a dream to me. But at the same time, you don't need a billion dollars to get the kind of things I want. So with all the rest of the money - probably over half - I think I'd donate it and/or start my own charity.
As an atheist and a secular humanist, very little (if any) of my money would go to charities involved with religion. However, I could donate a lot to secular charities and small humanist organizations, which are growing in number in recent years. The Trevor Project and other similar outreaches to LGBT+ youth would be another example of what I'd donate to. Lastly, I would spend a lot of money to help local wildlife refuges, State and National parks, and various nature conservation organizations.
Note: I forgot to write about this, but I also want to give money to scientific research, particularly wildlife science, neuroscience, and psychology.
Well, that sums up how I would spend my 1 billion USD. Dang, I actually put a lot more thought into that than what I originally planned. I hope I didn't ramble on for too long. Anyway, thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend!