The title ("$300K Dreaming") has dual meanings:
1. With the stock market doing whatever it is that it is doing, my net worth is dwindling and hitting that $300K milestone is feeling further away than ever! I'm in the low $200's right now :( I have a goal of a $500K net worth by 50...that's only 6 years away.
2. The NZ Heart Foundation has a new charity lotto that I bought a ticket to, and the grand prize is $300K! They've been giving away $50K per week for the past month, and it's always exciting/disappointing to see that email come into my inbox. It's finally the week of the grand prize drawing, and you never know! It got me thinking about winning $300K...what would I do, what would I do...(cue hazy dream-like filter and harp music).
Firstly, I'd encourage my flatmate to move out ASAP. I'm so tired of living with roommates! During our recent lease renewal, she sprung a surprise on me: she and her BF have been thinking about moving in together, but don't know when, just that it will take place in the next year. This is extremely annoying, because *I* recently told her and my landlord that I would probably be moving back to the US to help out my family next March, and didn't want to be the Head Tenant for the next lease so that was possible. Now she is backing out. The lease has to have a Head Tenant responsible for the rent, however, and I feel like I've been bullied into taking the lease until next June. I'm so tired of getting burned by flatmates like this. I've lived in my place for 7 years and if I can't live alone, just want to find someone stable and willing to live in the same place for long periods of time, like I do. Argh. I hate change...
When my flatmate went to the US for a month earlier this year, I had the house all to myself, and It. Was. Bliss. I loved every second of it! I can't afford to live alone in NZ, however much I crave it. So the first thing I'd do is find a way to live alone. That'd be about $15K for a year.
The second thing I'd do is put a chunk towards my health. I'd see my expensive therapist and physio more often, and go to private reformer pilates classes, maybe buy an e-bike, to keep me on track physically. I'd probably also start going to get massages more often, and opt for better places to get my 2-3x a year pedicures, eyelash tint, and eyebrow tint and wax. I go to really cheap places now and the service is...less than desirable, just enough to make me keep going when I need a treat or want to look nicer without any effort on my part. $20K/year
The third thing I'd do is save a bit toward my post-PhD life. I want to take a year off and just travel and visit friends and family, and another $10-$15K for a year would really make that time luxurious.
That $50K takes care of the immediate wants I can think of for a year. For long term, the rest ($250K, minus any taxes) would go to charity, other savings, and investments. I'd use the majority of it to help meet my retirement goals. I'd probably consult a financial planner and international tax accountant to help figure out how to do that.
$300K isn't enough to retire off of, but it would certainly be an amazing boost for my financial goals and immediate wants!
