Wednesday 7 August 2013

How I'd Spend 20K ( #Spend20K Challenge )

The lovely people over at BritMums (sponsored by The National Lottery) have set us bloggers a lovely dreamy challenge ... imagine how you'd spend £20,000 cash and write about it... then be in with a chance of winning £100 worth of Love2Shop vouchers (It's not quite £20k, but yes please!)

This task isn't a hard one for me because....


1) I'm VERY GOOD at shopping and spending money

2) Shopping and thinking about shopping genuinely makes me happy & excited & raises my endorphins, so it is therefore good for me/my health - never a better reason!
3) I have ALWAYS been a dreamer - I regularly while away the time imagining what I'd do/buy if I won a large amount of money.

We've all done it - sat with our spouses or families and spent the millions in our heads, new houses, flash cars, lovely holidays etc. It is so fun to do, and I think it is so important to always be aspiring towards something - it might not necessarily be winning the lottery - maybe its aspiring to save for a new piece of furniture, or a nice holiday - for me, the exciting part is the build up - the working hard to achieve your goal and then that feeling when you have actually achieved it (saved enough & bought it!)


I'm not sure how winning a huge amount of money would work for me - would you still get that sense of pleasure, of reward? Maybe not. Money can't buy you happiness as they say, but I think it can buy you stability, peace of mind, and having money certainly makes your life a lot easier. Maybe not millions, but I think everyone's ultimate goal is to be comfortable - to not have to worry. For me, the 'ultimate' would be if I could afford to do all my food shopping in Waitrose. If I ever achieve that sort of financial stability I'll be a happy lady! :-)


So...How Would I Spend 20K?


1) New dining furniture. I currently have a perfectly adequate table & four chairs, however, I have always dreamt of a gorgeous 'farmhouse style' shabby-chic, French grey or cream coloured wooden table and chairs, to seat 6. This would definitely be my first spend.



Neptune Harrogate Dining Table £795.00 (John Lewis)



Neptune Harrogate Dining Chairs x 6 = £1170.00 (John Lewis)


I would just LOVE this gorgeous furniture in my dining room - and think it would match my house perfectly!

Total spend so far ... £1965.00

2) Outdoor Dining Furniture - again, we have adequate outdoor garden furniture, but since when has 'adequate' been good enough? :-) As this is a 'dream spend' I can buy what I want, right? And right now, I want this awesome table & 6 chairs. 

(John Lewis) Corsica 6 Seater Round Outdoor Dining Table £259.00
(John Lewis) Corsica Outdoor Lounging Armchair x 6 = £900
Total spend so far £3124

3) A chest freezer. We are currently looking for a cheap/free second hand chest freezer to love in our brick built shed in our garden. We know it would come in really handy to have extra freezer space and to be able to bulk-buy, especially now we're an expanding family. If we had 20K to spend, a brand new chest freezer would definitely be one of our purchases. 

John Lewis JLCH200 Chest Freezer, A+ Energy Rating, 80cm Wide, White £349.00
Total spend so far = £3473.00

4) Garden toys for our Little Mr! Although he isn't even here yet, I'm not sure I could resist spending some of the money on some gorgeous garden toys for our little man. Who could resist a swing and pirate ship in your back garden? Not me! 

(John Lewis) TP9 Forest Growable Acorn Swing Frame £110.00

(John Lewis) TP164 Forest Pirate Galleon 2 £500.00
Total spend so far £4083.00

5) Victorian Garden Lamp Post - Just like Narnia! Who doesn't NEED one of these in their garden? :-) We love to socialise in our garden with friends, and I've always lusted after one of these lights...

Victorian Garden Lamp Post - With Flower Baskets  £649

Total spend so far = £4732

6) Smeg Fridge/Freezer - again, I've always lusted after one of these retro lovelies - and I know once I had it, it would last a lifetime! It would really suit my shaker-style kitchen, and would just look soooo pretty! 

Smeg FAB50P Fridge Freezer, A+ Energy Rating, 80cm Wide, Cream £1799.00

Total spend so far = £6531

7) House Exterior & Driveway. I would probably spend around £4,000 having my driveway block-paved, and my house rendering fixed (it is damaged in one area) and the whole house needs an exterior coat of paint. All jobs that need doing, would add value to our house, and help to prettify those rough little edges. 

some pretty block paving - I'd go for this sort of thing

Total spend so far = £10,531.00

8) Money in the bank. Now I'm popping on my sensible head. Spending £10,000 is as easy as pie, and I know I could find lots of lovely things to buy, and holidays to go on with the other £10K BUT I would genuinely rather have the rest of the money in the bank - for life's little luxuries (Waitrose shopping, eating out, petrol, things for Little Man, cake, dresses etc!) Especially as I am now on Maternity leave from work - 'every little helps' as they say, and £10K would be a dream-come-true. It would mean i could enjoy my maternity leave without worrying about finances, and it would take the pressure off my lovely husband to earn earn earn! 

Total spend = £10, 531 Money in the bank = £9469.00

What would you spend £20K on? Would you buy similar items to be - long term 'investment' purchases for your house and lifestyle? Or would you blow it on holidays, designer gear, a new car? 

I'd love to know!

Mrs B 

xxxx


Disclaimer: This post is an entry for BritMums #Spend20K Challenge sponsored by The National Lottery, with more ways to win more money on the new Lotto game. Find out more about new Lotto, which starts in October, here – www.national-lottery.co.uk