Perhaps understandably, when a person has little or no money they imagine what it must be like to have plenty of it. Considering that my own personal financial situation has the distinct look of poo on a spinning fan, I’ve caught myself imagining the prospect of wealth more and more.

I’ve never been a person driven for immense wealth. That just seems pointless to me. I know from personal experience (when I used to earn a substantial amount for my age while living at home) that no matter how much you have, you’ll still want more.

At that relatively affluent stage in my life I used to pay cash for $1100 cellphones, $500 car stereo systems, $600 trips across to Australia for the weekend etc. I even once paid $2200 in cash to have my car repainted. If a breakfast radio show offered me $100 for doing something simple I’d say no thanks and keep walking.

Now however things have changed. With a juicy mortgage and, well, let’s be honest, a less than desirable income, nowadays a real treat is simply a dinner at a restaurant – any restaurant.
If the same radio station approached me now I’d be the one jumping up and down with my hands waving about frantically.

While hard to imagine this financial struggle has come with benefits. For a start it’s made me realise just how much clutter and crap people buy into their lives, and how unnecessary almost all of it is.
During my last 8 months of virtual poverty I’ve learned to take a lot more pleasure in life’s simple things, such as a cup of coffee or a walk around the many local parks and lakes.

Believe me, my empty wallet hasn’t come around from a lack of effort. Far from it. I’m doing everything there is to generate income – from electric car tutorials to language courses. But still, the Gods of Cash, high up on their cloud refuse to throw thy bountiful dollar down to me.

So! As I’ve caught myself imagining what I’d do if I woke up and found $1000 ($700 US) in my wallet, I’ve finally written it down for the world to mock.

1: Donate half to local charities = $500
I have great respect for the SPCA and the work they do. I was lucky enough to have a tax refund of $600 last year, and the first thing I did was drive to the SPCA and gave10% of it to them.
I also feel that the Salvation Army deserves a decent slice, as they do a tremendous job in feeding and comforting the homeless and less fortunate. I know this donation would mean half of the money would be gone by now, but I’m certain that those two charities would put it to much better use than I ever could.

2: Buy a Swiss Army Knife = $100
Because they’re just so darn cool and I’ve wanted one for ages. My Dad used to have one when I was a kid and I was fascinated by all the cool things you could fit into one. Everything from a magnifying glass to a little compass. Even a toothpick and a pen! Too many times I’ve been fiddling with something outside or in the car and I needed a knife, or a little screwdriver. I recently saw a bunch of them on a stand at an outdoors supply shop and was mesmerized as they slowly spun around.

3: Take my wife out to dinner = $100
As mentioned further up, dinners are a rare and cherished thing in our household because for two entrees and two mains you’ll be paying around $80 in a typical New Zealand restaurant. For those of us on a budget it means it’s pumpkin soup night – every night. But, with the option of $100 to blow I’d even order us both a glass of wine!

4: Take a road trip = $200
One thing we greatly miss from our days of living in Australia was the ability to jump in the car and just drive. We had more money there, so we could afford to often spend a full day exploring the mountains or driving the coast, while stopping at craft stalls, cafes and restaurants.
New Zealand has the benefit of having much more to see in a smaller area, but sadly our situation means we only have enough gas to get to the local mall these days. We’d relish waking up in a romantic little Kiwi town, with the fresh morning air, the friendly locals, and mountains all around us. Bliss!

5: Turn on the spa pool for a month = $100
By using a cool plug-in meter, I’ve worked out that our little 4-person hot tub costs $10.20 to fill up, and around $3 a day to run. Sadly this means that for most of the year we have a large, quadrangular paperweight sitting out the back of the house. It also doubles as an ideal place for us to store our baby mosquitoes as the little angels prepare for dinner.
Being July, we’re now halfway through winter, yet we only turned the tub on one week ago – and only because we’ll have guests staying in 3 days. Once they’re gone it’s being turned off again. Sniff.
It’s a real shame because Veronika and I both absolutely love that spa pool. Especially on cool, calm nights, serenaded by a blanket of stars, satellites, and shooting stars with pockets of steam swirling towards it all. Ahhh.

But for now, we must carry on. Working hard, striving, and fighting – determined to make this work-from-home dream come true. We have hope and determination that one day things will work out. And if it doesn’t, then at the very least the lottery gets drawn tomorrow night. Hey, you never know!