ABUNDANT = more space, money, time, freedom & focus
MINIMALISM = less clutter, no debt, fewer complications, obligations & distractions

Minimalist Millionaire

A lottery ticket in a man's hand, comparing to the numbers on the TV screen in the background.
Minimalist millionaire in the making?
Image by Gary Martin

Imagine a minimalist wins millions in the lottery. What does a new minimalist millionaire do with the money? Since a minimalists’ lifestyle is not focused on collecting things, the need for money is already greatly reduced. So with a lot of excess cash, what do you think they’d want?

When I was about 12 years old, our teacher asked us to plan out what we would do if we won a million dollars in the lottery. I recall that the boys all wanted some kind of race car (which I still think is weird) and I don’t remember specifically what the girls wanted. The purchase of a mansion was definitely on everyone’s list.

Once or twice a year I buy a lottery ticket. It’s fun and I am definitely ahead of the game, as I have only bought between 12-15 tickets in my life, yet I’ve won several free tickets and small prizes, plus $2,500 once. Winning that much was fun, but with 6 out of 7 numbers matching on a 30 million dollar jackpot, I thought I’d win at least a million. The odds of getting 6 out of 7 numbers is astronomically rare.

So this week I bought a ticket. It was fun to imagine what we’d do with the money if we won the jackpot of 7 million dollars. This is what we think we’d do with the extra money:

We discussed giving money to others, and enjoying a life that in some ways is very similar to our current one, but involves a great deal more travel. Our plan is focused on investing to ensure our continued freedom, and on achievements and experiences rather than material things.

After getting my family members set up with fully paid off homes, I’d head off around the globe for years of minimalist travel. We’d also buy a few vacation rental properties as investments. We were involved in that industry for years and know it’s a good one. My husband would buy a very nice bicycle and go to Europe to pedal up all of the mountains that are in the biggest cycling races that he loves to watch. I was a horse trainer, riding coach, judge, and competitive stadium jumper for many years. Although I miss riding horses, they take up a lot of time and resources to care for them. I would consider sharing a horse with someone keen, so I could be free to travel.

Imagine that you won:

If you won a jackpot of 7 million dollars, what would you do with the money? Please enter your answers in the comments section below.

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