Don't Ask and I Certainly Won't Tell

K had to go to the grocery store before work today and he came home--as he does, at times--with a couple of lottery tickets.  As he was leaving for work, he told me to scratch the tickets, but "If you win, don't tell anyone. At least until we have the money in our hands."  I DID have to chuckle--as IF we would ever win enough to HAVE to keep it a secret, but, we can dream.  ;)

K and I aren't what you would call 'gamblers.'  He will get in the football pool at work and buys lottery tickets on a semi-regular basis.  We have been to Las Vegas once and a couple of times a year we will go to an Indian casino and 'donate' some money to the Native Americans.  ;)  As we don't go out to bars, etc, and spend money that way, the money we spend at the casino is for a form of entertainment--and cheaper than some other forms, actually.  If you can curb your spending, sitting in a casino isn't really all that expensive.  And who knows, you just MAY win some money.

Every so often, we will go off on a flight of fantasy and discuss what we would do if we won a lot of money.  First thing, I would NOT want a lot of people to know about my winning big--I just don't need that kind of attention.  K has a definite number in mind that he would need in order to quit work and if he won that amount, he would only go back long enough to sign his retirement papers.  Neither one of us has a lot of material things we would want to buy.  A new (modest) house and a couple of new vehicles and we would be pretty set.  Really, $1 million would be more than enough for us to elevate our life style!  (And $1 million doesn't buy nearly as much today as it once did.  ;))

Of course, if we ever won A LOT of money, then we would have some decisions to make.  We would need to decide who would benefit from our winnings, besides us.  We would want to 'do' for our kids and their families, naturally.  And several charities would benefit, as well.  But after that, just who do you 'help?'  I have always been family-oriented, but being estranged from my parents and brother would keep me from wanting to 'spread the wealth.'  We probably would help out my parents and K would want to do something for his oldest sister, at least, but beyond that, we would have to think long and hard about who else.

One question that has come up when talking the 'winning' scenario with friends is "HOW would you help your kids?"  I would be too afraid to give enough money for my kids to never have to worry or work again, but I definitely would want to ease their burdens.  I would like to set up a trust fund--or whatever it would be called--that would pay their bills and allow them to live a comfortable life, but not give them enough to become lazy and entitled.  I would want them to HAVE to continue working, if for nothing more than all of the 'extras' they would want to have.

So, have you ever done the 'what if' game?  How would you spend your money?

Questions

Why is it so wrong to accept the status quo?  Why do we INSIST that things have to change?  I know that 'change is inevitable,' but why can't we leave some things alone and be happy?  As a species, we really are strange.

Obamacare?

EDITED:  I edited this to reflect the fact that I found out that the insurance in question was our car insurance, NOT our home-owner's insurance.


Our vehicle insurance bill came a week or so ago and it had gone up $250.  WTF!?!?!?  Today, K got a call from the insurer's rep.  The rep wanted to know if K had health insurance.  He said he did, from work.  Then the rep said that our car insurance had gone up the $250 because the insurer added the amount to compensate for the possibility of us not having health insurance.  So, because we DID have health coverage, our bill will drop $250, as it wasn't needed.

Here are my questions about all of this:  Does this have anything to do with Obamacare?  Are other insurers going to be charging us a higher premium if we don't have our own health insurance--for example, homeowner's insurance?  Or is this something new that just was put into effect?  I guess these questions will be answered when K goes in to the company to have a sit-down with the rep, but I thought I would put this out there for my readers to discuss.  I am really confused and would like to know what is going on.

Curiosity

Recently, I read a 'Dear Abby' type of article.  A woman was upset and seeking advice over a dilemma she had.  A friend had been at their house helping her husband do some landscaping.  When they were done and came into the house, the friend proceeded to wash up at the kitchen sink.   The woman was horrified to think someone would wash himself at the kitchen sink where food is prepared--and the columnist was, too.  I was dumbfounded--this was something that never occurred to me as being horrifying.

The house I grew up in was an old farmhouse that had been moved into town from the farm.  It only had a tiny bathroom on the second floor--and the sink didn't work the entire time I lived there.  We had to use the bathtub to wash after using the toilet--or go downstairs and use the kitchen sink.  I grew up using the kitchen sink to brush my teeth and The Father ALWAYS washed up there when coming in from an outside job.  Actually, I don't know how much difference it would have made if the bathroom would have been fully functional.  Both The Mother and Father used outhouses at some point in their lives, so the only sink they ever had that was usable WAS the kitchen one.  (The sauna was for bathing.)  When The Parents married and rented a house, it only had an outhouse and a water pump in the kitchen.  They have lived very rustically at different times of their lives.  Growing up, the kitchen sink was regularly scrubbed and it DEFINITELY was scrubbed before any food was put into it, so there was no chance of contamination.  To this day, I don't see a problem with using the kitchen sink for other than dishes and food.

My question is this:  Do I have a wrong way of looking at this entire situation?  Do you--or have you ever--used your kitchen sink for anything that was not related to food in any way?  I'm terribly curious about this.