Many of you probably wonder what did I buy first after the windfall. Amazingly enough, I sat down and took the extraordinary pleasure of paying off every single bill. Over the years, I had amassed assorted Visas and Mastercards (3), a Delta Skymiles Amex, a regular American Express, Nordstrom’s, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, a home equity loan, a car loan, etc. I cannot imagine what my mailbox will be like with virtually no bills any longer except the recurring utilities’ ones. Nor can I imagine what it will feel like not to have to lay awake worrying about that crushing debt.

I live in a modest house that I began working on several years ago. Most people would immediately move elsewhere but I have not made that choice yet. The yard is awful. First, I am going to resod it beautifully front AND back and have an unsightly basketball goal taken down. Our deck has been about to fall off the house so I am getting a new deck that does not have to be painted installed. The house needs repainting immediately, and I have contracted for that all ready. My outdoor lighting on the house is in disrepair so I have an electrician coming to fix that. I am finally getting the laundry sink installed I have always wanted along with a new washer line installed. Also, the garage is just awful so I am paying this company to come in and repaint it, arrange it and paint the floors. It’s not really that bad. Boy, it is going to feel good to see the outside looking so fantastic.