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Apr
16
BTT: An Unexpected Windfall
2009 at 10am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Yesterday, April 15th, was Tax Day here in the U.S., which means lots of lucky people will get refunds of over-paid taxes.
Whether you’re one of them or not, what would you spend an unexpected windfall on? Say … $50? How about $500?
(And, this is a reading meme, so by rights the answer should be book-related, but hey, feel free to go wild and splurge on anything you like.)
Well, since you’re offering, I’ll take the $500. Since hubby is a financial advisor, our taxes were done in February, and our refund was spent on invested into Operation Curb Appeal, which entails getting grass to grow in our yard, tearing out the crazy/ugly/poorly done landscaping left by the previous owners, and planting about a bajillion bulbs. It was practical, and it has paid off with gorgeous flowers, but come on. That’s not so exciting.
If I’m going to spend my $500 on books (and I think we all know there’s a good chance that I will), I’ll have to decide whether to spend it on one or two really expensive books (like, say, collectors’ editions of The Scarlet Letter or the complete works of Dickens) or on a whole bunch of books from my TBR list. The list started as a random collection of post-it notes, then it progressed to a small notebook, and now it takes up a Word file. I would put it in Excel, but I’m not sure I really want to know how many titles are on there.
And that’s not even counting the TBRs that are piled up around my house. I swear, we just got new bookshelves over the holidays, and we already need more. It’s crazy. And my husband is a total enabler.
Maybe I should spend my windfall on getting built-in bookshelves for our home office. Can you even do that for $500?
Now that I’m thinking about it, spending my windfall on books might not be the best idea. I mean, I already have more books than I’ll be able to read this year. But what I could use is a getaway weekend. That’s it. I think I’d use my windfall to surprise hubby with a weekend at a bed & breakfast somewhere a few hours away, or at a cottage at the beach, or a cabin in the woods…just somewhere where we could unplug and unwind and spend some quality quiet time away from everything else.
And read, of course.
Or there’s always food. I do love to eat—and I’ve already confessed that I plan vacations around restaurants—so maybe I should spend the money splurging on a really amazing meal at a swanky restaurant. Hmm….
There are so many options. I’m really not sure what I would do….but if you’d like to find out, feel free to put the check in the mail. 
No related posts.
No. Built in cases are a lot more than that!!
The weekend getaway sounds fantastic.
Hi!
I think I would love to go to a fancy restaurant for dinner with my hubby. But also sneak in some more books! Have a great day!!
Sherrie
I would love to spend my unexpected windfall on acquiring classic copies of my favorite books. I love the way that the old fashioned binding feels – walking into an antique bookstore is amazing I could spend it easily on old books with the great old book smell and the wonderful binding….don’t I wish I could…
I’d go somewhere too! Books are nice but I can normally budget them in anyway.
do it all…get away, eat, read and while you’re gone have someone else put in your new bookshelves!!!
I wouldn’t spend my windfall on books either: that’s what the library’s for!
I’d probably put it towards a trip…I love travelling, and that’s one thing you can’t do for free.
A swanky restaurant sounds like a good idea
A weekend getaway was my choice too! I could so use a vacation.