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How would you spend your last $20?

Started by Daniel Gibbons · 9 months ago

“Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.” - Norman Vincent Peale

Carrie says: I would hunt for a lovely object to give to my husband - some Grateful Dead memorabilia.
 

Danielle says: I’d take ... Continue reading »

103 comments

  • Joanne

    10 months ago

    This question is a bit close to home for me at the moment, so I'm going to have to go practical! I'd buy as much food as I could for $20.
    reply
  • bene

    10 months ago

    I love my lattes, so I would probably buy as many of them as I could. Not very profound, I am afraid:)
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  • Kristin

    10 months ago

    I'd save it, and find enough inspiration from things that are free - people-watching, wandering a new path, feeling the sun on my face - to create something new that would turn around my fortune.
    reply
  • Julia

    10 months ago

    oh--I'm embarrassed to say, but honestly, I would buy good coffee & a pastry, a fabulous magazine and lip gloss. Not very noble, but probable.
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  • Julia

    10 months ago

    Hang in there, Joanne. I'll pray that you get what you need.You'll be okay!
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  • Julia

    10 months ago

    I am with you! Love a latte!
    reply
  • Crys

    10 months ago

    $20, Well, depends on what is needed and how I feel... More than likely I would purchase dinner for our family of 5 - yes in today's society it CAN be done. You see I don't like to cook too much and the break is always something I appreciate, or I'd get groceries and have dh cook ( he IS a better cook than me).
    reply
  • Jennifer Sage

    10 months ago

    As a person who always sees the glass half full I can't even begin to try to guess the answer to this question.
    I once read about the two ways to be rich:
    1. Have more money than you know what to do with
    2. Be completely happy with what you've got. I am wealthy in this way. Maybe I would jusy give it away.
    reply
  • Chantal

    10 months ago

    Cook a meal with friends!
    I'm noticing a food trend here...
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  • Jennifer

    10 months ago

    I'd spend $10 of it on a public yoga class, $5 on a "Recession Special" at Gray's Papaya (2 perfectly grilled Hot Dogs and a Frothy Papaya Drink), and the balance I would give to the homeless man on my subway line who has a great pitch.
    reply
  • Debbie R

    10 months ago

    I'd buy enough all the postage stamps I could - and send out cards to all of my friends!
    reply
  • Kathleen

    10 months ago

    I'd buy a bunch of flowers, probably pink tulips.
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  • Suzie Sunshine

    10 months ago

    Food for sure - almonds, soya beans,a dry protein that will sustain me until I could get to a shelter.
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  • Xai Vicente Charles

    10 months ago

    I would give it away to a person in need.
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  • Joannie

    10 months ago

    I would save it!

    I'd so much like to say I'd give it to Joanne so she can buy more food or to someone else in need, but...

    Then I think of the parable about the talents (coins I believe) and the moral is to use it to help others, give it away. Isn't there some saying about when you give something away you get it back a thousand fold?

    That's what I'm aiming for.
    reply
  • Joannie

    10 months ago

    I love this answer!
    reply
  • Colette

    10 months ago

    Maybe I am a "party Pooper" on this one, but I have no plans to head in that direction. There are always means to create income, no matter what. This is not just some philosophy, this also comes from experience.
    reply
  • Jess

    10 months ago

    An small meal at McD's, a gelato, a magazine and snuggle up in my bf's nook and I am happy :)
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  • Joanne

    10 months ago

    Thank you for the thought anyway Joannie! I know we'll be fine, just going through a tough patch at the moment. My husband has just set up a new business, and of course it takes some time to become established. And I have to give thanks for the fact that I live in a country (UK) which has a safety net, so nobody needs to go without the essentials. Imagine living in a country where no money is the difference between life and death. I'm very lucky.
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  • Cecile

    10 months ago

    BONJOUR MES AMIS!!!

    Now let's see... I might give the money to a monastery and hope they let me join... meditation and yard work forever seems like a good life if you enjoy instrospection and communion with the Earth... which I do... OR, OR if it must be a worldly good I'd try to get a bottle of Estee Lauder's Privare Collections Tuberose Gardenia in the black market... Nah.. That's highly unlikely... So going the practical route, I'd try to find a way to invest it to make it yield even if a little somethig which is better than nothing,I THINK...

    Bisous, Cécile
    reply
  • Donna

    10 months ago

    I'd say invest to reap the harvest but $20 will not even feed my family for 2 days! So I would break out the china and celebrate what we do have (even if we are eating beans and rice)and pray that God will provide a source of earned income.
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  • Jill

    10 months ago

    Since we've been on a tight budget lately, I've felt the pinch of the last dollars. I'm too practical, so I would look to see if there was anything we needed -- milk, toilet paper, etc. -- and then if we were OK for a week or so, I'd probably spend the $20 on a treat -- ice cream, eating out or even my ultimate splurge, a magazine!
    reply
  • Afi

    10 months ago

    I'd probably look at it. By the time I'd made up my mind, it would probably be too late to do anything. :)
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  • Tabitha

    10 months ago

    Hmm... that's a tough one. $10 on a dance class, and the other $10 getting a fun, cheap meal with the hubby!
    reply
  • Cindy

    10 months ago

    I would purchase an inspirational book with practical advice that would help me see my situation in a new light and make the necessary changes so that I will never be down to my last $20 again.
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  • JoeM

    10 months ago

    I'd use it to post a resume' to all my contacts, with suggestions on how each might enjoy my talents and capabilities - part time, full time, or one time. Then I'd find a minimum wage job where I could meet a lot of people on a daily basis and continue to enjoy life and be creative, but on a lot less income.
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  • Joannie

    10 months ago

    I live in a similar country - Canada. I am grateful every day. My little mother - dead now since 1986 - was born in Sussex-by-the-sea (that's how she would say it to me)in England. She immigrated with her family to Canada when she was two years old. She never lost her love of everything English. When she was 77 years old on a visit with my husband and I to England and Europe she took high tea at the Savoy all alone. And this from a woman who had very little in the way of material things during her lifetime!

    And I believe if she had been asked this question she would have given the money to someone else, Joanne! Maybe even you! :)
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  • Joanne

    10 months ago

    Did your mum enjoy her high tea? What a lovely story. I wish that I was braver about money, but I have a real dread of destitution, which is bizarre, because as I said before, I never will be destitute. A past life memory perhaps? But I'll think about this and try and pluck up the courage to give more away.
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  • Angela

    10 months ago

    If I had $20 I'd feel rich! The question should be 'How would I spend my last $5?' since that's how much money I have until payday. It's a toss up between fast food and staples like milk at the grocery store. But the deeper question is: Why, when I'm close to broke, do I feel the need to spend whatever money I have rather than save it? Why is the urge to spend it greater when it's my last $5 than if it were $20?
    reply
  • kim

    10 months ago

    good coffee, bad cigarettes, and the latest edition of Cottage Living.
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  • MoJo

    10 months ago

    Great question! I've spent my last $20 sooooo many times over the years (which has given me this strange faith in the fact that although sometimes uncomfortable, in the end, things have always worked out!) And oddly enough, whenever I've been down to the last $20, I recall treating myself with little luxuries that I wouldn't necessarily buy if it weren't my last bit of $$. Like a Venti, triple shot caramel macchiato, or a pricey European mag or Utne reader, or Thai red curry chicken with spring rolls, or a 700 page book I'd been eyeing at the bookstore.

    I recall an analogy I heard once about abundance being similar to a water tap - you have to let it flow out to make room for more to come in (akin to 'surrendering' and non-attachment in a money kind of way). Ah, money, one of my greatest teachers this time around...and I'm still dancing with my perceptions and the elusive balance of my relationship with it!
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  • Dena

    10 months ago

    I'd probably see if I could buy shoes with it . . .
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  • Katasha

    10 months ago

    Whatever I would do with it, I would be sharing it with the one that I love. . .
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  • Ellen

    10 months ago

    Food.
    If it were the last $20 ever in the world, I would buy red wine and cheese.
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  • lisaohhh

    10 months ago

    i'd take my husband and daughter out for ice cream, and tip really well.
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  • weezie

    10 months ago

    My husband, who would never find himself down to a last $20, would want it to be invested. But I, true to my nature, would want to create a lovely memory by hosting a marvelous dinner party, although I would have to get one of the guests to bring the wine.
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  • jennb

    10 months ago

    I guess i would give 5 dollars to each one of my cildren. As long as their happy Im happy.
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  • Diane

    10 months ago

    You & Joannie are vey fortunate to live in a country where money is not the difference between life & death. I live where it is. I will say I worry daily about my future! Last $20, wouldn't make a difference so maybe a bottle of liquor & a telephone call to a relative for help. Count your Socialist blessings...cheers!
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  • claudia

    10 months ago

    Well, I have been in that situation many times and each time the way I have spent the money has been different: food, gas, lottery ticket, etc. but the answer is always: this is just temporary, there's more coming and... trust that there is more coming.
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  • Daniel Gibbons

    10 months ago

    Well, Microsoft's IPO was priced at $21 / share and even though the stock has been stagnant for the last few years, that $21 from 1986 would still be worth over $8,000 today, or a return of about 40,000%. The numbers get really silly if you think about what would have happened had you bought 250 shares / invested just over $5k. Today that investment would be worth over $2 million. So I'd look for the next Microsoft. Simple, right?
    reply
  • Brenda

    10 months ago

    Get together with about 3 or 4 friends. Combine our money. Take the loot to a grocery store, purchase enough food for a Thanksgiving feast (and left overs, too!). You know...Turkey, cornbread stuffing, home-made yeast rolls, candied yams, macaroni and cheese, sweet potato pie, the works! My friends and I would talk about how fortunate and blessed we've been. As I'm writing this, I've decided to do this very thing at the end of this month. I don't need to wait 'til November to express my thanks?!
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  • Stephanie

    10 months ago

    I would buy some good food, a white rose with pink edges, and a $2 scratch and win ticket.
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  • Pema

    10 months ago

    I'd give a few dollars of it away, and spend the rest on necessities. When I get fearful around not having enough money, I give some away to loosen my grip on it. Gotta give some to get some. The flow always goes.
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  • Keiko

    10 months ago

    I'd take Dan out for dinner and get him to teach me all he knows!
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  • Keiko

    10 months ago

    I would probably go to a yoga class with my fav teacher (who shows me I can do things that look impossible) then invite my focus team and boyfriend over for coffee, and brainstorm my way out of this situation!
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  • Angie

    10 months ago

    I would take my daughter out for tea and talk about how much I love her, the amazingly passionate vibrant sophisticated glorious joyful alive loving thoughtful beautiful person she is, and how much depth and profound unconditional love and creativity she has brought to the world.
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  • Tina

    10 months ago

    I already have!
    Someone I admire very much once told me that money has no home. It is at my house today and yours tommorrow. I just wish it would visit me a little longer.
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  • Steve

    10 months ago

    A cheap bottle of red, crusty bread, tomatoes, basil, garlic, reginanno and a handful of fresh pasta, a few cheap candles, a pack of matches and my last quarter to call my date.
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  • Kim

    10 months ago

    I'd buy a hamburger. No joke. A really good one. Meat and bread ... that's just the world's most inspired innovation. And with a thick chunk of that in your belly ... poverty, death ... neither are really such a scary proposition :)
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  • Ngonzi Truth Crushshon

    10 months ago

    Well, since I had exactly $20.20 (that I could actually spend) to my name after paying bills/mortgage...I saved it! I try to find all the free events that I can....and they have this really nice live jazz event (that's free) at Red Kiva lounge....that has now moved to Room 21 restaurant on Wednesdays in Chicago. AND they have this free comedy show going on at Red Kiva lounge on Tuesdays in Chicago. The other night there was this free art event at Gallery Guichard...(free wine, food, and music). Now, I'm so OVERWHELMED w all the free events that I wonder why I hadn't done this sooner-Searched for free events!
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  • christina

    10 months ago

    I would get my daughter something.
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  • Katie Kay

    10 months ago

    I would buy my favorite ingredients for a yummy meal and invite friends over. Oh! some cheap tasty wine too, maybe 2 buck Chuck!
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  • Traci

    10 months ago

    Oh, if I had a nickle for every time I spent my last $20 on something silly, I'd probably have another $20!
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  • Susie Hutchinson

    10 months ago

    I would buy my daughter a new toy.
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  • Danielle LaPorte

    10 months ago

    I can dig it. I didn't want to answer the "Who would you last meal be with?" question for similar reasons.
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  • Danielle LaPorte

    10 months ago

    ooo...COMBINING MONEY. Very good. Love it. So many answers today are altruistic and lovely. Looks like it's just me and a few of the boys who are in the "turn your $20 bucks into MORE" mode.
    xo
    D
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  • Danielle LaPorte

    10 months ago

    me too. I remember in my 20's, taking empty beer bottles back to the store to get enough bus fair to go pick up my pay cheque..and a pack of smokes for the pub. I don't miss that, of course, but I apply the same grit and will to getting things done on a bigger level now. But I should hit the pub more often...
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  • Heather

    10 months ago

    my dogs would have to get dog bones and i'd have a glass of wine and a nice dinner~
    reply
  • Kat the Drumming Diva

    10 months ago

    love your name, MOJO
    love what you said.
    it feels too long since i splurged on something fancy.
    last weekend i found myself awestruck at a booth at a music festival that sold beautiful leather journals (fair trade & hand made in india). at the time, it just seemed too extravagant, but at least i grabbed a business card. the journals are so beautiful, with an inset stone in the cover, carved designs around the stone, handmade paper with little flowers pressed into them... why on earth didn't i buy one?
    i'm going to email them now and order the one i kept picking up & putting down!
    thank you.
    reply
  • Jamie

    10 months ago

    I would likely purchase something ooey gooey chocolatey and carmely; a pastery of some sort, and a large dark roast cup of coffee.

    I would likely take the remainder of pennies, make a wish and toss it in a fountain... and wait.
    reply
  • TopazPearleGirl

    10 months ago

    A pad of paper and the big pack of Sharpies so I could colr and journal everyday.
    reply
  • Colette

    10 months ago

    Ya, I answered the last meal by saying that when I am dead, somebody post what I last ate!
    reply
  • MoJo

    10 months ago

    Kat - just checking...are you in Ontario by chance? Just that I knew another Kat who was a musician and had a thing for journals!

    Strangely - I have a small one similar to what you described...I'm always inspired by journals - so many pages holding the potential of being transformed by expression. I have too many empty ones ;-) Glad you're going to indulge and order it - your muse was calling on you! May it overflow with YOU-ness...
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  • Uncle Beefy

    10 months ago

    It seems like we're all rather focused on the food here but... I think I'd bake up a batch of my famous cupcakes and sell them with a healthy percentage going to charity. That way I increase from my last $20 and still help someone out in the process. And with cupcakes to boot! Delightful!
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  • Kat the Drumming Diva

    10 months ago

    replying to MOJO but there isn't a link on her (your) reply below...
    YES i'm in ontario! in kitchener-waterloo... a musician (drummer) and love journals! hmmm... have we met???
    : )
    reply
  • Cecile

    10 months ago

    This sounds sooooo romaaaaasntic!!!

    Cécile
    reply
  • MoJo

    10 months ago

    Kat - Earthies? I knew a Kat a few years ago through a meditation group... funny, I was thinking the other day that was the only other time I've taken part in an on-line community and was reminded of the same type of varied and interesting people there. Is this that Kat? Perhaps 'Moiky' would ring a bell?
    reply
  • Kat the Drumming Diva

    10 months ago

    i'm sorry i'm not the same kat! but the world is small, isn't it? as ani difranco says: the world is small, beautiful and absurd.
    rock on, sista!
    the 'other' kat LOL
    reply
  • MoJo

    10 months ago

    LOL - and you Diva! Great to 'meet' you...
    reply
  • Tamara

    10 months ago

    A bottle of moody red wine to share with my husband over a game of Scrabble...we do our best thinking then.
    reply
  • Cecile

    10 months ago

    AWESOME IDEA!!
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  • Brenda

    10 months ago

    Actually, expressing your gratitude puts you in a position to receive more. So I guess you can add me to your "more mode" list.
    reply
  • Joannie

    10 months ago

    My Mom LOVED her high tea. So full of pomp and circumstance! As I said Mom loved all things British!
    reply
  • Connie

    10 months ago

    I'd definitely buy a book that meant something to me; I'd rather feed my mind and soul than my body, at least for a short while.:)
    reply
  • Carolynn

    10 months ago

    Hey Mojo! I like your analogy reference. Money is one of my teachers, as well. However, in my case, I think my fear of being unable to meet my financial obligations comes directly from my Dad. He instilled a lot of fears in me that I struggle to overcome.

    That said, I've played and experimented with 'saving' versus 'spending' and have found that the well dries up pretty quickly if I hoard. However, if I have faith and continue to give money away, it does in fact come back to me multiplied. It's not always easy to do, but it's a little bit of magic that really works.
    reply
  • Carolynn

    10 months ago

    Wow. That is really beautiful, Angie. You may have had a little bit to do with how she turned out, too. Own that.
    reply
  • Tara

    10 months ago

    I'd get some groceries, so I could cook a fabulous meal to share and enjoy with my family.
    reply
  • Sarah

    10 months ago

    I'd buy fabric to make a dress I could sell for more money; sell it-- buy more fabric to make more... etc etc... I'd spend it on something income generating.
    reply
  • alligator_kate

    10 months ago

    I would save it and get everything for free that I need. It is actually possible to do in the city, and the "law of attraction" often works here by simply imagining what you need, and then finding it on the street. I didn't have $60 to by a dog crate last year, but found 1 on the street the perfect size for my newly rescued (from the street too) dog... The freegans even EAT (well) for free... by the time rent rolled around again, I am sure that I would turn that last $20 into plenty, hosting a dinner party for friends and donating something to a worthy cause too....
    reply
  • Natasha

    10 months ago

    Holy cow, as a student who had 315$ to spend on art supplies/food/new socks/laundry (anything besides food and shelter) last year, that does hit close to home. If I only had 20$ I would probably buy food- probably veggies, to tide me over until I could bully some food money out of my parents ;)
    reply
  • Natasha

    10 months ago

    err I meant to say that I had 315 for one semester, not for the year (big difference!)
    reply
  • Kaiulani

    10 months ago

    Having Jamba Juice with my two daughters.
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  • Jen

    10 months ago

    I also would have to say food for my family and maybe a 6 pack of Summit Extra Pale Ale for me. Our purpose for money is about the basics. I am photographer. Unfortunately it is feast or famon at our house. I always look for the silver lining in almost every situation. I am just glad I do not live in the middle ages for I would be in jail.
    reply
  • Linda Diane

    10 months ago

    I would buy 2 ounces of Tai Kuan Yin tea to remind me that life is beautiful, full of small pleasures. I would use the rest to buy gas. I live in Dallas and without gas I would be trapped at home. I would drive to a friends home. We'd have a good! cup of tea and brainstorm my next steps....... It would be encouraging to keep in mind, I'm not in this life alone.
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  • Luciaf

    10 months ago

    I would buy a bag of rice, a bag of beans, a really good pen and a pad of paper. Within the week, I would have written myself out of poverty and fed my child. I have done this before. I will probably do this again.
    reply
  • Colleen Overman

    10 months ago

    What a great question, I'd never thought of it. I think I would spend it on a Law of Attraction book related to attracting money! If I had anything left over I would buy an ice cream cone or an iced coffee/chai to enjoy while reading my book. :)
    reply
  • Lori_from_Texas

    10 months ago

    I would spend my last $20 on Barbara Kingsolver's next book.
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  • Marie Leona

    10 months ago

    My first thought was "If I was to die and had only $20. to spend, how would I spend it?" My answer was to buy something meaningful for my family to remember me by...but then I thought that maybe I was broke and was to my last $20 and although I am healthy, alive and well, but only have $20 in my name, where would I then spend it? This one is a bit more difficult, the free spirit in me says to throw all caution in the wind and spend on something great, like a "very cheap" meal for my family, but the more conservative spirit in me says to invest it so it could generate more income. I'm not really sure where I would spend it, but in the first scenario I know it will be for others in a form of memories, in the second, my survivor instinct would kick in and I would spend it for the betterment of my situation! Do you know what I mean???
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  • Marie Leona

    10 months ago

    Hats off to you Luciaf - I truly admire your spirit.
    reply
  • Becciebeth

    10 months ago

    Awe, but what would they spend it on? You might regret it.
    reply
  • Linda Borland-Fitzgerald

    10 months ago

    Kim... tell me what you like about Cottage Living. It must be American and I think I may have some copies.. I buy so many for pleasure and business. I am a free-lance writer, and a scout for decor mags and Cottage style is my favourite. Check out Canadian Home and Country - very cottage style with a country flavour (can you tell I'm Canadian?). My own house will be in a summer 2009 issue. I am also starting a decor consulting business for those who need help and can't afford or are intimidated by designers.
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  • Linda Borland-Fitzgerald

    10 months ago

    I love all of the ideas presented, and the whole time I was reading them I kept thinking - no one has mentioned gasoline for the car... just a thought.
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  • Linda Diane

    10 months ago

    See Linda Diane -- I said I'd buy tea and gasoline so I could go to a friend's house. It would be more enjoyable to plan together. I live in Dallas. Without gas, I can't get anywhere. Luckily I have a Prius so a little goes further.
    reply
  • Luciaf

    10 months ago

    love this, love it
    reply
  • Luciaf

    10 months ago

    thank you, Marie!
    reply
  • Kristin (The Goat)

    10 months ago

    I thought about this when I first read the question. I had forgotten about the stamps though, I only thought about buying the cards LOL
    reply
  • Linda Borland-Fitzgerald

    10 months ago

    It seems there's always more than one Linda wherever I go and usually born in the 40''s. Sorry, I missed your comments regarding gas. Prius is my next car. We are a Honda family (have had 5 so far). Our daughter drives a Prius and is vegetarian, so she's often a huge influence (spelled P R E S S U R E) on our lifestyle.

    So, besides the gasoline or instead of - my $20 would go to Joanne because sometimes you just need a hand-up.
    reply
  • kim

    10 months ago

    Hi Linda,
    Cottage Living is an American magazine,sister publications are Coastal, Country and Southern Living - something for everyone! The magazine is such a treat for me because the editors understand so well the sensibilities of cottage owners. It is a lifestyle magazine (for me) that serves to champion and inspire the choice made to live in a home that was originally built for the seasonal shelter of a good nights sleep after days spent out of the house enjoying the sun, sand, water or mountains. Many challenges, many rewards, celebrated in text and pictures.
    If you don't already have an issue or two, I would be happy to send some your way. Please give a heads up for your 2009 feature, I would love to see it...
    kim
    reply
  • Debbie R

    10 months ago

    I'd buy my cards with the points balance in my Send Out Cards account :-)
    reply
  • Linda Borland-Fitzgerald

    10 months ago

    Thanks Kim.. I'm going to dig through my stash of decor mags to check for Cottage Living. I buy tons of mags every month - sometimes I get so carried away, I buy the same one again. I especially love Coastal Living and Country Living (both US & UK versions). I've never bought Southern Living though. My daughter may be spending a few weeks in Kentucky this fall and has asked me to come for a few days, so I may get into the whole Southern thing while there. My house is definitely Beachy style, perhaps more painted cottage than Hamptons'. My ideal is the house in 'Somethings Gotta Give." I watch it on DVD so I can stop the frames and take notes. Sigh...
    reply
  • Beth C.

    10 months ago

    I would invest it.
    reply
  • Vanessa Rae

    10 months ago

    I would put it towards gas, pile my family in the car and take a drive through Sedona making stops to hike and swim and take pictures:)
    reply
  • Lisa M.

    10 months ago

    Everything on red.
    reply

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