What Would You Do With $1M?

(photo courtesy of www.freephotocom)


There are many folks who daydream of winning the lottery or being blessed by a sudden financial windfall. I've heard some say things like, "If I had a million dollars I'd .... pay off all my debt and retire for life!; I'd make the world a better place by giving it all to the poor; I'd buy a BIG house, a fancy car and send my kids to college." The list of "what if's" goes on and on.

But seriously, think about it. What would you REALLY do with $1,000,000? Humm, maybe I should rephrase that question and ask, what ARE you doing with YOUR $1,000,000? Your response is probably something like, "What are you talking about, I don't have a million dollars."

Think about the following data ...

According the 2009 U.S. Census Bureau (figures good until March 31, 2010) the median household income in the United States was/is $50,233.00.
$50,233.00 times 40 years employment = $2,009,320 - That's earnings of more than $2M in an average household during our working lives.

To that some of you will respond, "Yeah, that's great for those other folks, but I haven't been making $50,000 a year for 40 years." Well then, think about the following ...

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the government agency that determines welfare eligibility and services) in 2009, a family of 4 had to earn less than $22,050 to qualify as below poverty.
$22,050 times 40 years of employment = $882,000 - Although that's $118,000 shy of $1M, it's still more than an individual would get to keep after the I.R.S. collected their share of a $1million dollar windfall.

So, do some thinking. Pull out a piece of paper and a pencil. Add up the the gross annual income you've earned since you started working. This is how much you've earned thus far in your lifetime. How much do you expect to earn in future years? Do you, like most folks, expect your income to steadily increase?

In the end, my questions, "What would you do with a million dollars? and What are you doing with your million dollars?" are posed only as food for thought. According to the data, we Americans earn good incomes when compared to the rest of the world. As Christians, we should strive to be EXCELLENT stewards of those incomes.