IF I WIN THE LOTTO...

Filipinos are ecstatic. Yesterday, November 14, Pacquiao won! Today, November 15, every one's wondering if someone will finally win the Php440M (almost USD 10.5M?) Grand Lotto! Even the Congressmen and Senators have admitted to buying tickets.

If you had that much money, how would you spend it?

Here's where my Php440M will go:

1. Chosen charity: Children’s Hospital Wards

When my baby sister was much younger, she was sickly. We were in the E.R. too often. I’ve learned that the worst thing is having a family member ill, especially babies / toddlers / kids. It’s heartbreaking seeing children in pain. And it didn’t help that we also had to worry about hospital bills. It’s from this personal experience that I’d love to reach out to families whose young sons and daughters are sick. Kung kaming nakakapag-Private Room, pino-problema pa rin ang pera, paano pa ang nasa Ward? If I could, I’d like to extend assistance to these families. I pray that parents, Ates and Kuyas, can dedicate all their time and energy to the sick child, huwag nang alalahanin ang gastos.

2. Retirement Home for my Parents

My parents are currently living abroad but they plan to retire here in the Philippines. Their home here is in a flood-prone zone. It’s been my long-time dream to buy them a comfortable retirement home away from the flood.

3. A bigger space for J and Me

We love our current love nest. But if we had Php440M, it would be lovelier to have a bigger condo unit. Yes, we’d still choose a condo. It’s more environmental. As I’ve written before, allot land for trees.

4. Family Vacation Home

I treated my parents and sister to a Palawan vacation last summer (May 2010). Like me, they fell in love with the place. I’ve been there thrice. Every visit never ceases to leave me in awe. We’d all love to come back again and again, hopefully to our own Palawan Home (beach-front preferred), where every one else – all our relatives and friends – are most welcome.

5. A family SUV for my parents

We need something that would fit the whole family. The current cars are too small for every one. Hiwa-hiwalay pa tuloy.

6. A practical vehicle for J and Me

We’re both not into driving. But with all that money, maybe it’s time to try it.

7. Travel the world.

Europe. America. Africa. Australia. Asia.

8. Open up at least five businesses.

We have some ideas were very passionate about. The capital would make these dream business ventures come true!

9. Retirement Fund for J and Me.

10. Health Fund for the Family.

11. College Funds for my Sister and Niece.

12. More Diversified Investments.

Stocks. Mutual Funds. Time Deposits. Etc.

I'm ending this entry with a quote from the film "Eat, Pray, Love" -- Liz: "I remember an old joke about a man who spent his whole life going to a church every day and prayed to the statue of a great saint begging 'please, please, please, let me win the lottery.' Finally the exasperated statue comes to life and looks down at the begging man and says 'my son, please, please, please, buy a ticket.'"