Ok, so here it is. It’s was early December and I was asked by my parents the standard pre-Christmas question – “What do you want for Christmas”. We do the “pick a name, give a gift” standard gift exchange. Well, I was supposed to come up with my “list” asap so that they could pick from the list. We had a limit of $50. Well, I pondered for days as to what I would want to receive as a gift. I didn’t want to get the gift of something that I “needed” such as a grocery store gift certificate, socks, or new underwear (0k, too much info but you know what I mean). I wanted a GIFT – something I didn’t need but wanted. Something that was fun. I opted to ask for a toy - a remote control helicopter. I thought, you know, I might as well have fun. Well, we had our gift exchange and that is what I received. Trust me, I’m not complaining at all as I’m a kid at heart and love playing with toys.
Now to the inlaws. I had an idea of what I was going to get from them as we get it every year. They are very generous and give us $100 every year. Most years I have an exact idea of what I want to spend it on and am shopping online on Christmas day! This year was different. I was faced with the same exact question that I had in early December – “What do I want for Christmas?”
Since I had a good idea that I was going to receive this money, I have pondered this question for a week or two. What do I want to spend this money on? Again, I don’t want to spend it on anything that I just “need” as it then doesn’t seem like a gift. Again, I wanted something fun.
Then it struck me driving into work the day after Christmas! I wanted something FUN! Why don’t I make a game of this $100 and see how much money I can make from it. For a whole year I will buy/sell or do anything I can with that $100 and see how much I will have at Christmas time 2008. I get two gifts this way. One is the gift of enjoyment of playing this game. That in itself could be worth it. Secondly, I can then buy someting or give something more next year at Christmas season!
Ok, I will need some ground rules. I will think through this and post more “official” rules here in the next few days. For now, here are a couple at first thought:
1. No gambling with the money. – I want this to be fun, not lose it all within the first 5 mintues.
2. Rebates don’t count as money added until AFTER I receive them.
Please feel free and post any comments with suggestions on ground rules and/or ideas for my first “investmet”.
