Nerd Church - If I Had £1million...

Money can't buy you happiness, true. But it can buy you the time, freedom, and resources, to be happy.

Plus, not having to worry about how you're gonna pay for stuff is guaranteed to help your mood. #JustSaying.

So, though I doubt it'll ever happen, I felt like doing some day-dreaming of what I would do if I had £1million.

I picked £1million pretty arbitrarily - mainly 'cos it's a nice round milestone number, and because it's a lot of money, but not so much that you wouldn't have to think about what you were gonna do with it.

OK, so first off, I'd pay the taxes, 'cos this might be a day-dream, but my day-dreams don't involve shirking my civil responsibilities. 

We have social welfare in this country for a reason thank you very much!

With that done, I think I'd buy a house. 

...I'm sorry, I couldn't resist! 😅

Via Giphy

The houses around here can be anything from £70k to £600k (though the £600k usually come with land etc.) 

So, to be close to my parents and still be in a nice area with a nice-sized house, I'd say I'd pay between £100k and £300k.

Not cheap - but thankfully I don't live in London, or if I wanted a decent house I could kiss most of that £1million goodbye!

OK, so I've got my house. 

Next I'd put some money in a fund for my Nan's care home. 

The NHS and the County pay part of the fees, but we're still liable for the rest, and while her fund is in good shape at the moment, it'd be nice to top it up and make sure we'll never have to worry about it.

After that, I might try to find a therapist.

(Oh yeah, living that luxury lifestyle!)

Again, we are exceptionally lucky in the UK to have free universal healthcare for all under the NHS.

Unfortunately, though, it's not a perfect system.

Disclaimer time: I'm not a medical or mental health professional. I'm someone with my own personal experiences of Depression/Anxiety which may or may not reflect the experiences of other people.

The mental health provisions in this country are under so much pressure that I've never even been offered a therapist.

(Technically speaking, my GP should have offered this - but they never have. And I know it's because the waiting list is so long that they try to keep people off it.)

And while I'm exceptionally grateful for the free treatment I have received - i.e. my meds and check-ups - it would be good to have the option of boosting that treatment with therapy.

As it stands, to get access to a therapist would require me to go private, and I, like the majority of people in the UK, don't have health insurance. (We don't tend to think we'll need it - we have the NHS, after all.)

The access to mental health care* - beyond tablets and self-help books - is often pretty bad** unless you're well-off, money-wise.

So if I had £1million then I could find and pay for a therapist - hopefully a Queer-friendly one, because the last thing I need is a therapist who'd invalidate my identity.

* and ** - Link CW: suicide attempts, general discussion of individuals' specific mental health problems. 

* - Wales only

** - England only

I'm not saying that I'd get on with therapy - not everyone does AND THAT'S OK. 

(It might be difficult for me to find one, after all, since I'm a stubborn little so-and-so, and resent listening to people who think they're smarter than me. 😉😅) 

But having the option open would be good.

Need help, or need to talk?

International readers can check for helplines in this directory, and readers in the UK and ROI can get in contact with The Samaritans to talk about anything at all.

Next, I'd help my friends and family with the home improvements that they can't afford at the moment.

Via Giphy

My brother's conservatory was put in by the previous owner of his house, and it leaks a lot.

...And I'd help my mam and dad with the improvements to our home which we've been putting off because of the expense.

I know that in this scenario I'd have my own house, but I'm gonna still be spending most of my time at mam and dad's, let's be honest. My cats are here!

Plus even if I wasn't, I'd want to help them out. 

The cats have wrecked the carpets, and the floor beneath them needs to be skimmed because the concrete is sh**ty.

After that, if I had enough money left I think I'd try for my university degree.

I'd probably go with a study-from-home thing like the Open University or an extension school, but maybe on-campus if my mental health allowed and if it seemed like the right thing at the time.

I'd love to get at least two degrees - English and History - maybe one day I'll be able to.

Anything left that I didn't need for food or clothes or bills I'd use for things like furniture, books, a few gifts for friends and family, and donation to charities and crowdfunds.

There probably would be a disturbingly small amount left, but it's not like I'd've blown it all on champagne and luxury holidays!

One little luxury I would allow myself is a full set of pride badges for every ID I have, so I could be like, 'oh, today I'm Bi(romantic) Lesbian!' or 'right now I'm Aromantic!' and if I felt like it I could just pick out the badges that matched!

(Reminder: I'm Sexually Fluid.)

At the moment I can't justify the expense of buying all the badges that make up my IDs... so that'd be nice! 

So that's what I'd do.

What would you do with £1million (or $ or whatever)?

Talk to me! 😇💬

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Previous Nerd Church Posts:

• Nerd Church - Online Responsibility (All The World's A Stage)

• Nerd Church - Covid 19: Seriously, People? There's Still A Pandemic

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