If I had $1,000,000

"If I Had $1,000,000" is a song by the Canadian musical group Barenaked Ladies, circa 1992 or so. I was listening to it recently, and a thought crossed my mind:

What if I was given a million dollars - but had to give it all away?

Think about it. How would you spread the wealth? Wouldn't it be fun to give so much away?

If I had a million dollars to spread around, I would...

Hire a private team of specialists to work for, train, and support my sister-in-law in her continued quest for independence as a paraplegic. Since insurance companies are lacking and our government can't stop wasting money, we seem to be on our own. Without a doubt, a chunk of my million would go to creating the best Dream Team money can buy: a top-notch physical therapist, a brilliant nutritionist, and a tough but understanding personal trainer. One year in their hands, and she would be kicking some serious booty. Because she has it in her. She just needs help finding it.

Help fund research efforts at two of the best cancer treatment facilities in the world: St. Jude's for children and MD Anderson. I have to believe that we will find a cure for this hidden monster one day. Every single one of us knows a family, probably several, rocked by the evils of cancer. Enough is enough.

Write a big check to Amelia's preschool. We could not be more pleased with the experience we have had there for the past three years. Amelia is loved, nurtured, and very happy there. As a church school, funding is often tight. I would love to see what they could do with a giant donation.

Share the gift of adventure and travel. For my parents? Perhaps a luxury trip to Germany and Austria. Both sides of my family have genes from this area of the world. My parents do not like to fly, so I would make sure the trip was first class all the way. An airplane isn't so bad from the comforts of your own sleeping cubby in first class. And they deserve it.

Treat my mother-in-law to a total relaxation vacation at an east coast coastal destination. Somewhere like the Cloister on Sea Island. Somewhere peaceful and in surrounded by nature. Somewhere she can be utterly pampered. I think a personal luxury limo ride to the resort would be nice. And a four-day/five-night world class spa package. She can spend her days breathing in the aromatic spa scents while specialized treatments relax her entire body and soul. I will try not to be jealous that I cannot go.

Green space and outdoor play are important elements to a happy childhood. What about sprucing up several inner-city parks? A lot of kids are fighting for their lives in the concrete jungle. A little grass between their toes and a place to be a kid certainly couldn't hurt.

Tell me... how would you share the wealth?

Scholarship Opportunity

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of PBM Products for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
I can't imagine my little princess going off to college. I also can't believe she is already three years old. Potty-trained. Intelligent. And, well, a bit bossy. The light of my life is growing up, and I can barely keep up.
She will be in college before I know it.

I remember the excitement I felt during those last two high school years. Independence, new experiences, and new friends were just around the corner.

My parents were probably less thrilled. College came with a pretty hefty price tag.

Today, I am thrilled to be able to help spread the word about  Parent’s Choice Infant Formula Savings Sweepstakes.
The sweepstakes, created in partnership with PBM Products, LLC, a Perrigo company, will provide one lucky winner with a $10,000 college scholarship in the form of a College Savings 529 plan.
The Parent's Choice Infant Formula Sweepstakes was launched on June 15th and will run through August 1st, 2011.
More information, rules, and an entry form are available by clicking HERE. It is never to early to start saving!
Parent's Choice Infant Formula is Walmart's private brand formula. It is available exclusively at Walmart locations and on the Walmart website.

Summer Wellness

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

What do you think about "generic" products?

Me, I love them! I am definitely a store-brand kind of girl. Especially when it comes to health & wellness products; you can usually check the active ingredients and immediately see there is NO sacrifice for the money savings.

I just returned from a vacation to Arizona. The desert dryness and breezes wreaked havoc on my eyes. I quickly stopped into a Walgreens to buy their store brand Sterile Rewetting Drops for soft contact lenses. At $5.99 for a full half-ounce, these were the best selection for the money. And the quality was great! My eyes were very thankful.

I have used many Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products over the years, and they have never let me down. They are a great value and contain the same active ingredients as the major brands. Did you know these products also come with a 100% satisfaction guarantee? But wait... there's more! Each purchase also benefits the Walgreens Way to Well Fund™. Great value and socially-conscious. I like that!

**You can win!** Several bloggers are giving away Walgreens Gift Cards right now! If you win, you can stock up on high quality, great value products for yourself! Check out the current giveaways by clicking here: giveaways

Wholesale clubs - do you really save?

Amelia surprised us all by entering the world at a whopping nine pounds. She looked like a 2-month old compared to the other newborns in the hospital. And she was hungry. Really, really hungry. The pediatrician required that we supplement her with formula due to her size. So thus begun our relationship with Similac.

The price was pretty hard to ignore. Formula costs a fortune! And this little baby could easily consume 4 ounces in one feeding - at 9 days old. A friend told us to join Costco. Not only did Costco sell Similac in larger cans, they also accepted the $5 Similac coupons we received periodically. In the initial year, we easily regained our $50 membership fee in formula purchases alone.

Once we switched to regular milk, however, I began to wonder if there was any real savings. And if so, how much. Costco's sizes are larger than what you'd find at the other stores, so a simple comparison doesn't work. Last year, I embarked on a mini research project to figure out if Costco was, in fact, worth the $50 membership fee:

• I looked only at household non-consumable goods. I didn't look at food, since Costco brands are often unique and hard to find elsewhere.
• I documented the size and price of 25 common purchases at both Costco and Target (trash bags, toothpaste, shampoo, shaving cream, ibuprofen, Jet Dry, fabric softener, Ziploc bags, etc.)
• I converted each product to a "price per" (price per toothpaste tube, price per ounce, etc.)
• I estimated the # of purchases I would generally have for each product in one year.
• Then I calculated the annual cost difference per product, purchased at Costco and Target.

It turns out, on general consumer goods alone, we save almost $200 per year by purchasing from Costco. In addition, the gasoline savings is always $0.10 - $0.12 per gallon, compared to any other station in the immediate area. If between our two cars, my husband and I fill up 50 times per year, we save an additional $80. And again, this doesn't take into account any food/drink purchases, which definitely add up the savings further. As does the Costco American Express card that recoups 1%-3% of our purchases in cold, hard cash each March. A $200 check right around tax time is a always fun surprise.

It was a lengthy project, and totally nerdy (I know!), but now I can keep my $50 membership card without remorse.

(Disclaimer: Costco had nothing to do with this post. I'm just a research dork sometimes. Maybe someone out there in blog land will find it useful.)