Let’s Play a Game Shall We? The $10,000 Pyramid
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Let’s Play a Game Shall We? The $10,000 Pyramid
Being a child of the 80’s I grew up on cartoons, Nick at Nite, and of course lots and lots of game shows. I don’t know what the craze of the 80’s and 90’s was of game shows, but I loved them all. Price is Right, Let’s Make a Deal, Press Your Luck, and of course $10,000 Pyramid. I suppose you can take the boy out of the 80’s but you can’t take the 80’s out of the boy as they say. As such, I never stop gamifying literally anything. If you don’t believe me hang out with me for a night and I assure you there will be some bizarre skills challenge bet that gets made.
This obsession got me thinking the other day about a game I’d like to play with all of you. In the past, we’ve played one of my favorite games together, the lottery game. This is where we daydream as to what we would do if we won the lottery. It is truly a fun game, albeit extremely unrealistic. In any event, we have all played it and it can provide hours of daydream bliss…. Sorry took a minute to think about the private island I was inviting you all on.
The Pyramid Game
For today’s game, I figured let’s play a new fun game I invented called the $10,000 pyramid (yes I’m aware the one in the eighties was for $100,000). You see this game is much like the lottery game, with one huge exception. In the $10,000 pyramid game, you are not winning endless riches or enough money to party on a private island. Rather, you are winning a more modest and manageable amount of $10,000.
As fun as the lottery game is this one comes with real-world implications. The “what if” daydreaming scenario today is what would you do if I handed you $10,000 right now? Where would your next $10,000 be allocated that currently isn’t on your radar today? Let’s take a look at some real-world practical answers that I know some of you are undoubtedly thinking.
- Pay off/down debt.
- Allocate towards your kid’s schooling.
- Go on a nice vacation.
- Add it to your emergency savings.
- Invest it in the markets whether an IRA or Non-IRA.
- Give it to charity.
- Home improvement.
- Buy that thing you and your family need.
- Blow it on that splurge item.
Do any of the above ring a bell to you? Heck, I’m guessing all of the above ring a bell to you as if you handed me $10,000 today I can make an argument on doing virtually all of those. But you see I am not handing you $90,000 nor are you winning the lottery, rather we are talking about $10,000.
Method to my madness
There is a method to my madness and there are three very good reasons, I chose $10,000.
First, $10,000 is the perfect amount of money to opine and ruminate on. It isn’t worldly riches and candidly is likely an amount of money many of us will experience at some point in a lump sum. Could be a small inheritance, a lucky break or contest winner, a work bonus or raise, or you beat me in some crazy skills contest!
Second, the answer you give will be very telling indeed. It will reveal where your biggest wants or needs are that maybe you haven’t even been thinking about. It may also lead you to some real interesting realizations such as I am in great financial shape or potentially the complete opposite. Regardless, the amount is attainable and thus requires a different level of thought than if you were handed millions of dollars, plus I’m guessing for most the answer will be mostly spent on one item, not many.
Finally, I purposefully chose this amount as it is an amount that could affect some habits today. For instance, you might be thinking, man if I only had that money today, I’d be out of that nasty credit card debt. Well, if this is crossing your mind then it should help prioritize your financial house. Once you’ve prioritized things you can start to put those things in focus and craft a plan to accomplish these goals. Lastly, once you’ve crafted a plan now you can simply work on little by little implementing said plan.
Hope you enjoyed a trip down Andrew’s memory lane and crazy brain. I find little games like this can be very revealing, and enjoyable. So, what will you do with $10,000?
Stay wealthy, healthy, and happy.
