Given – Page #1

* Let it be known that this is a work of fiction. Only an experimental form of writing.

Given

I had won the lottery a few months ago. A grand prize of roughly $15 million, taken at a lump sum figure of roughly $10 million after all the taxes and fees were calculated. There wasn’t even a thought of how to properly use the money. I’ve heard the stories of the lucky individuals before me that had blown through the money in less than a decade. They lived lavish lifestyles and then quickly realized that they had wasted the single chance to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. I made the singular decision to invest the entirety of my earnings, living off of the interest gained as a yearly salary of roughly $300 hundred thousand.

The plan was pretty standard really. I would take 33% of my yearly gains and funnel it directly back into my account, generating enough each year to loose the risk of inflation eating into my new fund. The remaining cash was now mine to spend entirely as I pleased. I had racked up roughly twenty thousand in student loans from my first and only year of college. I just finished paying that off completely with a simple transaction, probably to the benefit of my now excellent credit score. There also was the issue with my living situation, which involved me sharing an apartment with several individuals that figured out that I had a bit more money to spend.

After an interesting series of arguments and the small cost of terminating my lease, I decided to move myself to the far off town of Boulder, Colorado. After visiting the neighboring area for a wedding a few years prior, I figured that this would be the perfect place to set up shop for the next year while I figured myself out a bit. The benefit of the fresh air, beautiful mountains, and the legal cannabis was also a fun perk sparking the nature of my journey. After living in the southern United States my entire life, it resulted in a considerably nice change of pace.

A week after moving into my swanky new studio apartment, the decision to furnish the place was decided quickly, mainly due to me previously only owning a few items including a lava lamp and a rickety mattress. $3,500 a week to burn on amenities allowed me to set myself up with a nicely renovated flat after a month of steady payments. The majority of my spending was focused towards an impressive media center, complete with a custom built personal computer and a breath-taking surround sound setup. I was even living frugally by my new standards, considering that I had found the majority of my new furniture at estate sales and saved a fair bit by buying used electronics.

Three months in and I had completely changed my lifestyle from that of a single 22-year old stuck working for minimum wage to that of a wealthy retiree who had a few grand to burn a week. The added benefit of knowing that my lottery winnings would never be touched only provided me with more satisfaction. Those who say that money doesn’t buy happiness have seriously never considered the wonders money provided me with.

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