I don't know if the sum must be a large amount of money to be considered a windfall or not, but......My employer recently granted our employee raises--retroactive since October 2009. As a result, I received what amounted to nearly a full paycheck, free and clear. To me, any free money is considered a windfall! Needless to say, I am very thankful and grateful.
I have always been pretty financially responsible thanks to my grandmother. If I learned nothing else from her, I learned "If you have a dollar, save a quarter." That was probably the phrase I heard most from her. So, I have always saved a portion of all money I have ever received. When I worked a job that paid 26 pay periods, other co-workers considered this money "free money", but I would always bank at least half of it. Which is what I did with this free paycheck.
I saved what amounted to roughly 66% of the check and used the remainder to get a few things done that I had been putting off. I paid my car registration, got a few clothes altered at the tailor, brought a few clothes to the cleaners and I'm looking to purchase a quality scanner.
All in all, I think I made wise financial decisions with this "found money". What would you do if you received a free paycheck, free and clear?
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... netbook....
I guess I just don't look at it as "free money". The way I see it, all money that comes in the door goes to the same place, the bank! And all money that exits comes from the same place, the bank! It doesn't matter if you were expecting the money or not. If you let more income (whatever its source) translate into more expenses, you're never going to get ahead. Don't fall into the trap that extra spending is "treating yourself". The real treat is financial freedom.
Yours in Frugal Green-ness,
Rebecca The Greeniac
www.GreeniacDigest.com