Put this in Lounge because I'd rather have serious answers.

I'm basing this off that new NBC show where all these people win the lottery together and split it, rather than Office Space.

I just want to know, what would you do if you won a million dollars or so? I don't mean how would you spend it, but rather, what would you do with your life? I'm saying that without work, this money would run out in however many years. I honestly have no clue, but I'm curious as to what others think.

6/16/2006 9:27:26 PM

Ok, well assuming I cleared 1M (because taxes and taking a lump sum will eat up ~50% of it if I won a million), I would continue to work.

If I didn't, I could reasonably expect to draw 4% of the balance per year without depleting it (based on some optimum withdrawal percentage research), so I'd live off ~40,000 the first year and then index that to 4% each year.

Instead, I'd take it and leave it invested and use it to fund my retirement, my kid's colleges, and then I'd retire at 45 and live well.

6/16/2006 9:38:00 PM

Pay off my debts: student loans, car, the little that's on my credit card right now.
Pay off husband's debt: motorcycle and credit cards.
Stay in the Air Force until my contract was out, put the rest of the million I had in the bank/invest it.
Get out of the Air Force in three years, and either never work again, or never work a job I didn't like again.

6/16/2006 9:48:59 PM

I'd get rid of my debt that I have right now, buy a subaru wrx sti, then put the rest into retirement accounts.

6/16/2006 9:51:48 PM

put a good-sized portion in a retirement account, and use the rest to live comfortably working some sort of regular job.

oh, and i'd buy a delorean.

6/16/2006 10:44:57 PM

two chicks at the same time

6/16/2006 10:55:19 PM

i was actually thinking of posting that one

6/16/2006 10:56:59 PM

^^but man, you don't need a million dollars for that.

6/16/2006 11:00:45 PM

I have always lived my life making decisions regardless of income. I have always wanted to get a PhD and be a professor. A million dollars would help me upgrade my living arrangements and I complete the upgrades to my trail rig, but otherwise my plans would largely remain the same.

6/16/2006 11:01:52 PM

yeah some TKE posted how his ex gf and her roomate wanted to have a threesome with him, i bet he didnt pay 1 million dollars

6/16/2006 11:02:08 PM

i knew two chicks at the same time would come up

i always wonder though, because even if i had tons of money, i dont know what i would do with myself if i didnt work. all my grandparents do is watch soaps and go bowling... i dont know if i could take years of doing nothing.

6/16/2006 11:07:30 PM

man, I would go do the things i want to do, like fishing.

6/16/2006 11:10:28 PM

i think you need a job you really like doing. none of this drudge 9-5 bullshit would cut it.

6/16/2006 11:10:46 PM

if you had a million dollars and wanted to open, say a bar or something, could you leverage that money without risking it?

i would love to own a restaurant/bar, but i wouldn't want to risk my nest egg doing it.

6/16/2006 11:19:52 PM

Quote :

"not all chicks care about money"

Quote :

"the kind of chicks that would double up on a dude like me do"

Quote :

"good point"

6/16/2006 11:20:04 PM

No brainer: I'd go in on a bar. I won't pretend to have any idea what the total cost would be to purchase one outright along with all the relevant permits and assorted setup, but I have trouble believing that a million dollars wouldn't cover it. Yeah, buy a bar, gather regulars, and get to be kind of legendary in whatever little piece of the world I built it. Spend my free time writing crappy stories and articles and then, being disgusted with the outcome, burning them.

6/16/2006 11:24:50 PM

Quote :

"Hey Peter man! Check out channel 8! Its the breast exam chick, WHOO!"

^ yes. but couldn't you just borrow the money and not risk the cool mill you have stashed?

[Edited on June 16, 2006 at 11:26 PM. Reason : ^]

6/16/2006 11:25:31 PM

I suspect it would take me a while to earn up the credit and everything necessary to take out a loan that gargantuan.

My understanding is that it's much more expensive to open a bar than, say, a restaurant of the same size.

6/16/2006 11:32:48 PM

how is that?

restaurant equipment is expensive. and a bar requires a lot fewer servers, i would think.

6/16/2006 11:36:39 PM

Well, first of all, bars frequently serve food -- and the ones that don't have to register as "private clubs" or some such, which I don't want to do, and which entails extra licensing. Then on top of that there are ABC permits and other legal fees that, from my admittedly limited understanding, tend to run fairly high.

6/16/2006 11:57:43 PM

I'd go on a personal quest to visit every Pro Basketball, Baseball, Football, and Hockey arena in North America, and eat the unique item served at every stadium/arena/ballpark, and buy a souvenier ball that dates each visit.

Ultimate road trip.

6/16/2006 11:57:49 PM

^^ i guess any bar has to be a "bar and grill".

but wouldn't you want to live off of/invest the million, and try the bar thing on your own?

6/17/2006 12:01:46 AM

If I had a million dollars, I wouldn't have to buy Kraft Dinner.

6/17/2006 12:15:23 AM

^^Honestly, no. I'm never going to make enough money at any of my possible jobs to be able to own a bar. I'm damn sure not going to inherit enough. So my choice are either marry into money (difficult, given what I bring to the table, which is...sub-mediocre looks and chronic alcoholism) or win a bunch of it.

6/17/2006 12:21:43 AM

don't be so down on yourself. there are tons of ugly chicks with money.

6/17/2006 12:49:17 AM

i'd probably pay off my parents house, and put the rest into some sort of high yield savings or something. or buy an ls1 and swap it into my car and then put the rest into savings

6/17/2006 12:53:28 AM

if i bought a beer, i wouldn't be a millionaire

6/17/2006 12:58:25 AM

quit drinking sam adams

6/17/2006 1:09:45 AM

I'd drop out of school, invest all of it in Thai real estate, and bang Thai prostitutes for the rest of my life (at least until I died of AIDS or some other random STD).

6/17/2006 1:12:15 AM

id buy a trampoline, and hire a bunch of midgets to jump on it all day long.

6/17/2006 1:33:07 AM

I'd pay off my student loans, pay off what little balance I have on my credit card, pay off my parents house for them (or buy them a retirement home where they wanted, probably both) as well as all 3 of the cars my family owns - and pay off my parents debt as well.

i'd take a nice vacation, probably take 3-4 months off of work and travel ALL over asia in one big massive trip (perhaps africa too, 6 months off and do it all at once)

and then i'd put the rest in savings and only draw out of it when neccessary.

i'd prboably be chucking 200-300k in savings after i finished doing all of the above ^ - perhaps a bit more depending on how expensive/cheap the asia trip is .

I was having a conversation the other night with a friend about what we'd do if we won the lottery, and honestly my answer is pretty much the same no matter that amount of $$ involved.

adding an apartment in nyc and an apartment in london to the list if the $$ is just fucking ridiculous.

i wouldn't stop working though - but I would make sure to have a job I loved going to every day, no matter the pay (though i'm hoping that will already be the case!).

6/17/2006 2:37:08 AM

Quote :

"I'd drop out of school, invest all of it in Thai real estate, and bang Thai prostitutes for the rest of my life (at least until I died of AIDS or some other random STD)."

Given the AIDS infection rate among Thai prostitutes, you might well die really fucking soon.

6/17/2006 3:10:27 AM

id probably drop it on some blow.

6/17/2006 4:29:54 PM

I'd put it in a low-risk investment (CDs, bonds, etc) and use the gains to supplement my income.

6/17/2006 4:49:41 PM

getting in to all of the investment details would be too boring....but thats what i would do with $980,000 of it

the other $20k would pay for:

trip for me and the girl
finish the buggy
motorcycle
and lunch from the dog house

6/17/2006 4:51:39 PM

Buy the wolf web

6/17/2006 4:58:32 PM

I'd buy an RV-8 or something similar ($85000)



I'd buy a Triumph Daytona ($8500)



I'd buy a Kawasaki Ultra 150 ($5000)



I'd buy a slightly used Lotus Elise as my daily driver. ($35000)



I'd buy a 10 year old Jeep Cherokee to tow the bike and the jet ski, and to take trips and to use as my skiing wagon. ($6000)



I'd buy a Mesa Boogie guitar amplifier ($1000)




and I'd pay for baby's momma to get an apartment somewhere near where I get stationed, or hire a nanny if I could get full custody of my daughter (and then buy baby's momma lots of airline tickets or something so she could visit our daughter as much as she wanted), or do something else to help that situation out.


then I'd invest the other $850,000 or so and live off of my salary from the Marines, which would effectively increase by like 20% or more, since I wouldn't be pouring so much money into investments. I'd want to be independantly wealthy by age 45-50. Prob still do 20 years in the Marine Corps.

[Edited on June 17, 2006 at 11:15 PM. Reason : asdfasdfasd]

6/17/2006 11:10:17 PM

buy nothing

put it in a yielding account

live off interest for life

6/17/2006 11:11:04 PM

If I had a million dollars, I'd buy your love.

6/17/2006 11:11:06 PM

I'd buy you a monkey.

I'd buy my parents a new car.

I'd finish grad school without any student loan debt.

I'd invest most of it and use that as a cushion so I could afford to take only interesting/fulfilling gigs.

6/18/2006 2:18:55 AM

pay off student loans

buy a house with tons of land, a classic mustang, a harley...

donate alot to rescue organizations that i've been involved in and other worthy causes

6/18/2006 2:21:22 AM

I'd buy you a K-car...

a nice Reliant automobile

6/18/2006 2:01:37 PM

Buy a bunch of strategically located rental properties, live off the cash flow, keep flipping them as the locations become more desirable, grow my worth.

I would re-fi my townhouse, rent it out, and buy a detached home with a basement, garage, most likely walking distance to downtown Raleigh.

I would most likely keep working, just in a different capacity.

6/18/2006 4:49:16 PM

fish and hunt

alot


and enjoy the money helping me live comfortably

and take my time in school... eventually earning my degree just because

6/18/2006 4:57:26 PM

Pay off my debts
buy my parents a condo, and get rid of the heap they live in now
stock away some for their retirement, and some for my sister's education
take a month or two, and go to Africa
buy myself a car
invest

Quote :

"i dont know if i could take years of doing nothing."

I know I couldn't.



[Edited on June 18, 2006 at 5:02 PM. Reason : lkj]

6/18/2006 5:02:11 PM

Throw a bad ass party for my peeps, possibly on a yacht in the Mediterranean.
Buy an Aston Martin or Lotus.
Save the rest.

6/18/2006 5:27:14 PM

If i had a million dollars..hrrm. Seriously?

Assumuing a million I get to keep (after taxes etc), then I'd probably -
Initially divide it up among savings and semi-short term (12 month roughly) CDs- and pull down say 4% interest as estimated above.

The first year live off half that and finish my masters -ie live on 20,000. which i think is quite doable at my current situation, shove the extra 20,000 back to earn interest itself (thus providing some padding to maintain 4% if something awful hapens).

The second year find a job I like, figure out what to do with some stocks and put the research time into it, and put some money into a ROTH IRA and then just some regular stocks or mutual funds.
Live within or under the interest, which would pay for a lot of stuff I've been meaning to do like get my car fixed and detailed, rebuilid the desktop, etc. Job money goes into another retirement account or back into stocks/savings.

Third-Fifth year - Take the fact i'm both earning a fair amunt of interest and theoretically a well paying job (even assuming tottally under average for my degree), and settle down somewhere, get a house, possibly a new car, furnish said house, all that goodness.

Then I'd just try to live within my salary or a bit under, and such and retire hopefully somewhat comfortably at 45, although I could see still working at something I really liked.

6/19/2006 2:32:37 PM

I'd go to vegas and win even more.

6/19/2006 2:35:43 PM

Well if you take it at $50K a year (or whatever it breaks down into) you could easily live off that, and it would keep you in a lower tax bracket.


I have no dept (ok I have <$2000 to pay on my car, but I'm payng that at $500 a month even now so that will be gone in 4 more months), so I'd invest some of it, and with the rest I would keep my same lifestyle except I would travel a lot.


Really though, after taxes and stuff, if you take it lump sum, it really only works out to like $300K. People go crazy and in up in dept.

6/20/2006 4:11:00 PM

i would buy a cadillac and a mercedes s600

and then i would hold it down for the king of crack.

6/20/2006 4:31:46 PM