The Money Mustache Community
Around the Internet => Antimustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy => Topic started by: TheGrimSqueaker on October 31, 2016, 02:24:14 PM
-
The math behind playing the lottery has been shown many times to not favor the player, compared to an intelligent investment strategy. Nobody here would ever suggest playing the lottery as a retirement strategy. However, there are a few among us who sometimes buy a ticket once or twice a year when the jackpot is ludicrously huge, and we do it because we have lottery fantasies.
For the price of a single ticket, we get the feeling of taking a step toward realizing the lottery fantasy. That's why we do it. Probabilistically speaking we know we most likely won't win, so we're doing it just for the thrill. For whatever reason, the run-of-the-mill lottery jackpot, if won, wouldn't be big enough to act out the fantasy. Nor would a smaller win justify the down side of the ticket purchase.
So, those of you who have lottery fantasies... what are they? If you won $200M or more, what would you do with it? Would you take the smaller lump sum or the larger annuity? Provide details... we're all adults here.
-
Peter Gibbons: What would you do if you had a million dollars?
Lawrence: I'll tell you what I'd do, man: two chicks at the same time, man.
Peter Gibbons: That's it? If you had a million dollars, you'd do two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Damn straight. I always wanted to do that, man. And I think if I were a millionaire I could hook that up, too; 'cause chicks dig dudes with money.
Peter Gibbons: Well, not all chicks.
Lawrence: Well, the type of chicks that'd double up on a dude like me do.
Peter Gibbons: Good point.
Lawrence: Well, what about you now? What would you do?
Peter Gibbons: Besides two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Well, yeah.
Peter Gibbons: Nothing.
Lawrence: Nothing, huh?
Peter Gibbons: I would relax... I would sit on my ass all day... I would do nothing.
Lawrence: Well, you don't need a million dollars to do nothing, man. Take a look at my cousin: he's broke, don't do shit.
-Office Space
-
In my lottery dream, after visiting a friend to set up a double blind trust so my name would not be available to the news, the first thing I want to purchase is the services of an executive assistant - the person who takes care of all of the pesky life details.
And that's about it for my lottery dream. I mean, I also contemplate putting money into trusts for various family members (and some for me 10-20 years later, just in case I go crazy and spend it all) and renovating my house, but I've been contemplating that without a lottery ticket ever since we bought it. And travel would be great. [ETA: Forgot to mention if the win was large enough, I'd donate enough to perpetually fund a disabled program at the non-profit where I volunteer.] But it's the assistant I *really* drool over.
I've bought less than 10 tickets in my life, so I don't see this happening any time soon. It's a nice dream though!
-
I had an inkling that you might be posting this thread TheGrimSqueaker!
I believe that in the UK the main lottery (Lotto) doesn't have an annuity option, nor do we pay taxes on the winnings, so I would take that lump sump bad boy immediately.
My likely route would be:
- Do nothing. Not until I had confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that I had actually won. This would probably mean having the money in my account.
- Once money came in, pay off my mortgage. No point keeping that sucker around. Also pay off my student loan.
- Reorient my work. Whether it be in my current field, or finding something new I'm not sure.
- I'd like to gift some of it to my immediate family, but I'm not sure how to do so without letting on that I'd won a significant amount.
- Have a holiday - backpacking around Europe for a few weeks would be fun.
After that I'd like to focus on my fitness and becoming a better person.
-
My lottery fantasy is that intelligent westernized nations come to their senses and cease preying on their poor and mathematically illiterate disadvantaged populations with the worst possible form of state-sanctioned gambling.
Abolish Lotto. It's a blight.
-
Ensure nobody knows I won. Take whatever measures necessary. Lawyer up.
Immediately and anonymously give away 99% (to real charities, not any BS that walks up), accounting for taxes. Live off the remaining 1% using the 4% rule, which is probably still six figures annually.
From what I've read about past lottery winners having their life go to hell, those two things ought to cover the bulk of what can go wrong.
Truly though, I feel like such wealth would not be nearly as enjoyable and satisfying as if I had earned it myself.
-
"But it funds schools and... stuff!"
Not very well, apparently.
========
I don't play the lottery, so I can't say I expect to win, and haven't spent much time on what I'd do if I did, but I can't really say I'd do much differently from what I do now.
I live somewhere I like living, near family, and have enough money to do what I find interesting.
I'd probably buy a nice twin engine plane for travel, but... that's about it, I think.
-
My SO plays frequently (twice a week) doing math and probability calcs that I don't understand.
He's an economics major so he's pretty sure he knows what he's doing *shrug* we haven't won a big prize but very often he ends up making $2-$9 bucks, so even if he makes very little he's still making more than he spent :)
If we won a big prize we would probably buy a HCOL house and an apartment somewhere else we love :)
It would be tricky to try to keep it a secret from family specially if we wanted to share some of it with relatives, no idea how that could be handled.
-
like being there when the gas company decides they are going to tear up the street to replace the gas pipe and need you home - twice, because they screwed up the first time - to replace your connection and want to make giant holes through your ceiling because they're "not sure where they are going to come into the house" when they start drilling. It wouldn't solve the traffic problems stemming this work, caused by street closures for work on 100+ homes, but at least I wouldn't need to be working from home for it when 6 mo pregnant, sick to my stomach from a glucose tolerance test, smelling the gas/other noxious fumes from the work, while cold because the heat is off all day...
Totally hypothetical right?
-
200 million? A jeep and a bunch of canoes and buy 5 or 6 cabins all over bc, yukon and nwt.
-
Quit with a mariachi band. Once that's done, start something like bell labs with most of it, and live off far too much.
-
First thing I'd do is find a way to keep my name out of the news.
I'd quit my job, give them 30 days notice or something so they could backfill.
I'd acquire a large parcel of land away from, but not tooo far away from a metropolitan area. Fences out of sight with cameras and razor wire. (lot of bad experiences with tweakers back in the day.)
Construct massive shop. My own skunkworks. Fill it with milling machines, welders, measuring equipment... maybe staff it with a guy for the tedious shit I can't stand. And god the tools... mmmhmm.
Decent house. Something nice, solidly built, with a view and entertaining area, but not to gaudy or humungous. Solar/wind power, self-sustaining. Bunker underneath.
I'd basically spend my time traveling and tinkering in the shop. I have car projects I want to do, just never enough time, it seems like. I'd probably slowly loose my connection to society and go insane, ultimately building some kind of atomic super monster, with freeway onramps for arms, and a soul as black as coal...
Oh, and investing and charitable work. I really like the idea of promoting STEM to children, maybe some scholarships too. Hopefully I could put something together that would survive into perpetuity, paying for kids college from it's dividends.
-
Pay off the mortgage on our new house and the heloc on our old one. That's all our debt. If I won a big payout I would be simplifying my life by removing two more bills.
Send some cash to my relatives to make their life a bit easier, along with a note that the rest has already been given to charity.
Buy the mid-century modernist house we want to save and fix it up, then turn it into a maker space for artists. Hire someone to watch over it so I don't have to be there on any given day. Buy the lot next door for parking space.
Set up a trust fund to handle ongoing expenses.
Help good, hardworking people get started in the rental property business by fronting the money and mentoring thru the process of buying and fixing up a house for rent or flipping. Set up an internship where they help me flip two houses and they get half the profits on each. That should give them the knowledge of how to fix up a house and the cash to get started with.
Part of the internship is a contract that they will offer the same deal to other people every 6th house that they get. The profits from just one paid-off rental house would make a real difference to folks who are in the lower middle class.
Set up a trust to help out my kids and grand kids.
Sign up for lots of art classes around the world. Try getting into The Prince of Wale's School of Traditional Arts. Sign up for language immersion classes in French in France and Arabic in Morocco.
Buy some additional tools.
I'm sure my wife would come up with a few things, too.
Pretty much it.
-
My Lottery fantasy is that they will go away, yet mandatory taxes will not increase because magically, all the same revenues will be obtained through discretionary taxes.
-
Fund my investments to the point where I could live comfortably for the rest of my life. And travel.
Buy a stand up paddle board.
Pull a Carnegie, but instead of funding libraries, I'd fund bike trails/paths/infrastructure that lead to libraries. If there's any money left over I'd find a way to give bikes to teenagers who need them.
Go to Thailand/Cambodia.
Go stand up paddle boarding.
Go stand up paddle boarding in Thailand? I can't imagine lugging one of those things onto a plane, but I could rent one in Thailand.
-
Hmmm, I'll bite:
- Buy a studio condo in the nice part of town and furnish it exactly how I want (minimalist but comfortable)
- Travel the world
- Buy a really nice gaming PC
But I'm already actively working towards all of those things without ever actually buying a lotto ticket. I may get there slower (since I don't expect to suddenly receive a huge windfall), but I'm also more sure that I'll actually achieve those goals. Precisely because I'm not just daydreaming :)
-
In no particular order:
Buy/build a cabin on some acreage on the outskirts of the PDX area and keep working on my side hustle w/o pressure of it making any money.
Pay off the mortgages of all of my siblings and some close friends.
Build myself a tiny-ish house on my parents' property to stay in when I visit.
Buy a small RV to travel around the country and visit friends/family, see all the parks, etc.
Give 2 mos notice at work so they could replace me.
Set up a charitable trust for most of the rest - donate to worthy causes, scholarships, etc. I'd keep enough for $60k income each year.
-
Set up a few blind trusts and give to charities. Then I'd start looking for a new job somewhere else. I'd jump from job to job for a couple years until I found a place I'd want to live.
After that I'd buy a bit of land and live out playing farmer, with a couple people hired to do the stuff I don't want to do. I hear farmings easy if you don't mind losing money ;)
-
Beach house on Maui, a couple sports cars, and I'd endow a chair of statistics at my alma mater to fuck with people.
-
My Lottery fantasy is that they will go away, yet mandatory taxes will not increase because magically, all the same revenues will be obtained through discretionary taxes.
what are lotto funds used for in the USA? as in why would scrapping it increase taxes?
-
I play this game every once in a while!
- set up living expenses fund
- pay off house
- do the big house projects (plumbing! solar on the roof! bathroom!)
- pay off the student loans of some friends who made it through college sans families
- set up mini trusts/give money to siblings/friends/godchildren (I think my parents are fine, but will check)
- charitable trust/donations
- go backpacking in New Zealand for a while
- when I get back: killer pollinator/native plant garden, killer veggie garden, volunteering work, some travel to visit friends and family, lots of craft projects and hiking
-
My Lottery fantasy is that they will go away, yet mandatory taxes will not increase because magically, all the same revenues will be obtained through discretionary taxes.
what are lotto funds used for in the USA? as in why would scrapping it increase taxes?
The funds are often used for schools. The other popular option for school funding is property taxes. No, it doesn't make any sense.
-
My Lottery fantasy is that they will go away, yet mandatory taxes will not increase because magically, all the same revenues will be obtained through discretionary taxes.
what are lotto funds used for in the USA? as in why would scrapping it increase taxes?
The funds are often used for schools. The other popular option for school funding is property taxes. No, it doesn't make any sense.
oh ok, interesting. This made me realise I have no idea what our government does with the money a quick google informs me "Public hospitals and the State’s health services, sporting organisations, arts and cultural groups and thousands of charities and community groups are the biggest winners of all from our business. This amounts to around one third of every dollar spent on a lottery product"
So I suppose our taxes would go up as well to cover the shortfall for hospitals
-
So I suppose our taxes would go up as well to cover the shortfall for hospitals
Maybe. The lottery is mostly played most by poorer people. If they spent the money on useful things rather than lottery tickets, maybe the state would need to offer slightly less support, and so it might net out even.
The lottery is ultimately a massive wealth transfer from many poor and middle class people to one rich person (whoever wins the jackpot is inherently rich by virtue of winning the jackpot). It is a perpetuater of inequality and a destroyer of savings.
-
It is a perpetuater of inequality and a destroyer of savings.
The lottery doesn't do these things, as no one is forced to play it. There is nothing deceptive about the lottery as it is practiced in the United States and Canada. The mechanics are known. The odds are known. In a free society, people should be left to determine for themselves whether they want to spend money on a completely fair and transparent game of chance.
As far as tantalisingly-bad purchases go, automobiles are probably a bigger "destroyer of savings" than the lottery, but few people propose that the state should heavily limit car acquisition, use, and retention in order to assist people in saving money.
-
My Lottery fantasy is that they will go away, yet mandatory taxes will not increase because magically, all the same revenues will be obtained through discretionary taxes.
what are lotto funds used for in the USA? as in why would scrapping it increase taxes?
Many states use them for education, so they can put more revenues to other things (roads?)
-
It is a perpetuater of inequality and a destroyer of savings.
The lottery doesn't do these things, as no one is forced to play it. There is nothing deceptive about the lottery as it is practiced in the United States and Canada. The mechanics are known. The odds are known. In a free society, people should be left to determine for themselves whether they want to spend money on a completely fair and transparent game of chance.
As far as tantalisingly-bad purchases go, automobiles are probably a bigger "destroyer of savings" than the lottery, but few people propose that the state should heavily limit car acquisition, use, and retention in order to assist people in saving money.
Very good answer.
-
Give 25% each to my brother and sister,give $10,000 each to my three cousins.
Dreams? Don't really have any. Maybe take an extensive tour around the world. But a mega mansion, Ferrari, expensive clothes and liquor and yachts just do not interest me. So I don't play lotteries.
-
I like thinking big like this, it helps me work out what I value and that helps me when I actually look at my spending.
I'd buy a house large enough for my family, including rooms my parents and siblings could stay in for months at a time. It's not far to where my parents live, but the option means a lot to me.
We'd probably purchase a few acres as well, to hobby-farm on or have great tinkering sheds.
And I think we'd intersperse each frivolous purchase with donations to charity, to keep ourselves honest, and then work out some kind of trust, it seems the only safe thing to do with such a large sum. I'd try my hand at mini businesses or something, perhaps, because it wouldn't matter if my stuff sold.
-
I'd probably buy a couple of state congressman.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
-
I bought one ticket on my 16th birthday, because I could. Didn't win (obviously!) and have no plans to buy one again, but I do have a lottery fantasy. It involves fun and creative ways to give away my millions - a lot like MMM's latest blog post, but crazy "just because" shit. Like I would give a million to my old university on the condition that they painted the main building gold. Or I would pay to have all the bike lanes in my city refurbished, extended, and painted in rainbow stripes. Or I would set up a bursary for the student who wrote the best essay on why essays are stupid at my other old university to buy a Savile Row suit. Because the world needs more eccentric millionaires...
-
$200m+?
Try to convince DH to quit his job. I suspect there would be some pushback and he'd likely want another 2 years, which I understand. I'd go to the States and spend time with friends and family.
While I'd probably institute a 6 mo. "no decisions" policy, I suspect we'd eventually buy a house in Coronado, CA. Probably about 2000sqft, which would be upwards of $2m.
I'd plan a very large trip and invite family and friends--probably 30-40 people. Not sure if it would be everyone on one trip, or divided among several.
We'd also plan a bunch of trips, though most would have to wait until the 2 year mark when DH would be willing to retire.
We'd donate various amounts to various charities.
And realistically, DH and I would probably argue about how much to give family. :lol
-
Become an angel investor for small, promising start-ups.
Buy some small shacks around the world so that I and my loved ones can travel to them.
Pay for family-travel.
Fund my niece's (and any future niece/nephew) future education.
Stop working for money, and start using my abilities for both the aforementioned start-ups, and charities/causes I believe in.
Go back to school, indefinitely, just to learn new things.
-
I actually do have a lottery dream - unlikely to come true since I rarely play, but still...
I fell in love with St. Croix when DW and I went there for a getaway back in March. Good sized Caribbean island that you don't need a passport to visit. The island lost a major employer when the refinery shut down a few years ago, so there is still a high unemployment rate. The island is also home to Cruzan Rum which used to use local sugarcane but now imports it all from off island. There are several old plantations on the island but none are still operating. If I won $200M, I would buy one of these plantations and turn it into a working museum. Hire locals to show tourists how sugarcane was traditionally grown, yet pay them a living wage. Sell the sugarcane to the rum factory so they can distill a top shelf special rum from local cane. I think this could be sustainable if I could get it off the ground, but even if it weren't I would be ok with subsidizing the local economy and teaching some history.
-
I actually do have a lottery dream - unlikely to come true since I rarely play, but still...
I fell in love with St. Croix when DW and I went there for a getaway back in March. Good sized Caribbean island that you don't need a passport to visit. The island lost a major employer when the refinery shut down a few years ago, so there is still a high unemployment rate. The island is also home to Cruzan Rum which used to use local sugarcane but now imports it all from off island. There are several old plantations on the island but none are still operating. If I won $200M, I would buy one of these plantations and turn it into a working museum. Hire locals to show tourists how sugarcane was traditionally grown, yet pay them a living wage. Sell the sugarcane to the rum factory so they can distill a top shelf special rum from local cane. I think this could be sustainable if I could get it off the ground, but even if it weren't I would be OK with subsidizing the local economy and teaching some history.
This sounds amazing.
-
1. Pay off all family debt. All we have is one mortgage, but we'd buy a place for my mom and DH's dad, wherever they wanted, then sell moms place and let her live off the proceeds.
2. Buy a house in the Keys.
3. Buy a hunting property somewhere out west.
4. Buy a boat.
5. Travel, if money were no object, I'd totally do one of the National Geographic around the world tours...drroooooool
6. Live life of leisure doing charity work
-
Ooh, this is fun!
I'll do the usual things - set aside a good portion to save/invest and live off the interest/dividends, retire and do whatever I like, donate to charities, treat family and friends, and all that. And while I'm often very happy with cheap and cheerful pleasures, I'd also totally be up for trying out expensive experiences that I otherwise wouldn't spend my money on, like fancy hotels, restaurants, boats.
Something I think I would really love to do is this - I've thought about it before but it just seems too daunting and risky and I'm not the entrepreneurial type, but if I'm that rich, then it suddenly starts to feel quite doable and it doesn't matter if it's profitable: Starting pop-up cafes or street carts selling whatever I feel like (all based on my own recipes) for a few weeks at a time, e.g. wholesome smoothies in spring, spicy masala chai in winter - until I've had enough of it and move on to whatever I want to do next. I just love when I create something I'm proud of, and other people taste it and their faces light up because they think it's awesome too.
-
The odds are known. In a free society, people should be left to determine for themselves whether they want to spend money on a completely fair and transparent game of chance.
Except people are NOT free to determine whether they want to play a game of chance. With the exceptions of Nevada and Atlantic City, we've made gambling illegal virtually everywhere in the country.
It is the highest form of hypocrisy that a government would outlaw gambling "to protect people" and then institute an official lottery that specifically targets poor people.
I would be less upset (though still upset) about the lottery if it was only played in places where gambling was actually legal.
-
$100k: Pay off wife's student loans, replace our water heater, buy a used sports car (S2000, I think), replace our chimney, redo our bathroom, one nice vacation (~$5k), and then with the remaining start future kids college funds. Probably throw in more home improvements.
$500k: See above, buy elevator for in-laws house, buy a truck, boat, and paying off the house
$1Mil: see above, quit job and open a business with my brother
$2Mil: See above, but I'd be silent investor rather than working
$3Mil: Buy my inlaws a house that is handicap accessible
$5Mil and up: All of the above, but we'd move into a different house in the same area, and buy a vacation house in the UP. Sports cars get nicer/older, boats get bigger.
With all of these there are donations to charities. At some point I also might become a part-time teacher.
-
like being there when the gas company decides they are going to tear up the street to replace the gas pipe and need you home - twice, because they screwed up the first time - to replace your connection and want to make giant holes through your ceiling because they're "not sure where they are going to come into the house" when they start drilling. It wouldn't solve the traffic problems stemming this work, caused by street closures for work on 100+ homes, but at least I wouldn't need to be working from home for it when 6 mo pregnant, sick to my stomach from a glucose tolerance test, smelling the gas/other noxious fumes from the work, while cold because the heat is off all day...
Totally hypothetical right?
Ha!
In fairness, an executive assistant was exactly what I dreamed about the last time I bought a ticket, maybe a year or so ago. My executive assistant just would have been doing different things then compared to now.
Last time I bought a ticket, I realize I spent so much time thinking about the downside of the lottery win (how to legally keep name out of media - double blind trust, how to give money to family without becoming known - require them to sign a confidentiality agreement before giving them trust money, how to not let money affect relationships - on deciding whether to give money to siblings, or to siblings+their spouses), that maybe I wasn't enjoying the dreaming so much and should stop buying tickets. Haven't bought a ticket since.
-
Thinking about it, first thing I would do is lawyer up and try to hide my name.
Then pay off my mortgage and offer to pay off my brother and sister's (they both earn a good living and likely would refuse the offer, so then I would offer to set up a fund for their kid's college education...they likely would still refuse). I would probably also offer to pay off my cousin's med school loans as we are very close. Then I would sit down with a good financial planner and see about how much good I can do in the world. I would likely indulge and spend more money than I currenly do, but within reason and with a strict budget. For traveling around the world, I would rent everything instead of owning as it would make it easier to come and go as I please...I might become AirBNB's best customer. I would likely move to S. America to become fluent in Spanish before moving to India to learn Hindi and then go from there, traveling the world and observing as much local culture as I can.
-
I have no idea how to accept the money without my name leaking into the media. That would be the first task.
I think that would be the first step b/c celebrity = post-lottery ticket meltdowns I've read about. Keeping wealth envy from destroying our families would critical.
I think that DW and I could survive the lottery IF our wealth was secret. Giving vast amounts of money to people who have no experience managing large sums of money doesn't seem like it would turn out well very often. They are likely surrounded by equally "desperate" people who will be fixated on the cash their friend or family has lucked into. We have a country music star from the 1990s here that tries to live a regular life and mostly succeeds. I've heard people talk about what they'd do if they had his money - and its mostly what he does. Life of country leisure. No Ferrari that I know of. ;)
Our basic plan would be:
DW and I would work out a notice with our employers whom we like. The story would be we are simply retiring.
Pay off or pay down the mortgages of our family and a few close friends. Give the same amount to all of them. $100K for example. If you were frugal and have a small mortgage you'll be money ahead. If you have a McMansion sized mortgage then here, this might help.
Slow travel part of the year.
Homeschooling, if our kids want to. Slow travel would almost require it.
Volunteer our time - maybe teach hands on workshops for free for scouts, students - anyone that wants to learn. DW and I have a number of skills that we could share. We like to teach. Volunteer with the local university and school system. Other volunteer orgs too. Any academic donation we gave would be earmarked for academic improvements - not upgrading the football field scoreboard. Test to see if the schools do good things with the money. I guess they could shift money around all they want and tell us our money went to academics when it really just freed up money for a scoreboard upgrade.
Would not want to become the "reliable" volunteer everyone calls upon. Have seen that in a few clubs we've belonged to. People who get roped into being the leader b/c nobody else wants to do the work. Eventually burnout... Fun is gone.
Renovate and sell our existing home and build something elsewhere (nearby?). Am thinking 50 acres and a 2500 sq ft house. Creek, trees, fields, etc. Room for the kids to play and for the dog(s) to bark without bothering the neighbors. ;)
Build a series of workshops. One gets outfitted as a metal working shop with machine tools. Another with a carpentry focus. One for a car/motorcycle restoration shop. Kitchen/bathrooms/gymnasium/classroom in one building. Maybe a hub and spoke design. Keep the welding sparks from staring a sawdust fire.
Try to keep things normal for our kids so they don't reach adulthood with a weird relationship with life / money / people.
-
I'll bite. My husband and I are both the annuity types. We would try to do as much as possible to keep our names secret and out of the press.
For family, we would invite them on a nice trip somewhere of their choice and that would be it. My brother and father have a rental property business, and I would invest in that as long as they provided a business plan and investment income.
I would sell our house immediately as it is an investment property and would no longer be needed. I would like to try my hand at buying an old house and restoring it. I would then sell it as I would not like to have a set place to live.
With the rest of my money, I would set up a fund to ensure that I have $1MM per year to live off of, and then I would use the rest to set up trust for things that are important to me. For example, a program that teaches sewing lessons to poor children, several scholarships, provide free or low cost dance classes, funds for a book publisher that is run by some friends, funds for a play company run by some friends, etc. As for my living expenses, there is NO WAY I would ever go through $1MM per year, but I could see us going through $300k a year (pre-tax) of full time luxury travel living. The rest of the money would be allowed to compound in case we ever have kids and/or we decide that we want to set up more foundations/trusts.
-
Only play in KS & ND. Then you can claim the prize anonymously. I think there are a few other states that allow it too.
Otherwise, use only your initials, and for the check photo, hold the check in front of your face.
I was dreaming big when the 500 million power-ball jackpot happened a while back and looked up on the web, "how to stay anonymous and claim the lottery jackpot"
I usually only play in the work pool so I won't be the only person left in the department.
-
Lawyer up, rent a home in a gated community (perimeter access security) work like heck to keep my name out of it.
"Get lost" on some back to back cruises on the other side of the world, slow travel following the Formula 1 races part of the year, other big events - Tour de France etc.
Pay off kids houses and start a trust fund for generations of college educations in the family tree.
Look for places where "unnamed" gifts would improve lives- orphanages in SE Asia, water treatment in Africa etc.
-
I'd like to design and build a reasonably large hotel-like home, and then invite my friends and their families to live there with me.
-
Is there anyone else who would feel bad spending any of the money on themselves? I posted above about wanting to be an eccentric millionaire, but have been wondering what I might buy for myself first before splashing the cash around on other people. I guess I might buy a house, and it would certainly propel be instantly into a modest FIRE, but I think I'd just feel guilty that this money which had been randomly allocated to me for doing absolutely nothing was going on making my already-privileged life even more privileged. I'd get more value out of it by trying to improve the world (eternal trust to plant 1000 urban trees every year? yes please!), particularly in fun ways that organisations can't do because their hands are tied by needing to handle donations responsibly. Maybe I'd allocate half the money to efficient charity and half to "because it's cool" charity. But I'd actually find it hard to allocate much to myself.
-
While I fantasize about winning the lottery I know my chance of winning is essentially 0 because I never have and don't plan on buying a ticket. However, here is what I would do if I won:
<$100k - Pay off debt, downpayment for a house, take a vacation.
<$500k - Above and give some to charity, family, and investments.
<$2m - Above plus start a company to hold investments in local business, become an angel investor/venture capital for local business.
>$2m - Above plus probably donate the rest to charity.
-
Is there anyone else who would feel bad spending any of the money on themselves?
No. I'd give a large chunk away (Very large, if I won a jackpot that netted me 8 figures) but I don't think I should feel bad about it. Who is to say I am less deserving of money I won than anyone else?
I also think the whole "OMG I'd claim it anonymously and hid out so no one could find me" etc etc crowd is funny. No one remembers the names of lotto winners if they just fade into the background. I'd sprinkle it pretty liberally amongst my close family, with a signed agreement that they get no more ("Here's $5M, by accepting this you agree to never ask me for another dime") and I'd treat my friends to some cool shit ("here's your first class plane ticket to come party for a week with me at my house on Maui") but everyone close to me is reasonable enough that they aren't going to demand more, and if they are, my iPhone has a real easy way to block their phone number. That's all the thought that has to be devoted to that.
-
The odds are known. In a free society, people should be left to determine for themselves whether they want to spend money on a completely fair and transparent game of chance.
Except people are NOT free to determine whether they want to play a game of chance. With the exceptions of Nevada and Atlantic City, we've made gambling illegal virtually everywhere in the country.
It is the highest form of hypocrisy that a government would outlaw gambling "to protect people" and then institute an official lottery that specifically targets poor people.
I would be less upset (though still upset) about the lottery if it was only played in places where gambling was actually legal.
Take a look at this wikipedia chart and you'll see that most states now allow some form of gambling. I live in DC, and right at the line to Maryland is a giant MGM casino that will be opening next month. I dread the effects of that - they seem to be targeting poor people, but maybe it will give some of those people jobs instead of more problems.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling_in_the_United_States
-
Lottery Fantasy:
I would also look for a way to keep the winning secret from everyone but my sister, but these are the things I would want to do (even if I have to pretend someone died and left money)
1. Buy my mom a 2 BR condo in her same building -- so she has a place to sew, do paperwork, and other projects without having stuff lying around her tiny condo all the time.
2. Pay off my mortgage.
3. Help my brother with a personal issue (in case of divorce, help him get set up financially)
4. Buy small travel trailer and travel to National Parks. Would love to try boondocking, but with all my riches, I could stay wherever I want.
5. Maybe help my other brother get prepared for retirement. It's hard to want to help someone who won't help himself and I'm so sick and tired of every facebook post of them eating at expensive places, drinking expensive wine, buying expensive crap, subsidizing their kids, just 2 years after bankruptcy filing!
6. I would like to start an investment company that makes money for investors and helps out low-income and homeless families at the same time. It wouldn't work on a large scale, but it might work on a small scale.
-
My SO gets lottery tickets fairly often. Every time he stops for gas actually. I will often fill up the tank for him on the weekend while doing errands to try to limit his lottery ticket purchases LOL.
He was an MMM non believer up until a few months ago but is coming around, and speaks quite often about what we'll do "when we retire." He still buys the occasional ticket though!
Our plan (ha...like this needs to be a plan) is to take lump sum and bust the money up into thirds. 1/3 goes into investments to support us, while the remaining 2/3 is split evenly between the two of us. We can do whatever we want with our 1/3 and agree not to argue about it. I have no clue what he'd do with his - probably shiny cars of the racing variety. I would have a lot of ideas but the main one that probably would not be possible during a normal FIRE trajectory (because in my mind only exorbitant amounts of money will be able to buy this) is...
Buy a fancy house on Summit Avenue (a fancy-pants, historically prestigious street with a ton of Victorian nonsense), raze it, and build an Earthship. When SO says, they will NEVER let you raze a house on Summit Avenue, I say, if our lottery winning is big enough they'll let me do whatever I damn well please! Also, a plot of land on Summit would work fine, I don't technically need to raze a house. I just want to put an Earthship front-and-center in the middle of a metro area in a location that would be extremely difficult to gain approval for. Maybe across the street from the Governor's Mansion. Oh wouldn't that be sweet.
Also, I'd give my autistic cousin a job. He feels damn worthless being unemployed, and hasn't been able to find a job in over 10 years. I might still do that when we FIRE, lottery or not.
-
Pretending that it's post-tax money...
$100k: pay off the small remaining debt I have, upgrade my corvette, buy that plot of land I want, save (invest) the rest
$500k: see above, but consider whether I can buy a house
$1m: see above, probably buy a small house
$5m: see above
As long as I can keep my name out of the papers, that's all I'd need.
If not, I'd probably disappear for a good long while.
-
I fantasize that the lottery isn't a state sponsored thing which bilks poor people from their money. Obviously haven't read through the thread to see if someone already covered this. :)
*Edit* Oh hi Sol.
/wave
-
Buy a fancy house on Summit Avenue (a fancy-pants, historically prestigious street with a ton of Victorian nonsense), raze it, and build an Earthship. When SO says, they will NEVER let you raze a house on Summit Avenue, I say, if our lottery winning is big enough they'll let me do whatever I damn well please! Also, a plot of land on Summit would work fine, I don't technically need to raze a house. I just want to put an Earthship front-and-center in the middle of a metro area in a location that would be extremely difficult to gain approval for. Maybe across the street from the Governor's Mansion. Oh wouldn't that be sweet.
YES. This is exactly the kind of eccentric millionaire stuff I would love to do.
-
There's a business I've always wanted to build, but I likely won't ever be able to afford unless I win the lottery or get a large unexpected inheritance - I want to run a bowling center/arcade/restaurant/coffee shop/internet cafe.
-
I think the state lotteries in the US total $80 billion in annual gaming revenue.
An average of 16 million new cars are sold each year, if we assume $30,000 average price, that's $480 billion. Suppose the value of the existing car stock were constant each year, that would mean depreciation on cars was actually six times the total lottery spending. So, as shocking as it sounds, I think I can see that car depreciation is a greater financial threat than lottery spending.
-
Hmmm...let's see. Replace my vehicle with an "new used" one.
Buy property, possibly in a more rural area, with a large lot so I don't have neighbors too close by. Build a replica of a Craftsman bungalow or an American Foursquare, complete with custom made stained glass windows with Charles Rennie McIntosh roses designs. Completely furnish the house.
Quit my job and look into volunteer situations, both to give back and to have structure to my days.
Contribute to 529s for my nephews and nieces.
Make sure my mom has enough money should she ever need to be an assisted living facility.
Plan vacations to Europe and anywhere else I want to go for the rest of my life.
That's all I can think of right now!
-
If I won a big jackpot, after doing the allowable legal wrangling that winning a large amount would require, I don't know what I would want to do! I've wanted to do several things that are diametrically opposed. The only constant is that I'd be selling my house and moving. I would likely set up some small trusts for extended family members- nothing extravagant but enough for them to be taken care of wrt basics.
I've long wanted a hobby farm, and if I have that much money I'd get alpacas instead of sheep. However, despite working a summer helping out on a llama farm, I have no idea if this would be a good fit for me as an adult owner, so I'd likely rent an apartment somewhere where I could 'apprentice' on a farm and get the experience I would need to make that decision. It's not something I would want to just jump into without having some sort of knowledge base, not even with bunches of money to spare.
The other thing I've wanted to do is slow travel, both the US and, since cost would be no issue, internationally. But this doesn't work well with having a hobby farm at all!
-
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/f3/e4/27/f3e4278e9565101b59b1cf57b6261144.jpg)
Obviously!
Then spend the rest of my life in total paralysis wondering what would be the best thing to do with all the money
-
First, sell/give away nearly everything I own. Second, expedite my SO's FIRE plan. Third, I have a buddy with a nice fabrication shop, so I would talk to him about renting a room in his house and designing/building my truck and offroad trailer. I'd finish that over a few months and then go live semi-off-grid while exploring North America, figuring out what I want to do next.
Ensure nobody knows I won. Take whatever measures necessary. Lawyer up.
Immediately and anonymously give away 99% (to real charities, not any BS that walks up), accounting for taxes. Live off the remaining 1% using the 4% rule, which is probably still six figures annually.
From what I've read about past lottery winners having their life go to hell, those two things ought to cover the bulk of what can go wrong.
Truly though, I feel like such wealth would not be nearly as enjoyable and satisfying as if I had earned it myself.
The average megamillions jackpot is $57.24 million. For the sake of expediency, I found an article using $400 million as an example - the lump payout was $223.6 million before tax. If you give 99% of that away, you're left with $2,236,000. $115,505.75 comes out of the first $400k, and the remaining $1,836,000 is taxed at 39.6% federally. This leaves you with $1,393,438.25, or $55,737.53/year at 4%.
That is, of course, factoring in a dramatically higher than usual jackpot. Factoring in a 56% lump sum payout, the average jackpot of $57.24 million becomes $32,054,400. If you give 99% away ($31,733,856), you have a cool $320,544 before any taxes.
Pardon my napkin math, but I think that's roughly accurate while ignoring state taxes.
-
Wouldn't giving to charity reduce your taxes?
-
Wouldn't giving to charity reduce your taxes?
Yep.
If we start with a lump sum payout of $223.6 million (before tax):
99% of goes to charity, pre-tax, so $2,236,000 remains.
$115,505.75 in federal tax comes out of the first $400k (tiered tax levels). The remaining un-taxed $1,836,000 is taxed at 39.6% federally. This leaves you with $1,393,438.25, or $55,737.53/year at 4%.
-
IIRC, you can only make so much charitable contribution before you no longer get tax benefits.
-
Shoot, if we won the lottery, everyone in town would know anyway, so we'd just go ahead and claim it. As for what we'd do, I guess it depends on the amount.
$250k or less: Pay off debt/invest, take parents and siblings and their families on a fun group vacation. Probably just the normal summer vacation, but it would all be on us this year.
$1 million or so: See above and gift some to our siblings (or 529 accounts for their kids), FIRE earlier.
$5 million or so: See above and FIRE now. Focus on volunteering and travel and have a sweet shop (or shops!).
$100 million or so: See above and give some pretty good junks to our closest friends so they could play with us and have a lot of fun giving away a lot of money in our local community. And occasionally fly in a private jet.
$500 million or something really obscene: See above and own my own private jet.
I know a private jet is not mustachian and not environmentally sound and since I will never win a truly obscene amount of money, I will not have to worry about it, but I got to ride in a private jet last year, and it was truly spectacular. The ability to go from our small local airport to locations hundreds of miles away in mere minutes is magical. Yeah, the plane was nice, but what was really cool was the amazing ease of it all - drive up, load the bags, get in, take off, cruise for a couple of minutes, land, and you're there. No parking structures, no crowds, no TSA, no arriving an hour or two before your flight, no baggage claim. Yes, that's it, if I was obscenely rich, I'd live in a similar house with similar cars and own a private jet.
-
Wouldn't giving to charity reduce your taxes?
Yep.
If we start with a lump sum payout of $223.6 million (before tax):
99% of goes to charity, pre-tax, so $2,236,000 remains.
$115,505.75 in federal tax comes out of the first $400k (tiered tax levels). The remaining un-taxed $1,836,000 is taxed at 39.6% federally. This leaves you with $1,393,438.25, or $55,737.53/year at 4%.
Taxes are funny.
In that case, I would treat the government as a charity and pay the taxes out of the 99% and not out of the 1%.
-
My wife and I had the very same discussion. Assuming we won a completely insane amount like $10+ million we would work very hard to keep our anonymity intact.
Then we would wait until somebody won say $1-5 million and tell our friends and family that we won that amount. This would explain some of our follow-up actions.
0. Divide the money in 2 big piles. In for my wife and one for me. I suspect nothing will change in our marriage, but then the money won't be an issue.
1. Buy each of our brothers/sisters a house so they can live mortgage and debt free for the rest of their lives.
2. Set up trust funds for the 2 children in our family (niece and nephew) so that they can go to college without worry.
3. Set up trust funds for our 8 "borrowed-children" so that they get a nice college fund as well.
4. Make sure our parents never work another day if they don't want to.
5. Pay of mortgage, maybe upgrade to a slightly bigger house with a workshop. (So I can restore old cars and the wife can do her projects)
6. Never spend another winter in Scandinavia.
7. Retire to work on my hobby projects (this would be an instant reaction)
8. Buy my wife the Tesla Roadster she adores. Preferable in orange.
9. Tell everybody that we blew through all the money and now we are just ordinary people again.
I think that just about does it.
-
I don't pay the lottery, but I do like to dream.
$250k - Fire, take wife and our bicycles and go explore Europe for a while.
$500k - Fire, buy a small boat and go explore the world.
$1m - As above but give employ a struggling family member with an easy work from home job that doesn't feel like charity.
$2m As above with a nicer boat :)
Any more than that is just stupid money to me. I don't think I'd be able to give up my frugal ways and I hate wastage. Maybe I would force myself to fly business class, but I don't think I'd like it!
-
One for travel and one for local play.
-
^I'm not really an airplane guy, but there's a guy on the lake near us with a floatplane, and THAT is pretty cool. I'd definitely look into one if I had an 8-figure net worth.
-
I'd set up a trust to fund research towards space exploration.
I would keep only a small portion to myself for spending on self sufficiency (tools, arable land) .
--------
Forgot to say, I would probably go and travel for a little bit with my family, get tanned, relax and swim with dolphins and other mammals.
-
I'll admit I fantasize about winning the lottery every once in a while because there's some things I would love to do that I know I won't be able to afford otherwise. I'd like to own a few different homes around the country to escape to when I desire a different climate and scene (mountain lodge, city condo, beach house, lake cabin...). I also want to be able to give my close family members a one-time big gift of money and take them on amazing vacations that we can all enjoy together. I want to be able to fly first class everywhere. I love travel, but excess money would make it so much more comfortable and easy.
-
I'll admit I fantasize about winning the lottery every once in a while because there's some things I would love to do that I know I won't be able to afford otherwise. I'd like to own a few different homes around the country to escape to when I desire a different climate and scene (mountain lodge, city condo, beach house, lake cabin...). I also want to be able to give my close family members a one-time big gift of money and take them on amazing vacations that we can all enjoy together. I want to be able to fly first class everywhere. I love travel, but excess money would make it so much more comfortable and easy.
You don't need houses (http://www.fourwheeler.com/product-reviews/1601-10-off-road-camping-trailers-perfect-for-your-jeep/) to accomplish that! : )
That'd be trickier for city living, though.
-
I'll admit I fantasize about winning the lottery every once in a while because there's some things I would love to do that I know I won't be able to afford otherwise. I'd like to own a few different homes around the country to escape to when I desire a different climate and scene (mountain lodge, city condo, beach house, lake cabin...). I also want to be able to give my close family members a one-time big gift of money and take them on amazing vacations that we can all enjoy together. I want to be able to fly first class everywhere. I love travel, but excess money would make it so much more comfortable and easy.
You don't need houses (http://www.fourwheeler.com/product-reviews/1601-10-off-road-camping-trailers-perfect-for-your-jeep/) to accomplish that! : )
That'd be trickier for city living, though.
I should clarify that part of the appeal is the nice accommodations with comfortable furniture and full bathrooms and kitchens :) I want to have fun decorating them, too!
-
I'd go to the ISS for a week or two. There's probably $100m right there.
-
I'd go to the ISS for a week or two. There's probably $100m right there.
For a second there I read ISIS. And I was rather alarmed.
-
ISIS is pretty short on cash right now. I'm sure they would appreciate a 100m donation.
-
I know a private jet is not mustachian and not environmentally sound and since I will never win a truly obscene amount of money, I will not have to worry about it, but I got to ride in a private jet last year, and it was truly spectacular. The ability to go from our small local airport to locations hundreds of miles away in mere minutes is magical. Yeah, the plane was nice, but what was really cool was the amazing ease of it all - drive up, load the bags, get in, take off, cruise for a couple of minutes, land, and you're there. No parking structures, no crowds, no TSA, no arriving an hour or two before your flight, no baggage claim. Yes, that's it, if I was obscenely rich, I'd live in a similar house with similar cars and own a private jet.
Have you been reading Stuart Wood's Stone Barrington novels? Barrington went from retired cop with a law degree to this lifestyle.
-
I know a private jet is not mustachian and not environmentally sound and since I will never win a truly obscene amount of money, I will not have to worry about it, but I got to ride in a private jet last year, and it was truly spectacular. The ability to go from our small local airport to locations hundreds of miles away in mere minutes is magical. Yeah, the plane was nice, but what was really cool was the amazing ease of it all - drive up, load the bags, get in, take off, cruise for a couple of minutes, land, and you're there. No parking structures, no crowds, no TSA, no arriving an hour or two before your flight, no baggage claim. Yes, that's it, if I was obscenely rich, I'd live in a similar house with similar cars and own a private jet.
Warren Buffett seems to agree with you on the same house and private jet bit. I believe he named his The Indefensible. :)
-
ISIS is pretty short on cash right now. I'm sure they would appreciate a 100m donation.
There's been an awful lot of very expensive ordnance donated to them on a regular basis for some time now . . .
-
I think I've bought lottery tickets twice, so it really is all fantasy...
I don't care who knows I've won, I'm good at saying "no".
I'd take the lump-sum, I'd rather invest what I want and let that money compound.
I'd gift a set amount to family and the few friends who stood by me during a hard time (so, three non-family people, the rest can suck it). May have to spread it out to avoid gift-taxes, but I'd figure it out.
I have four "charities" I currently donate to. One children's hospital (saved my son's life), one related to the children's hospital (saved my sanity when fearing I'd lose my son), the theater department at the local high school (changed my son's life!), and another theater related organization we both enjoy. Charities would remain the same, though donated amounts would go up. I also donate to an animal shelter on occasion, so I'd do that more frequently.
I would buy a chateau in southern France. It's beautiful and an easy train/plane ride to other countries for vacations.
I'd finally get a house built on my property. Not a large one, but about 1k sq feet, with a basement. The wood shop would get built as well (there is a slab, but the old building collapsed years ago). Sell current house, so this would pretty much balance out expense-wise.
I'd quit work, giving my two week notice, but using vacation time for those two weeks (coworkers like the overtime when we have to cover a shift, so that would make them happy!) Or, if they wanted, I'd give them even more OT by giving longer notice but still using all my vacation time (so two months + instead of two weeks).
I'd put a tiny home or nice RV on my parent's property, so they could use it as a guest house when any of us come to visit, or just want to stay in town overnight instead of driving home (bad weather, tired, whatever). I'd also get them a maid. And me a maid when needed.
I'd get a camper or camper van and drive all over the states/Canada when I wasn't overseas or living in the woods.
I'd pay the costs of my parent's garden (water, seeds), so that they could enjoy the gardening without any financial expense.
I'd buy the best quality quilting fabric and sock yarn I could, as well as get an awesome zoom lens.
-
I'll bite....
A five bedroom house in Sacramento near the rest of my family large enough to host small gatherings, a yard big enough to play in and grow a number of fruits/vegetables, and solar/energy efficient it to the max without concern for the ROI. Bedroom for us, our son, a guest room, an office, and a gym. I'll be retired so I'll have the time to clean it. A Tesla to go with the energy theme, but maybe an Aston Martin to play in.
-Ensure my closest friends' kids can afford to go to the college of their choice.
-Buy houses for them (they're both struggling single parents living in crappy apartments).
-Fully furnish/equip my other friend's therapy business (it's a non-profit that works on hand-me-down equipment).
-Taking overseas vacations whenever it suits us.
-Generously fund a couple charities we're close to.
-
I forgot to add: While handing in my notice at my job, I would be sure to tell my boss exactly what I think of him. :)
-
Never bought a ticket, so it's just fantasies, but let's see:
Up to 2m:
- Pay off our house
- sponsor SIL to Canada
- send kiddo(s) to Montessori schools
- send kiddo(s) to extracurricular activities (martial art, scouts, piano, choir and whatever they like)
- buy a parchel of land where to build a self-sustaining cottage to DH exact liking
- do the big-ticket renos we want to do to the house (bigger balcony, extra floor, solar panel system)
If I won more I'd go further:
- buy a beautiful, big house here in the city
- hire 2 live-in nanny, 1 English motherlanguage and 1 Greek motherlanguage, to have children fluent in both languages
- buy a house for my parents
- buy a duplex or triplex and make it a bed&breakfast to manage myself
- hire more house staff: a personal assistant, a regular cleaner, someone that comes to iron my laundry (I love ironed stuff but I hate ironing)
-
I was thinking this morning as I dyed my hair in the shower that I'd like to splurge on a once a month hairdresser when I hit independent wealth. For myself and for my dogs.
I would pay off my current mortgage, and then either buy a turn of the century house on a couple of acres and completely fix it up, or hire an architect to design a turn of the century looking house for me, where I wouldn't have to worry about lead paint, old wiring, and not being up to earthquake standards. Probably sell the current house once that was done.
I might buy a tesla. But I'd keep my 2002 CRV for camping, fishing, and general shenanigans.
I'd give a lump sum to my parents and set up a trust for each of my brothers. (Two of them are financial idiots. One is learning disabled, and will need to be taken care of to an extent his whole life. The other three are pretty ok.)
I'd either build a couple of tiny houses or buy a duplex as a place to stick brothers/relations when they need it.
I'd pay for college for all of my nieces and nephews. Or a percentage... I'm of the opinion that kids appreciate things more if they have to help pay for them. Which would sound hypocritical coming from a lotto winner...
And then I would give money to whomever and whatever I chose. I would donate to my current place of employment, which is an under funded arts center. I would send the kid who stole my dog to culinary school. (It's a long story...) I would pay for random people's groceries at the store, because that would amuse me. I would fund random gofundmes that I don't find offensive.
And finally, I would buy my own lighting console (the one I want is around $20,000) and continue to freelance design for people that I like. Discounted rates for mom and pop groups would be a given.
However... I've never directly purchased a lottery ticket (though I did once participate in a lottery pool), and I'm unlikely to. But I still keep up some hope for the publishers clearing house sweeps...
-
I'd continue working until I was fired. Shouldn't take long.
-
I would pay for random people's groceries at the store, because that would amuse me.
That would be fun. I saw a story recently about an anonymous person who had hidden $100 bills in random consumer goods all over the city. So, someone buys a box of cereal and finds $100 tucked under the lid. Or a paintbrush at the hardware store. Or whatever. Several winners had come forward for the story, and they were all pretty tickled to find the money.
-
It's fun to dream, isn't it? :D
--Disappear for a few months, and keep my name out of the papers, to fend off the gold diggers
--Pay off debt
--Quit paying for life insurance :)
--Take the family to Disney World
--Get my pilot's license, and fly a whole bunch of different kinds of airplanes until I find the one(s) I want to keep
--Move to a low-tax state
--Build a dream house (and do a bunch of the work myself)
I heard an interesting observation a while back about people coming into money--it doesn't change who they are, it just enables it. So if they're already a generous person, a windfall will let them donate more to their favorite causes. If they're a spendthrift, they'll blow it on worthless stuff.
When I look at the things DW and I want to have, it's all relatively small potatoes, compared to a lotto jackpot. I want a new computer. We'd like to finish our basement. I'd like to plant some more fruit trees. A few windows need replacing. DW would like an memory foam floor mat next to the kitchen island. I'm not sure what we'd do with the remaining $199 million. Donate to our alma mater, perhaps?
-
1. Pay off the student loans of my partner and I.
2. Pay off mortgage of parents and in-laws and pay for any work they need done on the house.
3. Buy a house that can comfortably accommodate long term visitors (being too large for what we really need).
4. Invest until $1 million can be withdrawn each year.
5. Lots and lots of charities.
6. Spend the majority of the yearly withdrawal on family, friends and charity.
-
I would send the kid who stole my dog to culinary school. (It's a long story...)
This sounds an interesting tale...?
-
I would send the kid who stole my dog to culinary school. (It's a long story...)
This sounds an interesting tale...?
Share, please. Was the child's preparation of the dog less than professional?
-
I had a psych prof who brought enough $1 lottery tickets to class so everyone got one. We each were holding a ticket in our hands and he told us the odds of winning, in very clear terms. Then he told us to tear them up. Knowing full well that the real value of these tickets was nothing, and statistically speaking they were garbage, it was still pretty much impossible to physically tear them up. That's the psychology of hope, of having something you have invested your dreams in. That's why poor people buy lottery tickets, and I will never judge them for it.
Fantastic, and very thought-provoking. Thank your for sharing that.
-
Build our dream net-zero home, with guest quarters for family visits.
Buy a home for my mom, and set up an annuity to pay the maintenance costs for her. Pay for her to take a vacation to Hawaii with all her kids and grandkids.
Pay off my sisters' student loans.
Buy an RV and trick it out.
-
I would send the kid who stole my dog to culinary school. (It's a long story...)
This sounds an interesting tale...?
Share, please. Was the child's preparation of the dog less than professional?
*Gordon Ramsay screaming at a teary-eyed boy* This dog is so raw it's still chasing postmen!
-
I would send the kid who stole my dog to culinary school. (It's a long story...)
This sounds an interesting tale...?
Share, please. Was the child's preparation of the dog less than professional?
*Gordon Ramsay screaming at a teary-eyed boy* This dog is so raw it's still chasing postmen!
As the new puppy said a few weeks ago: YO NO QUIERO TACO BELL!!!!!!!
-
I would send the kid who stole my dog to culinary school. (It's a long story...)
This sounds an interesting tale...?
Share, please. Was the child's preparation of the dog less than professional?
*Gordon Ramsay screaming at a teary-eyed boy* This dog is so raw it's still chasing postmen!
As the new puppy said a few weeks ago: YO NO QUIERO TACO BELL!!!!!!!
My high school Spanish teacher absolutely loved that slogan. In the past querer was the hardest verb to teach conjugation for, but due to the ad it became one of the easiest for her student to grasp.
-
I had a psych prof who brought enough $1 lottery tickets to class so everyone got one. We each were holding a ticket in our hands and he told us the odds of winning, in very clear terms. Then he told us to tear them up. Knowing full well that the real value of these tickets was nothing, and statistically speaking they were garbage, it was still pretty much impossible to physically tear them up. That's the psychology of hope, of having something you have invested your dreams in. That's why poor people buy lottery tickets, and I will never judge them for it.
Fantastic, and very thought-provoking. Thank your for sharing that.
Can we do a double-blind experiment, where half of the people get $1 bills, and half get $1 lottery tickets with jackpots of a million?
-
Between a management turnover at work and the election, I'm feeling unsettled about my current reality so I'll live a little in my fantasy land. I need a big pick me up today so we'll assume for this fantasy that I won an absurdly large lottery...lets say $100 million just for giggles.
1. Buy my parents a home that's more elderly friendly. No steps, wider doorways for walkers/wheelchairs, big accessible bathroom, etc
2. Give the relatives on my dad's side a nice sum, maybe 500k-1mil per family unit
3. Buy my boyfriend a Tesla
4. Build the net zero home that I've dreamed of on a nice wooded or lake lot up north
5. Build a cozy workshop and outfit it with all the pretty woodworking tools I can think of
6. Fill one of the rooms in the above mentioned house with shelves/bins full of yarn and a full range of knitting machines
7. Setup a charitable foundation to give away most of the winnings and give me something to do when I'm not knitting or making furniture
-
Just posting to follow.
-
These days I play probably about maybe 1-2x per yr... maybe $5-10 each outing.
Probably anything under $500k my life would probably pretty exactly the same.
Let's talk big winnings now :) I think the minimum for our major lotteries in Canada is about $4Mil not exactly sure so we'll start at that.
$4Mil winning,
- $50k to each of our siblings, making note they will not get a cent more = $400k
- $250k to each our parents, making note they will not get a cent more = $1Mil
- $2.5Mil into index couch potatoe style funds, balanced allocation
- $100k to "upgrade" our lifestyle a bit. Maybe a new "used" car... a vacation here or there (not big on travel), unsure we would even be able to spend it all, lol.
We are pretty fine with our current lifestyle, lol.
I actually had a conversation with my GF about this and we both agreed nothing would change except our FIRE would move up 5-7yrs (we both don't despise work, so not a huge deal imho).
-
I honestly don't have a lottery fantasy. I think my life would turn to shit if I won. I think I would mostly lose a lot of relationships. As a result, I make a conscious decision to not play.
-
I honestly don't have a lottery fantasy. I think my life would turn to shit if I won. I think I would mostly lose a lot of relationships. As a result, I make a conscious decision to not play.
I think that if I had a lot of relationships that depended upon me being of a certain networth, I would not mind severing those relationships.
-
Sign it. Wait until I get paid.
Win $5,000 = Put into emergency fund. Spend $50 right away (maybe some new shirts)
Win $50,000 Vanguard Admirals shares Spend $500 right away (a non handwritten will)
Win $500,000 talk to a lawyer, create a corporation to claim the ticket to keep my privacy. Invest wisely. Retire. Spend $5000 right away (get shoulder surgery)
Win $5 million as above but have a tiny house built for me, drive around the country until I found a great place. Consider moving or getting a second (small) home there. Spend another $50,000 (truck to pull the tiny house, furnishings for tiny house)
Win $50 million as above but hire a personal assistant for life too. (Spend as above).
Win $500 million here we start getting into the no freedom because you need bodyguards everywhere. At this level it is worth considering giving so much away that you're no longer a kidnapping and murder target (Spend as above).
-
When I was a poor student, I dreamt of winning something substantial in the lottery. For 1 year I had a subscription on buying lottery tickets in the national state lottery, that cost me 10 Dutch guilders a piece. In total I spent 120 guilders. Twice I won a small sum, in total 20 guilder. Result = minus 100 guilders (the current value of that doesn't matter, the point is that it ended up in a lot of minus).
Then I concluded that this was an effective way to loose money and I have never bought a lottery ticket since. I have been given a lottery ticket twice as a Christmas present from work. With 1 of them I won 10 Norwegian crowns, approx 1,5 US dollars. Yeah!
Last year I sold my index funds with 400.000 NOK in profit. That works better.
-
I am in a lottery pool at work. I consider my weekly $1 contribution as insurance to ensure I’m not the only person still working if they happen to win. A couple of months ago, we matched 4 of the regular numbers and the special number (not sure if it was Powerball or MegaMillons as they buy both). The group won $50,000 total but we had 38 people contributing. It was almost $1,000 each after taxes.
I just looked at the email with the lottery numbers for this week, there are now 41 people contributing.
-
One bonus about the office lottery pool.
A $1 or even $5 per week to join the "club" is a lot less than going out for coffee every day.
-
I don't like the lottery, it's another evil thing the government does, a poor tax... But I'll play.
$200M? The government would steal half of it, I'd invest the rest and have about $4M/yr to play with. That's still a lot of money.
-I'd pay off all my debt and the debt of family and close friends, give them all a relatively small amount of money so everyone has a nest egg. Maybe $100k to each family or individual.
-Buy my barber a new car
-I'd keep working at my current job at least in the short term, though I'd be more relaxed about it and probably more productive with the security of being FI in mind.
-Buy a relatively large waterfront property so I could be on the water any time I want and have room for my hobbies.
-Donate $1M/yr (or whatever government allows) to the Libertarian party.
-Take a long vacation to ride my motorcycle across the country.
-Write a book or blog to document my travels.
-Build a track bike and get into vintage racing.
-Buy waterfront property somewhere warm where water doesn't freeze and is usable all year round, eventually move there and probably keep working in some capacity, either in my field or perhaps restoring bikes or cars.
Realistically I can't imagine any way I could spend that much money. The only truly expensive thing I want is a large waterfront property somewhere warm. I don't understand how many lotto winners end up broke and worse off than they were prior.
-
My DH does sometimes join a wine lottery at work, usually the week before christmas. You throw a small sum of money in the pot and can win one of 5 bottles of wine. So far he has done this 3 times and won one or more bottles each times, so a netto win. I have also done this twice and never won a bottle. So for me it's a waste.
-
Well, if I won a whopper, something that post investing would throw off 2-5 mil / year in post-tax income, the fun would be in figuring out how to give most of said income away.
For fun, I've put together a few spreadsheets of how I'd give to some of my favorite small / mid size charities, those with annual budgets in the 750k-2 mil range, a series of donations.
With 2-5 mil / year of post tax income, I could see giving away all but 200-500k of that (ok, yes, I would live large, just shoot me now). Since I like the small / mid size** where 6 figure donations make a huge difference, here's what I'd do:
For each charity I was going to support, cut a 500k check. It would be restricted though such that the charity was permitted to only spend 100k / year for the first 4 years, then the remainder (to include interest / dividends, etc) in the 5th year. That would (start) to provide stability to their funding. It would also tend to limit the charity from ramping up a huge new program addition based on one big lump sum. If I continue to like the charity, repeat the following year, and each subsequent year. Over 5 years, the charity in question would have 500k available in any given year. Not enough for a 1.5-2 mil / year charity to rely entirely on, but a nice stable base. Scale this appropriately (so a 750k / year charity would have 250k / year after 5 years). Should stuff happen where I couldn't continue the giving, or wanted to ramp down, there would be a 5 year period where these restricted grants would ramp down, allowing for a semi-graceful contraction of the program to fit the diminished resources.
** - In something like an American Red Cross or any other similarly large national charity, or even a University, a 500k donation is a drop in the bucket. Likewise, a local food bank running a 50-100k / year operation wouldn't be able to effectively absorb such a large donation (or course, I'd drop them a 10k / year donation, but finding enough worthy charities to give away 1.5-4.5 mil / year at 10k each would be a pain).
-
Well, if I won a whopper, something that post investing would throw off 2-5 mil / year in post-tax income, the fun would be in figuring out how to give most of said income away.
For fun, I've put together a few spreadsheets of how I'd give to some of my favorite small / mid size charities, those with annual budgets in the 750k-2 mil range, a series of donations.
With 2-5 mil / year of post tax income, I could see giving away all but 200-500k of that (ok, yes, I would live large, just shoot me now). Since I like the small / mid size** where 6 figure donations make a huge difference, here's what I'd do:
For each charity I was going to support, cut a 500k check. It would be restricted though such that the charity was permitted to only spend 100k / year for the first 4 years, then the remainder (to include interest / dividends, etc) in the 5th year. That would (start) to provide stability to their funding. It would also tend to limit the charity from ramping up a huge new program addition based on one big lump sum. If I continue to like the charity, repeat the following year, and each subsequent year. Over 5 years, the charity in question would have 500k available in any given year. Not enough for a 1.5-2 mil / year charity to rely entirely on, but a nice stable base. Scale this appropriately (so a 750k / year charity would have 250k / year after 5 years). Should stuff happen where I couldn't continue the giving, or wanted to ramp down, there would be a 5 year period where these restricted grants would ramp down, allowing for a semi-graceful contraction of the program to fit the diminished resources.
** - In something like an American Red Cross or any other similarly large national charity, or even a University, a 500k donation is a drop in the bucket. Likewise, a local food bank running a 50-100k / year operation wouldn't be able to effectively absorb such a large donation (or course, I'd drop them a 10k / year donation, but finding enough worthy charities to give away 1.5-4.5 mil / year at 10k each would be a pain).
FYI, in case you ever do hit the whopper--you may want to look into a Donor Advised Fund. I know Fidelity has one. You basically donate to the fund, which is technically a charity, and receive the tax benefits now, and then disperse to the charities of your choice in amounts of your choice at the time you deem fit--meanwhile the money is still growing.
-
Well, if I won a whopper, something that post investing would throw off 2-5 mil / year in post-tax income, the fun would be in figuring out how to give most of said income away.
For fun, I've put together a few spreadsheets of how I'd give to some of my favorite small / mid size charities, those with annual budgets in the 750k-2 mil range, a series of donations.
With 2-5 mil / year of post tax income, I could see giving away all but 200-500k of that (ok, yes, I would live large, just shoot me now). Since I like the small / mid size** where 6 figure donations make a huge difference, here's what I'd do:
For each charity I was going to support, cut a 500k check. It would be restricted though such that the charity was permitted to only spend 100k / year for the first 4 years, then the remainder (to include interest / dividends, etc) in the 5th year. That would (start) to provide stability to their funding. It would also tend to limit the charity from ramping up a huge new program addition based on one big lump sum. If I continue to like the charity, repeat the following year, and each subsequent year. Over 5 years, the charity in question would have 500k available in any given year. Not enough for a 1.5-2 mil / year charity to rely entirely on, but a nice stable base. Scale this appropriately (so a 750k / year charity would have 250k / year after 5 years). Should stuff happen where I couldn't continue the giving, or wanted to ramp down, there would be a 5 year period where these restricted grants would ramp down, allowing for a semi-graceful contraction of the program to fit the diminished resources.
** - In something like an American Red Cross or any other similarly large national charity, or even a University, a 500k donation is a drop in the bucket. Likewise, a local food bank running a 50-100k / year operation wouldn't be able to effectively absorb such a large donation (or course, I'd drop them a 10k / year donation, but finding enough worthy charities to give away 1.5-4.5 mil / year at 10k each would be a pain).
You could also set up 500k endowment funds for the various charities, so that they could use the return on investment for program activities. A small charity such as a needle exchange, school PTA, or neighborhood church could pull off 4% of 500k per year and do very well with $20k as a revenue stream. Another option would be to find a nice charity and kill its debt.
-
My lottery dream, for like a PowerBall jackpot, bazillion-dollar prize, is to open a non-profit community resource center for my small suburban neighborhood. We'd offer grants and low-interest loans for home improvements, services like lawn care & snow removal, a walk-in health clinic, legal services... sort of like church outreach, only without the church. And bigger.
-
.....
You could also set up 500k endowment funds for the various charities, so that they could use the return on investment for program activities. A small charity such as a needle exchange, school PTA, or neighborhood church could pull off 4% of 500k per year and do very well with $20k as a revenue stream. Another option would be to find a nice charity and kill its debt.
I have to wonder if such small charities could effectively manage an endowment. Your Fail-tastic thread Grim (plus general antimustachian wall of shame and comedy posts) leads me to believe that there are a lot of small charities out there that would find a way to eff it up in short order. I'd have to wonder about a charity that would willingly go into debt - that would be a case by case for me, but would be a good way to make a big donation toward a charity that went into debt for good cause.
Two charities I give to already have endowments / permanent funds - one is on the order of half a century in operation, the other 30 plus years, with robust governance, so I figure they'd be able to handle it. Overall, the endowments are small potato's in their budgets, providing single digit percentages of annual operating budget. But that is something I'd also consider doing, in addition to the previous.
One charity I give to, as part of it's mission, acquires land for preservation, which it ultimately sells to the Government for permanent protection - the charity can move faster than the Government and when a private parcel comes on market, they can move relatively quickly. Their land fund thus rolls - $$$ to buy land....sell land for $$$, money back into the fund for the next acquisition. Fattening up the fund would allow for more parcels to be in that mid stage of being temporarily held by the charity prior to being put into the public ownership.
With 1.5-4.5 mil to give away in a year, I could see doing a 1.5 mil to one of these charities. 500k as described above, 500k to for land fund and 500k to their permanent endowment fund. As nice as a 500k shot in the arm would be to the endowment, at 4% that's only 20k / year, on a 750k-1.5 mil / year charity. Nice, but not charity changing money in isolation.
But, since this is lotto fantasy, I'd keep that up for 5 years and then poof....they'd have their 100k / year in perpetuity.
Other Lotto Fantasies about giving away money I have are this:
Since I'm giving away 1.5-4.5 mil / year, I'd have my attorney hire another attorney (double secret layers of attorney client privilege, since some one could probably figure out that John Smith, Esq at Dewey, Cheatem and Howe is my attorney, but if Smith hired an attorney from another firm...highly unlikely it would be traced back) to deliver checks to smaller but deserving charities. Lets call it having the double secret lawyer walk into the Union Gospel Mission in Seattle (to pick a worthy, IMO, local charity) and hand over a check for $25k about this time of year. Wash, rinse, repeat with other charities where a $5-$25k donation would be a good dose of funding.
Another one I think would be fun is to slip 5 C-notes wrapped in a one dollar bill into the bucket of a bell ringer. Walk around downtown and find every bell ringer out there and do the same. Put 5-15k into buckets in one day.
-
One charity I give to, as part of it's mission, acquires land for preservation, which it ultimately sells to the Government for permanent protection - the charity can move faster than the Government and when a private parcel comes on market, they can move relatively quickly. Their land fund thus rolls - $$$ to buy land....sell land for $$$, money back into the fund for the next acquisition. Fattening up the fund would allow for more parcels to be in that mid stage of being temporarily held by the charity prior to being put into the public ownership.
I'm having a tough time wrapping my head around this one. The US Government already owns something like 28% of the land in the US. What kind of land is being added for protection?
-
I really think that if I had enough to give away in big meaningful chunks (i.e., I net $100M+ from Powerball and give away all but maybe $20M) I'd try to get a meeting with Bill Gates and get some advice on how best to give away my money. I think he's maybe the modern poster child for large-scale philanthropy, and I'd love to pick his brain about what to do on the subject. I think I'd target a couple specific areas (for me it would probably be children's diseases and cancer research) and ask Gates's help how to be most effective. Plus I think it would be really cool to engage with him like that. I'd also give a big chunk to my alma mater and likely my K-12 school district.
And every dime I gave away would come with a clawback provision where I could demand the money back if I was solicited for more. Nothing pisses me off more than giving away money even at the small scale I give and having it be an invitation to hit me up again the next week/month/year. If I wanted to give more/again, I would.
-
Nothing pisses me off more than giving away money even at the small scale I give and having it be an invitation to hit me up again the next week/month/year. If I wanted to give more/again, I would.
Oh good, I'm not the only one. Earlier this year, I gave $1000 to a local homeless charity. I put a note in the envelope with my check asking them not to put me on any donor list, as I do not want any accolades for my donation nor do I care to be solicited for more. One month later I get a letter in the mail telling me that a small $xx per month can help so much. I call and ask to be removed from their list and if I receive another solicitation, they will never get another check. Years ago I gave to a relief fund after a natural disaster in another country, took me years to get off their list. I don't mind getting a random solicitation, but solicitations for more money after I give just seems crass to me. I understand the prior donors are their main source of income, but to solicit after being asked not to is extra crass, not to mention it puts them on my list of organizations to not get donations.
-
Zolo - Think along the lines of park land, for the type of land this charity deals with. Not any old land, but land adjoining an existing park like property. If this adjoining land were developed into housing or clear cut, even being outside the park like property it would still adversely affect the park like public property.
Not all land (anymore) is created equal. I feel that an industrial forest can be logged.....but a nearly mature second growth forest adjoining this park like land could, if not cut, become replacement old growth in another 50-100 years if preserved. Not perfect.....but a step in the right direction.....40 -4,000 acres at a time. And paying full price of willing sellers.....no bullshit low ball take by force prices that alienate as many as they please. Again.....lotto fantasy.
-
Zolo - Think along the lines of park land, for the type of land this charity deals with. Not any old land, but land adjoining an existing park like property. If this adjoining land were developed into housing or clear cut, even being outside the park like property it would still adversely affect the park like public property.
Not all land (anymore) is created equal. I feel that an industrial forest can be logged.....but a nearly mature second growth forest adjoining this park like land could, if not cut, become replacement old growth in another 50-100 years if preserved. Not perfect.....but a step in the right direction.....40 -4,000 acres at a time. And paying full price of willing sellers.....no bullshit low ball take by force prices that alienate as many as they please. Again.....lotto fantasy.
Ah, thanks for clarifying.
-
I'd love to pay off the house, retire, travel around the world, and maybe buy a house in Hawaii. ;)
If I won a large chunk of money such that it threw off around $1 million per year I would use it to improve water and wastewater infrastructure around the state. For example, replacing old leaky water and sewer lines, replacing failed septic tanks for single home owners, adding components to wastewater treatment plants to make the plant work better and the operator's lives easier, putting in sewer lines where it will do a lot of good (there are lots of mobile home parks just outside of town that can't afford a million dollars to connect to the sewer half a mile away.) Also install monitoring wells to improve our understanding of water quality. I might be convinced to do a similar sort of thing in small poor countries but I think I would have more projects than money just improving things in my state.
-
One charity I give to, as part of it's mission, acquires land for preservation, which it ultimately sells to the Government for permanent protection - the charity can move faster than the Government and when a private parcel comes on market, they can move relatively quickly. Their land fund thus rolls - $$$ to buy land....sell land for $$$, money back into the fund for the next acquisition. Fattening up the fund would allow for more parcels to be in that mid stage of being temporarily held by the charity prior to being put into the public ownership.
I'm having a tough time wrapping my head around this one. The US Government already owns something like 28% of the land in the US. What kind of land is being added for protection?
Me too... What is the land allegedly being protected from? How can the government possibly protect it better than the private charity? If you want land to be used for a certain purpose or not used at all just buy it and keep it, then nobody else can use it and if they trespass you have recourse. Why involve the government at all? The government buys the land with money stolen from other people, which is immoral and unethical. Beyond that the government can change its mind and do whatever it wants with the land at any time. The government can give it away to some big business that lobbies them, or use it for a nuclear test site such that it could be uninhabitable for decades, or any number of other things. If it remains owned by private individuals or a private group then it will only be used for whatever the owners want it used for and there is no coercion involved.
-
One charity I give to, as part of it's mission, acquires land for preservation, which it ultimately sells to the Government for permanent protection - the charity can move faster than the Government and when a private parcel comes on market, they can move relatively quickly. Their land fund thus rolls - $$$ to buy land....sell land for $$$, money back into the fund for the next acquisition. Fattening up the fund would allow for more parcels to be in that mid stage of being temporarily held by the charity prior to being put into the public ownership.
I'm having a tough time wrapping my head around this one. The US Government already owns something like 28% of the land in the US. What kind of land is being added for protection?
Me too... What is the land allegedly being protected from? How can the government possibly protect it better than the private charity? If you want land to be used for a certain purpose or not used at all just buy it and keep it, then nobody else can use it and if they trespass you have recourse. Why involve the government at all? The government buys the land with money stolen from other people, which is immoral and unethical. Beyond that the government can change its mind and do whatever it wants with the land at any time. The government can give it away to some big business that lobbies them, or use it for a nuclear test site such that it could be uninhabitable for decades, or any number of other things. If it remains owned by private individuals or a private group then it will only be used for whatever the owners want it used for and there is no coercion involved.
Globally speaking it probably depends on the government and the country. In the US, the government has a long history of taking property away from individuals in order to give it to corporations. Not much else explains the Xanterra Group.
-
Mine involves: a private island, lots of booze, and Matthew McConaughey.
-
Oh, and I would do this. (http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article115124578.html)
-
My lottery dream, for like a PowerBall jackpot, bazillion-dollar prize, is to open a non-profit community resource center for my small suburban neighborhood. We'd offer grants and low-interest loans for home improvements, services like lawn care & snow removal, a walk-in health clinic, legal services... sort of like church outreach, only without the church. And bigger.
I LOVE that! Especially without the church. Churches are fine and all that but this prevents religion as a topic from getting between the person needing help and the person who can deliver the help.
-
....
Me too... What is the land allegedly being protected from? How can the government possibly protect it better than the private charity? If you want land to be used for a certain purpose or not used at all just buy it and keep it, then nobody else can use it and if they trespass you have recourse. Why involve the government at all? The government buys the land with money stolen from other people, which is immoral and unethical. Beyond that the government can change its mind and do whatever it wants with the land at any time. The government can give it away to some big business that lobbies them, or use it for a nuclear test site such that it could be uninhabitable for decades, or any number of other things. If it remains owned by private individuals or a private group then it will only be used for whatever the owners want it used for and there is no coercion involved.
Clear cutting, Development into houses, to name two specific on going activities that are degrading that which this charity is protecting.
How can the Govt protect it better than a private charity? Well if the acquired lands become more or less / effectively part of a National Park, that's pretty effing protected and will never be despoiled. Last I checked, Yosemite and Yellowstone, Mt Rainier and SEKI are pretty darn protected and even the most die hard oil and gas and clear cutting types wouldn't propose (and even if they did, would never get through) despoiling National Parks. Private charities can and do fall on hard times and could be forced to "fire sale" off holdings. Besides, this charity isn't in the business of being a land owner, not their expertise and besides, they're only a 750-2.5 mil / year charity. The sunk capital in holding property is huge, especially considering their scale. It simply isn't practical.
As for the rest of your post, see above.
On the funding point: These types of lands are acquired via the Land and Water Conservation Fund. I'll let you look that one up yourself. More or less this is an extraction tax on oil and gas leases on US Government property that pays to buy up lands for parks, game reserves and other similar uses - drill baby, drill over here, get a game reserve there, and an addition to a park over yonder, etc. The private charity buys from willing sellers. No coercion involved. As for the tax revenue source, well, I'm probably more Red State than you and there's nothing wrong with that one IMO (make a profit off oil and gas owned by the US taxpayer, pay a bit of tax on that profit to fund this program...no one forces any of those companies to bid for the leases, so there....no coercion).
Lets not thread derail onto park concessions, please.
Another Lotto Fantasy:
Offer recent nursing, dental and med school grads this deal: I'll pay off every dime of your student loans (up to 250k) if you work in the local free clinic, practicing your profession, for 2 years on a 36k / year stipend.
-
....
Me too... What is the land allegedly being protected from? How can the government possibly protect it better than the private charity? If you want land to be used for a certain purpose or not used at all just buy it and keep it, then nobody else can use it and if they trespass you have recourse. Why involve the government at all? The government buys the land with money stolen from other people, which is immoral and unethical. Beyond that the government can change its mind and do whatever it wants with the land at any time. The government can give it away to some big business that lobbies them, or use it for a nuclear test site such that it could be uninhabitable for decades, or any number of other things. If it remains owned by private individuals or a private group then it will only be used for whatever the owners want it used for and there is no coercion involved.
Clear cutting, Development into houses, to name two specific on going activities that are degrading that which this charity is protecting.
How can the Govt protect it better than a private charity? Well if the acquired lands become more or less / effectively part of a National Park, that's pretty effing protected and will never be despoiled. Last I checked, Yosemite and Yellowstone, Mt Rainier and SEKI are pretty darn protected and even the most die hard oil and gas and clear cutting types wouldn't propose (and even if they did, would never get through) despoiling National Parks. Private charities can and do fall on hard times and could be forced to "fire sale" off holdings. Besides, this charity isn't in the business of being a land owner, not their expertise and besides, they're only a 750-2.5 mil / year charity. The sunk capital in holding property is huge, especially considering their scale. It simply isn't practical.
Sadly, too many National Parks are already being drilled in for oil and natural gas.
-
Put what little bit extra away I need to FIRE and then donate the rest. I've already had more "stuff." It certainly wasn't a better life. Hard to imagine how many starving kids I could feed or millions of kids lives that could be saved with basic vaccinations. My wife is fond of animal rights (no kill shelters, etc.) So some would be donated to these causes as well. Especially for Pit Bulls.
-
Ha! I kinda feel like I won the lottery when I got married for the first time at age 54. I immediately retired. Couple of months later, a dream house I'd fantasized about years before came on the market as a short sale and we paid cash for it. Now I have time to volunteer and do big, important projects in my community. I am livin' the dream, no need to waste money on lottery tickets, lol.
-
I honestly don't have a lottery fantasy. I think my life would turn to shit if I won. I think I would mostly lose a lot of relationships. As a result, I make a conscious decision to not play.
I think that if I had a lot of relationships that depended upon me being of a certain networth, I would not mind severing those relationships.
My relationships do not have anything to do with having a certain net worth. After someone wins the lottery, family and friends all expect a cut. Many are unhappy and relationships are lost. Many professional athletes that end up with quick riches often tell a similar story. I think it's a little worse if your family is poor. If your family is already financially savy, they don't really expect anything.
-
I honestly don't have a lottery fantasy. I think my life would turn to shit if I won. I think I would mostly lose a lot of relationships. As a result, I make a conscious decision to not play.
I think that if I had a lot of relationships that depended upon me being of a certain networth, I would not mind severing those relationships.
My relationships do not have anything to do with having a certain net worth. After someone wins the lottery, family and friends all expect a cut. Many are unhappy and relationships are lost. Many professional athletes that end up with quick riches often tell a similar story. I think it's a little worse if your family is poor. If your family is already financially savy, they don't really expect anything.
Ahh. I guess i respectfully disagree that all friends and family would expect a cut. I'm sure we have different experiences informing our respective opinons. I did not mean to imply anything about your relationships, and am sorry if I was misunderstood.
-
I really only day dream when I buy a ticket and that is really only when it crosses the ~300 million point. I always figure I will take the lump sum (especially in today's low interest rate environment; as I remember lottery lump sum based on a bond due in the 26th year, so low interest rates higher lump sum, lower interest rates lower lump sum)
Step 1: Find out if there is a way in my state to claim "anonymously" without a major tax penalty. Some states allow anonymous collection, others allow a trust with a representative and so on. (No public records of me winning and I'd keep my mouth shut, anyone who got got to figuring it would just be told something like "my trust from my parents/grandparents/dearly departed aunt just dispersed and I figured I deserve a little good time).
Step 2: Peel off a little of the post tax lump sum, maybe 1-2%, and have fun with it. Take a vacation, buy a toy, build that workshop, or something else as a to-me-for-me-from-me-present. (would help resist the urge to raid it later).
Step 3: Invest the rest, probably with some professional input on the majority (remember: for me I only play when we are talking 300 million or ~75 million after lump sum and taxes).
Step 4: Live happily on WAY below 4% (4% of 75 million is 3 million/yr).
Step 5: Struggle to figure out how to spend an income 3 million/yr; do all the projects and vacations I want during the year. At the end of the year take the remainder and setup a little anonymous trust to invest and pay income to a friend/family member for their life.
-
I honestly don't have a lottery fantasy. I think my life would turn to shit if I won. I think I would mostly lose a lot of relationships. As a result, I make a conscious decision to not play.
I think that if I had a lot of relationships that depended upon me being of a certain networth, I would not mind severing those relationships.
My relationships do not have anything to do with having a certain net worth. After someone wins the lottery, family and friends all expect a cut. Many are unhappy and relationships are lost. Many professional athletes that end up with quick riches often tell a similar story. I think it's a little worse if your family is poor. If your family is already financially savy, they don't really expect anything.
Ahh. I guess i respectfully disagree that all friends and family would expect a cut. I'm sure we have different experiences informing our respective opinons. I did not mean to imply anything about your relationships, and am sorry if I was misunderstood.
My mom's family wouldn't even blink and everything would continue as normal. My dad's family would decide I'm suddenly white enough to be worth talking to. My daughter's family would go into full predator mode.
-
Surely someone on here would use some of their lottery winnings to bid on lunch with Warren Buffet? If you're winning $500 million, blowing your first $5 mill on that seems like a no-brainer.
-
Surely someone on here would use some of their lottery winnings to bid on lunch with Warren Buffet? If you're winning $500 million, blowing your first $5 mill on that seems like a no-brainer.
He'll probably tell you to put your money in a S&P 500 fund and a short-term gov bond fund. (VFIAX 90% and VFIRX 10%). He gave Lebron James similar advice.
https://www.stocktrader.com/warren-buffett-portfolio/
Now you know why probably no one on these forums wants to spend 5 Million greenbacks for advice.
-
Surely someone on here would use some of their lottery winnings to bid on lunch with Warren Buffet? If you're winning $500 million, blowing your first $5 mill on that seems like a no-brainer.
He'll probably tell you to put your money in a S&P 500 fund and a short-term gov bond fund. (VFIAX 90% and VFIRX 10%). He gave Lebron James similar advice.
https://www.stocktrader.com/warren-buffett-portfolio/
Now you know why probably no one on these forums wants to spend 5 Million greenbacks for advice.
I'd still probably do it, just because I'd want to meet the guy. And I know the money would [eventually] go to a good cause.
-
Depends on how much I won.
A million? Get a new car and invest the rest while living basically the same.
$5 million? Open a cafe, invest the rest and "FIRE" Assuming 3% returns on nearly $5mm, I should get $150k/yr. My life would be pretty much the same but with a nice car.
$10mm+? Buy two places to live abroad and travel from the US to there multiple times a year eating out all the time and people watching from cafes.
-
Depends on how much I won.
A million? Get a new car and invest the rest while living basically the same.
$5 million? Open a cafe, invest the rest and "FIRE" Assuming 3% returns on nearly $5mm, I should get $150k/yr. My life would be pretty much the same but with a nice car.
$10mm+? Buy two places to live abroad and travel from the US to there multiple times a year eating out all the time and people watching from cafes.
You could do most of the last one on even a mustachian budget. Not perhaps owning two residences, but certainly Airb&b or other low-cost housing would give you the ability to live in cafes abroad.
-
This is going to sound odd but I actually have an Excel document to lay out my lottery winning plans (for a large Powerball). I know I'm not going to win - it's really all about dreaming about a win when it gets huge. That's worth $2.
The biggest part of the plan is to take 30% and set up a charity that our family would run. That would shield a large portion of the win from federal and state taxes. We then spend our days giving to worthy causes and our children can get involved in that process after we are gone if they are so inclined.
Fun to dream about. Not sure I'd really want to win. I worry too much about the impact on family and friends (and everyone else who wants a piece of our win) should it actually happen. I don't think anyone would interact with us the same way going forward and that might make it not worth it when we already have about everything we need.
-
Deal with legalities quietly, then fly to the UK as soon as the passports arrive. Spend days exploring the British Museum without worrying about a schedule or when we have to go home. Once it's settled, come home and open an import shop to employ some friends and be a tax write-off to travel and bring neat things home.
-
Fun to dream about. Not sure I'd really want to win. I worry too much about the impact on family and friends (and everyone else who wants a piece of our win) should it actually happen. I don't think anyone would interact with us the same way going forward and that might make it not worth it when we already have about everything we need.
This would be my biggest concern as well.
-
Fun to dream about. Not sure I'd really want to win. I worry too much about the impact on family and friends (and everyone else who wants a piece of our win) should it actually happen. I don't think anyone would interact with us the same way going forward and that might make it not worth it when we already have about everything we need.
This would be my biggest concern as well.
That's why you ought not tell anyone. If you keep a similar lifestyle, it wouldn't be too difficult.
-
Once it's settled, come home and open an import shop to employ some friends and be a tax write-off to travel and bring neat things home.
Oooh... this sounds fun! I'd never think of something like this.
-
1. Pay mortgage on condo.
2. Set money aside for an upgrade to a house.
3. Buy a condo in my home country, maybe also one in a warm country.
4. Furnish the properties, mostly with second-hand furniture and appliances.
5. Calculate how much it will cost to keep the properties running for 50 years, set this amount aside.
6. Pay off mortgage on my m&d and my in-laws house. Give brother and sister about 50k each.
7. Sell my old Kia Picanto and get another car (probably something like a Tesla...)
8. Put an adequate amount of stash into investments.
9. Set up a travel fund for a round-the-world trip.
10. Give all the rest to charity.
I would probably keep working part time, as I really love what I do. I actually work at my hobby, so that is great, but I would definitely cut way back.
-
I've seen a lot of people talk about real estate they would buy here. If I was dealing with the kinds of life-changing amounts being discussed here, I'd go the other way, and rent a lot more things. Rent a different car every month. Rent a different house. Buy a net-jets subscription instead of a private airplane. Try to shed the stuff that ownership allows to accumulate.
The reason to own something instead of rent it is that you save on long-term costs. But I don't have to worry about those once I have these kinds of money.
-
I've seen a lot of people talk about real estate they would buy here. If I was dealing with the kinds of life-changing amounts being discussed here, I'd go the other way, and rent a lot more things. Rent a different car every month. Rent a different house. Buy a net-jets subscription instead of a private airplane. Try to shed the stuff that ownership allows to accumulate.
The reason to own something instead of rent it is that you save on long-term costs. But I don't have to worry about those once I have these kinds of money.
No, I'm buying stuff because I want it to be ready when I want it, with no arrangements or waiting or whatever, and I want it to be how I want it not decorated for or furnished for or whatever for someone else.
I'm with you on the netjets though, owning a private jet seems like a giant PITA.
-
I've seen a lot of people talk about real estate they would buy here. If I was dealing with the kinds of life-changing amounts being discussed here, I'd go the other way, and rent a lot more things. Rent a different car every month. Rent a different house. Buy a net-jets subscription instead of a private airplane. Try to shed the stuff that ownership allows to accumulate.
The reason to own something instead of rent it is that you save on long-term costs. But I don't have to worry about those once I have these kinds of money.
No, I'm buying stuff because I want it to be ready when I want it, with no arrangements or waiting or whatever, and I want it to be how I want it not decorated for or furnished for or whatever for someone else.
I'm with you on the netjets though, owning a private jet seems like a giant PITA.
I agree more with talltexan. If I had no monetary concerns my focus would be on not needing to worry about maintaining things and so I would be inclined to own as little property as possible. Instead of owning a beach house in Hawaii, I would rent one out and once I desire to go elsewhere, I would then be able to pack up and move to Phuket or Bali or Medellin.
That said, I cannot envision a day when I would be free of monetary concerns (even if I won the lottery I would like to think I would remain frugal and would instead donate much of the windfall), so this is a moot point for me.
-
I've seen a lot of people talk about real estate they would buy here. If I was dealing with the kinds of life-changing amounts being discussed here, I'd go the other way, and rent a lot more things. Rent a different car every month. Rent a different house. Buy a net-jets subscription instead of a private airplane. Try to shed the stuff that ownership allows to accumulate.
The reason to own something instead of rent it is that you save on long-term costs. But I don't have to worry about those once I have these kinds of money.
I'm with you, except that I would own a nice hangar for my plane(s). However, I lust after the <$100k ones.
My BIL rents a car every month, but it's a business write off. He put the numbers to it and it is cheaper for him to rent vs own. So he gets a new ride every 30 days.
I would also much rather rent a place somewhere and hang out for a few months, then move on to the next adventure.
-
I've seen a lot of people talk about real estate they would buy here. If I was dealing with the kinds of life-changing amounts being discussed here, I'd go the other way, and rent a lot more things. Rent a different car every month. Rent a different house. Buy a net-jets subscription instead of a private airplane. Try to shed the stuff that ownership allows to accumulate.
The reason to own something instead of rent it is that you save on long-term costs. But I don't have to worry about those once I have these kinds of money.
I'm with you, except that I would own a nice hangar for my plane(s). However, I lust after the <$100k ones.
My BIL rents a car every month, but it's a business write off. He put the numbers to it and it is cheaper for him to rent vs own. So he gets a new ride every 30 days.
I would also much rather rent a place somewhere and hang out for a few months, then move on to the next adventure.
There are a few places that I'd own, just because they're so cheap that it is easy to do so even as a second home on a middle class income and budget.
But my Chicago apartment? That would probably be rented. I *might* rent a Florida/Texas/Hilton Head or similar apartment, but likely would just hit up hotels or airbnb's. Jamaica/St. Lucia/Aruba/etc. I'd just stay in resorts.
I remember figuring out how much it would cost to stay at the resort we stayed at for our honeymoon for about 5 months. I think it was about $150k. I'd like to do that someday, if I hit the really stupid level lottery.
-
200 million? A jeep and a bunch of canoes and buy 5 or 6 cabins all over bc, yukon and nwt.
Dude a jeep and couple of canoes and 1 or 2 cabins is pretty obtainable without winning the lottery. 5 or 6 cabins and maybe you need the lottery though.
-
My SO and I have had many a discussion to this note over the years. What we keep going back to is a concept that our college friend-group at large joked about: Party Island. However-many-years-ago that we were all joking it was literally a private island somewhere where we would all live and basically party until the money ran out.
As we've matured (thankfully) the concept of a private estate has evolved into the following:
Acquire land, with or without infrastructure, large enough to ultimately house and employ up to 100 families.
This could be in the form of a largely abandoned town and surrounding lands, or just a large tract of land in an area that has minimal restrictions on the development of the land. This largely means possible locations would likely be places people wouldn't want to live in long term.
The ultimate goal would not be a utopian society, so much as a developmental area. The jobs would be offered to the general job market the same as any job. The benefits package would including housing, a generous retirement, and decent health care. The crux would be that we would both be working for "the company" too. The plan (always on the back burner, and not dependent on lotto (which we don't have in my state)) is able to be scaled from just the two of us plus a couple of good employees who don't mind being paid largely without actually monetary compensation (Like live in ranch hands), all the way up to full scale 500 person compound. Ideally, no one would actually know who was really calling the shots (me).
I'm not actively trying to run anyone's life. There would be no "I owe my soul to the Company Store" type situations. However, I prefer small towns, and I also prefer to have a say in who is around me and my family. No matter what though, I would not be the known owner of anything, just another employee. First order of investment though would be in a transportation company of some sort (depending on location). Best to have vested interest in the business that I'd be using for transporting employees and families.
-
This is an interesting idea, but it leaves me with many questions:
- What about liability for all these people living in this place and these buildings that you own?
- How do you protect your anonymity? Do you hire an administrator to run the place?
- What if said administrator outs you? Do you have to kick everyone out and start over?
- If the place is undesirable, why would you want to live there?
- What would the jobs be?
- What kind of people do you want to be around?
- Smart, motivated strivers wouldn't stick around because the benefits of their labor wouldn't accrue to them. Is that okay?
- Lazy sloths might really like it. How do you get rid of them?
- That leaves average, nice people. Are you able to run the place with a bunch of average nice people?
Okay, some of this is a little tongue-in-cheek, and these aren't meant to be challenges so much as musings on how such an idea might play out. I kinda like the idea of your own town where you get to choose the people, but the details make or break the idea in the end. As a planner, I've been known to focus a little too much on the details...
-
I have wacky ideas all the time like commissioning artists to put work on advertising billboards only not advertising anything or buying an vacant block in a very desirable area that would otherwise be snapped up by developers and building a modest little house with no fences and an edible garden.
I'd love to run a little shop where people can sell their own creations but only if it didn't matter if I made a profit or just a high street store that doesn't sell anything and doesn't have much purpose at all other than a place for lonely people to chat or sit and be surrounded by nice people and creative things.
I don't think I would be able to hide that I'd won the lotto. Not because of driving fancy cars or living the high life suddenly but because I think I'd become a completely unchecked eccentric.
-
This is an interesting idea, but it leaves me with many questions:
- What about liability for all these people living in this place and these buildings that you own?
- How do you protect your anonymity? Do you hire an administrator to run the place?
- What if said administrator outs you? Do you have to kick everyone out and start over?
- If the place is undesirable, why would you want to live there?
- What would the jobs be?
- What kind of people do you want to be around?
- Smart, motivated strivers wouldn't stick around because the benefits of their labor wouldn't accrue to them. Is that okay?
- Lazy sloths might really like it. How do you get rid of them?
- That leaves average, nice people. Are you able to run the place with a bunch of average nice people?
Okay, some of this is a little tongue-in-cheek, and these aren't meant to be challenges so much as musings on how such an idea might play out. I kinda like the idea of your own town where you get to choose the people, but the details make or break the idea in the end. As a planner, I've been known to focus a little too much on the details...
Well, if you got a private island of some kind, possibly in international waters, and declared your own nation you can have a lot more latitude.
-
Short answers in the quote...
This is an interesting idea, but it leaves me with many questions:
- What about liability for all these people living in this place and these buildings that you own?
Same as any company does, remember, it's a company town.
- How do you protect your anonymity? Do you hire an administrator to run the place? What if said administrator outs you? Do you have to kick everyone out and start over?
Lawyers handle everything... and they're employed by the company too. Ever tried to figure out exactly who owns any mega corporation? Shareholders. Pretty sure the IRS might be able to figure it out eventually, but as long as all taxes are paid properly, who cares? Am I any less an owner of stock in Apple than anyone else who has money in an index fund?
- If the place is undesirable, why would you want to live there?
This has been one of the biggest sticking point. However, most places will attract people, even if only for a short time. There are a number of towns and hamlets (in Alaska particularly) that exist only because new folks keep moving in at roughly the same rate that old folks move out.
What does it take for a town to run? Teachers, Law Enforcement, Medical, Dental, Food Service, Food Production, Utilities Maintenance, Housing Maintenance, etc. Probably some form of cottage manufacturing that would be for exterior sale. Possibly exports of excess foodstuffs. Things like that. Maybe it could be an ultra swank resort for the ultra-rich too?
- What kind of people do you want to be around?
The kind of person who sees that five years in this company would get them set up to live life independently when they left. And the kind that stay longer if they feel it is truly to their benefit. Truthfully? Guys and Gals who (like Nords) plan to make the most of their working lives, for however long they want to work.
- Smart, motivated strivers wouldn't stick around because the benefits of their labor wouldn't accrue to them. Is that okay?
Who is to say that they won't? It wouldn't fit everyone, but some people still go career with a company. :)
- Lazy sloths might really like it. How do you get rid of them?
Again, company town... Not commune. To quote our new CIC "You're Fired"
- That leaves average, nice people. Are you able to run the place with a bunch of average nice people?
Okay, some of this is a little tongue-in-cheek, and these aren't meant to be challenges so much as musings on how such an idea might play out. I kinda like the idea of your own town where you get to choose the people, but the details make or break the idea in the end. As a planner, I've been known to focus a little too much on the details...
First off, I must say that I've been grinning like an idiot while writing my responses... I don't see your questions as a challenge, but rather as proper planning process. The full truth is I'm not looking to start a commune or a Utopian society. They don't work, not really. With the reams and reams of both fiction and non on the subject of such societies and the varying degrees of success, what I ultimately found is that there are places on earth where relatively small groups of people live together for varying lengths of time working toward one central goal of that specific community. However, few, if any, will arrive in or stay in those communities without some sort of verifiable benefit, be it financial, physical, or spiritual.
What I'm getting at is what my SO and I have called the "Coalwood" effect. Think of places along the lines of mining towns, lumber towns, CERN, Antarctic Research Stations, ISS, every ship on the ocean.
Take the cruiseline industry. They have ships that are largely self contained to support life at sea for extended amounts of time, requiring only periodic restocking. The people who live aboard ship do so for varying lengths of time(usually six month contracts) exclusively to do their respective jobs, and then turn around an go off ship for an undetermined amount of time. They have a job to do with tangible requirements, goals and levels of production, regardless of their actual job descriptions. And, yes, some folks make more than others. But they all have basic needs met, and depending on how they live their day to day existence, they can walk away from the end of their contract with quite a bit of money in their pockets.
The reason I shared my idea about the mostly self contained society isn't that I'm attempting to control everyone (though some might, to be sure like the mining towns of old), rather that I'm attempting to work better, and find people to do the same with me. Most of us who are interested in FIRE don't want to punch a clock for someone else. But time and time again, we hit the wall that is the reality that most folks don't know or care enough to know how to go about not having to do so.
Which brings me back to the company town. The company is the town, and this is a large lottery winnings fantasy.
Well, if you got a private island of some kind, possibly in international waters, and declared your own nation you can have a lot more latitude.
As fun as that would be, this kind of set up can easily (with work) happen well within the bounds of American Labor Law, zoning etc. No foreign designation required.
-
My wife and I are very social people, and have a fairly wide circle of friends. A running joke between us are the concentric circles of people we'd go to a party with, smaller circle would go to dinner with, smaller circle go away for a weekend with, and MUCH smaller circle would go on a week-long vacation with.
I can't imagine the circle of people I'd want to interact and LIVE with.
-
I can't imagine the circle of people I'd want to interact and LIVE with.
I largely imagine that I probably don't know them at this time. Or if I know of them, they likely don't know of me.
-
just go and claim a rusting hunk of metal offshore as a start. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand
-
I have wacky ideas all the time like commissioning artists to put work on advertising billboards only not advertising anything or buying an vacant block in a very desirable area that would otherwise be snapped up by developers and building a modest little house with no fences and an edible garden.
I'd love to run a little shop where people can sell their own creations but only if it didn't matter if I made a profit or just a high street store that doesn't sell anything and doesn't have much purpose at all other than a place for lonely people to chat or sit and be surrounded by nice people and creative things.
I don't think I would be able to hide that I'd won the lotto. Not because of driving fancy cars or living the high life suddenly but because I think I'd become a completely unchecked eccentric.
Yup, me too. I like your art billboards a lot...
-
I have wacky ideas all the time like commissioning artists to put work on advertising billboards only not advertising anything or buying an vacant block in a very desirable area that would otherwise be snapped up by developers and building a modest little house with no fences and an edible garden.
I'd love to run a little shop where people can sell their own creations but only if it didn't matter if I made a profit or just a high street store that doesn't sell anything and doesn't have much purpose at all other than a place for lonely people to chat or sit and be surrounded by nice people and creative things.
I don't think I would be able to hide that I'd won the lotto. Not because of driving fancy cars or living the high life suddenly but because I think I'd become a completely unchecked eccentric.
I love these ideas.
I can just imagine someone walking into such an empty store looking for a handout from lottery winnings and getting a silent room-full of crazy eyes until they leave... It would be at least as good at protecting the 'stache as remaining anonymous. :D
-
Short answers in the quote...
This is an interesting idea, but it leaves me with many questions:
- What kind of people do you want to be around?
The kind of person who sees that five years in this company would get them set up to live life independently when they left. And the kind that stay longer if they feel it is truly to their benefit. Truthfully? Guys and Gals who (like Nords) plan to make the most of their working lives, for however long they want to work.
To be clear, I made the most of my working "life" during the two decades I was on active duty, but I have no desire to return to a "working" life.
Now I'm simply enjoying my life for as long as I can live it. If I happen to write a bunch of blog posts and more books, then that's just bonus.
-
I recently had lotto fantasy that unfortunately didn’t come to fruition.
My beloved department head was let go. Best boss that I ever had. Managed and mentored down, rather than sucking up. The politics from above got him. We were notified on a Monday. On Thursday morning, a meeting with the president was scheduled in which he would explain and relate the way forward.
About 15 of us put in a couple bucks each into a group purchase of that Wednesday night’s Power-Mega-lottery. The fantasy was to let the president get about halfway into his speech and then interrupt him with a mass resignation notice. Yea, we all knew the impossible odds but the small expenditure allowed us to laugh a bit and helped us get through the grieving process.
-
Wasn't there some movie where a guy won the lottery and basically changed his front-yard into a perpetual garage sale? There's something oddly endearing about that!
I love our annual garage sale as the Saturday when I get to meet a lot of neighbors. And if I had lottery money, I think I could engineer a board-take-over of the HOA to where they'd let me do that.
-
I have wacky ideas all the time like commissioning artists to put work on advertising billboards only not advertising anything or buying an vacant block in a very desirable area that would otherwise be snapped up by developers and building a modest little house with no fences and an edible garden.
I'd love to run a little shop where people can sell their own creations but only if it didn't matter if I made a profit or just a high street store that doesn't sell anything and doesn't have much purpose at all other than a place for lonely people to chat or sit and be surrounded by nice people and creative things.
I don't think I would be able to hide that I'd won the lotto. Not because of driving fancy cars or living the high life suddenly but because I think I'd become a completely unchecked eccentric.
I love these ideas.
I can just imagine someone walking into such an empty store looking for a handout from lottery winnings and getting a silent room-full of crazy eyes until they leave... It would be at least as good at protecting the 'stache as remaining anonymous. :D
I like this too. I don't have any crazy ideas like this, but being an unchecked eccentric sure does sound like fun.
-
Fully aerobatic 747. Reengined with 4 GE 90 engines twice the power of standard
http://www.air-and-space.com/Boeing%20747-121%20General%20Electric%20Engine%20Testbed.htm
Why? Don't know.
Estimated cost - 500 million
-
Fully aerobatic 747. Reengined with 4 GE 90 engines twice the power of standard
http://www.air-and-space.com/Boeing%20747-121%20General%20Electric%20Engine%20Testbed.htm
Why? Don't know.
Estimated cost - 500 million
Go big or go home!
-
Fully aerobatic 747. Reengined with 4 GE 90 engines twice the power of standard
Now THAT's an intriguing concept. Aerobatics and 747 don't often appear in the same sentence :)
-
I really expected the wings or engines to pop off doing that sort of thing.
-
They probably would pop off, with the wings bend and spindle.
That is why the 500million estimate.
~100million, used 747
~100 million for engines
~300 million for the work needed to make it aerobatic, AND the bribes/profit needed to get someone qualified to do the work to take it on.
Aerobatic- not full stunt plane, Just +5g -3g, I mean were a little limited on money here :-).
Current max load +3.8G.
-
Someone is living one of my Lotto fantasies.....
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/4180013-96002-and-counting-big-donor-dropping-many-wads-100-bills-salvation-army-kettles
-
You know that peppy fanfare that The Blues Brothers Band plays when The Blues Brothers take the stage? (Picture the Bluesmobile crashing through a shopping mall and you'll probably remember it.)
It's an earworm that my wife and I are constantly infecting each other with. Especially in the morning as I'm getting ready for work.
My Powerball fantasy was to hire the surviving members of The Blues Brothers Band (and replacements of their choosing) to come to our house every morning and play the music upon request.
"Once more, please, gentlemen..."
-
Other than a motorhome and a dirt bike I don't think I'd want ownership of more stuff.
But, I would enjoy leasing/renting. Beach house for the summer: rent. Trip on a crewed sailboat: rent. Etc.
-
I'd buy the house next door, knock it down and have a huge yard. Keep enough in reserve to buy the house on the other side too if loud people moved in.
-
If I hit for a few hundred million, then these are my top lottery fantasy houses.
This one was $38,000,000 last time I checked - http://www.architectureartdesigns.com/43-million-lake-house-in-lake-tahoe-by-mark-dziewulski-architect/
This is probably my favorite, even though it's only $25,000,000 - http://sierrastarlaketahoe.com/
-
I'd say to hell with the pension that I am 2.3 years away from vesting in and go live with my husband this year.
-
If I hit for a few hundred million, then these are my top lottery fantasy houses.
This one was $38,000,000 last time I checked - http://www.architectureartdesigns.com/43-million-lake-house-in-lake-tahoe-by-mark-dziewulski-architect/
This is probably my favorite, even though it's only $25,000,000 - http://sierrastarlaketahoe.com/
The $43 million dollar house is pretty cool. But for that price tag, don't you think they could have put in stainless steel or aluminum stairs from the dock to the lake? The carbon steel stairs are already rusting.
-
Pay off mortgage, quit work. Maybe volunteer at a free clinic to keep up my skills, or go on medical mission trips. Buy a bunch of solar panels and a Tesla. Take art classes for fun. Slow travel and see the world.
-
Here's my latest house obsession, a nice New England house on Mason's Island, in the mouth of the Mystic River in CT near where I grew up. Easy access to various seaside downtown areas, fantastic restaurants, and marinas for the little fishing boat (say, a 27' Boston Whaler center console) I'd buy. I'll spend January - April bumming around Kauai.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/58-Old-North-Rd-Stonington-CT-06378/2096528420_zpid/
-
I've seen a lot of people talk about real estate they would buy here. If I was dealing with the kinds of life-changing amounts being discussed here, I'd go the other way, and rent a lot more things. Rent a different car every month. Rent a different house. Buy a net-jets subscription instead of a private airplane. Try to shed the stuff that ownership allows to accumulate.
The reason to own something instead of rent it is that you save on long-term costs. But I don't have to worry about those once I have these kinds of money.
Me too. ASAP I would sell both houses and my car and just about everything else. The truck I'd keep to go camping in, as planned. But I certainly wouldn't stick around work 85 more days as planned.
-
Yeah, my bad habit when I get bored/cranky with my life is to buy a lotto ticket and fantasize about what I'd do with it. For a short time it got so bad I had to create a new rule that I could play only when the jackpot exceeded $100M. :-) So as a result, I have the answer nailed down.
1. Ditto on anonymity to the extent possible. Hire a lawyer right away to deal with claiming, taxes, etc.
2. Set up donor advised fund so I could have fun giving lots of money away over time without having to rush to a decision right away and -- most importantly -- not have to deal with the ongoing solicitations. Refer all requests for $ to fund.
3. Give all of the siblings $1M, and set up 529s for all nieces/nephews. Yes, there are gift tax implications; no, I don't care, that's what stupid money is for.
4. Car. Car car car. God I love cars. I might even walk into a Porsche dealer and order my own Turbo S, brand new and list price -- something I can't even conceive of doing with less than like $200M.
5. Go to yard sales, flea markets, and the like, and buy up all of the Hummel figurines I can find. Send out minions to do the same. Take all to shooting range, invite friends, and have a giant Hummel skeet party.
6. OK, so this is my annual fantasy: we go to an ACC arts and crafts show every year, and some of the work there is just amazing. I would love to build a house, from scratch, and then outfit it with everything from all of these artisans, from the lighting to the furniture to the dishware, etc.
7. Go to a variety of schools to learn to do cool stuff. E.g., the winemakers' school in Alba; cooking school in Italy; learn how to weld/maybe buy my way into an apprenticeship with my favorite metalworker/artist in Taos; etc.
8. Buy properties in places I like to visit. It makes me feel permanent, like I belong.
However, DH's dreams/goals could change some of this. He does high tech, and he loves puttering/tinkering around in the shop, but the stuff he is doing now would require an investment on the order of $100M+ just to putter/tinker. So we might look for an investment or startup opportunity for him to pursue some of the cool ideas, without the stupid corporate overlords. But that would likely take the bulk of the winnings, so some of the other things above would need to go.
Except the hummel skeet. That is non-negotiable.
-
I'd quit my job, give my house to someone, and go for the swankiest thru-hike the Appalachian Trail has ever seen. I would be walking Trail Magic, anonymously paying for other hikers' rooms at hostels, arranging for shuttles when needed, making replacement gear that people lost/damaged magically appear in the next town, etc. Then when I got to Katahdin, I'd finish my hike and have a limo waiting to drive me and my stinky hiker friends to the nearest pizza joint. Everyone I liked who finished with me gets a cool million so they can keep on hiking.
I love your response!!!
Laura33 - I'm with you on the classes. I'd love to take workshops and classes too. And that porsche? I'd go to the factory and make arrangements to watch it built and drive it away from the factory door!
-
Except the hummel skeet. That is non-negotiable.
On behalf of all future inheritors of Hummel, I humbly thank you, and request an invitation to the party. On behalf of old folks who think the statues are valuable, my great aunt thanks you for making them more scarce.
-
Except the hummel skeet. That is non-negotiable.
On behalf of all future inheritors of Hummel, I humbly thank you, and request an invitation to the party. On behalf of old folks who think the statues are valuable, my great aunt thanks you for making them more scarce.
I just do not understand collecting something that has no use*. I have collected, at various times, tools, pocket knives, guitars, and golf clubs... but all of them have uses! What do you do with a Hummel? Now I know. It is a shooting target!
*I understand collecting art, which I guess this could be classified as... except they're not originals, and they're mass produced! I just don't get it.
-
Closest thing I have to a collection is Hot wheels/Matchbox cars, which are small, cheap, and basically worthless. But fun to play with and easy to store. I have a few dozen "special" ones, and probably a few hundred random ones in a couple bins for my daughter or whatever boys come over to play with. They cost a buck a pop.
-
I just do not understand collecting something that has no use*. I have collected, at various times, tools, pocket knives, guitars, and golf clubs... but all of them have uses!
Well, I get the collector thing. I have a "thing": when I see light coming through cobalt blue glass, I get almost like a shiver down my spine; it is like the essence of pure beauty and joy. The depth of light in glass and some stone just triggers something inside me. So my house is filled with beautiful, useless things that trigger that physiological response (I am currently looking at a windowsill full of Zuni fetishes and blown glass, for ex).
So I understand why people like useless things. I just don't see it with Hummels -- that sort of schmaltzy, overdone, froofy, over-romanticized version of the past gives me almost the opposite reaction.
-
I would start a "reverse gym." Membership is $20-30/mo. For every day you show up and work out, you get a dollar off the next month's membership.
-
I just do not understand collecting something that has no use*. I have collected, at various times, tools, pocket knives, guitars, and golf clubs... but all of them have uses!
Well, I get the collector thing. I have a "thing": when I see light coming through cobalt blue glass, I get almost like a shiver down my spine; it is like the essence of pure beauty and joy. The depth of light in glass and some stone just triggers something inside me. So my house is filled with beautiful, useless things that trigger that physiological response (I am currently looking at a windowsill full of Zuni fetishes and blown glass, for ex).
So I understand why people like useless things. I just don't see it with Hummels -- that sort of schmaltzy, overdone, froofy, over-romanticized version of the past gives me almost the opposite reaction.
Looks like Hummels sell for a ridiculous price. (https://hummelgifts.com/figurines/) Although a good skeet shoot is always fun!
-
Mine would be to win "just enough" to set me up for FIRE today and to put me over the hump to enable me to buy a second property in another country. So, I would be happy with a modest lottery win of a million or so. Beyond that, I just see headaches. I would still want to be able to go through life incognito.
-
.
.
.
5. Go to yard sales, flea markets, and the like, and buy up all of the Hummel figurines I can find. Send out minions to do the same. Take all to shooting range, invite friends, and have a giant Hummel skeet party.
.
.
.
Except the hummel skeet. That is non-negotiable.
Okay, you may appreciate this. When I was a kid, we had a store in our town, and one of the amazing parts of the store was the owner's collection of Hummel figurines. One of them was big, like a foot tall or more.
Fast forward few years, there was a fire, and it spread into the store with the Hummels. The fire chief considered it unsafe to make entry into the store, so the firefighters sat outside with large monitors (stationary nozzels) pouring huge streams of water through the front windows of the store to control the fire and keep it from spreading. You could hear the figurines and all the china and vases and other home decor crashing to the floor and shattering as the water streamed back and forth through the store. It was kind of awesomely tragic. In your case, though, it might just have been awesome...
-
.
.
.
5. Go to yard sales, flea markets, and the like, and buy up all of the Hummel figurines I can find. Send out minions to do the same. Take all to shooting range, invite friends, and have a giant Hummel skeet party.
.
.
.
Except the hummel skeet. That is non-negotiable.
Okay, you may appreciate this. When I was a kid, we had a store in our town, and one of the amazing parts of the store was the owner's collection of Hummel figurines. One of them was big, like a foot tall or more.
Fast forward few years, there was a fire, and it spread into the store with the Hummels. The fire chief considered it unsafe to make entry into the store, so the firefighters sat outside with large monitors (stationary nozzels) pouring huge streams of water through the front windows of the store to control the fire and keep it from spreading. You could hear the figurines and all the china and vases and other home decor crashing to the floor and shattering as the water streamed back and forth through the store. It was kind of awesomely tragic. In your case, though, it might just have been awesome...
Oh, man, that makes me laugh and cry at the same time! I feel horrible for the guy who lost his treasures, and who was probably underinsured to boot.
It actually hits a little close to home -- we have a nearby town that is full of "antiques" and schlock shops that really relies on the "cutesy shopping" trade to survive. Fairly recently there was a flood that wiped out a bunch of the shops. Most of the owners didn't have sufficient insurance, and many of them are out of business and unable to rebuild; the remainder are really hurting due to the significantly decreased traffic.
So, yeah, my goal is to "do the world a favor by removing ugly crap from it" -- but only after the prior owner has been reasonably compensated. Again, that's what stupid money is for. :-)
-
Except the hummel skeet. That is non-negotiable.
On behalf of all future inheritors of Hummel, I humbly thank you, and request an invitation to the party. On behalf of old folks who think the statues are valuable, my great aunt thanks you for making them more scarce.
I just do not understand collecting something that has no use*. I have collected, at various times, tools, pocket knives, guitars, and golf clubs... but all of them have uses! What do you do with a Hummel? Now I know. It is a shooting target!
*I understand collecting art, which I guess this could be classified as... except they're not originals, and they're mass produced! I just don't get it.
The point is to be the originator of the "collection" and to soak up all those dollars of people who believe that at some future time these will be worth more than they were new.
On the other hand if "collectibles" like these makes people happy then good for them.
-
So, yeah, my goal is to "do the world a favor by removing ugly crap from it" -- but only after the prior owner has been reasonably compensated. Again, that's what stupid money is for. :-)
The problem, though, is that the prior owner has money with which to purchase additional ugly junk. And so the manufacturer spins the factory back up to produce more.
A better approach might be to purchase some sort of home improvement/decorating TV channel and subtly (or overtly) communicate to the viewers that this sort of "decoration" is rubbish/clutter/junk/dirty-looking/whatever, so that demand drops through the floor. *Then* you go to all the schlock stores and purchase the now-worthless items for pennies on the dollar, and take them out to the range.
Hmmmm. I wonder how much it would cost to buy HGTV (or at least a large enough share to try this)?
-
I would start a "reverse gym." Membership is $20-30/mo. For every day you show up and work out, you get a dollar off the next month's membership.
Genius idea. Annual sign ups for $365, most will quit by spring break. Its all easy money after that.
Leap year - get a free day.
-
I would start a "reverse gym." Membership is $20-30/mo. For every day you show up and work out, you get a dollar off the next month's membership.
Genius idea. Annual sign ups for $365, most will quit by spring break. Its all easy money after that.
Leap year - get a free day.
I don't belong to a big gym now, but when I did I loved it. LA Fitness was $20 a month, which meant that I only had to pay taxes once I went 12 times (which I would easily do), and the reason my dues were so low is largely because there are a ton of members that pay but hardly ever go.
-
I do a lot of grants writing, both for work and for charity. There are a lot of projects and ideas that need very little money to be implemented, but often, the good ideas come from people who are bad at grant writing, or have ideas that don't fit the typical grant profiles. If I had a big pot of money, I'd quit my job and only do grant writing for charity (NGOs, artists, entrepreneurs, researchers, etc). If I liked the idea, I could simply give them the money and pretend one of the grants came through.
I would also buy a couple of containers of cheap solar panels, and sell them at an even lower price to people who can't afford to make the investment.
-
Hummels are a bubble. Sell now, or you will regret it forever!
(and send me an invite to the skeet shoot. I have a couple relatives I need to outlive, and then I'm there!)
-
Late to the party, but I like this thread! It's fun to dream.
Here's what I'd do if I hit the jackpot, in increasing order of absurdity:
- Start a hefty donor-advised fund and seriously explore philanthropy. As a bonus, this would let me deflect the inevitable asks for money: "I give away $X per year from my charity foundation. If you have serious need, put in an application and get in line."
- Settle into a more-luxurious FIRE lifestyle than I had planned for, with more exotic-locale travel, more first-class flights and more luxurious lodgings, all at a super-conservative sub-3% withdrawal rate.
- Buy a nice house in a HCOL area. Not a mansion, I don't need that much space, but something architecturally classy and big enough to be comfortable. My ideal location would be somewhere with lots of woods and parkland, not in the middle of a big city but near enough to one to make regular day trips feasible. Then retrofit with solar panels, geothermal heat and other improvements to make it self-sufficient and zero-net-energy.
- Go around (quietly!) to my family and close friends, people I know are responsible and good with money, and offer to wipe the slate clean on mortgages, student loans and any other debts they've acquired.
- Start a scholarship fund that identifies promising young people from poor backgrounds and pays their way to attend medical school, law school or any other socially useful degree program. The stipulation is that if they graduate, they have to spend some percentage of their hours each year doing pro bono work for good causes.
- Open the world's best bookstore in a city that lacks them. I'd sell fancy coffees, invite famous authors to give readings, hire real book lovers as employees and pay them generously, and not care in the slightest whether the store made money.
- Launch an online magazine focusing on optimistic news and rational discussion of pressing issues, with no appeals to fear or sensationalism. It'd probably lose huge amounts of money.
-
Interesting bookstore idea. With all the updates, I've been thinking and one thing I think would be bun would be to start a property development company to build traditionally-styled and robustly-finished rental housing which I would then rent at a modest rate (not scraping-the-barrel low, but not to maximise profits). I'd design the buildings and groups of buildings around Happy City-style principles and basically try to:
1. Make people happy though their environment
2. Provide modestly-priced housing
3. Provide housing that will last, inside and out
4. Provide housing that is easy to maintain (Don Aslett!)
5. Provide housing that has low environmental impact
6. Employ people for a good wage and treat them well
...and not be too fussed about anything more than maybe breaking even.
-
We'd buy a little 1-bedroom flat in the south of France, or on the Amalfi cost in Italy, and secure residency any way we can so that we can spend more than 90 days in a row there to escape winter in Canada. And we'd eat amazing local food (home-cooked, and also in good, un-pretentious local restaurants). And we'd hike and jog and walk everywhere, and maybe take the train up to Geneva and/or Montreux every now and then to walk along the lakeside and then take the bus uptown for some fondue at Cafe du Soleil in Petit Saconnex. Or we'd bike out to Chouilly, or take the train to Annecy or to Paris. We would also want to go back to the Canal du Midi in the southwest of France and bike along it, stopping wherever we felt like it, e.g. at Le Comptoir Nature in Le Somail or at Le Chat qui Peche in Argeliers. Sigh.
-
Depends on how big the prize is... hehe. A smallish prize (under $1mil) I would do something boring like pay off the mortgage and invest the rest in my brokerage account. We live in a HCOLA so a mil won't go too far.
But the real jackpot: find a parcel of land I like in a picturesque setting but Is also near a nice downtown area, offer the owner whatever it takes to make them move, demolish the existing structure and built a brand new modest but elegant house. Minimize home maintenance ( a real dream after living in an older house) but also have a living space that is nice to look at and professionally decorated. I am a homebody so the perfect home ambiance would be lovely. Next would be having enough money to quit work, relax and travel as much as we please, and be able to bring along family members to share the experience.
An even bigger jackpot: start a business just for fun, one where I wouldn't even need to make money or worry about numbers. Just a hobby/ project to see how well I could get it going.
I would also want to help family members out, but would not know exactly the best course as both mine and my SO's families are horrible with money. for example, if I paid off my parents or in laws houses I wouldn't put it past them to refinance to pull equity out just to spend more on stupid crap. We both have parents and siblings who are not savers and just find excuses to buy stuff until their finances are so bad they can't buy any more. I suppose this would be kind of like trying to help addicts who don't want to be helped, but in their cases the addiction is consumerism. But I would love to be able to get our families in better financial situations so they wouldn't have to be stressed about working or paying bills.
-
My lottery fantasy is being able to travel back in time and inject my lottery-playing uncle with MMM serum. This guy, who used to be really fun and my favourite uncle when I was a kid, started putting $30 into lotto tickets every week out of his paycheck in his 20's. He has always lived in his parents' basement except one year when he married some lady twice his age, trading his parents in for her to take care of him, which obviously didn't work out so well. He was a high school dropout and most of the time had a job but always minimum wage or low paying. He makes a decent salary now, as manager of the grocery store that's .4 miles from their house that he still needs a car to drive to and back from every day, but for some reason he never has any money. He does have an amazing amount of computer equipment for his gaming in his basement lair, as well as a great home cinema system with surround sound and such. And he upped his $30 a week lotto investment to $50 a week in his 30's. Now he's in his 50's, still spends $50 minimum per week on lotto, though sometimes it's up to $150, as he's getting worried about wasting his life (finally!) since his folks, my grandparents, are having serious health issues and he himself now has heart problems related to obesity and borderline alcoholism. Once, in my teenage years, he won $4000 from the lottery and he was so excited he came and spent the weekend at our house and threw a big party, I remember we all ate and drank like kings that weekend, lol, and he put a down payment on some sort of convertible car shortly after. He STILL thinks he'll win the lotto one of these days, because he's put so much money into it it HAS to have raised his chances of winning right?! Surely his dedication will be rewarded in the long run. Meanwhile, we figured he's spent over $100k conservatively on lotto tickets, maybe won $8k in all which is always blown on stuff he wouldn't have spent money on to begin with, and if he'd just invested the same amount in Vanguard or something, he'd be a millionaire today.
Instead, he's in his 50's, lived a life where he can't get a girlfriend and has social issues because he lives in his parents' basement, his own health is failing, he worries about how long he can work for because his body can't handle standing up all day, and he worries about his parents dying or having to sell their house to go to a retirement home because then he wouldn't have a place to live, so he treats them like crap and verbally abuses them when they ask for help because he feels so trapped and put upon that he's also invested decades of his life living with them and mowing their lawn for them free of charge and he's realised that as his parents inch up to their final years before death, he's going to lose his security. He just talked them into leaving him their house in their will so he'll get that, but now he's disgusted that he's forced to do things like help Grandpa in his wheelchair move outside so he can sit and watch the squirrels and birds during the day, and help move him back inside later, and has to deal with a home nurse coming in who helps with the less savoury things. He's so unhappy with his situation that he's doubled down on his lotto playing and brags about all the research he's done on which types of tickets have the best odds of winning and the percentage of each type he buys as he's honed his strategy over the years, and reassures us that he'll take us all on a huge blowout family vacation when he does finally win the lottery.
It would be funny if it weren't so fucking sad. Sigh.
So yeah, I fantasize I could time travel back to the healthy happy carefree fun loving young 20's uncle of my childhood and slap him silly and magically upload all the MMM tools he needed into his brain back before he ruined his life and stained the lives of so many around him. It's not the lotto's fault obviously, but his idiotic belief in his personal luckiness and ability to get rich someday contributed hugely to what a waste his life has been. Some people just cannot learn though. He'd rather still believe than think he's made a huge mistake all these years, and so thousands each year continue to be sucked into the black hole of the lottery, because one day it'll all pay off.
-
My phantasy about a 154*10^6€ win:
* never ever tell anyone about the win.
* pay down my mortgage.
* anonymously pay down my sister's mortgage.
* keep living where I live.
* calculate the amount that will reliably pay me median wage. invest that for myself.
* retire from my current job even if it's really a luxury job with wonderful colleagues and a very good pay versus effort required
* start a straw bale building business.
* set up a foundation with the rest of the money (well over 150*10^6€).
The foundation's work would start with six FI grants per year to selected individuals in:
* investigative journalism
* free software
* clean hands and open society in Latvia
-
My fantasy depends on the amount of winnings and timing.
For the next 5 years I am tied to two teens, school schedules, and location.
Anything below $500K would go directly towards investments and paying kids college since with that kind of money we wouldn't be illegible for any financial aid. Colleges could eat up a good portion of that jackpot. I think I'll try to negotiate some time off work (at my work it would have to be without pay) and take a trip for few weeks if I can work that into kid's schedules. No job quitting.
Up to $1 million would basically result in a long trip somewhere (I'm thinking 6-10 weeks over the summer due to school schedules), funding college tuition, investing, and maybe renting/moving to a different apartment with slightly better location and much better amenities. Not quitting work, but maybe finding another job somewhat less stressful. However that would most likely less pay, so that would have to be balanced with higher rent at a potentially new apartment.
Anything over a million - definitely moving to a better apartment, college tuition, Vanguard, going part time at work.
I'm stuck where I am location-wise until kids finish high schools, so 5 more years. After that I'm out of here lottery or not. I"m planning to move as soon as both kids are in colleges and I am not tied to NYC anymore.
If I win lottery in 5 years after I move to LCOL area, anything between $250K and 500K would result in immediate switch to part time work and then figuring out next steps. Anything over $500K would result in immediate retirement and slow travel 4-8 months out of the year.
-
We'd buy a little 1-bedroom flat .... to escape winter in Canada. .... Sigh.
SO THIS.
It is nearly halfway through the year, and I had to put jeans and a SWEATER on this morning.
If this weren't such a great country that offers me so much else, I'd be out of here in a flash.
-
My cousin is in her early 30's; I don't discuss details with her, but she and her husband seem like they're frugal people. I'd def want to lay some on her if I had it.
Which is insane! I do have it...maybe she'll do something like have a baby soon, where I can do something really nice for her and it won't be awkward. The nice thing about having won the lottery is that you can say that's why, and it's not awkward anymore :-)
-
My fantasy, if the win is 10M or more:
-keep it a secret from everyone;
-buy a property in an expensive area that I couldn't otherwise afford, that is a walkable community, fun and close to a major town with good hospitals and universities;
-investigate the possibility of buying properties within a trust to provide to needy, deserving, senior citizen family members;
-create a foundation to fund causes that I care about;
-create special needs trusts for several family members and fund them, with me serving as the trustee;
-hire a professional genealogist to continue my research; and
-work full-time with the help of paid professionals to publish books on my genealogical research and other topics of my choosing.
-
How about a dream about the lottery? Saturday night I saw a news story about the lottery being >$400 million but didn't have a ticket so I didn't worry about it. That night, I dreamed that I did have the winning ticket. In my dream, my wife and I both compared the numbers on the winning ticket to a handwritten list of numbers which were the ones chosen. Then in my dreams, we went to the grocery store to get our millions but they couldn't pay us, I had to go somewhere else. Then it feels like I was being followed in my dream before I woke up.
The odd thing about it is that I remembered the numbers on the handwritten sheet when I woke up. I entered the numbers as a note on my phone at that time. I think I will buy tickets individually for the first time in a few months.
-
I've never bought a ticket, but I love to imagine. I have a plan all worked out:
<500,000 - Pay off the student loans for myself and my immediate family and buy a house. Possibly just down payment depending on the loan amounts.
500,000-1M - Same as 500,000 and put the rest into retirement/savings. Retire.
1M-5M - Same as previous and start an animal rescue. Create jobs and maybe fund some scholarships.
5M+ - Same as previous and invest the rest for continuous profit. I tend to cycle through pet causes and I'd love to have continuous money to fund them rather than have to choose. For example, I am continually alarmed by the lack of clean drinking water in some parts of the world. I would love to donate enough to help and still have money to help places with food distribution problems.
If I got too much then I'd start leaning on politicians. I have opinions.
-
We'd buy a little 1-bedroom flat .... to escape winter in Canada. .... Sigh.
SO THIS.
It is nearly halfway through the year, and I had to put jeans and a SWEATER on this morning.
If this weren't such a great country that offers me so much else, I'd be out of here in a flash.
Yep. Looks like we're in for another non-summer. I wore a knit top with long sleeves today and was cold while biking to work, and also biking home. The extremes within a season are way more exaggerated here. I am tired of +/-25 C differences in temperature within the same week, but such is life in the Great White North. We either freeze or we boil. In any given year, I can count the number of pleasant, temperate sunny days with no wind on one, maybe two, hands.
-
My dream would be to go to medical school and become a specialist that helps establish adult spina bifida clinics (probably neurologist). We'd be able to privately pay for skilled-nursing-level childcare for my son while I was in school. It would also be wonderful to pay for a full-time school nurse for our lovely local private school, so my son could attend.
Give lots of private funds to programs that train and find employment for disabled workers, or start a business that does the same.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
-
Seahawks season tickets
-
Seahawks season tickets
Are you sure you'd have enough money for that? :P
-
... In any given year, I can count the number of pleasant, temperate sunny days with no wind on one, maybe two, hands.
Yup. Makes me want to freeze time when those days happen. According to dh, the nice weather places are too "murder-y" for us to move there!!
-
As long as it isn't an Illinois lottery ticket.
-
I just remembered another idea I had: pursue business ideas that I wouldn't otherwise have the capital to fund. For example, a road construction company called "Road in a Day." We stockpile and stage all the materials and equipment before building a road, and get the whole thing done (foundation through striping) in 24 hours.
-
I don't play the lottery. We're not a gambling household. But if I did, and I had a seven-figure windfall, I'd move out of the Middle of Scenic Nowhere to a pretty town that's more centrally placed, closer to a main airport and better served by local amenities, buy a nice house that's just the right size for us and has a little annexe where we can have guests but keep them out from under our feet, fit it all out with high-end furnishings, and employ someone to keep it clean and maintained. And then we'd travel all over the world as much as we wanted and make dirty big carbon footprints, and have lots of bicycles and a kayak. And I might even get a new car and choose the colour myself :-)
I can't imagine that I'd continue to work beyond my compulsory three month notice period, but I'd want to remain anonymous and pretend ... oh, I dunno. Pretend I'd been secretly investing all my life or something like that.
If the sum was bigger than we'd ever need, I'd invest it and draw a playing-around allowance that I could use to provide targeted help to friends and family and hand out to random good causes that took my fancy.
But I don't know that I'd be any happier than I am now.
-
I can't imagine that I'd continue to work beyond my compulsory three month notice period
I often wonder how that would be enforced. If someone told me I had to work for three more months when I had a couple of hundred million in my pocket, they'd be watching me sit in a chair with my kindle and a Diet Coke, doing nothing work related. I can't imagine that having a bunch of pissed off co-workers watching that would be good for morale.
-
My cousin is beautifully responsible and frugal, despite having grown up with parents who are train-wrecks. I'd love to lay some on her and her husband, but I'm worried that it would seem like too much to them.
Perhaps just paying off her mortgage? That seems like a nice way to anchor on a large sum of money without being weird?
-
Half of all after-tax money would go to VTSAX.
Then for first several hundred thousand dollars:
-pay off student loans
-upgrade the home office
-solar panels for house
-money to parents
-extra trip or two per year
-beef up home security
North of 300k:
-solar panels for the immediate families' houses
-donate to local food co-ops and apiarist associations
-purchase 10+ acres less than 30 minutes away from parents
-setup orchard, vineyard, garden, greenhouse
-make copious amounts of beer and wine
-donate food to homeless shelters
-donate to animal shelters
North of 1 mil:
-build a ridiculous inground pool and guest/bathhouse
-switch to part-time work
-take on livestock and dabble with cheesemaking
-build a smokehouse and get into curing/aging
-donate to Planned Parenthood
-donate to Doctors without Borders
-set up scholarships
-donate money to local schools to keep extracurricular activities going
North of 3 mil:
-quit the job
-upgrade greenhouse to 3 story Victorian and get into tropical trees, would LOVE to have a few fully grown avocado, lemon, and orange trees
-buy a Tesla
-energy efficient vacation home in the Caribbean, possibly on St. John
-energy efficient vacation cabin somewhere woodsy/mountainous, e.g. CO, MT, WY, etc.
-help set up wind farms and geothermal/solar power for schools and local civic buildings
-clean up local waterways
-have a badass oak-paneled library in the home with one of those ladders on a rail
-
Good list. Made me laugh that you'd have to get up to three million to get a panelled library. :)
-
I can't imagine that I'd continue to work beyond my compulsory three month notice period
I often wonder how that would be enforced. If someone told me I had to work for three more months when I had a couple of hundred million in my pocket, they'd be watching me sit in a chair with my kindle and a Diet Coke, doing nothing work related. I can't imagine that having a bunch of pissed off co-workers watching that would be good for morale.
In theory, it couldn't be enforced. Our T&Cs document stipulates three months' notice but doesn't specify any sanctions for failing to observe this. But it's a small world and there's no point pissing people off unnecessarily. Besides, when my job is at its best I'd do it in preference to doing almost anything. It's held on to me for almost 30 years by a process of random reinforcement; I might not manage to let it go completely even if I was FI several times over.
-
Four Seasons private jet world tour, enough said. This is my ultimate lottery fantasy!
http://www.fourseasons.com/privatejet/journeys/international-intrigue-2017/
-
I've thought for a long time that if I won the lottery big I'd get into influence peddling - why should property developers have all the fun?
Even 200 million would not be enough for this, I think. But if I was a billionaire, I'd set up manufacturing here in North America for home appliances that last, with a design conducive both to easier repair and total deconstruction when they finally fail.
This goes against the market model, so it would have to be someone who doesn't care about maximizing profits.
Assuming insufficient capital for that, land conservancy, sustainable housing, seed capital for smaller local businesses that add value to local resources instead of shipping them raw. I'd also love to buy up a chunk of Kitsilano (Vancouver BC) and turn in into another Houten, but that would take even more money than the manufacturing project :)
-
Take the lump sum. It's more money than I would ever need anyway and I can better utilize it for my goals if I have it all at once to do with as I please than if I got a paycheck every month for the next 30 years.
1) Pay off all debt (just under $100k currently, including mortgage)
2) Buy a nice house big enough to start a family. Good school district preferred. Attached land is a big plus. Nothing too fancy, maybe $200k tops, depending on where I go (could be anywhere in the country, seeing as I wouldn't have to work any more. I have a list of potential locations).
3) Buy my mom her dream house. She deserves it.
4) set aside enough for any/all of my potential future children to be able to get an education, get trained in a skill, or go in whatever career direction they want without having to worry about settling because they can't afford to follow their dreams.
5) Invest about $2-3M in a diverse portfolio of index funds, maybe some rental properties, other forms of passive income. Live off of this for the rest of my life. Learn some new skills, help people, travel. All of the emotionally fulfilling stuff we tell ourselves we are going to do when we get to where we don't have to be a wage slave day in and day out.
6) Drop the rest in some low-ish return, but less risk than the portfolio, account somewhere as a backup in case of emergency.
7) Set up for anything left when I die to be donated to a few of my favorite charities
Oh, and the most important thing. Tell absolutely nobody (aside from legally required government agencies) how much I have or where I got it. My state offers anonymity for lottery winners and I plan to take full advantage of that.
-
This is a Powerball fantasy, like when the jackpot is near $1B level. I never buy lottery tickets, so this is extremely unlikely to happen.
Pay the taxes, first. I'd probably hire a stats guy or a couple accountants to help me figure out whether to take the lump sum or the annuity since I just don't know the answer.
Once that is all sorted out, I'd spend the rest of my life working with the city at the center of the metro I live in on three fronts: angel investing in new businesses, whatever level of bribery/collusion is required to revamp the planning/building/zoning code back to pre-WW1 before it was all auto focused (no more parking minimums, no more widening streets for commuters, no more surface parking requirements), and redeveloping some of the struggling, bombed out and prairie-like neighborhoods that kill the city's reputation in streetcar suburb / urban fashion, building in the eclectic A+C styles of the early 20th century, with a good amount of Modern home styles thrown in the mix, as well as some 1890s-1910s Richarsonian, Italianate, Second Empire, QA brick and stone construction, and legit built to the sidewalk commercial corridors. Restore the street grid and the pedestrian infrastructure. See if I could make the first mile of a new link on the light rail happen. I'd rebuild some of the ponds and creeks that were filled in or covered up a hundred years ago with a trail system to match. If I made a similar living to what I currently make after all that, I'd be happy. The assumption being of course that I am selling all this construction to fund more construction, not simply relying on the principal to pay for it.
-
Fabulous plan. I wish one could win the lottery without having to buy a ticket because you deserve to.
-
Both Mega Millions and Powerball nearing $300m levels so office pools are starting up again.
-
I thought about this thread the other day... my brother, sister and I are all going to be at our childhood home at the same time for the first time in nearly ten years, specifically for a total eclipse of the sun. I figure it might just be one of those weird times I might waste 2 dollars.. or is it more these days?
-
^$1 for Mega Millions / $2 for Powerball (Mega Millions is higher this weekend - I get bombarded every other day with office emails about the office pool.)
-
My lottery fantasy has always been to establish a day care center specifically for poor women who were going to school in order to make their and their children's lives better. Maybe pay for their school (at least some sort of tech school that would give them marketable job skills) and their living expenses while they were in school in addition to providing the day care free of charge. Do something to help break the cycle of having babies too young and living in poverty. I think being a poor woman, it's almost impossible to work and leave your children somewhere you know they would be cared for and safe...we, as mustacians, know that living expenses can be pretty low. Of course I'd like to also teach them how to be mustachian as they find their way. Think of the lives that would change. How cool would that be? :)
-
A few years ago, a contestant in Miss Universe was asked about what she'd do if she could have a day with no-consequences. Her response?
"I'd eat everything in the world!"
I wonder if winning the lottery feels that way to people who are so accustomed to optimization and strategy and budgetting. You can literally buy a new car every day for the rest of your life.
-
A few years ago, a contestant in Miss Universe was asked about what she'd do if she could have a day with no-consequences. Her response?
"I'd eat everything in the world!"
I wonder if winning the lottery feels that way to people who are so accustomed to optimization and strategy and budgetting. You can literally buy a new car every day for the rest of your life.
I think that sounds pretty accurate. Especially because she knows, as a well-organized and budgeted person knows, that there are consequences.
Even $400,000,000 can disappear fast if you're not careful. Hell, in my "frugal" lottery fantasy, I'm still at $15,000,000 that I'll need to make everything happen.
Granted, if I were to take out my charitable contributions, take out helping of a very select group of family and friends, and take out certain luxuries, I really only need about $2.5 million, but still...
-
Take the lump sum.
Buy a castle in upstate New York and start a boarding school there, with inner-city summer camps. Run school/take tutioral classes in Physics/Higher Mathmatics/Latin/etc. Set up shell company for grants so no one knows I won the lotto. Live in the caretaker's house so my kids don't think we're wealthy.
Go to Oxford in a few years.
Become a full-time writer and create a film studio to funnel movie producing money into. Make a couple movies with partnerships, maybe putting 30mil in each.
Put the rest (ideally a stupid amount of hundreds of millions) and profits from the features (this is best case senerio!) into curing hunger.
-
DW had a great idea today. Start a non-profit pharmaceutical company to make off-patent drugs at low cost and reduce OTC and prescription drug costs for everyone. (Maybe this doesn't make sense to those of you in civilized countries where the government will actually negotiate drug costs with big pharma...)
-
One thought I've had, is a fully equiped electro-mechanical machine shop. Probably hire a couple
of guys that are good machinist/mechanics. Then give access to several individuals to build whatever
projects they think would be cool.
Myself, I'd probably start with another electric gocart, and then finish my Tesla coil.
Be able to build like the Mythbusters, pretty much anything that tickled their fancy.
-
<$1 Million - Invest
$1-10 Million - above, and buy a house
$10+ Million - above, and endow a chair at my alma mater
-
If I won $200+ million after taxes, I would set aside $100 million for basic living expenses and build a 5 story tall exoskeleton suit with the other $100 million. I don't understand why these mega millionaires have not done this yet.
-
The fact that no mega-millionnaire has built this yet is proof that they made their money through luck rather than ability. Anyone with intelligence would realize the value of a 5-story-tall-exo-suit.
-
I would be so happy if I won the $300 million dollar lottery! I would quit my job and dedicate my new found time to some of my favorite hobbies.
- foraging for wild berries and mushrooms
- cleaning sandwich bags so I can use them multiple times
- riding my bike to errands even when there is inclement weather
- sewing the holes closed in my socks, shorts, and pants
- riding my bike to various thrift stores to save a few bucks on some great deals!
-
^LOL.
Mega millions is up to nearly $400m and the Powerball isn't far behind. I'm hoping SOMEONE wins so I don't get the daily emails about the office pool for awhile.
-
The fact that no mega-millionnaire has built this yet is proof that they made their money through luck rather than ability. Anyone with intelligence would realize the value of a 5-story-tall-exo-suit.
I'm disappointed that more billionaires haven't gone the Tony Stark route. I mean, we have Elon Musk doing all sorts of crazy stuff, and a couple others (Paul Allen, Jeff Bezos) doing it on a smaller scale.
-
I'm disappointed that more billionaires haven't gone the Tony Stark route. I mean, we have Elon Musk doing all sorts of crazy stuff, and a couple others (Paul Allen, Jeff Bezos) doing it on a smaller scale.
Well you have people like Johnny Depp who spend their millions on garbage like the Kardashian couch from "Keeping up with the Kardashians"
50 foot tall iron man suit >> rank sofa
-
I'm disappointed that more billionaires haven't gone the Tony Stark route. I mean, we have Elon Musk doing all sorts of crazy stuff
The Tony Stark character is just a more exaggerated version of Musk. That's who they studied for the Iron Man movies.
-
The fact that no mega-millionnaire has built this yet is proof that they made their money through luck rather than ability. Anyone with intelligence would realize the value of a 5-story-tall-exo-suit.
I'm disappointed that more billionaires haven't gone the Tony Stark route. I mean, we have Elon Musk doing all sorts of crazy stuff, and a couple others (Paul Allen, Jeff Bezos) doing it on a smaller scale.
This is totally what my DH would do if, say, we had won that billion-dollar Powerball jackpot a few years ago. I think Tony Stark is every 13-yr-old geek boy's dream: no radioactive spiders needed, don't have to be a refugee from an alien planet -- you just have to be sufficiently brilliant and you can have all the money, women, and toys you want!
-
Careful with the Tony Stark comparisons: pretty sure Daddy Stark is the one who built the company.
-
http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/22/news/powerball-jackpot/index.html
Powerball reaches 2nd-largest prize in U.S. lottery history - $700 million.
-
I pre-emptively announced to my work group that we were not going to participate in the $700 million jackpot, but that we would definitely be part of the next one if there's no winner tonight. I figure it's a risk, but it's pretty likely someone wins tonight so I'm off the hook.
I've also advocated for reducing our per person investment from $10 to $6.
-
The fact that no mega-millionnaire has built this yet is proof that they made their money through luck rather than ability. Anyone with intelligence would realize the value of a 5-story-tall-exo-suit.
I'm disappointed that more billionaires haven't gone the Tony Stark route. I mean, we have Elon Musk doing all sorts of crazy stuff, and a couple others (Paul Allen, Jeff Bezos) doing it on a smaller scale.
This is totally what my DH would do if, say, we had won that billion-dollar Powerball jackpot a few years ago. I think Tony Stark is every 13-yr-old geek boy's dream: no radioactive spiders needed, don't have to be a refugee from an alien planet -- you just have to be sufficiently brilliant and you can have all the money, women, and toys you want!
I'd do something in this vein--start a company that pays newly graduated engineers to just come up with awesome shit, patent it, and let anyone use the patents for free 'cause pushing human technology forwards is more important. Maybe some stuff makes a lot of money, maybe not... but being able to do this for 20+ years would be sweet :).
-
We'd buy a little 1-bedroom flat .... to escape winter in Canada. .... Sigh.
SO THIS.
It is nearly halfway through the year, and I had to put jeans and a SWEATER on this morning.
If this weren't such a great country that offers me so much else, I'd be out of here in a flash.
What!! Where are you in Canada? It makes a big difference, I nearly died today it's so damn hot in southern BC, and has been since May.
-
We had a big powerball jackpot here in US last night. $758 million.
I successfully talked my co-workers out of making a group office buy. I feel Awesome!!!
-
We had a big powerball jackpot here in US last night. $758 million.
I successfully talked my co-workers out of making a group office buy. I feel Awesome!!!
The winner was in MA, my state, always makes it seem a little more real. Watched part of the press conference. She seems like a nice lady, hopefully she has a good support network, and not too many people who take advantage of her. Best of luck to her, she already had enough to win, but she'll need some luck (and some common sense), to make sure it doesn't impact her life negatively.
-
My FIRE number is around $700,000 in index funds, with a paid for house. So any windfall above that is just for fun!!
1 mil:
-Buy a small house or condo in a M-HCOL place with cash ($400,000 maybe)
-Dontate/divy up about $100k to friends, family, and charities
-I would probably have about $100k left that I would just put into index funds
-Keep working until I was FIRED (probably speeding up the date by 2-3 years due to the extra 100k and paid off house falling into my lap)
10 mil:
-Quit working at current job immediately
-Dontate/divy up $1 mil to charity/friends/family
-Buy a NICE piece of land somewhere near a city with lots of green-space and public amenities and build a custom Earthship on it (I would want to learn to do the work myself but this step will still probably eat up close to $1 mil depending on cost of land)
-Sell current RV and Truck (get about $40,000 back from that)
-Buy an RV with a good solar system ($100k ish for the Lazy Daze that i'm drooling over)
-Prius for daily use
-TESLA! for fun driving!!!
-Buy 3-4 condos/townhomes in nice areas around the US (DC area, NYC, South Florida, maybe a ski resort somewhere) and run them as executive rentals and just block off days whenever I want to use them (cost...maybe 4 mil? this cost could be cut quite a bit depending on the zip codes. but these would be bringing some annual income)
-Take classes and learn new skills, new hobbies, and make new friends
-Should have about $1 mil left to stick into index funds.
Live off of investment dividends and income from properties (around $40-60k per year), travel, be generous with time and money.
More than $10 mil:
All of the above plus doubling or tripling amount into index funds, be even more generous. Set up some trusts for family, pay off mortgages for family, fund a scholarship for my alma mater..that kind of thing
With $3 mil in index funds, that's a safe withdrawal of $120,000 per year! I can't even image what I would do besides just give it away. Once I have kids I would obviously invest in some college funds. It would nice to have a LARGE cushion for health insurance/healthcare costs for the future.
-
I only read the first and last page of this thread, so apologies if this article was already posted.
Mr Money Mustache: What Would You Do with WAY MORE Money? (http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/02/what-would-you-do-with-way-more-money/):
"Do absolutely nothing differently...
And that was a very liberating thing to figure out. I have completely lost the desire for any more of the things money can buy than I already have, which means I have completely lost any form of envy, any sense of deprivation, or any sense of missing out on anything..
The availability of time is always the limiting factor, not the number of amazing activities to choose between. Spending more money can only broaden my list of options even further, without giving me more time...
The ideas above will sound cuckoo-bird to the most junior Mustachians, and “well, duh” to the most advanced ones...
If your goals for the extra money involve simply paying off the rest of your debts and living the financially independent life you were already planning before I gave you this extra $5-$10 million, then you’ve passed the test – you’ll do well in the uncharted and very adult world of complete freedom.
On the other hand, if you started adding just a few niceties, like a second house up by the ski resorts for those family gatherings, and maybe just one new SUV to get back and forth to it, and oh, maybe just a bit more four-star-resort international travel, because hey, with $10 million, you could easily afford those things… I’d say you’re not completely free yet.
Your personal freedom grows with each material desire that you grow out of."
-
Your personal freedom grows with each material desire that you grow out of.
I guess it depends on what's a "nicety" and what's "removing a pain point." Given a million dollars, I'd probably opt to replace our 22-year-old, 215,000 mile car with something with half the age and mileage, rather than spend lots of time repairing the rust that's emerging, replacing the collapsing headliner, and learning how to replace a cracked windshield.
-
I'll play, too. But first a point on remaining anonymous: I understand that winners names are made publicly available to prevent fraud. The public wants to be assured that the winner was not the lottery director's brother-in-law, or similar. (something like this actually happened and the guy was finally caught after being able to manipulate the winning numbers and then letting a family member show up with that ticket).
That said, you can form a legal entity like "The Three Amigos" did, and show up in some kind of face-covering costume like they did, which apparently was okay.
In AZ where I live, the legislature passed a bill stating that your name would not be released for 90 days, or something like that. At least that gives you time to move out of your house if you don't want the press/family/friends/shirttail relatives showing up on your doorstep.
For myself, along with other posters here, I'd help family and friends. I'd especially like to help the next generation with a modest house and car - having that paid for in your 20s or 30s is a big boost for the rest of your financial life.
Like everyone, I have some charity ideas too. I'd love to finance and have someone manage some trailer parks for senior citizens. Lots would be free/minimal cost. Housing is a big issue, especially in the later years of someone's life. There are so many retired folks out there now who are trying to survive on a single social security check and driving an old RV to "workkamp" or boondock or similar. I'd like to give them some dignity and a place to finally park and not worry about lot payments.
And for the Big Lottery Win (>$100M), check out what this millionaire did over the last 20 years in Tangelo Park, FL:
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/26/us/tangelo-park-orlando-florida.html
I'd probably do something like that - concentrate on making a big difference in a certain geographical area.
-
I only read the first and last page of this thread, so apologies if this article was already posted.
Mr Money Mustache: What Would You Do with WAY MORE Money? (http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/02/what-would-you-do-with-way-more-money/):
"Do absolutely nothing differently...
And that was a very liberating thing to figure out. I have completely lost the desire for any more of the things money can buy than I already have, which means I have completely lost any form of envy, any sense of deprivation, or any sense of missing out on anything..
The availability of time is always the limiting factor, not the number of amazing activities to choose between. Spending more money can only broaden my list of options even further, without giving me more time...
The ideas above will sound cuckoo-bird to the most junior Mustachians, and “well, duh” to the most advanced ones...
If your goals for the extra money involve simply paying off the rest of your debts and living the financially independent life you were already planning before I gave you this extra $5-$10 million, then you’ve passed the test – you’ll do well in the uncharted and very adult world of complete freedom.
On the other hand, if you started adding just a few niceties, like a second house up by the ski resorts for those family gatherings, and maybe just one new SUV to get back and forth to it, and oh, maybe just a bit more four-star-resort international travel, because hey, with $10 million, you could easily afford those things… I’d say you’re not completely free yet.
Your personal freedom grows with each material desire that you grow out of."
Yeah, I kinda buy this, and I kinda don't.
Best example I can think of: there are two places in this world that give me an almost overwhelming feeling of peace and contentedness. One of them is hanging off the West Caicos wall about 80' down, watching the sharks below and the barracudas above and the nudibranchs on the coral -- it is a total feeling of zen (or as close as I have ever gotten), and in fact was the place that I went to in my mind when in the middle of childbirth. The other one is on a ski lift in Taos, with the brilliant blue sky and the crisp air and the blindingly white snow, knowing that I have a whole day of fun in front of me, with a break for a delicious hefeweissen and goulash at The Bavarian for lunch.
So if I won the lottery, I would buy homes in both Turks & Caicos and Taos. Not because I want big fancy homes, but because those places let me do the things that bring me a kind of peace and contentedness I have never experienced anywhere else, and because I want to do those things a hell of a lot more than I get to do now (my first post-FIRE purchase is going to be a Taos season pass).
I am sure a better person and a better Mustachian could replicate those feelings elsewhere. I am also sure that I could manage a perfectly happy life without ever doing either of those things again -- in fact, I haven't been to T&C in probably 15 years, since we started having kids and stopped diving -- or with choosing just one and forgoing the other. But if someone handed me millions of dollars, you can bet your ass that I'm doing both.
-
I only read the first and last page of this thread, so apologies if this article was already posted.
Mr Money Mustache: What Would You Do with WAY MORE Money? (http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/02/what-would-you-do-with-way-more-money/):
"Do absolutely nothing differently...
And that was a very liberating thing to figure out. I have completely lost the desire for any more of the things money can buy than I already have, which means I have completely lost any form of envy, any sense of deprivation, or any sense of missing out on anything..
The availability of time is always the limiting factor, not the number of amazing activities to choose between. Spending more money can only broaden my list of options even further, without giving me more time...
The ideas above will sound cuckoo-bird to the most junior Mustachians, and “well, duh” to the most advanced ones...
If your goals for the extra money involve simply paying off the rest of your debts and living the financially independent life you were already planning before I gave you this extra $5-$10 million, then you’ve passed the test – you’ll do well in the uncharted and very adult world of complete freedom.
On the other hand, if you started adding just a few niceties, like a second house up by the ski resorts for those family gatherings, and maybe just one new SUV to get back and forth to it, and oh, maybe just a bit more four-star-resort international travel, because hey, with $10 million, you could easily afford those things… I’d say you’re not completely free yet.
Your personal freedom grows with each material desire that you grow out of."
Yeah, I kinda buy this, and I kinda don't.
Best example I can think of: there are two places in this world that give me an almost overwhelming feeling of peace and contentedness. One of them is hanging off the West Caicos wall about 80' down, watching the sharks below and the barracudas above and the nudibranchs on the coral -- it is a total feeling of zen (or as close as I have ever gotten), and in fact was the place that I went to in my mind when in the middle of childbirth. The other one is on a ski lift in Taos, with the brilliant blue sky and the crisp air and the blindingly white snow, knowing that I have a whole day of fun in front of me, with a break for a delicious hefeweissen and goulash at The Bavarian for lunch.
So if I won the lottery, I would buy homes in both Turks & Caicos and Taos. Not because I want big fancy homes, but because those places let me do the things that bring me a kind of peace and contentedness I have never experienced anywhere else, and because I want to do those things a hell of a lot more than I get to do now (my first post-FIRE purchase is going to be a Taos season pass).
I am sure a better person and a better Mustachian could replicate those feelings elsewhere. I am also sure that I could manage a perfectly happy life without ever doing either of those things again -- in fact, I haven't been to T&C in probably 15 years, since we started having kids and stopped diving -- or with choosing just one and forgoing the other. But if someone handed me millions of dollars, you can bet your ass that I'm doing both.
Oh that sounds lovely. I got my open water cert last month and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
-
I know this thread has been dead for a while but I thought I'd share my lottery fantasies.
If I were to win the "Mega Millions" the first thing I would do is pay off my in-laws' medical debt. Both my FIL and MIL have battled cancer (and survived!) which has left them with a pretty massive amount of debt. In addition they cash-flowed my wife and her sister through college (a private Midwest institution) and have generally put their children before themselves for their entire lives. They're also both immigrants from Eastern Europe. As a whole they have done so well and taken many of the right steps to financial independence but due to unfortunate events outside of their control they are riddled with debt in their late 60's.
Next, my own father has worked his tail off (60ish hour weeks) for the last 30 years. He is only 57 but he has earned retirement more than most I know so I would give him any amount of money he needs to be able to pull the plug now and "ride off into the sunset" of retirement so to speak. I'd then pay off all debts for my brother, sister, and SIL so that they never have to worry about owing anybody money again. My sister is in her early 20's, I'd buy her a house. My SIL is in her mid 30's but had to start over a few years ago after a divorce so I'd buy her a house or condo as well.
After setting all of them up, I would move to fully funding 4 different 529s (1 for my son and 3 for my brother's children). It would only be fair to set aside money for any future children in the family as well. Next, I'd pay the entire amount needed to build the new facilities my church has been fundraising for over the last decade (around $5mil).
After all of these things are done, I'd probably spend about $1mil on myself and my wife. Then I'd invest the rest into a balanced fund 50/50 and never worry about money again!
I'd also like to make a point that I would not give single red penny to my extended family. They're all terrible with money so I'd just become their bank, NO THANK YOU!
-
Whenever I dream about winning the lottery, i start worrying about taxes and staying anonymous
-
After all of these things are done, I'd probably spend about $1mil on myself and my wife.
On what? Bicycle upgrade? Domestic renewable energy solutions? F150 Lightning? Cosmetology surgeries? Caviar? Travel? A nice sound system? Gym equipment? A new kitchen? NFTs? Art?
The sentiment about close relatives and medical bills and education is really nice but this is a fantasy thread! Surely you have some more details/pipe dream possibilities about the spending you'd do on yourself and your wife.
-
Passing those huge billboards with the current value of the MegaMillions and Powerball generally is good for a couple of hours of entertainment on drives. Very occasionally I've even bought a lottery ticket after the fact, just as a nod to the entertainment value!
Still. What would I do? Obviously specifics would depend on the amount we're talking about. I'd opt for the full payout upfront (which I think drops the value in half off the bat) After the couple of basics like "treat everyone to a paid vacation in Tahiti" and setting up trusts for the kids/grandkids and the family home, I would do some combination of random college scholarships, general follow on education funds (not just college but trade school or apprenticeships) in the small town in northern Vermont where the family home is, and funding a couple of rural libraries. I think it would also be fun to set aside a few million where the interest would fund donations to some number of non-profits and family and friends could pick the winners of the donations each year. Some smaller non-profits could have their reach significantly expand with what seems like a relatively small amount.
-
After all of these things are done, I'd probably spend about $1mil on myself and my wife.
On what? Bicycle upgrade? Domestic renewable energy solutions? F150 Lightning? Cosmetology surgeries? Caviar? Travel? A nice sound system? Gym equipment? A new kitchen? NFTs? Art?
The sentiment about close relatives and medical bills and education is really nice but this is a fantasy thread! Surely you have some more details/pipe dream possibilities about the spending you'd do on yourself and your wife.
Yeah absolutely. The $1mil would what I would give us for an amount to just blow through. Probably about half of the money would be spent on building a new home (nothing too crazy so $500k in our market would be plenty). Next, we'd both get brand new cars to the tune of $40k-$50k each. The rest would be "blown" on traveling the world and experiences. After a house and two new cars we'd probably have about $400k left, that would allow us some pretty amazing trips for a couple years.
-
Passing those huge billboards with the current value of the MegaMillions and Powerball generally is good for a couple of hours of entertainment on drives. Very occasionally I've even bought a lottery ticket after the fact, just as a nod to the entertainment value!
Still. What would I do? Obviously specifics would depend on the amount we're talking about. I'd opt for the full payout upfront (which I think drops the value in half off the bat) After the couple of basics like "treat everyone to a paid vacation in Tahiti" and setting up trusts for the kids/grandkids and the family home, I would do some combination of random college scholarships, general follow on education funds (not just college but trade school or apprenticeships) in the small town in northern Vermont where the family home is, and funding a couple of rural libraries. I think it would also be fun to set aside a few million where the interest would fund donations to some number of non-profits and family and friends could pick the winners of the donations each year. Some smaller non-profits could have their reach significantly expand with what seems like a relatively small amount.
On the "while we're fantasizing" front - put in an order at the factory for a brand new HR 42, spec'd to our criteria. At least that would be the dream boat right now. Hah. Since neither the upkeep nor the insurance would be of concern if we did win the lottery.
-
Passing those huge billboards with the current value of the MegaMillions and Powerball generally is good for a couple of hours of entertainment on drives. Very occasionally I've even bought a lottery ticket after the fact, just as a nod to the entertainment value!
Still. What would I do? Obviously specifics would depend on the amount we're talking about. I'd opt for the full payout upfront (which I think drops the value in half off the bat) After the couple of basics like "treat everyone to a paid vacation in Tahiti" and setting up trusts for the kids/grandkids and the family home, I would do some combination of random college scholarships, general follow on education funds (not just college but trade school or apprenticeships) in the small town in northern Vermont where the family home is, and funding a couple of rural libraries. I think it would also be fun to set aside a few million where the interest would fund donations to some number of non-profits and family and friends could pick the winners of the donations each year. Some smaller non-profits could have their reach significantly expand with what seems like a relatively small amount.
On the "while we're fantasizing" front - put in an order at the factory for a brand new HR 42, spec'd to our criteria. At least that would be the dream boat right now. Hah. Since neither the upkeep nor the insurance would be of concern if we did win the lottery.
What's an HR 42? Any googling only turns up legislative stuff...
-
One-off cost: 1 000 000 €
- parents' home improvements (including age proofing) 25k€
- sister's mortgage pay off 100k€
- little nephew etf portfolio 50k€
- private detective and accountant to investigate mean brother's business dealings 50k€
- car and bicycles 50k€
- primary home improvements and preventative maintenance 25k€
- countryside home improvements and surrounding land purchase 100k€
- financial streamlining: pay off loans, simplify minor fiscal optimisations, ...: 200k€
- Canary islands holiday home 350k€
- various anonymous gifts: 50k€
Running cost increases: 3500€/month (capital budget to sustain indefinitely: 1 500k€)
- fiber internet at all 3 residences: 100€/month
- maintenance and cleaning at primary home: 100€/month
- maintenance and cleaning at countryside home 1: 100€/month
- car parking: 100€/month
- restaurants: 100€/month
- travel and CO2 offset: 500€/month
- full time personal assistant: 2500€/month
Playground organisation for causes close to my heart: 20k €/month (capital budget to sustain eternally: 10 000 k€)
- anonymous hyperlocal good causes near our residences
- ecology
- privacy
- internet and software
Serious non-profit for evidence based global improvements: 1000k €/month (capital budget to sustain eternally: 500 000 000 €)
-
Passing those huge billboards with the current value of the MegaMillions and Powerball generally is good for a couple of hours of entertainment on drives. Very occasionally I've even bought a lottery ticket after the fact, just as a nod to the entertainment value!
Still. What would I do? Obviously specifics would depend on the amount we're talking about. I'd opt for the full payout upfront (which I think drops the value in half off the bat) After the couple of basics like "treat everyone to a paid vacation in Tahiti" and setting up trusts for the kids/grandkids and the family home, I would do some combination of random college scholarships, general follow on education funds (not just college but trade school or apprenticeships) in the small town in northern Vermont where the family home is, and funding a couple of rural libraries. I think it would also be fun to set aside a few million where the interest would fund donations to some number of non-profits and family and friends could pick the winners of the donations each year. Some smaller non-profits could have their reach significantly expand with what seems like a relatively small amount.
On the "while we're fantasizing" front - put in an order at the factory for a brand new HR 42, spec'd to our criteria. At least that would be the dream boat right now. Hah. Since neither the upkeep nor the insurance would be of concern if we did win the lottery.
What's an HR 42? Any googling only turns up legislative stuff...
With the username and taking 'dream boat' literally, my guess is Hallberg Rassy brand boats/yachts.
https://www.hallberg-rassy.com/yachts/previous-models
There are 42(E) and 42(F) models in there from mostly the 80s and 90s. Since they have a column dedicated to how many of each model were built, I'm guessing this is a hoity toity/high end brand. Then again I could be wrong on what HR 42 means altogether as the last Hallberg Rassy 42 foot models were produced in 2001 and they said they would order one "brand new."
-
Passing those huge billboards with the current value of the MegaMillions and Powerball generally is good for a couple of hours of entertainment on drives. Very occasionally I've even bought a lottery ticket after the fact, just as a nod to the entertainment value!
Still. What would I do? Obviously specifics would depend on the amount we're talking about. I'd opt for the full payout upfront (which I think drops the value in half off the bat) After the couple of basics like "treat everyone to a paid vacation in Tahiti" and setting up trusts for the kids/grandkids and the family home, I would do some combination of random college scholarships, general follow on education funds (not just college but trade school or apprenticeships) in the small town in northern Vermont where the family home is, and funding a couple of rural libraries. I think it would also be fun to set aside a few million where the interest would fund donations to some number of non-profits and family and friends could pick the winners of the donations each year. Some smaller non-profits could have their reach significantly expand with what seems like a relatively small amount.
On the "while we're fantasizing" front - put in an order at the factory for a brand new HR 42, spec'd to our criteria. At least that would be the dream boat right now. Hah. Since neither the upkeep nor the insurance would be of concern if we did win the lottery.
What's an HR 42? Any googling only turns up legislative stuff...
Hallberg-Rassy sailboat. Of course, then I googled (tells you how often I spend time on that) and it seems they're no longer making the 42. Or the 46. So it'd be a 44. A 50 is way too big. The 40CC doesn't have the layout option we'd want.
-
Those are nice but I think a Morris M36 or M42 is about the most beautiful yacht out there. That’s what I’d have.
-
I honestly don't have a lottery fantasy. I think my life would turn to shit if I won. I think I would mostly lose a lot of relationships. As a result, I make a conscious decision to not play.
I think that if I had a lot of relationships that depended upon me being of a certain networth, I would not mind severing those relationships.
Have you ever seen a family fight over an inheritance worth about 100K? I have seen it happen more than once and it's really sad. Imagine what would happen to that family if someone won 100 million.
-
Those are nice but I think a Morris M36 or M42 is about the most beautiful yacht out there. That’s what I’d have.
Morris makes a brilliant boat for sure. Isn't it good there are so many options out there! (and also. Another winning ticket lottery fantasy lol)
-
Those are nice but I think a Morris M36 or M42 is about the most beautiful yacht out there. That’s what I’d have.
Morris makes a brilliant boat for sure. Isn't it good there are so many options out there! (and also. Another winning ticket lottery fantasy lol)
Have y'all seen the Sirius yachts, though?
-
Those are nice but I think a Morris M36 or M42 is about the most beautiful yacht out there. That’s what I’d have.
Morris makes a brilliant boat for sure. Isn't it good there are so many options out there! (and also. Another winning ticket lottery fantasy lol)
Have y'all seen the Sirius yachts, though?
Is "deck salon" code for "pilothouse"? I do like the relatively flush deck though!
Detraction on the Morris: they're daysailors. We're liveaboard cruisers.
We can easily turn this thread into a "sailboats I lust after". Hah.
-
If I won the lottery today, I would buy a used power boat and do the great loop while my new sailboat is being built.
-
If I won the lottery today, I would buy a used power boat and do the great loop while my new sailboat is being built.
Oohhh, good one!
-
My lottery fantasy is to setup a non-profit organization with a large trust to piece together a contiguous plot of land in the semi-mountainous far flung exurbs of Washington DC near where I live. The organization would work on nature conservancy, develop a trail system, and allow free public access and nature programs, hopefully in perpetuity.
I'm inspired by sugarloaf mountain (https://sugarloafmd.com/)
-
This thread started 5+ years ago. I got curious to see what my answer was and whether it would be different. And, to be clear, we didn't win the lottery...
Pay off the mortgage on our new house and the heloc on our old one. That's all our debt. If I won a big payout I would be simplifying my life by removing two more bills.
Well, there's an O.B.E. (Overtaken By Events) option. The mortgage is already gone.
Send some cash to my relatives to make their life a bit easier, along with a note that the rest has already been given to charity.
Yep, I would still do that.
Buy the mid-century modernist house we want to save and fix it up, then turn it into a maker space for artists. Hire someone to watch over it so I don't have to be there on any given day. Buy the lot next door for parking space.
Set up a trust fund to handle ongoing expenses.
Well, that's not going to happen. Instead, we bought it, saved it, and sold it to another family so they could restore it and live in it.
But I bet I could find another nifty place for the same purpose. In fact, I already know of several. :)
Help good, hardworking people get started in the rental property business by fronting the money and mentoring thru the process of buying and fixing up a house for rent or flipping. Set up an internship where they help me flip two houses and they get half the profits on each. That should give them the knowledge of how to fix up a house and the cash to get started with.
Part of the internship is a contract that they will offer the same deal to other people every 6th house that they get. The profits from just one paid-off rental house would make a real difference to folks who are in the lower middle class.
Well, we didn't do it quite that way. But we did help a family get started in the real estate business in an even more generous basis. Frankly, we don't have the energy or the interest to go renovate more houses, so we won't be doing more.
Prices are thru the roof so good deals are really hard to find and by the time that changes, we'll have even less energy and interest in renovating them. We aren't spring chickens anymore.
We also helped finance starting a trucking company. One truck so far. $5,000 profit on a $12,000 investment, with 10.5 months of expenses and only 8 months of income. I think we're past a lot of the teething pains. Our plan is to re-invest our profits into the company to grow it. At that point, I'll take my profits as an income stream to fund our charitable giving, to supplement the $1000+/month we already give away. Part of the company ethos is to treat the truckers far better than they get treated at other companies.
Set up a trust to help out my kids and grand kids.
We have our will set up and that should take care of our kids and grand kids.
Sign up for lots of art classes around the world. Try getting into The Prince of Wale's School of Traditional Arts. Sign up for language immersion classes in French in France and Arabic in Morocco.
Well, in a way, we've done that thanks to Covid, at least on the art classes. Not quite the way we planned to, but we still learned fun stuff and had fun learning it.
Buy some additional tools.
Boy howdy, have I done that! AND I've put them to good use, too.
I'm sure my wife would come up with a few things, too.
We have a lot more books and fabric and historical costumes...
Well, that was kind of nice to review. We've actually met a lot of our goals in the interim and didn't even win the lottery. :)
-
@SwordGuy - I love this!
-
Well, I first responded back in November of 2016, and I like SwordGuy's idea of revisiting it. Here's my old stuff:
--Disappear for a few months, and keep my name out of the papers, to fend off the gold diggers
--Pay off debt
--Quit paying for life insurance :)
--Take the family to Disney World
--Get my pilot's license, and fly a whole bunch of different kinds of airplanes until I find the one(s) I want to keep
--Move to a low-tax state
--Build a dream house (and do a bunch of the work myself)
[/quote]
All of those things are still "on the list," with the exception of Disney World. We just went a few months ago (and hit Universal as well). It was a ton of fun, but the continuing skimpflation took a bit of enjoyment out of the experience. Plus, between the crowds and Disney Genie (i.e. replacement for FastPass+), it is a significantly less enjoyable experience than it was the last time we went.
Of the other things:I want a new computer. We'd like to finish our basement. I'd like to plant some more fruit trees. A few windows need replacing. DW would like an memory foam floor mat next to the kitchen island.
Well, I still have the same computer (and wouldn't mind a newer one), we have since finished our basement, some window panes still need replacement, we don't expect to be in this house long enough to benefit from new fruit trees, and DW has her anti-fatigue mat now.
-
No joke about the "skimpflation" at Disney world. Obtaining food requires planning.
-
No joke about the "skimpflation" at Disney world. Obtaining food requires planning.
Warning, Disney World Rant ahead...
Our family has been to WDW a few times over the last decade, and after our most recent trip (a few months ago), I started making a list of how WDW has lost its value. Hiking ticket prices gets lots of attention, so it didn't happen a whole lot...until they introduced variable pricing, and now the old ticket price is the new minimum ticket price. They didn't charge for parking. Then it was $25/day unless you stayed at a Disney Resort. Then it was $25/day even if you did stay at a Disney Resort. Shorter park hours. Less live entertainment. Reduced ride capacity. Laid off the Streetmosphere performers. Less consistent trash pickup and bathroom cleaning. The railroad at Magic Kingdom has been out of service for several years, and the parking lot trams were shut down for two years. Star Wars Land opens with only one (later two) attractions, but two restaurants, two very expensive "experiences", and six gift shops. Annual Pass prices have skyrocketed, but added blackout dates. The deluge of special (extra cost) "dessert parties" and "character breakfasts." The demise of the dining plan and other discounts. And the cherry on top, Disney Genie and Lightning Lane, two blatant cash grabs. Genie's predecessor, FastPass+, provided a greater benefit and was free. Lightning Lane is a plain ol' "skip the line if you're rich" cash grab.
If we hadn't had the Disability Access Service, it would have been miserable. We wait several years between visits, and DS, who qualifies for the DAS, graduates next year. Even DW, who absolutely loves WDW, freely admitted that we will likely never go again as a family, because the value simply isn't there any more. And that's after you consider that, thanks to packing our own food, heavily discounted tickets, driving ourselves, and a bargain of an Airbnb, we spent probably 50% less than the typical visitor does. In other words, we stacked the deck very heavily in our favor, and it still came out marginal.
The sad thing is that the skimpflation doesn't seem to be hitting Disney's bottom line. Quite the opposite, in fact. Depending on the day and the crowd level, between 30 and 50% of park visitors are ponying up the $16/day/person for Genie, and/or the $7-20/person/ride Lightning Lane passes.
-
No joke about the "skimpflation" at Disney world. Obtaining food requires planning.
Warning, Disney World Rant ahead...
Our family has been to WDW a few times over the last decade, and after our most recent trip (a few months ago), I started making a list of how WDW has lost its value. Hiking ticket prices gets lots of attention, so it didn't happen a whole lot...until they introduced variable pricing, and now the old ticket price is the new minimum ticket price. They didn't charge for parking. Then it was $25/day unless you stayed at a Disney Resort. Then it was $25/day even if you did stay at a Disney Resort. Shorter park hours. Less live entertainment. Reduced ride capacity. Laid off the Streetmosphere performers. Less consistent trash pickup and bathroom cleaning. The railroad at Magic Kingdom has been out of service for several years, and the parking lot trams were shut down for two years. Star Wars Land opens with only one (later two) attractions, but two restaurants, two very expensive "experiences", and six gift shops. Annual Pass prices have skyrocketed, but added blackout dates. The deluge of special (extra cost) "dessert parties" and "character breakfasts." The demise of the dining plan and other discounts. And the cherry on top, Disney Genie and Lightning Lane, two blatant cash grabs. Genie's predecessor, FastPass+, provided a greater benefit and was free. Lightning Lane is a plain ol' "skip the line if you're rich" cash grab.
If we hadn't had the Disability Access Service, it would have been miserable. We wait several years between visits, and DS, who qualifies for the DAS, graduates next year. Even DW, who absolutely loves WDW, freely admitted that we will likely never go again as a family, because the value simply isn't there any more. And that's after you consider that, thanks to packing our own food, heavily discounted tickets, driving ourselves, and a bargain of an Airbnb, we spent probably 50% less than the typical visitor does. In other words, we stacked the deck very heavily in our favor, and it still came out marginal.
The sad thing is that the skimpflation doesn't seem to be hitting Disney's bottom line. Quite the opposite, in fact. Depending on the day and the crowd level, between 30 and 50% of park visitors are ponying up the $16/day/person for Genie, and/or the $7-20/person/ride Lightning Lane passes.
Thanks for this description. It is very on topic for my family. We have been considering going to Disney next year for the second time as a family. I've heard things like what you've said but never so concisely put and only from news article type things rather than someone who just went personally. I realize Disney is pretty solidly anti-mustachian, but I'm fine with going even with that.......but it seems it's really tipped over into the not worth it category.
-
No joke about the "skimpflation" at Disney world. Obtaining food requires planning.
Warning, Disney World Rant ahead...
Our family has been to WDW a few times over the last decade, and after our most recent trip (a few months ago), I started making a list of how WDW has lost its value. Hiking ticket prices gets lots of attention, so it didn't happen a whole lot...until they introduced variable pricing, and now the old ticket price is the new minimum ticket price. They didn't charge for parking. Then it was $25/day unless you stayed at a Disney Resort. Then it was $25/day even if you did stay at a Disney Resort. Shorter park hours. Less live entertainment. Reduced ride capacity. Laid off the Streetmosphere performers. Less consistent trash pickup and bathroom cleaning. The railroad at Magic Kingdom has been out of service for several years, and the parking lot trams were shut down for two years. Star Wars Land opens with only one (later two) attractions, but two restaurants, two very expensive "experiences", and six gift shops. Annual Pass prices have skyrocketed, but added blackout dates. The deluge of special (extra cost) "dessert parties" and "character breakfasts." The demise of the dining plan and other discounts. And the cherry on top, Disney Genie and Lightning Lane, two blatant cash grabs. Genie's predecessor, FastPass+, provided a greater benefit and was free. Lightning Lane is a plain ol' "skip the line if you're rich" cash grab.
If we hadn't had the Disability Access Service, it would have been miserable. We wait several years between visits, and DS, who qualifies for the DAS, graduates next year. Even DW, who absolutely loves WDW, freely admitted that we will likely never go again as a family, because the value simply isn't there any more. And that's after you consider that, thanks to packing our own food, heavily discounted tickets, driving ourselves, and a bargain of an Airbnb, we spent probably 50% less than the typical visitor does. In other words, we stacked the deck very heavily in our favor, and it still came out marginal.
The sad thing is that the skimpflation doesn't seem to be hitting Disney's bottom line. Quite the opposite, in fact. Depending on the day and the crowd level, between 30 and 50% of park visitors are ponying up the $16/day/person for Genie, and/or the $7-20/person/ride Lightning Lane passes.
Thanks for this description. It is very on topic for my family. We have been considering going to Disney next year for the second time as a family. I've heard things like what you've said but never so concisely put and only from news article type things rather than someone who just went personally. I realize Disney is pretty solidly anti-mustachian, but I'm fine with going even with that.......but it seems it's really tipped over into the not worth it category.
Yeah, I wish I could wave my magic wand and give people a chance to experience WDW the way it was 10 years ago. IMO, Disney really needs a "fifth gate" (i.e. a fifth theme park) in Florida, or a whole new resort in, say, Texas. The crowds are just too much, even in slow times. But such an undertaking would likely be way more expensive than they'd be willing to risk without a partner, as they've done in other countries. And besides, if they're raking in cash hand over fist by jacking up prices and cutting costs, why bother with a new park?
-
Agreed that the lines are longer and the prices are higher. Getting food requires planning at a level that would challenge a Chess master.
-
Do you have a Lottery fantasy?
I think, if we're honest, we're all animalistic enough to be curious about how it feels to stone someone to death.
But I'd rather pick the person myself. Amirite? Using a lottery just seems ... impersonal.
WTF.
-
Do you have a Lottery fantasy?
I think, if we're honest, we're all animalistic enough to be curious about how it feels to stone someone to death.
But I'd rather pick the person myself. Amirite? Using a lottery just seems ... impersonal.
WTF.
References: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/06/26/the-lottery
Apparently, a popular reading in US schools.
I remember this story from about 1977 ??7th grade???
-
If I won a lot of money ($100M+), which I never would because I don't really play any lottery with jackpots that large:
1. Sewers for poor folks in the black belt. (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/11/30/the-heavy-toll-of-the-black-belts-wastewater-crisis)
2. My very own Canadian trucker style anti-stroad protests, but with concrete barriers instead of trucks.
3. Voter registration/mobilization drives in states that like to disenfranchise people.
-
Do you have a Lottery fantasy?
I think, if we're honest, we're all animalistic enough to be curious about how it feels to stone someone to death.
But I'd rather pick the person myself. Amirite? Using a lottery just seems ... impersonal.
WTF.
References: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/06/26/the-lottery
Apparently, a popular reading in US schools.
I remember this story from about 1977 ??7th grade???
Was also referenced in a Simpson's episode by the same name, according to wikipedia.
I feel like maybe there’s a vague recollection of it for me. But I also remember A Modest Proposal, but not from reading it, but rather a friend talking about it, so could be similar.
If I won big, I would like to get involved in some high school programs and be able to provide full scholarships to students who demonstrate certain characteristics. I would also do a full remodel of the house and add some very specific features myself. And certainly widen our charitable donation program immensely. I’d also try to self fund a trail extension to make the last half mile to my neighborhood to make it safer to get to.
-
I'm fascinated with the example of the millionaire who transformed one place: Tangelo Park, Florida
https://www.today.com/news/millionaire-uses-fortune-help-kids-struggling-town-1C9373666
He's made a lasting difference in that area. (although to me, this is what all U.S. towns and cities could do with decent state and federal tax levels - use that money for social services and infrastructure).
For myself, I'm like Amy D. - I prefer to give charity money to younger children and the elderly as they are the 2 groups least likely to be able to change their own situation. Which means instead of focusing on college scholarships, focus on the pre-K level and give children and young families as much help as possible to give them a strong physical and mental foundation.
-
Do you have a Lottery fantasy?
I think, if we're honest, we're all animalistic enough to be curious about how it feels to stone someone to death.
But I'd rather pick the person myself. Amirite? Using a lottery just seems ... impersonal.
WTF.
References: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/06/26/the-lottery
Apparently, a popular reading in US schools.
I remember this story from about 1977 ??7th grade???
As I got closer and closer to the age of 18, I can assure you my biggest lottery fantasy was not to win the biggest lottery in the nation.
And I, in fact, won it.
The war ended and selective service stopped taking draft registrations for 18 months, with my 18th birthday solidly in the middle.
As they said in the movie Wargames, "The only way to win is not to play."
-
Do you have a Lottery fantasy?
I think, if we're honest, we're all animalistic enough to be curious about how it feels to stone someone to death.
But I'd rather pick the person myself. Amirite? Using a lottery just seems ... impersonal.
WTF.
References: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/06/26/the-lottery (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/06/26/the-lottery)
Apparently, a popular reading in US schools.
I remember this story from about 1977 ??7th grade???
Was also referenced in a Simpson's episode by the same name, according to wikipedia.
I feel like maybe there’s a vague recollection of it for me. But I also remember A Modest Proposal, but not from reading it, but rather a friend talking about it, so could be similar.
If I won big, I would like to get involved in some high school programs and be able to provide full scholarships to students who demonstrate certain characteristics. I would also do a full remodel of the house and add some very specific features myself. And certainly widen our charitable donation program immensely. I’d also try to self fund a trail extension to make the last half mile to my neighborhood to make it safer to get to.
I remember that short story. If only stoning people to death remained a fantasy. But no, people are actually being stoned to death in this day and age. Example: this 2020 incident (https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-rights-group-investigates-video-of-woman-being-stoned-to-death/30414665.html). So I find it incredibly distasteful when someone idly talks about being curious about stoning someone to death.
-
Ha! I kinda feel like I won the lottery when I got married for the first time at age 54. I immediately retired. Couple of months later, a dream house I'd fantasized about years before came on the market as a short sale and we paid cash for it. Now I have time to volunteer and do big, important projects in my community. I am livin' the dream, no need to waste money on lottery tickets, lol.
Hmm, I like the idea of looking back at my original response. Yawn. Looks like nothing has changed.
Well, there is something. DH is about to inherit a winning lottery ticket-type amount of money. We're already FI. He is set to retire in the next month or so, irrespective of the inheritance. Not sure if it will change anything. I guess I can update again in another five or six years...
Still no actual lottery tickets purchased.
-
Do you have a Lottery fantasy?
I think, if we're honest, we're all animalistic enough to be curious about how it feels to stone someone to death.
But I'd rather pick the person myself. Amirite? Using a lottery just seems ... impersonal.
WTF.
References: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/06/26/the-lottery (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/06/26/the-lottery)
Apparently, a popular reading in US schools.
I remember this story from about 1977 ??7th grade???
Was also referenced in a Simpson's episode by the same name, according to wikipedia.
I feel like maybe there’s a vague recollection of it for me. But I also remember A Modest Proposal, but not from reading it, but rather a friend talking about it, so could be similar.
If I won big, I would like to get involved in some high school programs and be able to provide full scholarships to students who demonstrate certain characteristics. I would also do a full remodel of the house and add some very specific features myself. And certainly widen our charitable donation program immensely. I’d also try to self fund a trail extension to make the last half mile to my neighborhood to make it safer to get to.
I remember that short story. If only stoning people to death remained a fantasy. But no, people are actually being stoned to death in this day and age. Example: this 2020 incident (https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-rights-group-investigates-video-of-woman-being-stoned-to-death/30414665.html). So I find it incredibly distasteful when someone idly talks about being curious about stoning someone to death.
100% agree. I have always hated that story. The fact that it actually happens IRL (because stones are cheap and ignorance and hatred are plentiful) is horrendous and absolutely nothing to joke about. Not funny.
-
I don't play at all, so the odd of winning for me are only slightly less than those who do actually buy a ticket.
But, if I won, I'd probably give all of my friends and family two million dollars each. That should be enough to pay off any and all debt, pay of their houses and basically set them up so they don't have to work anymore if they don't want to.
Assuming that's about 100 people, that means $200m is gone. I'd keep enough of the money to live comfortably and be able to travel, but not at crazy expensive levels. The rest of the $$ I'd probably use to try to make my local city (Denver) better. Donating to fund more changes in making the city more walkable and biker/pedestrian friendly. It's already doing some things like that already, but a lot of $$ from a motivated donor would push things along more quickly.
-
Do you have a Lottery fantasy?
I think, if we're honest, we're all animalistic enough to be curious about how it feels to stone someone to death.
But I'd rather pick the person myself. Amirite? Using a lottery just seems ... impersonal.
I find it incredibly distasteful when someone idly talks about being curious about stoning someone to death.
I'd thought that by quoting the context of "fantasy" and referring to stoning as "animalistic", that "stoning is bad, especially in the real world" would be read in the text, leaving only the mild surprise and humor of the change in reference/meaning of "Lottery". The story is very widely read in junior highs, so I thought the risk of offense would be low. Perhaps I was wrong.
If I have offended, then I plead:
I'm sorry Ms. Jackson (oh), I am for real
Never meant to make the forum cry
I apologize a trillion times
One way humans deal with the perfectly awful things in life is with black humor.
Stoning in real life is certainly an awful thing. Referencing a super well--known short story, an American classic, about the same in a joking manner seems entirely reasonable to me. I don’t expect everyone to have the same reactions to things, though.
-
Assuming massive winnings, I would:
- Quit my job
- Buy a house with an ocean view, but high enough above the ocean that I wouldn't have to worry about sea level rise
- Buy a Rivian R1S for myself, and whatever kind of vehicle DH wanted (probably a Rivian R1T)
- Buy houses for my mom and MIL
- Set up a college scholarship fund for all my nieces and nephews
- Take my whole extended family on a nice vacation
- Set aside enough that DH could live on without having to really budget ($5M?)
- Donate the rest to charity
-
Random funny story about the lottery:
This involves four people I went to high school with — all of whom were dicks in general, and two of them to me in particular. Two men, two women. They coupled up, the couples got married. They were all best friends.
Then the woman in Couple A ended up winning the lottery.
I ran into a friend of one of them in the line to renew my driver’s license a few years later. She told me that the woman from couple A and the man from couple B started having a secret affair. Unbeknownst to them, the man from couple A and the woman from couple B also started having an affair.
Turned out, both members of couple B were angling to get some of that sweet, sweet lottery money.
The marriages blew up. But then eventually, so did the affair relationships. All hell broke loose in a giant explosion of greed, infidelity, and general materialistic grossness.
Last I heard, all four were mortal enemies. The divorces were bitter, expensive as hell, and kind of ruined all of their lives.
So, yeah. I don’t really have a lottery fantasy.
-
Oh man. What would I do?
- Nothing until the money has cleared in my account, then move it to a few (!) HYSA while I think about it.
- Quit my job.
- Take an extended "my-ass-on-the-sand" vacation, probably in the South Pacific (Tahiti!).
- Give enough money to my sister that she can retire, buy a home wherever she wants and finish cash-flowing her kids' college ed.
- Give enough money to her kids so they can also buy a home wherever they want and not have to worry about money too much. Would probably set that up in trusts and spread it across a few years after they graduate college.
- Give money to my parents so my Mom can stop worrying about it, even though she probably doesn't need to worry as much as she does. Also make sure they can keep their house as long as they can navigate the stairs, so take care of all extra maintenance.
- (maybe) Buy a home somewhere in the US. I do like Seattle. Or maybe permanently move back to my home country. Choices, man.
- Buy a house with a view of the Mediterranean Sea. As close to it as I can find.
- Buy a small Tesla lol.
- Probably give some money to a few close friends.
- Invest whatever's I think I might need to live on for the next 50 years, in the most boring way possible (3-funds portfolio + cash). I should probably explore trusts and all that stuff? I have no idea how wealth management works.
- Over time, visit some countries I've always wanted to go to (Australia, New Zealand, South Asia, Iceland. Whatever), with my sister and my parents.
- Donate the rest to charity.
-
Random funny story about the lottery:
This involves four people I went to high school with — all of whom were dicks in general, and two of them to me in particular. Two men, two women. They coupled up, the couples got married. They were all best friends.
Then the woman in Couple A ended up winning the lottery.
I ran into a friend of one of them in the line to renew my driver’s license a few years later. She told me that the woman from couple A and the man from couple B started having a secret affair. Unbeknownst to them, the man from couple A and the woman from couple B also started having an affair.
Turned out, both members of couple B were angling to get some of that sweet, sweet lottery money.
The marriages blew up. But then eventually, so did the affair relationships. All hell broke loose in a giant explosion of greed, infidelity, and general materialistic grossness.
Last I heard, all four were mortal enemies. The divorces were bitter, expensive as hell, and kind of ruined all of their lives.
So, yeah. I don’t really have a lottery fantasy.
The couple across the street from my parents won $10M in a slot machine in a casino in Tunica MS.
Nice middle class couple. My wife and I met them at my parent's house several times before this happened.
They had a septic tank business that was struggling under some debt. Paid off all their debts, set aside enough to live on, gave the business to their son along with some money, and also gave some money to their daughter.
Wife got all hoighty-toighty and starting hanging out with "the important people" in the metro area. She divorced her husband because he wasn't playing the high society social climbing game with her. Those folks could recognize a mark. She bought a bunch of stuff on credit and then lost the rest in bad investments as they milked her dry like the naive cash cow she was. She lost everything including her new mansion.
Husband started drinking and passed out in the driveway one winter evening and died of hypothermia overnight.
Son hired his buddies at inflated wages, didn't pay attention to the business, and ran it into the ground. Spent all his money and lost his house -- the one that was already fully paid for before this whole situation started! Wowza! He, too, lost everything.
Daughter was the only one to keep her wits about her. Bought another (modest) house for her mom to live in but kept the deed in her own name because mom wasn't over her bad case of stupids yet.
A huge injection of money into the hands of people who aren't mentally and emotionally ready for it is not necessarily a great thing. This family self-destructed.
-
- Probably give some money to a few close friends.
I feel like this would be one of the tougher minefields to navigate. Firm boundaries while still sharing good fortune.
There was that linked post somewhere with some good guidance. One was to decide how much, commit to it, but make very clear it’s a one time payment.
-
Do you have a Lottery fantasy?
I think, if we're honest, we're all animalistic enough to be curious about how it feels to stone someone to death.
But I'd rather pick the person myself. Amirite? Using a lottery just seems ... impersonal.
WTF.
References: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/06/26/the-lottery
Apparently, a popular reading in US schools.
I remember this story from about 1977 ??7th grade???
Hmmm.
I've never heard of the book 'The Lottery' but read the comment above and was like, "Yeah . . . I guess we are all curious about that!"
:P
-
Assuming massive winnings, I would:
- Buy houses for my mom and MIL
Maybe too many people focus on winning the lottery themselves, and too few of us focus on raising children who--when they win the lottery--will buy us a place to live?
-
Assuming massive winnings, I would:
- Buy houses for my mom and MIL
Maybe too many people focus on winning the lottery themselves, and too few of us focus on raising children who--when they win the lottery--will buy us a place to live?
I dunno about you, but I try to raise the kind of children who are too smart to play the lottery :P
-
- Probably give some money to a few close friends.
I feel like this would be one of the tougher minefields to navigate. Firm boundaries while still sharing good fortune.
There was that linked post somewhere with some good guidance. One was to decide how much, commit to it, but make very clear it’s a one time payment.
Yes, obviously. But I wouldn't expect it to be much of a problem with the specific friends I have in mind in this scenario, and the money would be limited to solve immediate, known material issues / goals.
Then again, I'm not playing the lottery, so hey, they can have all of my lottery fantasy money :)
-
I would clone my dog. I know it's not the same, but he has been the best damn dog to ever walk the planet and he's only got a few days left.
-
I would clone my dog. I know it's not the same, but he has been the best damn dog to ever walk the planet and he's only got a few days left.
I'm very sorry to hear about your dog. I have a cat from my childhood that I wish I could have cloned.
-
No joke about the "skimpflation" at Disney world. Obtaining food requires planning.
Warning, Disney World Rant ahead...
Our family has been to WDW a few times over the last decade, and after our most recent trip (a few months ago), I started making a list of how WDW has lost its value. Hiking ticket prices gets lots of attention, so it didn't happen a whole lot...until they introduced variable pricing, and now the old ticket price is the new minimum ticket price. They didn't charge for parking. Then it was $25/day unless you stayed at a Disney Resort. Then it was $25/day even if you did stay at a Disney Resort. Shorter park hours. Less live entertainment. Reduced ride capacity. Laid off the Streetmosphere performers. Less consistent trash pickup and bathroom cleaning. The railroad at Magic Kingdom has been out of service for several years, and the parking lot trams were shut down for two years. Star Wars Land opens with only one (later two) attractions, but two restaurants, two very expensive "experiences", and six gift shops. Annual Pass prices have skyrocketed, but added blackout dates. The deluge of special (extra cost) "dessert parties" and "character breakfasts." The demise of the dining plan and other discounts. And the cherry on top, Disney Genie and Lightning Lane, two blatant cash grabs. Genie's predecessor, FastPass+, provided a greater benefit and was free. Lightning Lane is a plain ol' "skip the line if you're rich" cash grab.
If we hadn't had the Disability Access Service, it would have been miserable. We wait several years between visits, and DS, who qualifies for the DAS, graduates next year. Even DW, who absolutely loves WDW, freely admitted that we will likely never go again as a family, because the value simply isn't there any more. And that's after you consider that, thanks to packing our own food, heavily discounted tickets, driving ourselves, and a bargain of an Airbnb, we spent probably 50% less than the typical visitor does. In other words, we stacked the deck very heavily in our favor, and it still came out marginal.
The sad thing is that the skimpflation doesn't seem to be hitting Disney's bottom line. Quite the opposite, in fact. Depending on the day and the crowd level, between 30 and 50% of park visitors are ponying up the $16/day/person for Genie, and/or the $7-20/person/ride Lightning Lane passes.
Thanks for this description. It is very on topic for my family. We have been considering going to Disney next year for the second time as a family. I've heard things like what you've said but never so concisely put and only from news article type things rather than someone who just went personally. I realize Disney is pretty solidly anti-mustachian, but I'm fine with going even with that.......but it seems it's really tipped over into the not worth it category.
Yeah, I wish I could wave my magic wand and give people a chance to experience WDW the way it was 10 years ago. IMO, Disney really needs a "fifth gate" (i.e. a fifth theme park) in Florida, or a whole new resort in, say, Texas. The crowds are just too much, even in slow times. But such an undertaking would likely be way more expensive than they'd be willing to risk without a partner, as they've done in other countries. And besides, if they're raking in cash hand over fist by jacking up prices and cutting costs, why bother with a new park?
@zolotiyeruki
Could you share your days that you visited the parks, so we can avoid those dates in the future? I agree that the big crowds and lines can ruin the entire experience.
I had an annual pass to WDW in 2012-2015. We had pretty good luck avoiding crowds. anytime in October, early November (before Thanksgiving), late January, anytime in February or April. You could also avoid crowds in September, but we never did. September is too hot and humid for me to enjoy myself. I would do a water park in September, but my wife wasn't into it.
-
It was the second and third weeks of November, but there isn't really a sloe season any more, except for maybe September. We had anticipated lower crowds, since Halloween is typically busier and international travel had been restricted, and we were expecting that many of the 50th anniversary crowds would have already passed through. Unfortunately, international travel opened up just before we got there, and word got out that the parks had been lightly attended in October, so it ended up being crazy. Historically, November has been lighter, as has Jan-feb, bit that HSS not been true now for a few years.
If you last went to the parks in 2015, be aware that the experience today is much, much different (worse) today than it was back then.
-
No joke about the "skimpflation" at Disney world. Obtaining food requires planning.
Warning, Disney World Rant ahead...
Our family has been to WDW a few times over the last decade, and after our most recent trip (a few months ago), I started making a list of how WDW has lost its value. Hiking ticket prices gets lots of attention, so it didn't happen a whole lot...until they introduced variable pricing, and now the old ticket price is the new minimum ticket price. They didn't charge for parking. Then it was $25/day unless you stayed at a Disney Resort. Then it was $25/day even if you did stay at a Disney Resort. Shorter park hours. Less live entertainment. Reduced ride capacity. Laid off the Streetmosphere performers. Less consistent trash pickup and bathroom cleaning. The railroad at Magic Kingdom has been out of service for several years, and the parking lot trams were shut down for two years. Star Wars Land opens with only one (later two) attractions, but two restaurants, two very expensive "experiences", and six gift shops. Annual Pass prices have skyrocketed, but added blackout dates. The deluge of special (extra cost) "dessert parties" and "character breakfasts." The demise of the dining plan and other discounts. And the cherry on top, Disney Genie and Lightning Lane, two blatant cash grabs. Genie's predecessor, FastPass+, provided a greater benefit and was free. Lightning Lane is a plain ol' "skip the line if you're rich" cash grab.
If we hadn't had the Disability Access Service, it would have been miserable. We wait several years between visits, and DS, who qualifies for the DAS, graduates next year. Even DW, who absolutely loves WDW, freely admitted that we will likely never go again as a family, because the value simply isn't there any more. And that's after you consider that, thanks to packing our own food, heavily discounted tickets, driving ourselves, and a bargain of an Airbnb, we spent probably 50% less than the typical visitor does. In other words, we stacked the deck very heavily in our favor, and it still came out marginal.
The sad thing is that the skimpflation doesn't seem to be hitting Disney's bottom line. Quite the opposite, in fact. Depending on the day and the crowd level, between 30 and 50% of park visitors are ponying up the $16/day/person for Genie, and/or the $7-20/person/ride Lightning Lane passes.
Thanks for this description. It is very on topic for my family. We have been considering going to Disney next year for the second time as a family. I've heard things like what you've said but never so concisely put and only from news article type things rather than someone who just went personally. I realize Disney is pretty solidly anti-mustachian, but I'm fine with going even with that.......but it seems it's really tipped over into the not worth it category.
Yeah, I wish I could wave my magic wand and give people a chance to experience WDW the way it was 10 years ago. IMO, Disney really needs a "fifth gate" (i.e. a fifth theme park) in Florida, or a whole new resort in, say, Texas. The crowds are just too much, even in slow times. But such an undertaking would likely be way more expensive than they'd be willing to risk without a partner, as they've done in other countries. And besides, if they're raking in cash hand over fist by jacking up prices and cutting costs, why bother with a new park?
@zolotiyeruki
Could you share your days that you visited the parks, so we can avoid those dates in the future? I agree that the big crowds and lines can ruin the entire experience.
I had an annual pass to WDW in 2012-2015. We had pretty good luck avoiding crowds. anytime in October, early November (before Thanksgiving), late January, anytime in February or April. You could also avoid crowds in September, but we never did. September is too hot and humid for me to enjoy myself. I would do a water park in September, but my wife wasn't into it.
I'm no longer familiar with how annual passes work, but it used to be that you could pretty reliably predict crowd size by looking at black out dates for the passes. If Disney won't allow you to use your pass, it is because they expect a lot of other, paying customers. So the best days are those that are allowed on the cheapest annual passes, and the worst days are those that are allowed on even the most expensive passes, or on no passes at all.
Combine that with information about which months are generally lightest and you can get a pretty good sense of things.
I was at Disney (FL) juuust before Covid. Like, our last couple of days I was hearing the news and wondering "should I be here?". (Late Feb 2020). I don't see myself going back any time soon, even though, prior to that, DH and I had talked about doing a trip. (I'd gone, without DH to meet some international friends who were doing a Disney trip, and I stayed in a room with my sister and BIL, who have the Disney Vacation Club membership.) It has gotten simultaneously more expensive and less convenient (and I'm sure less enjoyable because of that). Unlike what I've read about Universal Studios which suggests they are trying to make more money by improving and adding to the experience, Disney is trying to squeeze more money out of the same resources by monetizing more things. Universal is adding to the offerings and Disney is just putting more and more behind a paywall.
Even our early 2020 trip felt more stressful than previous Disney experiences. Having to book Fast Passes ahead of time and commit to being at X ride at 1230 and Y ride at 400p already made it feel more stressful. My disneyphile sister did all the planning and booking, but it was still so much more of a process than I was used to. (My experience was with Disneyland and the parks in Tokyo, where you just get Fastpasses when you arrive at the park.) And now the pre-planning is even more intense, and far more expensive. I can stay for fairly inexpensively and get discounted military tickets, but there is just no longer a draw.
-
Just to add some more fuel to the "Disney World isn't worth it any more" fire: Disney just announced price hikes for multi-day passes, by a modest 2-3%. Drip, drip, drip...
-
There would be a certain amount of helping the oldest and youngest generations of the spouses and my families were a crazy large lottery win to occur.
Beyond that, the remainder would likely center around preserving wild / undeveloped land.
-
My lottery fantasy is twofold.
I do not know how much money it would take.
#1. Start a business manufacturing highly durable washer and dryers meant to be fixable by the owner or any tool-oriented person, with parts readily available, and which can be readily dissembled at life end for recycling. Set up a manufacturing plant in BC or Alberta to make them. Destroy crooked home appliance market by providing a product that is designed to last instead of breaking down.
#2 start a business that does high-end woodworking on BC wood (luthiers, others) the supports craft and creativity in its staff, possibly including company housing.
-
My lottery fantasy is twofold.
I do not know how much money it would take.
#1. Start a business manufacturing highly durable washer and dryers meant to be fixable by the owner or any tool-oriented person, with parts readily available, and which can be readily dissembled at life end for recycling. Set up a manufacturing plant in BC or Alberta to make them. Destroy crooked home appliance market by providing a product that is designed to last instead of breaking down.
Start a lottery ticket gofundme….I’d toss a couple bucks to help this fantasy come true!
-
My lottery fantasy is twofold.
I do not know how much money it would take.
#1. Start a business manufacturing highly durable washer and dryers meant to be fixable by the owner or any tool-oriented person, with parts readily available, and which can be readily dissembled at life end for recycling. Set up a manufacturing plant in BC or Alberta to make them. Destroy crooked home appliance market by providing a product that is designed to last instead of breaking down.
Start a lottery ticket gofundme….I’d toss a couple bucks to help this fantasy come true!
I wish I knew how many millions this would cost. Probably it would be cheaper to contract out the metal parts.
If that got going well, the next project would be microwaves that don't beep.
-
#1. Start a business manufacturing highly durable washer and dryers meant to be fixable by the owner or any tool-oriented person, with parts readily available, and which can be readily dissembled at life end for recycling. Set up a manufacturing plant in BC or Alberta to make them. Destroy crooked home appliance market by providing a product that is designed to last instead of breaking down.
Some dreams are just too beautiful to come true.
Me, on the other hand- I give myself 18 months tops after a substantial lotto win before I make headlines after being arrested for some stupid altercation at a seedy bar. They'll find guns, drugs, and a seriously questionable amount of cash in my vehicle. I will look like an utter trainwreck in my mug shot. Truly, I will have lived the dream and burned ever so brightly if only for a few brief moments.
-
#1. Start a business manufacturing highly durable washer and dryers meant to be fixable by the owner or any tool-oriented person, with parts readily available, and which can be readily dissembled at life end for recycling. Set up a manufacturing plant in BC or Alberta to make them. Destroy crooked home appliance market by providing a product that is designed to last instead of breaking down.
Some dreams are just too beautiful to come true.
Me, on the other hand- I give myself 18 months tops after a substantial lotto win before I make headlines after being arrested for some stupid altercation at a seedy bar. They'll find guns, drugs, and a seriously questionable amount of cash in my vehicle. I will look like an utter trainwreck in my mug shot. Truly, I will have lived the dream and burned ever so brightly if only for a few brief moments.
This is why if I ever win, I'll take the annual payments, NOT the lump sum. Then I can have this experience each year.
-
Pay off our siblings' houses (buy a house for in one case).
Remodel our house to be 100% perfect for us. It's already in the perfect location and I can't imagine needing a larger primary residence.
Then we'd buy one of the Park Lane penthouses in Honolulu. And let our family and friends use it any time we weren't there.
Indulge my love of designer clothes/shoes.
Travel spontaneously and see things that require money and/or where money allows flexibility, authentic experiences, and safety.
Mostly the fantasy is being able to do all the things we want, without worrying about cost or time constraints. We do scaled down versions of these things already - help our siblings, improve the house, vacation in Hawaii, buy nice clothes with an occasional pair of designer shoes, budget for the more exotic trips, etc.
-
Years ago when I had a job I hated, there was a Mega-Millions billboard I drove past every workday. I had a lot of lottery fantasies then, mostly about being able to quit working. Now that I'm retired, I suppose my biggest fantasy for myself is never having to cook again. Maybe a personal chef, and a lengthy vacation in Europe.
If we won truly stupendous amounts, I'd like to pay off (or buy) homes for family and certain friends, donate to the community theater and other charities, and set my best friend's disabled son up with a home and trust fund to pay caregivers for life.
-
I check in on the "mortgage payoff" thread periodically, and I haven't yet seen one person over there admit that their mortgage was paid off by a friend or relative who won the lottery.
-
Lately I've had the itch to open a gin bar / cat cafe / hangout space that's open a couple hours a week.
Given that's not financially feasible otherwise, I might need to find the winning ticket on a sidewalk first.
-
It's been discussed and mostly agreed among my closer friends that if any of us wins a big lottery payday we agree to start a business that combines powersports (ATVs, snowmobiles, etc.), lawn equipment, and a pizzeria. We'd pay the other friends plus a couple of employees very well to be around for the off chance we actually sell anything, but it would mainly be someplace to BS, eat good food, and "demo" fun toys.
-
I check in on the "mortgage payoff" thread periodically, and I haven't yet seen one person over there admit that their mortgage was paid off by a friend or relative who won the lottery.
First rule of mortgage payoff is…
I’ve been fairly nomadic over the last thirty years, so it would be easy to just pack up again and head to an area of the country where it would be (might be) somewhat unlikely to be discovered. I would really like to facilitate various educational programs. Not sure exactly what, but a motivated person with a thick wallet should be able to figure out some things to establish that will be impactful across all phases of lower education.
Another fantasy would be to be able to improve skills such as plumbing and carpentry since I would be comfortable “just trying” knowing the cost to fix my screw ups would not stress me out like it does now.
-
I read through this whole thread with some interest. In our household, our savings have accumulated to about $6M. We did this slowly over a period of thirty years - almost all of it due to index fund investments.
According to this lottery payout calculator http://www.lottocalculator.com/Default.aspx, this amount is approximately equivalent to the lump sum settlement from a lottery win of $13M. It is interesting to consider how different a lottery win feels compared to steady accumulation over a long period of time:
- We have lived in the same house for over 25 years. There is no mortgage on the house and we have slowly fixed it up over the years, as money became available. Never took a home equity loan. Also, we don’t have a second home.
- We haven’t bought expensive cars. My big splurge last year was to buy a Honda CR-V to replace my 11 year old Prius that I gave to my older daughter who needed a reliable car at college.
- The one true luxury we were able to afford was to allow our kids to apply to whatever college they wanted regardless of cost. But as it happens, both kids chose reasonably priced state schools.
- We do give a lot of money to charities
If the money had come all at once, I am sure it would have been an entirely different experience. Any way, as things stand, I don’t really have a lottery fantasy :-)
-
I read through this whole thread with some interest. In our household, our savings have accumulated to about $6M. We did this slowly over a period of thirty years - almost all of it due to index fund investments.
According to this lottery payout calculator http://www.lottocalculator.com/Default.aspx, this amount is approximately equivalent to the lump sum settlement from a lottery win of $13M. It is interesting to consider how different a lottery win feels compared to steady accumulation over a long period of time:
- We have lived in the same house for over 25 years. There is no mortgage on the house and we have slowly fixed it up over the years, as money became available. Never took a home equity loan. Also, we don’t have a second home.
- We haven’t bought expensive cars. My big splurge last year was to buy a Honda CR-V to replace my 11 year old Prius that I gave to my older daughter who needed a reliable car at college.
- The one true luxury we were able to afford was to allow our kids to apply to whatever college they wanted regardless of cost. But as it happens, both kids chose reasonably priced state schools.
- We do give a lot of money to charities
If the money had come all at once, I am sure it would have been an entirely different experience. Any way, as things stand, I don’t really have a lottery fantasy :-)
This is an interesting point. I'd like to think that I would have the mindset to not blow a lottery winning even at 18, and I give myself a solid 75% chance that it's true. However, I am extremely confident that now I would be fine. I wonder if my estimation at 18 is true and how much the process actually changes us MMM'rs.
-
I have met a woman who said she lost the money from the sale of the house she inherited from her parents because she bought so many scratch-off tickets.
New York State is in for a world of pain because several prominent Democrats (and you know me, I'm a proud moderate Dem) have sold out to the gaming lobby and enabled mobile sports betting in the state and casinos in NYC. The husband of our new Governor is in fact general counsel and senior vice president of Delaware North, a gaming and hospitality company. https://www.syracuse.com/news/2022/03/as-mobile-sports-wagering-explodes-in-ny-bet-on-this-a-spike-in-problem-gambling.html
-
Lately I've had the itch to open a gin bar / cat cafe / hangout space that's open a couple hours a week.
Given that's not financially feasible otherwise, I might need to find the winning ticket on a sidewalk first.
Gin AND cats? Well, there goes my lottery money.
-
Do you have a Lottery fantasy?
I think, if we're honest, we're all animalistic enough to be curious about how it feels to stone someone to death.
But I'd rather pick the person myself. Amirite? Using a lottery just seems ... impersonal.
WTF.
References: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/06/26/the-lottery
Apparently, a popular reading in US schools.
I remember this story from about 1977 ??7th grade???
Hmmm.
I've never heard of the book 'The Lottery' but read the comment above and was like, "Yeah . . . I guess we are all curious about that!"
:P
This was junior high reading in New Brunswick back in the 80’s. I think it was a short story if I remember correctly.
-
Came up with a fantasy this morning. My laptop is from around 2009 and I run a dual boot situation with Win10 and Ubuntu. I spend 90% of my time on the Ubuntu side, but have a couple legacy programs on Windows that I need now and again. And of course there is always an update that needs to be installed when I select Windows in the boot screen, which stalls me out for way too long. And there are also software updates on the Ubuntu side all the time. So my fantasy is to pay top dollar to some “system updater” whose only responsibility is to maintain my laptop. I’d set up a system that alerts them I am sleeping each night, and they reach in through a secret portal in the wall of my lab, and perform whatever tasks are needed so when I walk in in the morning I can boot to either side and be confident I can get right to my “important” tasks.
Not as bad as hiring someone to come in and loosen and neatly arrange the laces on my running shoes, which also came to mind today.
-
Came up with a fantasy this morning. My laptop is from around 2009 and I run a dual boot situation with Win10 and Ubuntu. I spend 90% of my time on the Ubuntu side, but have a couple legacy programs on Windows that I need now and again. And of course there is always an update that needs to be installed when I select Windows in the boot screen, which stalls me out for way too long. And there are also software updates on the Ubuntu side all the time. So my fantasy is to pay top dollar to some “system updater” whose only responsibility is to maintain my laptop. I’d set up a system that alerts them I am sleeping each night, and they reach in through a secret portal in the wall of my lab, and perform whatever tasks are needed so when I walk in in the morning I can boot to either side and be confident I can get right to my “important” tasks.
Not as bad as hiring someone to come in and loosen and neatly arrange the laces on my running shoes, which also came to mind today.
In my experience Windows updates are slow because of disk access. I recently upgraded my window PC . . . and am now using an NVMe M.2 drive running off the PCIe bus. It's ridiculously faster than the IDE drives I was previously using, and a fair bit faster than most SATA SSDs. Besides a quick boot time (I'm getting into windows 11 within 20 seconds of pressing the power button) updates never take more than a minute.
-
My fantasy is a private island somewhere tropical with a private plane to get me there. That is all.
-
I've got a pretty good life. If I won a small/medium size lottery, I would probably use it entirely to pay off mortgage, increase college funds, invest the remainder, etc. Boring stuff, maybe some small home remodels, etc.
If I won a large jackpot, I would probably "upgrade" my home, help my family with some needs, maybe replace one or two of our cars (which are 9-10 years old), and would probably scale back or quit working. I'd then devote much of the wealth and my time to philanthropic endeavors to various causes that interest me about healthcare insecurity, the arts, the church, etc.
-
The first time I read this, I thought it said, "...maybe replace 1-2 of our cats."
Those critters better start being nice to you!
-
well I have a new one now.
I want to buy a castle and make an epic event space. (https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2009-Victoria-Hl-Rochester-MI-48306/24364811_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare&fbclid=IwAR3x81K4X4kJvgTDLX_-tzJtmKlxfZzi9hw0ny79dsXHtVopRZqPTJw7slw)
-
well I have a new one now.
I want to buy a castle and make an epic event space. (https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2009-Victoria-Hl-Rochester-MI-48306/24364811_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare&fbclid=IwAR3x81K4X4kJvgTDLX_-tzJtmKlxfZzi9hw0ny79dsXHtVopRZqPTJw7slw)
Decorative, non-functional drawbridge? That's a pass from me.
-
well I have a new one now.
I want to buy a castle and make an epic event space. (https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2009-Victoria-Hl-Rochester-MI-48306/24364811_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare&fbclid=IwAR3x81K4X4kJvgTDLX_-tzJtmKlxfZzi9hw0ny79dsXHtVopRZqPTJw7slw)
Decorative, non-functional drawbridge? That's a pass from me.
I am not convinced it's non-functional. There's a significant gap between the bridge and the railings.
-
well I have a new one now.
I want to buy a castle and make an epic event space. (https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2009-Victoria-Hl-Rochester-MI-48306/24364811_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare&fbclid=IwAR3x81K4X4kJvgTDLX_-tzJtmKlxfZzi9hw0ny79dsXHtVopRZqPTJw7slw)
Decorative, non-functional drawbridge? That's a pass from me.
I am not convinced it's non-functional. There's a significant gap between the bridge and the railings.
Even if the wooden part raises, invaders to the castle could simply use the concrete railings to either side of the bridge (which certainly don't raise) to cross the gap and then start sapping the gate.
-
well I have a new one now.
I want to buy a castle and make an epic event space. (https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2009-Victoria-Hl-Rochester-MI-48306/24364811_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare&fbclid=IwAR3x81K4X4kJvgTDLX_-tzJtmKlxfZzi9hw0ny79dsXHtVopRZqPTJw7slw)
Decorative, non-functional drawbridge? That's a pass from me.
I am not convinced it's non-functional. There's a significant gap between the bridge and the railings.
Even if the wooden part raises, invaders to the castle could simply use the concrete railings to either side of the bridge (which certainly don't raise) to cross the gap and then start sapping the gate.
This is true, but you could stab them through the lowered portcullis! (I actually found a video of it, that def works)
-
A pack of dogs. Specifically four Golden Retrievers named Dorothy, Blanche, Sofia, and Rose. Maybe a Dane or two.
-
Not a lottery fantasy, but this is probably the most ridiculous thing that I am seriously considering. At some point, I will put solar panels on my vacation/rental house in Hawaii. Once that is done, I'm seriously considering converting the pantry into a "walk-in" refrigerator. I would then replace the current refrigerator with a stand-up freezer only.
-
While out running this morning I came up with one. We live in a neighborhood that has an elementary school sort of diagonal from us across a couple blocks. The school is at the end of the road for now, so all traffic has to either come by our house or on the road to our south. Hard to describe without my whiteboard...
The neighborhood is still being built, so there is also non-stop construction traffic. As I watched the various vehicles zoom at a high rate of speed, with most of them with their noses buried in a phone I came up with my fantasy. I would hire a fleet of vehicles and drivers and have them make laps (in both directions) at the speed limit. Have just enough space between them that people can still make it through, but no chance for passing. Maybe even get custom bumper stickers to explain why. "If you drove the speed limit and watched the road you'd be to school by now."
I would have to figure out how to not have a huge environmental impact...maybe buy a couple carbon credit trees like all the cool companies do.
Not exactly putting my winnings to good use, but when I am running I tend to have mostly pessimistic thoughts.
-
While out running this morning I came up with one. We live in a neighborhood that has an elementary school sort of diagonal from us across a couple blocks. The school is at the end of the road for now, so all traffic has to either come by our house or on the road to our south. Hard to describe without my whiteboard...
The neighborhood is still being built, so there is also non-stop construction traffic. As I watched the various vehicles zoom at a high rate of speed, with most of them with their noses buried in a phone I came up with my fantasy. I would hire a fleet of vehicles and drivers and have them make laps (in both directions) at the speed limit. Have just enough space between them that people can still make it through, but no chance for passing. Maybe even get custom bumper stickers to explain why. "If you drove the speed limit and watched the road you'd be to school by now."
I would have to figure out how to not have a huge environmental impact...maybe buy a couple carbon credit trees like all the cool companies do.
Not exactly putting my winnings to good use, but when I am running I tend to have mostly pessimistic thoughts.
I've fantasized about installing speed bumps in the middle of the night at certain locations for similar reasons. :P
-
I've fantasized about installing speed bumps in the middle of the night at certain locations for similar reasons. :P
Yes!!!
-
I was thinking I'd like to put all of Puerto Rico on solar power with buried wires and a desalination plant. It seems so dumb not to make use of the only resources they have, water and sun. Instead, they limit water and power to like every other day when they get in trouble. And the hurricanes wipe out the already fragile electrical grid. Even without hurricanes those ppl spend a lot of time rationing water and power, which just seems absurd when they have all the sun and water they could ever need.
-
I don’t think I already posted this but it’s hard to know in this long thread and I’m not gonna go back and read it.
I was thinking about what in the world I would do with one of those mega million lottery wins. What the hell. I wouldn’t even want to have to deal with that. All of the Do gooder organizations I give money to would be overwhelmed with millions. Honestly millions wouldn’t solve the problems that bother me most with unhoused pets, anyway. After giving out a few million here and there, I would be at a loss what to do with the rest of it.
I don’t give to organizations for humans, so that’s out.
But then it occurred to me when I asked myself Iris, what is it that you like? And the answer is of course “Old buildings.”
I would get myself on the board or a committee of UNESCO world protected sites and I would throw all my excess money at them. I would give millions to Notre Dame restoration and etc. That would eat up the money fast.
-
While out running this morning I came up with one. We live in a neighborhood that has an elementary school sort of diagonal from us across a couple blocks. The school is at the end of the road for now, so all traffic has to either come by our house or on the road to our south. Hard to describe without my whiteboard...
The neighborhood is still being built, so there is also non-stop construction traffic. As I watched the various vehicles zoom at a high rate of speed, with most of them with their noses buried in a phone I came up with my fantasy. I would hire a fleet of vehicles and drivers and have them make laps (in both directions) at the speed limit. Have just enough space between them that people can still make it through, but no chance for passing. Maybe even get custom bumper stickers to explain why. "If you drove the speed limit and watched the road you'd be to school by now."
I would have to figure out how to not have a huge environmental impact...maybe buy a couple carbon credit trees like all the cool companies do.
Not exactly putting my winnings to good use, but when I am running I tend to have mostly pessimistic thoughts.
My large lottery fantasy would be to set up a grant system for my county and city governments. Free money to add/rebuild infrastructure if it was built to maximize pedestrian/noncar safety. e.g. add separated bike lanes, elevate crosswalks, road diets, etc.
-
The same state and local governments that get the half of all ticket sales that aren't paid out as prizes?
-
While out running this morning I came up with one. We live in a neighborhood that has an elementary school sort of diagonal from us across a couple blocks. The school is at the end of the road for now, so all traffic has to either come by our house or on the road to our south. Hard to describe without my whiteboard...
The neighborhood is still being built, so there is also non-stop construction traffic. As I watched the various vehicles zoom at a high rate of speed, with most of them with their noses buried in a phone I came up with my fantasy. I would hire a fleet of vehicles and drivers and have them make laps (in both directions) at the speed limit. Have just enough space between them that people can still make it through, but no chance for passing. Maybe even get custom bumper stickers to explain why. "If you drove the speed limit and watched the road you'd be to school by now."
I would have to figure out how to not have a huge environmental impact...maybe buy a couple carbon credit trees like all the cool companies do.
Not exactly putting my winnings to good use, but when I am running I tend to have mostly pessimistic thoughts.
My large lottery fantasy would be to set up a grant system for my county and city governments. Free money to add/rebuild infrastructure if it was built to maximize pedestrian/noncar safety. e.g. add separated bike lanes, elevate crosswalks, road diets, etc.
Do you mean elevated crosswalks like this:
(https://dmt55mxnkgbz2.cloudfront.net/900x0_s3-57782-Screen-Shot-2022-09-06-at-12_12_10-PM.jpg)
or like this:
(http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/raisedcrosswalk03.jpg)
I'm heavily in favour of the latter, but hate the former.
-
Using the latest mega-millions lottery $(~700M USD) amount, I'd start a development company that would build out a true carless subdivision/town. It would draw inspiration from the few towns around the world (some built fairly recently via a public-private partnership) that allow cars but only parked on the outskirts. Pontevedra is one example.
Like others, I'd also buy and restore a castle. With a real drawbridge and moat.
-
Do you mean elevated crosswalks like this:
or like this:
I'm heavily in favour of the latter, but hate the former.
Definitely the latter. I would call the former pedestrian bridges, not crosswalks.
Some pedestrian bridges are ok, others are peak car-insanity.
-
There is a little hamlet near me that is at the intersection of two significant highways (these are two-lane roads, so think stop sign, not freeway interchange). It’s a complete dump. Gross buildings. Junk in people’s yards. Just gross. Yet it has two significant government buildings, a great fishing stream, easy recreation access, and a decent setting. I’d like to buy it, level it, and rebuild it into a place where people want to live and visit, making it a man incredible welcome to our area.
-
This post made me think. The main reason I ever fantasized about winning the lottery was to be able to quit my job. Now that I'm retired, there isn't much that a windfall would change unless it was HUGE. I'm talking Alzheimers-Research-Grant huge here.
-
Using the latest mega-millions lottery $(~700M USD) amount, I'd start a development company that would build out a true carless subdivision/town. It would draw inspiration from the few towns around the world (some built fairly recently via a public-private partnership) that allow cars but only parked on the outskirts. Pontevedra is one example.
Like others, I'd also buy and restore a castle. With a real drawbridge and moat.
Someone beat you to it:
https://culdesac.com/
-
One of two winning mega million tickets on Saturday was sold in Fort Myers Florida. I hope that it's a large group of people who split up the cash prize of $124 million to help get their lives (and community) back in order.
-
My lottery fantasy is twofold.
I do not know how much money it would take.
#1. Start a business manufacturing highly durable washer and dryers meant to be fixable by the owner or any tool-oriented person, with parts readily available, and which can be readily dissembled at life end for recycling. Set up a manufacturing plant in BC or Alberta to make them. Destroy crooked home appliance market by providing a product that is designed to last instead of breaking down.
Start a lottery ticket gofundme….I’d toss a couple bucks to help this fantasy come true!
I wish I knew how many millions this would cost. Probably it would be cheaper to contract out the metal parts.
If that got going well, the next project would be microwaves that don't beep.
@Missy B
Many microwaves have some sound programming built into them even if it's not in the manual or anything visible on the keypad that would indicate as such. When I lived in my old apt, I also hated the beeping especially if you didn't open the door right away, it would just keep on beeping at you demanding your attention. After some research, I think I held the '2' (it's usually either the 0, 1, or 2 button) button down for 5-10 seconds and it emitted a quick series of chirps and then everything was silent on it. It was bliss! It also usually works as a toggle feature so if you need/want to bring the sound back then hold the same button for several seconds again and it should chirp to let you know the sound is back on.
You can probably get more specific results online if you have your brand and model handy. Good luck!
-
But Rooster Teeth, replace everyone there with people from the Black Pants Legion.
-
So a co-worker of mine just bought a Subaru Outback earlier this year. He's talking about buying a ticket for tonight's massive $1+billion jackpot.
If he wins, and takes the lump sum, which do you think will last longer? The jackpot, or his Subaru?
-
which do you think will last longer? The jackpot, or his Subaru?
The jackpot, he'll buy a new car with the jackpot!
-
DH and I had a little what-if over the weekend. With a jackpot that big, we would want to buy as much land as we could get our hands on and start a conservation/reforestation project rebuilding native habitat. Maybe set up a foundation and hire some ecologists.
We even talked ourselves into buying a few tickets when we went to the grocery store, but then we couldn't figure out the machines they use now, it wouldn't take our card, and we didn't have cash, so we decided the universe was reminding us it was a bad idea, and we walked away.
-
When I think about winning the lottery I think more about the moment of absolute shock I would have upon learning I had a winning ticket than I do about what I would do with the money.
Though I do think of Russ Hanneman from Silicon Valley a lot and his reference to a billion as "a B!" and his obsession with being a billionaire simply for the exclusivity of it.
It would be cool to buy as much ranchland in the mid-west that I could get my hands on and rip up all the fences and let it return to its natural state.
-
Selfish fantasy - buying a lake house big enough to fit all my sibliings & their families (and the $$ to pay for someone else to do all upkeep).
Less selfish fantasy - funding large scale expansion of the cycling trails in our area; paying to pave the trails that are currently crushed limestone
-
One of my children bought FIVE Powerball tickets this past week.
I have failed as a parent. Or lost out to the influence of TikTok. In any case, if anyone in his state had one I would have pestered him incessantly until he proved to me that he did not win, lol.
-
I think Children who are old enough to have studied statistics are particularly vulnerable to the PowerBall.
-
Using the latest mega-millions lottery $(~700M USD) amount, I'd start a development company that would build out a true carless subdivision/town. It would draw inspiration from the few towns around the world (some built fairly recently via a public-private partnership) that allow cars but only parked on the outskirts. Pontevedra is one example.
Like others, I'd also buy and restore a castle. With a real drawbridge and moat.
Someone beat you to it:
https://culdesac.com/
Nice. Too bad it's in the hellscape of Arizona.
-
I have a lottery fantasy of winning between 2-3 million. Put 500k in a bank account to buy a house with cash at some point in the near-ish future. The rest goes into investments account. Continue to work for a year to finalize the next plans. It would probably involve getting a van and doing van travel around the US for about 2 years, Then maybe hiking the Appalachian trail. Last would be moving overseas permanently (hence the importance of cash for a house). It's basically my FIRE plans a bit accelerated.
The problem is the cats. I have three cats (well, I married into three cats). Two are 12 and 13 and would not do well being away from husband or travel well. The idea of either forcing them into a large vehicle for months or leaving them with my in-laws makes me feel like a terrible person. Funny enough the 4 year old could probably be good with either of those options.
I can't connect my wants and my realities. Any time I start day dreaming it turns into a circular argument about what to do with the damn cats. It's not even an issue that more money would fix because the two are just straight up incompatible. I'm...hoping? expecting? planning? on at least one of the oldest not living by the time we get to actual FIRE in 5 to 10 years, which will make things much easier.
Maybe this goes into MPP, but I can't do just a normal lottery fantasy without worrying about logistics problems!
-
Our cat is the treasure of the family. No shame in that!
-
My Sister-in-law said she has one neighbor she hates terribly: she'd buy that neighbor's $400,000 house for $1.4 million if she wins the powerball. Through a shell company, of course.
-
Maybe this goes into MPP, but I can't do just a normal lottery fantasy without worrying about logistics problems!
Cats or no cats, logistics is definitely the first problem when one wins a billion dollars. In my state the winner's name becomes public record when they claim the prize, so I'd have to go into hiding while I figured out security details.
Right now my home security is a wood door that I sometimes lock and a psychotic little hound who would lay down her life for anyone in her pack. Plenty of people would plot to easily get around the door/hound security system if they thought that doing so would get their hands on some chunk of a billion dollars. So bye-bye, cute little 50's ranch-style house that I live in. I would miss my pink bathroom with the square tub, lol.
-
Maybe this goes into MPP, but I can't do just a normal lottery fantasy without worrying about logistics problems!
Cats or no cats, logistics is definitely the first problem when one wins a billion dollars. In my state the winner's name becomes public record when they claim the prize, so I'd have to go into hiding while I figured out security details.
Right now my home security is a wood door that I sometimes lock and a psychotic little hound who would lay down her life for anyone in her pack. Plenty of people would plot to easily get around the door/hound security system if they thought that doing so would get their hands on some chunk of a billion dollars. So bye-bye, cute little 50's ranch-style house that I live in. I would miss my pink bathroom with the square tub, lol.
With a billion dollars, you could afford to take the house, foundation, and entire yard, and transplant them to a more secure location. Intact.
-
Maybe this goes into MPP, but I can't do just a normal lottery fantasy without worrying about logistics problems!
Cats or no cats, logistics is definitely the first problem when one wins a billion dollars. In my state the winner's name becomes public record when they claim the prize, so I'd have to go into hiding while I figured out security details.
Right now my home security is a wood door that I sometimes lock and a psychotic little hound who would lay down her life for anyone in her pack. Plenty of people would plot to easily get around the door/hound security system if they thought that doing so would get their hands on some chunk of a billion dollars. So bye-bye, cute little 50's ranch-style house that I live in. I would miss my pink bathroom with the square tub, lol.
With a billion dollars, you could afford to take the house, foundation, and entire yard, and transplant them to a more secure location. Intact.
Lol, loved this little addition. 100 foot tree? There’s a price, but one could afford it.
-
Yeah, we have lots of 100 ft trees on our little patch of dirt.
It would be harder than you might imagine to move this house because a church architect had it built using methods that keep cathedrals standing for 1000 years. But, I agree a billion dollars would do the trick.
It's also obviously enough money to convince the city council that my entire neighborhood should become a walled compound. Ooooh, I could do that and rename it Zambonistan!
-
Indeed, there's a point where it's so much money that even stupendously silly ideas become possible! I love it!
-
Now that I'm retired, I suppose my biggest fantasy for myself is never having to cook again. Maybe a personal chef, and a lengthy vacation in Europe.
My friends and I spent an evening crowd-sourcing predictions of what each person present would do with an ungodly amount of money, followed by that person confirming or denying. I'm very well known as being the most low key (boring) person in that group, so they literally couldn't come up with anything that they honestly thought I would spend money on. When they finally asked me what one luxury I would have if money was no object, I answered like you have: a personal chef to cook meals that are always delicious, interesting, and still somehow great for me.
-
I had so much fun reading the first few pages of this thread! (Then I skipped to the last page to see the current talk). But reading everyone's creative ideas of how they would give away most of their winnings, and their diverse ideas to solve problems in the local community and beyond - that was awesome.
Wouldn't it be fun if such a thing existed? If there was an organization that just had millions to give away, and they could have a team who did nothing but brainstorm great ways to give those funds to better the lives of those around them? :D
-
Wouldn't it be fun if such a thing existed? If there was an organization that just had millions to give away, and they could have a team who did nothing but brainstorm great ways to give those funds to better the lives of those around them? :D
That's basically the purpose of government. :P
-
Yeah, we have lots of 100 ft trees on our little patch of dirt.
It would be harder than you might imagine to move this house because a church architect had it built using methods that keep cathedrals standing for 1000 years. But, I agree a billion dollars would do the trick.
It's also obviously enough money to convince the city council that my entire neighborhood should become a walled compound. Ooooh, I could do that and rename it Zambonistan!
Those poor trees. I read something about how their brains are at the end of their roots so moving them essentially lobotomizes them.
Sounds like a really cool house though!!
-
It's fun to see others with the same "problems" I have -- can't indulge in a travel fantasy because of cat care, can't imagine anything more self-indulgent than a personal chef. I suppose if I had insane amounts of lottery money, I'd move back to Snohomish County, WA to be closer to friends, if only because the family member I moved here for is planning to move further away!
-
I've got one to share! If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, you can go to Disney World and pay for a VIP tour. Basically, you pay about $500/hour (minimum 7 hours, plus admission tickets) for a Disney employee to act as your tour guide/concierge, and take you anywhere in any of the parks, riding any ride you want, without waiting in line. Your guide will get you snacks while you're on the ride, arrange for a van to whisk you from park to park, take you through shortcuts so you can avoid the crowds, etc.
So here's the stupid fantasy: sign up with DW for a VIP tour. Show up at the gates early, and find a family (or two! You can have up to 10 people on the tour) and give them a day they'll never forget.
-
Wouldn't it be fun if such a thing existed? If there was an organization that just had millions to give away, and they could have a team who did nothing but brainstorm great ways to give those funds to better the lives of those around them? :D
That's basically the purpose of government. :P
What a dream that would be :)
Fun to read through these...I love the idea of buying land to protect from development (reminds me of Doug Tompkins who started North Face & Esprit and then bought huge tracts of land in Patagonia).
-
Wouldn't it be fun if such a thing existed? If there was an organization that just had millions to give away, and they could have a team who did nothing but brainstorm great ways to give those funds to better the lives of those around them? :D
That's basically the purpose of government. :P
Unfortunately, there's seldom a feedback loop (let alone an effective one) to weed out/discontinue the ideas that aren't working.
-
Wouldn't it be fun if such a thing existed? If there was an organization that just had millions to give away, and they could have a team who did nothing but brainstorm great ways to give those funds to better the lives of those around them? :D
That's basically the purpose of government. :P
Unfortunately, there's seldom a feedback loop (let alone an effective one) to weed out/discontinue the ideas that aren't working.
At the finer grained level, that is the primary raison d'etre of the various ombudsmen, regulators, comptrollers, etc. in government.
Ultimately, a democratic government reflects the will of it's people. If a government is undemocratic, or if it's voters are tribal thinking dumbasses then it all falls apart quickly.
-
I have one!
Broadly speaking, my entire industry is a nightmare of patchwork legislation which intersects in weird, unexpected ways and makes it pretty normal for companies to hire people like me to try and work out what they actually need to do to follow the law. I sort of suspect that you could automate relatively large pieces of this work, but that it's such a weird niche (with very high consequences for failure) that no one has taken on some of the bigger pieces of it.
I know that it'll have to happen eventually, but the standardization is a long way off (years, maybe a decade). If I were sitting on lottery millions then I'd probably end up in the software startup space to actually build this sort of system rather than working for the companies trying to navigate the damn stuff. I figure the risk of failure is too high for me right now in my accumulation phase, but someone needs to get this sorted out and who better than a person who's got all the money they'll ever need.
(This is basically my FIRE plan too - there's lots of problems that I'm reasonably sure could be solved well by someone if they were mostly unconcerned with making money off their solution)
... my lottery fantasy is working on the same problems as I do now ... for free ... hmmm. I guess I could also buy a boat or something?
-
I have one!
Broadly speaking, my entire industry is a nightmare of patchwork legislation which intersects in weird, unexpected ways and makes it pretty normal for companies to hire people like me to try and work out what they actually need to do to follow the law. I sort of suspect that you could automate relatively large pieces of this work, but that it's such a weird niche (with very high consequences for failure) that no one has taken on some of the bigger pieces of it.
I know that it'll have to happen eventually, but the standardization is a long way off (years, maybe a decade). If I were sitting on lottery millions then I'd probably end up in the software startup space to actually build this sort of system rather than working for the companies trying to navigate the damn stuff. I figure the risk of failure is too high for me right now in my accumulation phase, but someone needs to get this sorted out and who better than a person who's got all the money they'll ever need.
(This is basically my FIRE plan too - there's lots of problems that I'm reasonably sure could be solved well by someone if they were mostly unconcerned with making money off their solution)
... my lottery fantasy is working on the same problems as I do now ... for free ... hmmm. I guess I could also buy a boat or something?
Good for you, and probably for all of us, too!
-
I live in a state where name release is optional but the names of winners can be obtained via open records request. So the odds of my identity being revealed are probably higher than in some places because I'm sure a journalist would be nosy.
Anyway, I'd do everything in my power to remain anonymous. I would establish trusts for all my nieces and nephews. My grandmother would get whatever she needed for the rest of her life. My wife and I would start buying historic homes and old farm houses in order to restore them. Just moving from house to house and having fun saving old places. I'd donate a chunk of the money to certain charities. I would also start my own film production company because I love screenwriting and filmmaking.
I'd just ghost my employer. I'd block all their numbers, mail back my equipment, and never give an explanation. Fuck 'em. I've thought it would be fun to do something crazy when I quit but honestly I'd just immediately block any further brain cycles from being used on thinking about them at all.
-
My fantasy today: tell my one brother he can keep 100% of our inheritance, if he never contacts me again....
-
Since this thread is bumped up, I've realized that after buying a house in a VHCOL area, our biggest splurge would be services. Chef to come in twice a week to cook and meal prep, in-home massages 2x/month, lawn care, housekeeping probably 1/week, and maybe even a personal assistance to keep track of deadlines, run some errands, tend the chickens I'd get (clearly I'd still have to do that some days, of course), schedule appointments, etc. for 2-3 hours a week. Yes, if I had insane money (like well into the 8 figures), I'd probably splurge for some or all these things, even though they would make MMM cry. $20,000* year on various services out of, say, $50 million? Yup. Without hesitation.
(I figured $600/mo or $150/week for the chef, $200/m or $100 per session for massage, $150/mo for landscaping, $400/m housekeeping, and $300/m or $75/w for personal assistant. I have no idea if those are the actual going rates for any of these service though.)
-
Since this thread is bumped up, I've realized that after buying a house in a VHCOL area, our biggest splurge would be services. Chef to come in twice a week to cook and meal prep, in-home massages 2x/month, lawn care, housekeeping probably 1/week, and maybe even a personal assistance to keep track of deadlines, run some errands, tend the chickens I'd get (clearly I'd still have to do that some days, of course), schedule appointments, etc. for 2-3 hours a week. Yes, if I had insane money (like well into the 9 figures), I'd probably splurge for some or all these things, even though they would make MMM cry. $20,000* year on various services out of, say, $50 million? Yup. Without hesitation.
(I figured $600/mo or $150/week for the chef, $200/m or $100 per session for massage, $150/mo for landscaping, $400/m housekeeping, and $300/m or $75/w for personal assistant. I have no idea if those are the actual going rates for any of these service though.)
I would at least double or triple those numbers, not that it would matter for someone with a $50m portfolio. I don’t hire any of those, but I am a landscaper and you won’t get much for $150/m, that’s only a bit more than neighbour kid cutting the lawn once a week money. Very dependent on the yard for how many hours of work, but I’d plan on more like $150/visit+, which is an hour or twos work for a pair of pros who have all the right tools and experience and are insured and have all worksite safety gear and permits, because the last thing you want with a $50m stash is to cheap out on contractors who hurt themselves or someone else and aren’t insured or have the right permits for your area and you become target number 1 since it’s worth peoples time to go after you.
-
Since this thread is bumped up, I've realized that after buying a house in a VHCOL area, our biggest splurge would be services. Chef to come in twice a week to cook and meal prep, in-home massages 2x/month, lawn care, housekeeping probably 1/week, and maybe even a personal assistance to keep track of deadlines, run some errands, tend the chickens I'd get (clearly I'd still have to do that some days, of course), schedule appointments, etc. for 2-3 hours a week. Yes, if I had insane money (like well into the 9 figures), I'd probably splurge for some or all these things, even though they would make MMM cry. $20,000* year on various services out of, say, $50 million? Yup. Without hesitation.
(I figured $600/mo or $150/week for the chef, $200/m or $100 per session for massage, $150/mo for landscaping, $400/m housekeeping, and $300/m or $75/w for personal assistant. I have no idea if those are the actual going rates for any of these service though.)
I would at least double or triple those numbers, not that it would matter for someone with a $50m portfolio. I don’t hire any of those, but I am a landscaper and you won’t get much for $150/m, that’s only a bit more than neighbour kid cutting the lawn once a week money. Very dependent on the yard for how many hours of work, but I’d plan on more like $150/visit+, which is an hour or twos work for a pair of pros who have all the right tools and experience and are insured and have all worksite safety gear and permits, because the last thing you want with a $50m stash is to cheap out on contractors who hurt themselves or someone else and aren’t insured or have the right permits for your area and you become target number 1 since it’s worth peoples time to go after you.
We get leaflets stuck in our mailbox or on our door pretty regularly, and most of them seem to be in the $50 per visit range. They are licenses and bonded, according to the many ads (from various companies) I've seen them do my neighbors' houses. It's a mow and edge, quick weed and bush trim. I think they are there less than 30 minutes. I also wouldn't want property with a huge lawn or yard, so that would help as well.
But you're right; at $50m net worth, if I have to pay more, so be it!
-
After having a disturbed sleep from loud neighbours doing bad karaoke at 1am, I have another lottery fantasy—I would buy the townhouses on either side of us. Would turn one into an art studio for myself
and maybe some other artist friends and the other could be for guests or folks who needed short-term (-and exceptionally quiet) housing.. :)
-
Our office building is getting a makeover. Replacing 20 year old carpet, painting some walls, etc. on a section by section basis. Next week will be the time for my area so we have been throwing out stuff that no longer needed and moving other stuff to long-term storage. We have to have all items removed from all furniture. I now have 4 boxes in my office. 2 of active files and 2 personal items. I will put the personal boxes in the trunk of my car and work remotely next week with a laptop and whatever can fit in the laptop bag.
I decided to buy $8 of lottery tickets for next week (1 per drawing). If I win, all my stuff is already packed. Wouldn't have to come in to get pictures or anything, just put the laptop in the mail. (I'm sure I would end up working a few weeks handing off projects).