Author Topic: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...  (Read 90192 times)

Taran Wanderer

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #150 on: November 30, 2016, 11:14:19 PM »
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...

pancakes

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #151 on: December 01, 2016, 03:23:24 AM »
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.

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #152 on: December 01, 2016, 09:12:52 AM »
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.

SEAKSR

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #153 on: December 01, 2016, 02:17:43 PM »
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 would the jobs be?
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.

Chris22

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #154 on: December 01, 2016, 02:25:13 PM »
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. 

SEAKSR

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #155 on: December 01, 2016, 03:55:42 PM »
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.

meghan88

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #156 on: December 01, 2016, 05:05:31 PM »
just go and claim a rusting hunk of metal offshore as a start.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand


shelivesthedream

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #157 on: December 02, 2016, 01:10:16 AM »
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...

Metric Mouse

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #158 on: December 02, 2016, 03:59:40 AM »
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

Nords

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #159 on: December 03, 2016, 11:59:36 AM »
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.

desk_jockey

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #160 on: December 03, 2016, 01:33:25 PM »
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.
 

talltexan

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #161 on: December 05, 2016, 08:28:17 AM »
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.

MgoSam

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #162 on: December 05, 2016, 09:11:51 AM »
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.

markbike528CBX

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #163 on: December 12, 2016, 11:17:42 PM »
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




Metric Mouse

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #164 on: December 13, 2016, 05:25:32 AM »
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!

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #165 on: December 13, 2016, 09:25:31 AM »
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 :)

Papa Mustache

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #166 on: December 13, 2016, 10:31:34 AM »
I really expected the wings or engines to pop off doing that sort of thing.

markbike528CBX

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #167 on: December 13, 2016, 10:55:46 AM »
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.

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ribonucleic

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #169 on: May 01, 2017, 05:04:58 PM »
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..."
« Last Edit: May 01, 2017, 05:57:15 PM by ribonucleic »

Drifterrider

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #170 on: May 02, 2017, 08:24:44 AM »
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.

HappierAtHome

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #171 on: May 02, 2017, 03:52:58 PM »
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.

Dave1442397

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #172 on: May 03, 2017, 06:03:46 AM »
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/


Rural

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #173 on: May 04, 2017, 06:49:06 AM »
 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.

Taran Wanderer

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #174 on: May 09, 2017, 10:34:26 PM »
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.

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #175 on: May 10, 2017, 07:32:53 AM »
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.

Chris22

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #176 on: May 10, 2017, 02:49:09 PM »
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/

Cookie78

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #177 on: May 10, 2017, 03:03:58 PM »
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.

Laura33

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #178 on: May 11, 2017, 07:41:45 AM »
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.

Just Joe

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #179 on: May 11, 2017, 07:57:22 AM »
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!
« Last Edit: May 11, 2017, 08:00:11 AM by Tasty Pinecones »

SEAKSR

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #180 on: May 11, 2017, 09:28:26 AM »
Quote
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.

mtn

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #181 on: May 11, 2017, 09:34:01 AM »
Quote
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.

Chris22

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #182 on: May 11, 2017, 09:43:50 AM »
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.

Laura33

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #183 on: May 11, 2017, 10:07:51 AM »
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.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #184 on: May 11, 2017, 01:13:09 PM »
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.

Proud Foot

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #185 on: May 11, 2017, 01:55:34 PM »
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. Although a good skeet shoot is always fun!

Trudie

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #186 on: May 11, 2017, 03:12:19 PM »
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.

Taran Wanderer

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #187 on: May 11, 2017, 09:44:18 PM »
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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.
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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...

Laura33

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #188 on: May 12, 2017, 06:44:11 AM »
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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.
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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. :-)

Just Joe

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #189 on: May 12, 2017, 08:59:21 AM »
Quote
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.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2017, 09:03:55 AM by Tasty Pinecones »

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #190 on: May 12, 2017, 09:43:03 AM »
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)?

jinga nation

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #191 on: May 12, 2017, 09:52:13 AM »
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.

MgoSam

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #192 on: May 12, 2017, 10:26:14 AM »
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.

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #193 on: May 12, 2017, 11:13:28 AM »
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.

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #194 on: May 17, 2017, 06:54:58 AM »
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!)

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #195 on: May 25, 2017, 04:32:53 PM »
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.

shelivesthedream

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #196 on: May 26, 2017, 01:45:16 AM »
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.

meghan88

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #197 on: May 28, 2017, 07:30:12 PM »
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.

Abo345

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #198 on: May 28, 2017, 07:59:58 PM »
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.

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Re: Do you have a lottery fantasy? Post it here...
« Reply #199 on: June 05, 2017, 02:18:58 AM »
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. 

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!