Thought Provoking Question -Vol.2

This one's been done before, but it's always fun to revisit. 

You just came into a mess of money. 
$4.6 million to be exact. (Lottery, rich uncle died, whatever...)

In as much serious detail as possible, what are the next few steps you take with your new found financial security ?

Change my name. Disappear.

1.  Pay off our mortgage.
2.  Get a reasonable new car for my wife.
3.  Get a reasonable new truck for me.
4.  Help out family members starting with our parents on both sides and then move on down.
5.  Get the rest of the money working for itself so the revenue created can be utilized for other in need.

1.  Decide how much/where we are going to give to God's use.

2.  Buy a larger, but still modest, home--with a nice recording studio!

3.  New and reasonable cars for the Mrs. and myself.

4.  Invest.  I want to make sure that there is more than enough to take care of my wife's mom (the only parent left) and ourselves as we get old.

You guys are smart. That's what I'd do too.
Start with a serious give-back to God by helping charities that I know are legit.  The trick would be to help multiple charities by investing a large sum into JUST charity. It would keep gaining interest and every few months you could skim enough to help hundreds of organizations over and over for a long time !
I would definitely hook my modest parents up. They've always lived on the bare minimum and certainly deserve to be comfortable in their last few years.
Sums would go to multiple family members (only prob there is, where do you draw the line ? How much ? How MANY relatives ?... these are serious questions).

Of course debts and such would be cleaned up.  As for personal hedonism ?  We'd certainly move into a different house, though I absolutely love our current house, I would want to have a house with better plumbing and electrical, bigger garage, bigger kitchen... and for me, a custom designed media/man cave (Fire-proof, temperature controlled) fully loaded with a bumpin' system and endless racks of CDs/LPs.  

With my trashed spine, I would completely retire from work under people who suck, and in place of the average work-day, try my hand at some local charitable ministries, helping the homeless, troubled kids/teens, and inmates.

Oh, and I'd also do what I could to get film and editing buffs to create BEHIND THE MUSIC episodes for Christian rock/metal bands from Angelica to Petra to ZION and every band in-between

Guilty/Forgiven wrote:

 (only prob there is, where do you draw the line ? How much ? How MANY relatives ?... these are serious questions).

Trust me, if you win the lottery, you're going to meet a couple hundred new "family members" you never even knew you had, and they all will want a piece of the pie!

I'm pretty much the same as everyone else...

1 - Pay off the mortgage.
2 - Put most of it in a high interest account, which means I don't 'have' to work again.  I would still work, but it is like a security blanket!
3 - Give a good quantity to God's work (I already know where that would go).
4 - Buy a few electronic items that I want (new TV, as at the moment we're down to one 12" TV and it's tiny!!!!)

4,600,000 to start?


Let's see.


460,000 to church - i would ask that this goes toward a down payment for a building. Leaves 4,140,000


1,000,000 to my parents. They've helped us a lot over the years (including the bulk of our adoption) and I would want them to have some of that back. Leaves 3,140,00


1,000,000 to my wife's parents. Leaves 2,140,000


70,000 to my wife's sister, my brother-in-law and our niece. Leaves 2,070,000


70,000 to my wife's brother, sister-in-law and our nephew. Leaves 2,000,000


After that, I would purchase our family a home here in StL somewhere we like (Brentwood area probably), a reasonable vehicle for both of us and then I would invest some in things that would show growth (not the stock market). Probably real estate (commercial and residential) and things like Money Market accounts. We would also adopt again - at least one kid. A big chunk of it would end up in the bank for my kids to go to college.

I would go back to school, likely to become an LPC (yes I would still work).


Then, I would empty my Guitar wish list at Amazon and build a small studio in our house.

Quote :

I would still work, but it is like a security blanket!

I would also continue to stay busy.  I'd build more guitars, record & write more music, draw more, read more, etc.  I'd also keep working in the ministry.  I would probably not have a standard day job, though, unless the insurance were incredible.

Would sell my current home and buy something a bit bigger in a neighborhood with more kids (our home is an older home built in 1956. While it is an excellent home my kids are the ONLY kids on the street, the rest are older couples that are dying off -- and those that die off leave their homes to kids that in turn make them rental homes that seem to be rented out by undesirable neighbors). Nothing real big but something with an upstairs and a privacy fence in a backyard, in a neighborhood with sidwalks. Our vehicles are paid for and they are still good so no new vehicles just yet. Would put away in the college fund, probably into the 529 savings plan I already have for my kids. I would not quit my job. I would probably not help out any family members because everyone is pretty well off already. Their houses are paid for, vehicles paid for, etc. Would take at least 2 trips in the summer, one to Hawaii and one to Alaska because we have always wanted to go. May or may not give some to the church (probably not because our church is actually well off financially) but give some to good folks in need who may be struggling to pay a medical bill and I would prefer to do it anonymously so they wouldn't know who paid it (which I do already when I have the ability to do so). 

Put much of it in the bank, at least for now.

The first thing I want to do is double glass windows for the first floor of our house and some other improvements to our house.
The second is open a bank account and put money on it to help one of my siblings.

hmmm....I have not had to work in ten years and we have had plenty of money....We didn't inherit millions but we did inherit well into  6 figures..we have no bills (other than lease and utility's and living expenses like food)  and we do have investments..we pay cash for everything...The catch is after 10 years of this let me tell ya its not whats its cracked up to be sometimes..sometimes I get bored..sometimes I have too much "family" that wants to sponge off us and to many people that try to tell me what I should buy...We have lost and gained in the stock market and investments..probably lost a little more than we gained ..the catch is investing so you stay in a 0 tax bracket...lots of people with money pay less than 5% tax ever.. I have given some away...spoiled my wife..spoiled my Dog..Spoiled myself and I own pretty much every CD, graphic novel and guitar I want... Actually I want a change now and have decided to take some college and re-enter the work place...Lots of people in their late 40s and early 50s are going back to school and starting over..The goal is to get a job doing something I really like so that its fun and not work..and get paid for having fun

1.  Discuss with my wife what to do with it and propose that we...
2.  Pay off house
3.  Pay off car
4.  Replace old car with new car (a different car than the one I just paid off)
5.  Establish trust funds and college funds for kids.
6.  Bank/invest the rest
7.  Get up tomorrow and go to work.

I would pay off a lot of bills, and work less (and very likely move...out of state).  But what I would really want to do is fly everyone here to location (probably California) to have a big party and see if I can get a few bands to perform for us.

1. Pay off debts
2. Purchase new house (as we're closing on our house this Thursday . . . really, we are)
3. Purchase new car for my wife
4. Give money to our parents to help them out
5. Give money to our church
6. Invest remaining monies
7. Go to work

I think it'd be fun to give a grand to 50 random people not related to me.  Wouldn't that be a trip ? Someone just gives you a grand ??   

I'd also buy me a radical new sports car fully loaded with a 5 star crash rating. I've always owned junker used vehicles... so I'd finally treat myself.

1.  tithe
2.  house (with driveway paved with Pet Rocks)
3.  Batmobile
4.  fund the next Steve Taylor Kickstarter project by myself - and hog all the rewards
5.  pay off my carbon credits (you know, the "indulgences" paid to Algore*, high priest of the High Church of Gaea for my "global warming" sins)
6.  a boatload of Powerball tickets


*also, inventor of the Internet, Furby, Labradoodles and the color "puce"

I'd probably pay a surgeon to install a pain pump of some kind.... or maybe just have a surgeon make it so I don't feel pain anymore - heck wit it ! 

Guilty/Forgiven wrote:

I'd probably pay a surgeon to install a pain pump of some kind.... or maybe just have a surgeon make it so I don't feel pain anymore - heck wit it ! 

I hear if you take enough meth you lose the ability to feel joy or empathy....not sure if it would take the pain away, but I don't recommend trying it.  We saw a young girl at the hospital yesterday obviously struggling with a meth addiction and she was painful to look at.

Sorry I don't know where that came from...doesn't really belong in this thread.

Staybrite wrote:

Sorry I don't know where that came from...doesn't really belong in this thread.

You need to go sit in the corner and think about what you've done.

Xid wrote:

Staybrite wrote:

Sorry I don't know where that came from...doesn't really belong in this thread.

You need to go sit in the corner and think about what you've done.

You are right.  I went to go do that but the corner was already occupied.

I'd set a little money aside from the windfall for a kitty diet.

Diet?  I plan on eating the cat next week. 

Mmmm.  Kitten McNuggets.

I was thinking more along the lines of Kung Po Kitteh.