If I had a million dollars...

Ok. Dream time people! You just won big time. Not a million, but tens of millions of dollars.

What would be the first thing you'd do? What are the rest of the things you'd do?

May be you already live the life you wanted and money wouldn't change a thing. Do you live that life?


For me, I'd try to take care of all the people I love, first. Immediate family. Then I'd take my mother out of the nursing home, move her in with us and hire a nurse. I'd also donate a good chunk to Alzheimer research. My Dad passed away last September from it and my mother suffers from it presently.

Of course, I'd have to donate here too, since I'm terribly addicted!

 

Taking care of my family is a given and after that there is a charity I'd like to set up.
Jadzia and I talked about the idea if we ever won the lottery.

She wanted to create a scholarship for kids in urban schools that would give them mentors and constant support, not just drop them into a college.
A way for the kids to make it all the way to the finish line and have people who would fight for them.

I was cool with that but thought it would be nice to have part of it do the same thing for kids who grew up in trailer courts.
It would take people going out and finding the right kids in both places.
Probably even catching them in middle school and helping them from there.

 

I actually wrote about this earlier in another item. If I suddenly received a billion dollars, it wouldn't make much difference in my life. It would be unlikely to make me any happier.

I couldn't really quit my job without letting down a lot of people, at least, not until the end of the year after next.

If, God forbid, I am on the same schedule as my father, who died of prostate cancer, I have barely ten years left. Even without the free billion, it is very unlikely I will be lacking for anything I need during that time.

So presumably I would set up a very systematic and organized way to give money to things that would do the most good.

 

What a fab thread!

If I had a million $$$, I would invest in real estate that I wanted to use rather than rent, then I would pay off my daughter's graduate school loans, and establish a trust for her. But back to using that real estate. In addition to choosing where I live (and it would be sorta funky, even with a zillion $$$), I would like to have a couple of artist-in-residence hideaways, similar to Yaddo but more folky and quirky, more Smoky Mountainesque. I would invest more in art for my own pleasure and as income/encouragement to those that do it.

This is what I would do if I had the $$$ for fun. Otherwise, I would probably invest it wisely and spend nothing for a while, and then only the annual interest.

 

Pay off my parents bills/debts, and the same for my sister and her husband, set my daughter up in a condo, get her a car, and pay for her to go to whatever school she wants for 4 years. pay off all my bills, send a lawyer with a check for half of it post taxes to find my husband whereever he is and tell him he can sign divorce papers and in return, can have that check, taxes already paid on it for signing NOW, and the money is his the second the divorce is finalized. get my passport, close all my accounts, pay off all my outstanding debt, dump the rest of the money into travelers checks and hop a cab to the airport with my laptop and a bag and head for the first country i can find with socialized medicine that is the easiest to be come a citizen of, and never look back.

 

I like the responses above, but it's interesting to me that not many people talk about leaving their work, because that's the first thing that comes to my mind.
I actually enjoy what I do but it's incredibly stressful. I also can't take a vacation longer than 2 weeks which really limits international travel opportunities.
So I would give notice at work the morning after winning the lottery but I would make it at least 3 months notice, and a little open ended so as not to screw my work partners and the patients when I left. I would want to give them time to find a replacement.
Once that was out of the way then travel to Europe and the far East would ensue. There would also be a bicycle crossing of the US and probably beyond as well.

 

Off the top of my head, for now:

I would take care of my immediate family--my wife & I, my mother, my sisters, and my F&MIL. How to help (more like not help) my nieces, nephews, great nieces & great nephews would require a lot of thought, as would dealing with my wife's family (other than her parents).

One thought, be it realistic or folly, that's been on my mind is starting a business similar to Newman's Own, or whatever the correct name is. Something like a for-profit business that puts most of the profit back into the company and its employees. Since people with $$ love to spoil their pets, I'd start a business making items for pets. Some would be high-end, other would be practical, all would be made in the USA.

The company would be staffed by people who need another chance is life, a wide variety people with a wide variety of problems. That could be former inmates, struggling single moms (and single dads), folks who muddled through school, etc.

The jobs wouldn't be 'welfare work,' the employees would need to work hard & well in order to stay employed and hopefully advance. I'd offer competitive wages & salaries, daycare, training for advancement, education benefits, health insurance, etc.

I'd make damn sure they knew that their success was directly tied to the success of the businees.
Example--"OK, he's your brother, but he comes to work hungover and does a crappy job. He's blown every chance we've given him to straighten out. His 'I don't care' attitude is hurting the business, which is hurting you and everyone here. Are you ready to risk everything we're trying to accomplish in order to keep him around? What if the other employess did the same for their relatives & friends? What do you think would happen to your job, and to the other employees who work hard to keep this business going?".

 

I'm not sure about retiring; but I'd certainly have the "3 days a week looks good to me" talk.

I'd move, 100 yards to my nearest neighbor is fine, 1/2 a mile would be better. I'd help my daughters some; but not too much. Struggling a bit is good for them. Maybe a new car to make transportation less of a stress point.

 

If I quit my job in mid-term, I would probably be replaced by someone with very different values. People who depend on me would feel betrayed.

 

If I were to suddenly have a hundred million dollars, I'd buy 99, 999, 999 quick pick lottery tickets and a Tootsie Roll.
'Cause, that's how I Roll.

Or something like that...

 

I'd buy you a green dress. But not a real green dress, that's cruel.



I made a list once, of things I would do if I won the lottery. I think it's posted on lj somewhere. Hmmm...


First, I'd bank a couple million, to live on for the rest of my life. Then I'd either buy or build a house on a substantial amount of land, so I could live in the middle of nowhere and not worry about neighbors (I'd also shell out some money to make sure we had decent Internet.) I'd buy each of my parents (and Eden's parents) a new vehicle, and pay off their loans/mortgages. I'd make sure my brothers were set up for college, and start a scholarship in our brother's name. I'd finally take my Baseball Road Trip, seeing each team (even the Yankees ) play at least one game in their home stadium (with one souvenir from each, as well.)

I'd donate to various charities, specifically ones dealing with wildlife conservation, MS, and epilepsy. I'd eat at a hole-in-the-wall diner and tip the server a hundred bucks. I'd fly out to Oregon to hang out with ZS, including a full spa day. I'd buy BabySquirrel a bunch of ridiculous toys and things. I'd buy myself a Jeep Wrangler, and maybe a boat.

If I had some leftover (not counting what's in the bank), I'd do something ridiculous, like rent out a theme park or something.

 

Off the top of my head?

I'd buy and hoard *all* the Tab cola in the continental US and create a shortage that would allow me to sell it to the highest bidder. Gotta spend money to make money, folks.

Example:

 

id have to pay off all of my debt first, then take care of my mom, id buy me a house out in the country, open up my own shop (transmission) work when i wanted to, buy my daughter a horse, and......... gotta think some more

 

Some initial thoughts...

1. Pay my parents back for my college and musical education.
2. Set up a trust fund for my nieces' college education.
3. Buy my house outright.
4. Make all the improvements to it that I'd want in order for it to be my (small) dream home, all of which would significantly increase the value of the house so that in the event that I move elsewhere and want to rent it out, I could do so with minimal complications.
5. Buy some bikes: my next road bike, either this guy or this guy; a bike for @GeneticShift; and maybe a mountain bike, too. Also a new helmet, since mine is all busted up.
6. Donate a crap ton of money to the hospital where I work and specifically designate it for the Marketing and Communications budget to allow our tiny department of three to hire a staff comparable to our competitor's departments around the region (10 employees and up).
7. Once that staff is hired and initiated, change my schedule to 3 days a week and take some much needed time off.
8. Use my time off to learn, via classes and lots of practice, to become capable of holding my own in the kitchen.
9. Travel.
10. Donate a bunch to some good environmental conservation causes and organizations.
11. Invest in renewable energy.
12. Figure out what I want to be when I grow up.

 

1. Pay off student loans
2. Put away a large sum in high-interest account for Little Levite's future education.
3. Buy two house lots in Santa Monica or Venice, really near the ocean, and near my favorite synagogue, demolish the houses, and build one large house with pool and enclosed yard.
4. Take care of my parents' needs and wants for the rest of their lives.
5. Several million into diversified investments, bonds, etc.
6. Large sums of money to my closest friends.
7. Found a community bet midrash (free study hall of Jewish texts and ideas), at which I would teach.
8. Make a major donation to my rabbinical school.
9. Donate to a bunch of our favorite charities.
10. Travel up to three months out of every year, first class all the way.
11.Get a PhD or DD, let Mrs. Levite get an MFT, which she'd like to do.
12. Spend time writing without worrying about paying bills.
13. Hire a personal assistant for me and Mrs. Levite, have our cleaning lady come 2-3 times a week, and hire a really excellent part-time nanny.

 

I tell you something that would be fun(nish), if I had a few million dollars, I'd think of something to buy on Amazon, then start a chain-buying spree from the "Customers who bought this item, also bought..." section.
See how far I'd get until I got bored, tired, or ran out of money.

Fuckin' Amazon sells anything! I looked up steaks on there. Yup! Even have that over-priced Wagyu Japanese beef.

Hmm, I wonder if they have my stolen band trombone from years ago...