# $200,000 free dollars, what are you gonna do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 29, 2009, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582 "2009-10-29T09:24:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![frootle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a87d85/32.png) [@frootle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frootle)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/1 "2009-10-29T09:24:37Z")
Inspired by a recent post, but nothing to do with it… what would you do with $200,000 bucks when it lands unexpectedly in your lap?\*\*\*\* ---
**Author:** ![firstname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ab992/32.png) [@firstname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/firstname)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/2 "2009-10-29T09:26:27Z")
Take a holiday, pay of my student loans, pay off my mum’s loan, and put a down payment on an apartment…I think that’d be just about all of it… ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/3 "2009-10-29T09:31:47Z")
Pay off ALL my debts. Set some aside for mini-Marli’s college, and give some to The Boy who’s grown and gone. Set aside another chunk for retirement. Move to a state where the 911 dispatchers are paid better than the Taco Bell managers (don’t even get me started). And if there’s anything left after that, I’m going to the yarn store! ---
**Author:** ![footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9f8e36/32.png) [@footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/footballisplayedwithyourfeet)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/4 "2009-10-29T09:39:07Z")
Pay off my (modest) student loans and put the rest somewhere safe (nowadays that pretty much equals a matress right?) until I have a proper use for it. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/5 "2009-10-29T10:14:05Z")
Likely I would pay off the house, and buy a new car (mine is 12 years old and has 194K on it.) I would buy my mother some stuff, maybe a car. I would invest the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/6 "2009-10-29T10:17:05Z")
Down payment on a new house, then put the rest in various investments. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/7 "2009-10-29T10:24:27Z")
None of the above. Invest it for my future in a basket of methods to protect the principal. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/8 "2009-10-29T12:16:08Z")
Pay off my already-acquired student loans, and live off the rest to avoid taking out more. If I had some left over when I graduated, I’d use it to help pay for my next house. Not one of the options. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/9 "2009-10-29T12:20:39Z")
None of the above. Debt reducation (elimination) and then a killer trip to Disney for the kids. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/10 "2009-10-29T12:24:27Z")
It depends on my financial situation. If I had debts (including a mortgage), I would use up to 50% of it to pay them off. Then I would spend some of the rest and save some. It’s fun to blow money, but only if you can afford it. ---
**Author:** ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/11 "2009-10-29T12:32:15Z")
Invest half of it, pay off debts with 1/4, and blow the rest. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/12 "2009-10-29T12:34:19Z")
> [@glee](#): > > It depends on my financial situation. > > If I had debts (including a mortgage), I would use up to 50% of it to pay them off. > Then I would spend some of the rest and save some. > > It’s fun to blow money, but only if you can afford it. > [@Walkabout](#): > > Invest half of it, pay off debts with 1/4, and blow the rest. **Glee** and **Walkabout** , the new financial advisers to the stars! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/13 "2009-10-29T12:34:23Z")
$200k isn’t life changing money, so… - pay off all my debts - get some renovations done to Casa De Tacoloco - invest some - travel a bit ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/14 "2009-10-29T12:39:38Z")
You needed a “pay off debts” selection in your poll, which is what I was looking to reply, and I can see many others did too. Too late now I guess. With $200K in cash plus what I could dispose of in my own money I could pay off my mortgage before the age of 40, which I would totally love to do. Barring that I’ll go with spending some on the house/car (we have 2 cars, at 7 and 10 years old they’re starting to wear out with annoying little electrical issues all the time) and investing the rest of it (kids’ college funds, mutual funds). ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/15 "2009-10-29T12:48:53Z")
Pay off my debts. Go travelling. Then, mortgage-free, I could indulge in a more fulfilling, though probably lesser-paid, career. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/16 "2009-10-29T13:04:15Z")
I put “invest” but to say it doesn’t mean that much to me is just wrong. I’d be happier than a tornado in a trailer park. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/17 "2009-10-29T13:08:15Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > I put “invest” but to say it doesn’t mean that much to me is just wrong. > > I’d be happier than a tornado in a trailer park. Yeah, I find it ironic that the choice indicating that it “doesn’t mean that much” is one of the few that don’t involve shitting it away on nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/18 "2009-10-29T13:19:08Z")
Pay off the house, pay off the debt. We just got through several months of unemployment and have CC debt we’re working on. After that I’d plan a family trip to Europe! Or maybe give the rest to my in-laws. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/19 "2009-10-29T14:00:16Z")
I voted start my own business, but actually, what that would consist of is living off it while I write. Does that count? I would do a bit of home improvement, but stay where I am, being very conservative, and write till I get something published or the money runs out, whatever comes first. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582/20 "2009-10-29T14:02:18Z")
Pay off some debts, upgrade the abode, new truck. That’s about it. $200K just isn’t that much money these days. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/200-000-free-dollars-what-are-you-gonna-do/515582.md?page=2)