Ive had a similar thought from a psychological, not financial, perspective.
I find something more mentally satisfying about receiving, say, a $30 million payment every year, on schedule, for the next 16 years than getting a single $274 million payment all at once. Hard to explain, but it would feel better, mentally, that way. It’s like, something to look forward to every year, and also gives the mental security of “there’s a lot of money out there that’s mine but not mine yet.”
Unless, for some reason, I truly needed to have the big sum all at once because I wanted to use it for filming a movie out of my own pocket, or purchase a small-league professional sports team, or small-sized company, or something big like that. Then only the lump sum would do.
I’m sure they were. As a guest, I’d probably enjoy that experience. As a host, I would be almost embarrassed to present such an ostentatious display of wealth. I don’t want a luxury yacht, or a private jet, or a fleet of high-end cars. I’m not closing down five restaurants so nobody in town can eat except me and my friends. Seems to me there’s an element of ego involved in such things that I just don’t possess.
There’s a good article in the New Yorker about luxury yachts. It’s purely and wholly a status symbol to the point that all these people care about is having a bigger yacht than the other guy. And a lot of workers are mistreated but have difficulty getting work elsewhere.
In college, my fraternity had a test file, where we would collect corrected tests as a study aid. I was often informed by other students that this was cheating. I asked one of my professors about it. She said not only was it not cheating, but it was a really good idea, and that such things helped keep them on their toes.
I had a sociology class I had to take. A friend offered me the previous year’s final exam as a study tool. When I took the final, I was surprised to see the exact same test as the previous year. The professor hadn’t even bothered to correct a couple of typos.
Was this a legally-obtained final exam? In my experience as both student and teacher, while final exams were sometimes returned to students, they fairly often weren’t (if only because there was no good opportunity to do so), which would make giving the exact same final again less of an issue.
The prior owner of this house did a lot of really bad electrical work. We do have a switch that does nothing. I will be changed into a switch that flips the overhead light when this current construction project is completed.
I have no idea. The guy who gave it to me got it from someone else. I assumed it was kosher. I sat and worked out the answers as a study tool.
That same semester I took a course called Presidential Rhetoric. It was an extremely interesting class. The professor was well known (I’ll say no more).
I approached him after class with a question one day shortly before the final. He found the question “thought provoking” and discussed it with me for some time. The final exam consisted of one question, a slight rewording of my question and “discuss”.
A guy I used to work with bought a house. He had a switch that did not appear to have any function. After several months in the house he realized his electric bills were outrageous. He discussed this with his wife, and they made an effort to turn off lights, etc.
Eventually he called the power company, then an electrician. The forgotten switch that did nothing was for his heated sidewalks which were turned on 24/7 in the spring/summer.
I’d take the annuity for the fun of getting another big check every year. I’d travel with my wife much more than we now do (the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand and Japan are all on our wish list), and I’d give a lot to local and national charities and nonprofits for causes I support, and to my political party.
Margarine and then jelly (ideally Smuckers raspberry or strawberry) on my toast, please.
