# If you received $1 million in cash, free and clear... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 27, 2008, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-received-1-million-in-cash-free-and-clear/469718 "2008-10-27T02:53:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-received-1-million-in-cash-free-and-clear/469718/61 "2008-10-28T03:40:56Z")
1. Give a total of $100-$150K to various family members and close friends who will be able to use it for great purposes, such as retire debts, fix up their houses, etc. 2. Go and live in Scandinavia. ---
**Author:** ![jtsPimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@jtsPimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtsPimp)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-received-1-million-in-cash-free-and-clear/469718/62 "2008-10-30T22:47:28Z")
hmmm… I’d buy my sister somewhere to live. She’s gotta follow her own path, I can’t look after her forever… I’d be stuck as to what to buy my Dad, he’s impossible to buy for. I’d buy a brand new top of the line aerodyne icon, and lots of associated pruc, jump tickets, always wanted to do [kl tower base](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92YutbFXD7I). Suppose I’d need a mojo for that!! I’d give generously to my friends make sure they want for nothing…em, well, the list is short. Em, hang on… I’d go to Africa. Find somewhere with people in real need. Setup a fresh water line. Build housing, schools, industry; enough just to make a start, so folk can replicate the process. Give hope where there is none. Take out a big ass life insurance policy, then get slotted on the sunset load at skydive kenya; superglue the closing pin or something…lol! Well okay, maybe something more subtle 🙂 Wouldn’t want to invalidate that insurance policy. posthumously donate the proceeds to someone selfless enough to do the Africa thing again… …and there’s nothing wrong with that! ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-received-1-million-in-cash-free-and-clear/469718/63 "2008-10-31T00:51:00Z")
$700,000 into the investment account, mostly in tax-free municipals. $100,000 into the Taekwondo school. Blow the rest, probably on travelling. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-received-1-million-in-cash-free-and-clear/469718/64 "2008-10-31T00:55:30Z")
Acquire a smallholding-sized chunk of land, build/renovate a house, do the self-sufficiency thing. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-received-1-million-in-cash-free-and-clear/469718/65 "2008-10-31T01:23:18Z")
Pay off condo, invest the rest. …hmm. I’ve occasionally thought of a house, but my condo is enough living space for me and the cats, I don’t _need_ one, even if it’d be an interesting investment. I don’t know that I’d make any huge new purchases otherwise. I might go visit Europe – I’ve kind of always wanted to go, but language barriers make me a tad twitchy especially since I’d be on my own. (if you want to see murder done, ask me to go on a trip with my family longer than a week 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-received-1-million-in-cash-free-and-clear/469718/66 "2008-10-31T03:06:32Z")
Curse my luck for having gotten it now, rather than in two years, since I’m in college on a very nice scholarship that scales from full ride to practically nothing based on need. Take a very nice vacation. Pay off my parents’ mortgage. I lived there too, and still do on some school breaks. Maybe buy my sister a car. Buy a reasonable car, put some away for grad school, and invest the rest, mostly in CDs or something else low-risk. Maybe keep out $20,000 or so to play with in the stock market, once it looks like it’s bottoming out. Purely for fun, no expectation of making real money. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-received-1-million-in-cash-free-and-clear/469718/67 "2008-10-31T13:52:19Z")
$350k to pay off the house $10k to pay of our debts and cars, $100k in a conservative fund for the kids to go to college in 10 years. Just flat blow $50k. Pay someone else to clean the house. Buy a PODS or two, throw the stuff we never ever use in 'em, pay to store them for 3 years, then pay to send them to the landfill when we never get anything out of 'em. ---
**Author:** ![dre2xl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@dre2xl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dre2xl)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-received-1-million-in-cash-free-and-clear/469718/68 "2008-10-31T14:22:05Z")
I’d pay off the mortgage, freeing up cash flow, and then invest the rest. I don’t have time for anything else and it isn’t enough for retirement. A rule of thumb I use in calculating how much is enough to “live on” for retirement: - get the amount you want to live on - multiply by 25 So, 1MM translates to a mere 40K. Barely enough to have any fun with, and factoring in having pay one’s own health insurance, it’s simply not enough. Would have a slightly higher standard of living (eating out more), but no new cars or any of that crap. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-received-1-million-in-cash-free-and-clear/469718.md?page=3)