I’d use about half of it to get a bigger house and a smaller mortage and some stuff, invest the rest and keep working, but perhaps at a more satisfying job.
I’d buy a house, pay off student loans, and enroll in any nursing school I want, without worrying about tuition costs. I’d spend 10% of it to purchase a separate building to use as a combo sacred center/office for my husband, and get my religious life back on track.
Then college/college of life/trade school funds for each of my kids.
I’m not so interested in saving enough to live off of the interest. I *want *to work as a nurse, so I’d rather take care of the things that would make me more comfortable and buy the education I need to earn my living after that.
- Pay off student loans
- Buy a house free and clear
- Start a new, non-religious homeless shelter in town.
I think that would take care of the entire million.
The answer is so clear and simple: I’d buy one million one dollar lottery tickets.
First, I’d buy a huge chunk of land in northern Minnesota (ooh yeah, Grand Marais!) or Wisconsin (Apostle Island area) and build a house on it, not very large, maybe 2500 square feet, and a barn. My brothers and mother could build houses on it, too, but they’d have to pay for that themselves, and my mother would have to build at least 1000 feet away from our house :D. Then I’d buy a small RV and a dolly for a brand-new small car. For frivolity, I’d buy me the best gaming computer I could find (or build it). I’d take some time off work and take some art classes. I’d visit Finland.
The rest of the money would get invested in something pretty safe and stable. We’re both well into middle age, so we won’t need income for as long as most of you kids.
We don’t owe that much more on our mortgage; in fact, we could pay it off but choose not to, so I doubt we would spend any on that. We would probably buy more of a road car; something larger than our Scion or Hyundai and TRAVEL the USA which is something we both like to do. We would probably also travel through Europe; although not by car; I’ve never been but Marcie has and loves it. I suspect I would love it, too. I sure as hell would get my damn teeth fixed and I’d freaking stop freaking worrying constantly. And, of course, we would park some of it somewhere in something as safe as we could find; we don’t have children, other than my estranged son, and we don’t have grandchildren (that I know of.) I’d leave my son as much as possible with the caveat that my ex wife wouldn’t get a freaking penny. We’d leave Marcie’s sister and niece as much as we had left. But we would try our best to spend the last nickel just moments before we both died.
For that much money you could at least give us a cool-gun link that works. :dubious: 
I would invest it. About half in safe things like T-bills and the like and the other half would be in stocks after a lot of research. I would use this big extra bit of money to retire early. If invested wisely I could possibly retire by 55 or so combined with the money my wife and I are already putting away in our 401k and a few other investments. It would be interesting to actually see retirement as a not so impossibly far away thing. 13 years sounds a lot better then 20 to 25 years. Actually crunching a few more numbers, make that 14-15 years as both kids will then be out of college (I hope).
I see no reason to pay off our mortgage, the interest rate is already lower than a reasonable return through investment especially after considering the tax break we get from it.
I would increase my charitable donations to environmental groups and animal shelters. But I would not spend the found money, I would try and grow it and retire early.
I’d look at the letter and cheque with a stunned expression for a moment, then an evil grin would spread across my face.
I’d buy a modest three-bedroom condo in Toronto for use as my city anchor, and then buy a nice chunk of land up north and start planning and building my dream house. I’d send a nice chunk to my friends to help on their mortgage. I’d rent or buy a nice storefront in Toronto to establish the Toronto Esperanto-Domo. I’d donate to my favourite causes. I’d travel. I’d take those courses. Buy that dream computer, dream car, dream wardrobe. Maybe even find a wife.
House is paid off, so no need to pay off a mortgage. Pay off the Mustang ($30K) and probably buy a 2008 Dodge Challenger ($40K, I think. The money is coming this year, right?). Pay to have the house remodeled and/or do it ourselves. Probably between $30K and $50K including new living room and bedroom furniture. Give some to parents and siblings on both sides (probably about $150K total). Go to DisneyWorld and stay at one of their luxury hotels. Maybe even finance the entire family. Put the rest in our mutual fund to retire early.
I’d buy real estate. Probably a nice three flat in a good neighborhood. Live in one, rent the other two. Eliminating my mortgage payment and adding rental income (not to mention a nice tax shelter) would greatly increase the percentage of my income that I’m able to save/invest, and I could probably still loosen up the purse strings on some day-to-day stuff.
I’m not ready to retire (and I like my job), and I’d never be able to live with myself if I blew the case on something fleeting (travel is not fleeting in my book. I’d probably manage to use some of the cash on a memorable trip).
I’d pay off my mom’s mortgage, so she could actually afford to retire. I’d hire someone to do all the little repair jobs that she never quite manages to get done (insulation, etc.), and redo her kitchen.
I’d pay off my last bit of credit card debt (which should be paid off in the next couple of months anyway, barring catastrophe), and my remaining student loans.
I’d buy a small house with a yard and a REALLY nice kitchen: fridge actually big enough to hold stuff, island, granite countertops, walk-in pantry, and enough storage space. I’d probably hand down some of my furniture and other housewares to Mom (the bookshelves, for one - she has crappy melamine ones that she has always hated, and are about 35 years old, and her dining room table is a wobbly peice of crap, too). Then I could furnish my house, if not outlandishly, then at least with stuff that I got to pick because I loved it, and not because it was the cheapest thing on Craigslist or at some garage sale that would serve the necessary purpose. I would plant a fabulous garden with huge bushes of rosemary, raspberries, and fruit trees.
I’d be able to travel and not have to crash on my friends’ sofas (which, although fun, has the drawback of being waken up by small children and dogs at all hours).
That would be the immediate stuff - I’d still have a decent chunk left, which I’d probably invest for the future and/or until I figured out what to do with it.
ETA: oh yeah, and I’m not a car freak, but I’d probably trade in my 1997 Sentra and maybe get a new one, with something crazy like a sunroof.
I have few debts and will have only my mortgage soon. At 4.25%, my bitty mortgage can stay. With $1mm I’d really renovate my 160 year old farmhouse - Central heat and air and a 2nd bathroom! I’d build both an indoor and outdoor riding arena and start up riding lessons again. I’d buy a tractor. I’d quit my job, pick up health insurance from a private insurer, and actually enjoy the rest of my life. My parents are both dead, and wouldn’t’ve needed my help anyway. As far as my siblings go, those who I’d want to give money to don’t need it, because they’re fiscally responsible to begin with. Those who aren’t fiscally now and never have been would just waste whatever was given them. As far as my nieces and nephews go, I’d pay for 4 years of school as long as they were actively working towards a degree. They’d be responsible for their own living expenses.
Hmm…I might need to keep working for a few years and let the pot build up.
StG
I play this game in my head all of the time! I usually start with taking out taxes on a million first, though, so this being a million post-tax is a nice bonus. 
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Pay off current house. Put aside about two years’ taxes, and pay off the outstanding sewer assessment. ~$250K.
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Pay off all other outstanding debt: two car loans, the motorcycle, credit cards, 401(k) loan for the downpayment on my house, and a few other assorted minor bills. (After 10 and a half years, all of the student loans are done as of next month. For real. Yay!!!) ~$85K.
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Pay off my mom’s outstanding general debt (<$1000), car (<$5000), and give her and my step-father enough money for a downpayment on a house (~$50K?).
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Pay off my mother-in-law’s outstanding general debt (<$2000 at my best guess), and pay off her outstanding mortgage (<$30K) and car (<$20K).
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That takes me to about $443,000 spent. I can easily spend ~$7000 (to take me to a nice, even, $450K), on paying off some assorted bills for my grandparents and grandparents-in-law, neither of whom have much debt, and my one cousin-in-law’s loans from the first year of college.
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Put $100,000 into a savings account. Max out our remaining 401(k) and other available retirement accounts for the year. (~$5000?) Quit my job, which I haven’t enjoyed in years. I’m pretty sure that my husband will want to keep his, which he does like.
I’ll probably pick up some freelance work while we work on having that kid we’re trying to have, and move to stay-at-home mom after that. We’ll be able to live well on his salary alone, once we have no debt, few monthly bills, and a cushion of savings in case of disaster.
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Give about $25,000 cash each to my mother and step-father, mother-in-law, brother and fiancee, grandparents, and grandparents-in-law. We’ll probably give smaller amounts (around $10,000?) to my two cousins-in-law (who are in their first year of college and last year of high school, respectively). We’ll probably also subsidize the latter’s first year of student loans, like I listed above for her brother.
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Put $50,000 into an investment account for our child(ren).
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That puts us at $650,000, with us and our immediate families in good financial shape for the immediate future. At this point, we can budget $200,000 to expand and fix up our existing house.
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Budget $20,000 to take a very nice vacation and as play money. Another $80,000 will go for my husband to get that GTR he’s always wanted, plus accessories and upgrades.
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Put the remaining $50,000 into investments.
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Enjoy life!
I’d pay off all our debt, including the mortgage on our condo. We’d keep the condo as a rental property, and buy a nice house (not a mansion, but a nice house) to live in. Just those expenditures would probably take about $700k, because we would stay in Seattle proper, and houses are expensive here! We’d give $100k to our church/other charities. We’d put $50k into a college fund for our kid(s), and probably another $50k into a retirement fund for us. So, that would leave us with $100k. Some of that would get spent on miscellaneous smallish things that we can’t afford now – a new camera, stuff like that. My husband and I would both like to get our teeth straightened (again). We’d probably replace the old car. We would need to furnish the house that we buy, and we’d like to give some money to our families. We’d also put some away for a vacation, and for future use/general savings. I hope that getting ourselves set up like that would allow me to quit work and be a stay-at-home mom, but I’m not going to run the numbers when this is all so hypothetical!
About 1/2 into a house, 1/2 into an annuity. Semi- Retire to do consulant and volunteer work.
- construct a giant treadmil,. 2. buy airplane. 3. Test theory.
Invest the whole damned thing. You are going to need that much and more for your retirement.