# In which I hand out ten grand—with a catch . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 22, 2001, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800 "2001-06-22T16:20:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/81 "2001-06-23T17:28:36Z")
With $10K, I’d finish the basement, turning it into a really nice den, complete with hot tub. Then I’d throw a Dopefest. Everyone into the hot tub, _yeah!_ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/82 "2001-06-23T17:36:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fairy Princess Kitty \* > The Beauty Trilogy- just a couple copies, I have plans for those books And we want a full report! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/83 "2001-06-23T17:53:09Z")
Two choices: I saw a brouchure at the travel agency in my bank for a six month long around the world cruise for exactly $10,000. I promise to send postcards. Or… 10 grande worth of liposuction and tucks. No postcards. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/84 "2001-06-23T18:04:22Z")
$2500 - put a deck on the back of our townhouse $1400 - wooden playground set for Nicky in the backyard $3500 - Disney cruise for the family $400 - really nice bunk beds for Nicky $1000 - new refrigerator $500 - new stove/oven $300 - new dishwasher $400 - new TV for the living room * * * $10,000 ---
**Author:** ![Jeannie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@Jeannie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeannie)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/85 "2001-06-23T18:08:45Z")
I’d have to pay off my student loans (actually, 10 grand would only be roughly half, but it would be a great start). If I wanted to be a little less practical, I’d go with a new car. Which actually is really practical, because my current one is getting pretty bad. And my third choice would be a down payment on a house. Man, I am so boring… ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/86 "2001-06-23T18:23:20Z")
1. Oil pan, brake pads and disks for a 1987 Honda Accord. 400$ 2. Two (2) Technics SL-1200 MK2 Turntables With Stanton cartridges, and a small mixer to bring my massive vinyl collection out of limbo. 2000$ 3. Opal t-shirt. 20$ 4. An actual computer and an actual connection. 1600$ 5. Assortment of oil paints and large custom-made canvasses. 1200$ 6. Gibson Les Paul, Marshall stack and rack effects. 2600$ 7. Some clothes. 1200$ 8. Food. 1000$ Damn you Opal, I’m over budget. ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/87 "2001-06-23T19:36:22Z")
- A gym membership and a personal trainer to get me off my most copious butt and get motivated. - A maid to help me clea the house once per week. - Some elegant stationary to write to Eve, thanking her for making the ‘new me’ possible. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/88 "2001-06-24T01:22:32Z")
Aaaaaah, I’d just give most of it to the airlines, and the rest to the breweries. ---
**Author:** ![Osip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4491bb/32.png) [@Osip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osip)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/89 "2001-06-24T13:58:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by manhattan \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Cap’n Crude \* > > \*\* $1,000 = first-class ticket to Chicago. > > \*\* > > Sheesh, **Cap’n**! You’re never going to [seduce MissCreant](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=75296) with financial management skills like that! Coach class, 14-day advance fare, Saturday stayover = **Olentzero** : What if I told you that you could whisk the Mrs. away for a short but romantic getaway of a long weekend in Paris for the weekend for about \*\* What are ya Manhattan a travel agent? Can you find me some reasonable Airfare to Belarus Eve, thanks for the offer, but since the death of my mother I have recieved more than enough money to repair the house, buy a new car (honda insight really cool but I degress) and buy thing, and invest a good bit as well. Osip ---
**Author:** ![Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morrison_s_Lament)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/90 "2001-06-24T14:08:41Z")
I’d get me some big ass guns and lots of ammo and sort out ya’ll fer goood!!! 😃 Seriously, I’d probably spend it on a wild month in Amsterdam 😃 — G. Raven ---
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/91 "2001-06-24T15:28:41Z")
I would start out buying practical looking stuff - a large shed for my backyard, insulation, another staple gun, plywood, a small refrigerator. ``` The I chuck all the crap outa my garage into the shed, insulate the garage, drop the frig in, and buy a big-ass HDTV TV with surround sound, wallmounted speakers, big subwoofer, etc and have a little theater in my yard. Lock the front door to all cars, etc. ``` Anything left, I get a big flatpanel monitor. Got a new box running on the old monitor. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/92 "2001-06-24T15:49:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\* . . . You have to spend it on yourself. You can’t put it in the bank or donate it to charity or buy stuff for friends or relatives. You have to buy yourself $10,000 worth of stuff. I figured $1,000 won’t buy much interesting these days, and I can’t afford to hand out $100,000 willy-nilly. > > So, what (or whom!) would you buy? \*\* I’ll interpret this as being $10,000US, which means I have about $14,700 CDN. New TV. My TV is old and dying. And a DVD player. Then I’d sign up for satellite. Total cost: $2000. New clothes. I am losing weight and really need some new duds. I need at least two good suits and some casual stuff. I’ll spend $1500 on new togs. A new bed for Mrs. RickJay and I. We need a new king sized bed. Total cost: $2500, for a nice one. A new couch. Our couch is old and shitty and smells like cat piss if you get too close to it. Total cost: $2000 for a big sectional or a couch/love seat combo. May as well get a new entertainment center for my new TV/DVD, plus new coffee tables and a few nice lamps to complement my new couch. Total cost: $1000. Mrs. RickJay needs a new dresser. We’ll plunk $500 on that. I consider that spending on myself because it makes the house look better. One of those wood-and-carpeting cat “Tree house” things. I love those. $250. A BIG fish tank with all the accoutrements, plus a nice stand. $1000. Fix the car up. $1500. The rest I’d waste. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/93 "2001-06-24T16:16:14Z")
A '65 Mercury Marauder convertible. If there’s any left, I’d use it to pay gas to get to NASCAR races. ---
**Author:** ![Spider\_Woman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Spider\_Woman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spider_Woman)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/94 "2001-06-24T16:39:51Z")
Nothing. I already have too much stuff. My dad got me a dumpster as an early birthday present, and it was filled and taken away (most of it was broken or old, nothing that someone else could have used; that we take to Goodwill), and I still have too much stuff. Maybe with $10,000, I would get a really big dumpster. ----:p/ ----///\\ ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/95 "2001-06-24T17:21:17Z")
Here’s what a hypocrite I am: as I began to read this thread I thought “How sad that so many people would spend the money on improving their appearance”, but then I realized that if I had that much money to spend on myself I would spend some of it on getting my nose realigned. They put it back crooked after I had neurosurgery (they often go in through the nose these days). Goodness knows how much that would cost, but I hope I would have enough left over to get a new mattress too. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/96 "2001-06-24T17:50:29Z")
oooh! I would get my penis implant! The kind that vibrates. YEAH, baby! ---
**Author:** ![Tornado\_Siren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Tornado\_Siren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tornado_Siren)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/97 "2001-06-25T00:04:10Z")
First, I would get my eyes fixed. How wonderful not to have to worry about glasses or contacts. Then I would take a lovely trip into the mountains…maybe rent a nice cabin next to a lake. A few weeks of quiet reflection all by myself. The rest of the money would go for a nice new computer. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/98 "2001-06-25T00:29:31Z")
I don’t think I could spend $10,000 on myself. I’d probably buy my son the rest of the bedroom set that I started just after we moved. Ran outta money. I’d buy myself a bed, since now I’m just on a mattress on the floor. And a dresser. And a sofa-bed to put up all those Dopers that wanna see the mountains. Uhhh… lessee… I’d do a bit of travelling. I haven’t seen much outside of Canada and northern US states. Probably buy a whole whack of books. And get my stuff shipped out from the ex’s place in Ontario. ---
**Author:** ![Edwardina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Edwardina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edwardina)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/99 "2001-06-25T01:04:16Z")
A year’s worth of rent on a place of my own in the middle of nowhere: $6,000 New computer, and Net access for that year: $2000 A year’s worth of car insurance: $600 Two backpacking trips to Europe, one in September, one next April: $1,400 And I’m SPENT! ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2001, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800/100 "2001-06-28T15:14:57Z")
Firstly, MikeG, you little cutie :: pinching your cheek::, you always make me blush > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tattva \* > Well, seeing as I’m a gal, I figure I can get a discount. I’m not asking for sexual favors, just for some fun. And some creative cursing lessons. You know, girl time. > > [sub]I am actually going to be in Chicago for a weekend next month…[/sub] Ten thou and you don’t need any sex? Woman, you can have me for a month. My husband will be glad to have me out of the house. Cooking is my favorite thing in the world so that’s not really a chore, and I’ll clean…but it will be half assed. Call me when you’re in Chi-town…I’LL SHOW YOU GIRL TIME. ahem. with $10,000 I’d buy a day at the spa, a round trip ticket to Berlin, Cubs tickets behind the dugout for every game Kerry Pitches and a couch. hm. I don’t think $10,000 is going to do it. Can you make it $25,000? jarbaby [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-hand-out-ten-grand-with-a-catch/69800.md?page=6)