Ok, Publisher’s Clearing House, the Lotto, or whatever… You just won ten million dollars! (post-taxes, and in entire one lump sum bank account)…
The question is: Would you still continue to work full-time for a living until you retire?
My answer is both yes and no. I definitely wouldn’t work “the blue collar grind” ever again but I would most likely attempt to start a business of my own. I would never be punching the clock for the “suits & ties” again! They could all kiss my arse!
If I am doing something, such as operating my own business, that I know I will ENJOY doing for a living, then I don’t really consider that “working.” That’s called “living,” IMHO.
10% to charities
75% of the remaining amount invested in a secure, high interest account
10% to parents
3-5% donated to fraternity. 1/4th national, 3/4 local
If there’s enough left, raze the Frat house and build a new one. The one we have is in shambles. Bad plumbing, bad wiring, brick siding literally falling away from south side of house.
Possibly purchase a house somewhere in KC. Midtown KC, ideally. Somewhere around 53-57th street, between Rockhill and Ward Parkway. I love that area of KC. Close to everything, short trip to Plaza/downtown… nice surroundings. But close enough to the ghetto for crack.
Remaining would be invested in parts for rebuilding my car, nice home audio/video setup, some nice gifts for friends (slippery slope, though, who do you stop at?), other nice stuff.
Dude, you realize that 10 million, minus taxes (assume 40%, right?), is, over let’s say… 60 years, is only 100k a year. Nice life, but not holiday NICE life.
I’d probably invest most of it, buy a few nice things (new computer and my own T3 line, for example :D), then spend some time traveling around and seeing new things. Maybe do a bicycle tour of Japan or something like that. After that I’d either become a full-time student for a while, start a small business from my home (translating, perhaps) or go find for some low-paying job where I get to travel a lot and do some creative stuff. In any case, I don’t think I’d be working at a traditional full-time office job again.
I’d work, but not in what I’m doing now. Something low-key and fulfilling, related to the music or movie fields.
My first priorities would be:
–Goodbye, student loan payments!!
–Pay off my dad’s house for him.
–Pay off my mom’s outstanding debt.
–Start annuities for my niece and both nephews that would pay for their college educations in full.
I’d probably continue to work at my job for awhile (because I expect it to net me at least a couple additional million in a few years, and I enjoy it).
On the other hand, I wouldn’t worry about money again. I’d drop a few thousand on a nice car, possibly buy a house, definitely pay off student loans and such.
So, if I became a millionaire tomorrow, would my lifestyle change dramatically? Nope, but I’d finally be able to justify my “Bah, it’s only money” attitude. I probably wouldn’t even tell anyone that I had won.
Well, no, it isn’t. With 40% removed, $6,000,000 is $420,000 a year, easy, and you don’t even have to touch the principle. That’a assuming 7% interest, which is a safe bet.
Taking 40% off your $420,000, you’re making a cool $252,000 a year.
In Canada, lottery winnings are completely tax-free. If I win the $17.5 million in this week’s Super 7, I get $17.5 million, free and clear. This, ironically, more than makes up for the currency difference. Life is wonderful.
I have a deal with my parents; if I win the jackpot, they get half of it. But THEY have to deal with all my relatives and ensure they’re all taken care of, which I am entirely confident they will do. My parents are the only relatives I have I WOULD trust to handle that much dough.
I just had this conversation this morning, IRL. (Lotto Super7 is up to $17.5 million.)
I’d set a small, enjoyable business in a small town, probably in the channel islands of B.C. I’m leaning towards a toy store or a second-run, artsy-type cinema.
No way do I ever punch a clock again if I won 10 million.
1000 acres in northern Wisconsin with a lake and a stream and a large log cabin. Hello sportsmen’s paradise…
I’d probably open a bait/sporting goods shop as a hobby/tax write off so I could shoot the shit all day with the patrons and still have something to do. Table setup in the corner with never ending games of cribbage, sheepshead or Euchre.
Hell I’d take at least a year to travel around just the US by motorcycle. Then learn to fix motorcycles and open a shop or something like that. Then after a few years of that live in Europe for a while. damn with 10mil clear you could easily invest 7-8 mil and live for a few years easy. my god you could easily spend 500 a day for 10 years and only spend 1.8mil. that’s a lot more than I need to spend.
I’d become a professional dilettante: take any class that interested me . . . and lots and lots of travel.
I would not ever work at a traditional job again, but nor would I live the “millionaire” lifestyle. Buy some land, put a nice cottage on it, start writing my book . . . College fund for my niece, bankroll my mom to start a business, pay a year’s rent on my sister’s house and pick up the tab for her taxes owed each year (she’s self-employed). And I’d buy people presents. I like to do that anyway.
Alternately, I could see starting my own publishing company. Still want to travel quite a bit first though, and finish my degree in Psych.
Pay off my condo, set my parents up in a new pad.
I’d quit work and go back and finish college. But that would have to be in the summer because I’d be travelling the US in search of fresh powder snow most of the winter! that’s right, i’d spend my time snowboarding.
