# What to do with a million
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [December 19, 2003, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952 "2003-12-19T12:49:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@RCracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RCracer)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/1 "2003-12-19T12:49:41Z")
Basically, if **you** had a million pounds, what would you spend it on? Don’t forget you only have a million and not all the money in the world, so don’t go nuts.
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/2 "2003-12-19T12:56:54Z")
Well, the practical side of me would pay off my debts, share some with family members, then buy a nice place on the water somewhere.
If I wanted to have fun with it, I’d go boat shopping. One can find many well-appointed yachts for less than a million, so I’d have some cash left to run it.
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### Author:  [@RCracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RCracer)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/3 "2003-12-19T12:59:31Z")
New car (preferably a Ferrari), new house and long, relaxing holiday would do me.
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### Author:  [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/4 "2003-12-19T13:31:16Z")
Let’s do this survey over in IMHO.
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### Author:  [@RCracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RCracer)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/5 "2003-12-19T13:32:49Z")
Oops…sorry, my mistake.
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### Author:  [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/6 "2003-12-19T14:00:24Z")
Pay the house off and then contract someone to finish the remodeling. Then give generous gifts to family and probably buy some of the fun things we’ve wanted but were too expensive to splurge on. Like a workshop in the back yard and a major Amazon shopping spree. And I’d quit my job so I could work full time on my writing.
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/7 "2003-12-19T14:02:46Z")
God, put it in the spare room with the rest I suppose.
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### Author:  [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/8 "2003-12-19T15:06:30Z")
Hm. For fun, I’d pay off all my debts. For practical purposes I’d…pay off all my debts. Basically, I’m not fun. 😃
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### Author:  [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/9 "2003-12-19T15:13:53Z")
First, I’d exchange it for USD, since pounds are difficult to spend over here. That would give me about 1,765,000 dollars. Then pay off the mortgage and the one other loan that I have. With the remaining 1.5 million I’d buy a place on the water (we plan to move to Florida soon anyway). That leaves me about 1 million. So next we fully fund the Shibblet’s college education fund. That should leave about 700,000. I’d use another quarter million to buy that Web Design company in Bangkok I have my eye on. That leaves $450,000. A nice car would round that down to $400,000. I’d put $50,000 aside in cash or other short term liquid funds, then put the remaining $350,000 into my holding company, where it would be used as working capital for my businesses and put into a diverse set of medium risk securities.
My assumption is that the money came tax free, otherwise I’d have to rejuggle some priorities.
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### Author:  [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/10 "2003-12-19T15:45:33Z")
I would also first convert to US currency, but after that … hoo boy!
First, I’d pay my debts. Of course, my debts, at this point, only add up to about six hundred bucks, so that’s pretty easy. I think I’d also toss a good chunk of money in my parents’ direction, seeing as they’re the reason I’m not up to my _ears_ in debt.
After that, I’d buy a house. And a kickass entertainment system to put in it. And I’d spend a whole lot of the rest of the money decorating said house. I’d buy pinball machines and vintage arcade games. I wonder how much an old _Star Wars_ video game (remember, with the green outlines as the extent of the “graphics”) runs these days?
Then, once my fantabulous new house was paid for and decorated, I’d leave for a few months and go seriously investigate Europe.
Oh, and a new wardrobe. _nod_ I’m a woman, can’t forget the clothes! And possibly a luxurious, even decadent day at some ridiculously expensive spa for myself and my girlfriends, one of those places where they wrap you in mud and tell you to take a nap, then serve you cappucinos whilst they massage your feet. Yeah, I could live with that.
And I’d buy my five-year-old nephew some of the most kickass toys on the market … only I’d buy two of each, because hey, I like toys, too. 🙂
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### Author:  [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/11 "2003-12-19T15:52:14Z")
- Pay off the mortgage.
- Completely fund lieu lieu’s college fund.
- But a home in the hills near Burnet.
- Build a 4 car garage for the '66 427 Corvette, '70 426 Hemi Cuda, '69 428 Shelby and the '67 400 GTO.
- A case of Dr. Pepper.
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### Author:  [@RCracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RCracer)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/12 "2003-12-19T15:59:29Z")
A case of Dr. Pepper, that’s one of the main things you’d buy with a million? Ok then…😕
I might start an oil company, hence making more money. Then I can splash out on whatever I like.
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### Author:  [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/13 "2003-12-19T16:43:49Z")
I’d buy a new ass. Mine has a crack in it.
* * *
Man, that NEVER gets old.
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### Author:  [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/14 "2003-12-19T17:03:28Z")
I’ll tell you what I’d do, man, two chicks at the same time, man.
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### Author:  [@TaxGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaxGuy)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/15 "2003-12-19T17:09:49Z")
A million pounds **of what** , fer chrissakes?
😕
😃
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/16 "2003-12-19T17:55:26Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by kasuo \*
> \*\*I’ll tell you what I’d do, man, two chicks at the same time, man. \*\*
That’s it? If you had a million dollars, you’d do two chicks at the same time?
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### Author:  [@Ryle\_Dup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryle_Dup)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/17 "2003-12-19T18:01:46Z")
If it was a million pounds of US dollars… wow, that would be alot.
4.536 x 10^8 bills
or
453,600,000,000
450 billion bills sounds nice. Imagine if they were hundred dollar bills…
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### Author:  [@Treebeard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treebeard)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/18 "2003-12-19T18:07:19Z")
I’d buy one of those 1920’s style Death Rays that I have been seeing in all of the Christmas catalogs.
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### Author:  [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/19 "2003-12-19T18:21:20Z")
I’d pay off all the debts, buy a house, prepay my son’s college education, get my truck fixed. 😃
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### Author:  [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-million/219952/20 "2003-12-19T18:31:54Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by don’t ask \*
> \*\*That’s it? If you had a million dollars, you’d do two chicks at the same time? \*\*
Damn straight. I always wanted to do that, man. And I think if I had a million dollars I could hook that up, cause chicks dig a dude with money.
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