I fantasize about this from time to time (well, at least occasionally :)), and I was thinking of it this afternoon, as I walked from the bus stop to my apartment in the 90+ degree heat and humidity … LOL!
A million would have sufficed at one time, I guess, but probably today it would take more than that. But if I somehow happened to win the lottery (like if I ever played it first, that is! ;)), and had an outrageous sum of cashola to work with, I would:
-Purchase a comfortable home – nothing ostentatious, mind you… but today I was thinking that I’d like to have two pools, one indoor and one outdoors. Of course there would be enough money to have them tended by pool companies so that I wouldn’t have to worry about chlorine levels, etc. LOL At any rate, on really hot days I could take a dip wherever I wanted!
-furnish & decorate the home in a style & manner I would be comfortable with – a nice large kitchen with one of those sub-zero fridges, comfortably furnished family room & large dining room to entertain in, den with floor-to-ceiling built-in bookcases… LOL oh yeah, and a sauna/hot tub indoors too. And the home would have to have a large, nicely shaded & fenced yard so that I could have a couple of dogs.
As this would likely take up most of the money, I’d have to carefully invest most of the rest, then (my last fantasy!) I would travel to the many places around the world that I would love to visit: Alaska & Hawaii, the Carribean, most of Europe, India, Africa and maybe Australia/New Zealand.
So what’s your fantasy for if you had an outrageous sum of money?!
Easy: I’d invest it so I could live modestly off the interest for the rest of my life.
Then, I’d do whatever: travel, help charities, what have you. I’d work only on jobs I enjoyed, like the one I have now, secure in the knowledge that I don’t need it to eat and live.
House is probably the only major lifestyle change I’d have. The rest of the largesse I’d use in, as I said, travel, and share with my friends ('cause right now, being solidly NOT rich, I know who they are).
Give a third or a half of it to my sister, depending on how large a sum it was.
Build a modest house to my specifications (no more than two bedrooms, a nice large bathroom, an eat-in kitchen and a small living room… maybe a library/study). No more than 2000 sqft, tops.
Buy a 4wd quad cab pickup and a Dodge Viper.
Give some to charity.
Take my friends out for a lavish celebratory meal.
Bank the rest and live off the interest (with the house free-and-clear, my living expenses would be pretty modest).
Protect myself with various insurance plans, including liability (gotta protect my new assets!).
Pay off my family’s debts.
Build my house where I want to live.
Be a shrewd investor.
Spread my wealth among family members and friends.
Give to some important, worthwhile charities.
Travel.
Get on a commuter bus and hand out $1000 bills to everyone and then get off, without saying a word. Each $1000 bill would be accompanied by a note asking they must do the same thing with some of what they were just given and then email me what they did and how they felt.
Keep working.
Now if the amount is an insane amout from the lottery - several hundred million - perhaps pay for some nation-wide TV commercials in support of a few causes.
I’d pay off my and my family’s debts, buy a new home, buy my folks a new home, buy my hubby a Mustang, and myself one of those darling little VW Beetles (yellow). New wardrobes for the entire family, a piano for my church. If there was anything left, then I would have my own personal recording studio built–just for the fun of it! I love to sing and would adore having the stuff to do some good quality recording. (For now I guess I will have to “settle” for the new Karoake machine I just bought–at least till old Ed shows up with my 10 mil!! )
Ahhh the things I’d do if I had heaps of money. I’m assuming we’re talking about a substantial amount (lotteries here max out at about $30M, so that’s what I’m working on).
Pay off all my debts
Pay off all my family’s debts
Buy a dozen or so investment properties and have some real estate agent take care of the management
Buy a nice new house with a huge back yard… in which I would build…
A volleyball court. Inside an appropriately-tall sports hall (hey, this IS fantasy). I may also consider a beach volleyball court, but I definitely prefer indoor/hard court
Invest a large portion of the winnings so if I am ever out of work or choose to retire early I need never worry about where my next meal is coming from
Go on a round-the-world trip, take at least 6 months, first class all the way. Take some friends with me
Once I return from my huge trip, make time every year to take at least four weeks for holidays, sitting on a beach somewhere, or maybe skiing and relaxing in a chalet somewhere.
Having satisfied all my selfish desires, I’d then give my friends a wad of money; specifically my friend who has a son in a wheelchair who needs all sorts of equipment and care.
The rest would get stuffed into safe (is there such a thing?? LOL) investments and ensure me a cushy retirement.
Make sure my parents were comfortable and had nothing to worry about
Travel all over for a year or two
Get a couple more degrees
Buy a big hunk of land near Bend, Oregon, and have my dream house built on it (nothing too big - 2-3 bedrooms, a rec room, library/studio, courtyard/outdoor living area. Manage the rest for fish and non-game wildlife. Possibly put it in trust with the Nature Conservancy.
Buy another house on the Oregon coast or Northern California coast.
Set up scholarship funds in a couple chosen disciplines.
Spend a lot of time soaking up culture and learning hobbies, reading, etc.
Possibly get a horse and trainer and learn proper dressage style riding.
I’d buy a farm in the Michigan thumb and grow a ton of fruit and veggies. I would drive my giant truck back to Metro Detroit to distribute my goodies among the soup kitchens. I would have pigs as pets!
In the off season, we would travel in our giant motorhome all over the U.S. No longer will I have to say I haven’t been west of Chicago.
All the kiddies in the family would be set for college tuition.
I dunno, i might just give it all away to family and friends. You see, I’m a single guy, and while I date here and there, I don’t have anyone that I could possibly expect to settle down with. I think that having that great relationship is far more important than money, and big bucks might get in the way of finding that woman. I might always wonder “Does she love me, or the lavish lifestyle?” and I can’t live that way.
But, if I did have that woman I’d:
Take care of my parents and siblings. (none of them are poor by any stretch, but they could all use a Mil or two)
Buy a nice house with some property (3,000 - 4,000 sqft should do)
Start up 2 linked businesses
a) High End audio shop (for the audiophile in me)
b) Homebrew supply shop (beer is fun)
I’d hire managers to take care of the day to day stuff, and just spend the day hanging out in each store. Listen to some music on the fancy audio setups… maybe brew a little beer… read the paper… just hang out and relax. These are quiet little businesses, generally low traffic with pleasant customers, a nice retail experience. Also, since I have hired a manager, I can take weeks off at a time for travel, woo hoo!
And I forgot a couple of the most important things I would do! :smack:
-help out my family & friends with whatever sums they needed
-pay off my debts!
-give money to charities
I think I was stuck on thinking of a house yesterday, especially the part about the pools… It’s a nice thing to fantasize about (hey, I could be thinking of many other things that probably wouldn’t be so good for me to do …!), as long as I realize that it -is- just a fantasy. It’s nice to know that so many are willing to help out not just family and friends but those they don’t know, when they come into unexpected wealth.
I would then get the cosultation of several lawyers/accountants to devise a way that I could live comfortably off of what I have for a very long time. What is it called? A spending plan? I wouldn’t want that windfall to disappear because of improper planning.
Hopefully that spending plan would include world travel (adventures and such), a modest home(s) to live in preferably one in the US and another somewhere in Europe, and paying off my current debt which consists of student loans and a car.
Ok, given we’re talking about a hefty chunk of change here…
buy a really nice house near a major city. pool would be nice, but not a must. At least someplace that has a really nice yard with a pond and some trees, and a vegetable garden. House doens’t have to be really big, just nicely furnished and with a fair amount of space.
expand my old books collection (and I’m talking $100 books) so I could have half a library instead of hald a shelf.
buy a hybrid car
give money to organizations that help preserve the environment (especially primates) and those who study apes.
I don’t have any debts (whew!) and my parents are fairly well off, so I wouldn’t worry as much about that. I’d put whatever I have left in some stocks and interest bearing accounts so that if I wanted to eat sushi out three days a week there wouldn’t be a problem
oh, and also I’d create a nice large education fund for my future kids.
Okay, this is something I think about all the time. The bad part is after I think about it so long, it gets a little too real for me and I’m depressed to be working, and living in my small house. haha ANYWAY, I would:
–Pay off all debts (duh) including my house.
–Build a HUGE home. LOTS of space, TONS of extra themed
rooms! COOL interior decorating!! We would make our
basement into a Bar-Type area for when we have people over!
Hire a full staff to cook and clean!
–TRAVEL. I would travel all over the place. I’d fly to Italy for
meals now and then, Maine for seafood and to Greece to lay
out and get a little sun. I’ll be a traveling FOOL!
–Make sure that none of my family, or close friends ever have to
worry about anything again!
–NEVER work again. I would work OUT a little, so I’d look
good in the bathing suit in Greece (if I still choose to wear a
bathing suit–I’m rich, I might just go topless!!)
–Now that I think about it, I’m buying a Greek Island. Maybe
Skorpios from the Onasis clan.
–Famous Designers are going to custom make ALL my clothes for
me.
–I’m having the nose job that I’ve always wanted (but in reality
will never ever get).
–I’m marrying my husband again, and having an enormous,
expensive wedding, just for the fun of it. Vera Wang is doing
my second wedding dress, of course.
–I’m buying LOTS of jewelry for myself.
–Building a personal movie theatre next to my home that plays
ONLY the movies that I LOVE.
–Funding a program to find out if there really is a Loch Ness
Monster. I’ve been wondering that since I was in the 3rd
grade. The suspense is killing me. (this is the weirdest one,
isn’t it?–haha)
I think that will do to start with. haha Of course, I’d invest the rest of it to live off of forEVER AND EVER!
It should be said that I know I’m a little outrageous, but if I’m going to imagine it, I’m gonna imagine it BIG!
And the home would have to have a large, nicely shaded & fenced yard so that I could have a couple of dogs. 
