I’m not sure. Seeing how difficult it has been for my mother in law to find reasonably priced individual insurance I don’t know that I want to loose the coverage my family and I have with my company. We have some good health insurance right now. Plus my job really isn’t all that hard. I work maybe 4 to 6 hours a day. For any travel now I’d be flying 1st class and the family would be joining me to do fun stuff when I wasn’t working.
I agree with what one poster said about the amount being important. I’m fortunate to make a very good salary…and my wife makes a decent one. So I figured out once that the lottery has to be above $15 million to make it so that I don’t have to work anymore. Any less than that and I’d still have to have a job.
Assuming that I could find health insurance that I was confident in, I’ve always wanted to open up a little import store. Specilizing in those little knick knacks that are unique to certain locations but that you can’t ever find in the US when you get back from vacation. I figure I could take 3 months out of the year to “find new suppliers” so I’d get to travel all over the place as part of the job.
I would quit THIS job and probably volunteer time and/or money to a cause I feel strongly about. I’d take care of my family and some friends. I live a pretty simple life. I’d buy a small house with just a bit more floorspace than I have now. My money would definitely be spent on making others’ lives better.
I’d quit this job (with notice, I like all my immediate co-workers and superiors) but I’d have to do something regularly. Maybe go work in a theater or bartend or something like that.
I couldn’t do the stereotypical island thing or anything like that, I’d be bored out of my skull. I need to be in a city. Speaking of which, I’d see if I could get one of the bigger bedrooms in my apartment, but I wouldn’t want to move. I love my place; all the rich-people neighborhoods are too damn far from anything fun.
Then do it now – it’ll be much cheaper if you don’t wait. Also, if you’d pay $30M to leave your wife, something’s seriously wrong, and you are doing a disservice to both of you by staying.
If I’m missing some sort of “Everyone on SDMB knows that Inigo Montoya and his wife joke about divorce” gag, just pretend that I forgot to read MPSIMS that day, and that I’m clueless.
I’d give the office 30 days notice (no reason to burn any bridges by bolting).
Then, me and all my friends would spend a lost weekend in Vegas. I’d make sure we each blow about $25K at the blackjack tables. There’d be champagne, hookers…we’d party like rockstars.
Then, I’d spend the next year meandering around the globe. I’d take my time, and only move on to the next country when I got bored. If I got lonely, I’d send a friend a 1st class ticket so they could hang out with me for a weekend or so.
After the long trek, I’d return home to get a PhD, then become a professor/author (so, yeah, I’d take a job).
As for the family, I’d be sure to set Mom up with a doggy daycare business (I know she’d love it), and I’d do lots of philanthropic work for animals and kids. The rest of the family would get a one time cash infusion, but wouldn’t be on my payroll. In truth, after that initial spending splurge, I’d probably live pretty close to the vest, quietly investing the money.
I got a text today from the head of the mega-pool that I am in that we had won and that he needed me to contact him ASAP. I called him and found out we won $150, and that it is shared equally by all 15 pool members. He wanted to know wether I voted for us to buy more mega tickets or to take a cash disbursement.
I’m currently on maternity leave, so it wouldn’t exactly be quitting, but I wouldn’t go back. It would make homeschooling financially easy, and it would mean we could afford everything for a large family. That would keep me occupied for at least fifteen-twenty years. My husband would quit in a nanosecond, spend evenings at the dojo, and the days with me and the baby.
We’d talk to a financial advisor, set up college funds for kids, friends, relatives, and friends’ kids.
We’d find a nice building for his dojo when he’s reached second dan, and set it up with his school and other interesting physical arts- Systema, Filipino stickfighting, yoga, massage therapists, capoaeira.
And then we’d bribe our best friends to move up here, quit their jobs, and form a quasi-commune. Hey, I’m not equipped to teach my kids Latin, and they are.
I would definitely quit this Engineering desk job as well, simply because 6:30 am is not my natural time to wake up. Although there would be other things I’d do instead, like maybe work for soup kitchens or Habitat for Humanity a few days of the week.
One time in college, a guy who I know through a few friends who won the lottery came out with us to the bars and bought everyone Jaeger bombs. He eventually drank so much that night he puked on the seat and we had to sneak him out of the bar. So yeah - after watching that, I realized you need to keep your life at least somewhat busy and with purpose.
I’d help my brother out with his new business, help Mom out in general, make sure all the godchildren have college funds and that the rest of the family is OK, do some major remodeling of the house, invest in some rental property nearby, plan things out so that I could quit my job. I already have a couple of volunteer gigs; I’d find a couple more. Also, I’d travel. I could spend a whole lot more time visiting friends and family (they’re spread out pretty much around the world). I’m not at all worried about keeping busy and having a routine; I have lots of excellent retired role models who are far busier than I am.
I’d make sure to create a trust to claim the money with so that no one could get to the information that I’d won unless I wanted them to know. I probably wouldn’t share details with anyone except my brother and my best friends.