# You've won a gazillion $$. What are the modest things you would do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 1, 2018, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373 "2018-12-01T04:18:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/21 "2018-12-01T17:45:15Z")
I’d hire a personal shopper. I absolutely despise shopping. Indeed, one of the best things about working in a store is that I don’t have to make a special trip to go shopping. And I’ve been known to go hungry rather than grocery shop. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/22 "2018-12-01T17:45:59Z")
I’d recruit talented local musicians and form a local band. Pay each member a modest fee to participate. Perhaps $150 a gig. That’s far more than local musicians normally make gigging. It wouldn’t be a big expense for a lottery winner. It would be wonderful to perform without worrying about earning a living. Play strictly because we love music. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/23 "2018-12-01T18:54:09Z")
Acreage, lots of it. Then I’d move my tiny house onto it and I’d finish up the interior like a little jewel box with a fucking amazing kitchen space while also building on a nice big bedroom suite so the loft can be a guest room. A pole barn outfitted with freezers and a nice laundry room and a big pantry, stocked to the gills. Fenced all around so the critters can run around without getting into TOO much trouble. I’d hire a cleaning person and someone to do the heavy gruntwork around the place and buy a rugged little hobby tractor to help with that. A deeeluxe catio. Then I’d start rescuing animals like it was my job. The only really silly, frivolous thing I’d do would be to buy a Cadillac CTS, one with the Corvette engine option and all the bells and whistles. I’d still get a used one, though, like a lease return. I’m philosophically opposed to spending money on that much depreciation. That would pretty much have me set for life. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/24 "2018-12-01T19:43:45Z")
I’d go somewhere warm - not hot but warm - and interesting for the winter. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/25 "2018-12-01T21:40:19Z")
I would consider buying expensive clothes from Duluth Trading Co., but I probably wouldn’t. Nothing worse than a cheap-skate with money. :rolleyes: A “Gazillion”? I’d establish a new identity. Then disappear… ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/26 "2018-12-01T21:50:21Z")
I would fly first class wherever I go. And I would spend three or four months every winter in Barbados or equivalent. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/27 "2018-12-01T22:56:08Z")
I’m a hobbit, so no travel for me. I’d be more likely to buy a few dozen acres in Western Colorado, put some horsies on it for The Missus to play with, nice kitchen, etc. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/28 "2018-12-01T23:32:39Z")
Get a decent phone. I have a crappy one that works ok for making phone calls but is really glitchy for retrieving messages or entering stuff using the touch screen keypad. But it’s only $6.66 per month so I just keep using it. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/29 "2018-12-01T23:36:16Z")
Buy this Message Board. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/30 "2018-12-02T02:22:14Z")
Socks. I’d never wear a washed pair again because I love the feel of a brand new pair. I mentioned this a few years back to a former worker and after a few weeks he came back that he never would have thought of it but agreed with it. I could do this now but I’m too cheap. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/31 "2018-12-02T02:33:45Z")
> [@PoppaSan](#): > > Socks. I’d never wear a washed pair again because I love the feel of a brand new pair. > I mentioned this a few years back to a former worker and after a few weeks he came back that he never would have thought of it but agreed with it. I could do this now but I’m too cheap. I shared the exact same reply with a friend at work. There is NOTHING like the feel of brand new socks. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/32 "2018-12-02T04:04:18Z")
Adopt my cat. It’s probably the first thing I would do- call my boss and say “I just won the lottery. Don’t tell anyone yet. Make me a wish list of the things you want. Also, put Sapphire on hold for me and I’ll be picking her up as soon as I decide where I want to live.” She hates it there. She hates everyone. She loves me and I love her. But between my work and my living situation and my income, I can’t responsibly take her home. Other things… I’d have a garden. Or plants in general. It’s another thing my nomadic lifestyle and excessive work schedule makes difficult. I’m at home a day or two every couple weeks during warmer months and “at home” often means “at home to brush my teeth and sleep”, not that I get to really hang out there. A few classes, too. If I had the time and the money, I could take an ice skating class and a pottery class and some photography and design classes. I could even go back to dance classes. Heat. I could live in a place that was well-insulated and afford to heat it. Or possibly just move to a warmer climate. I’m sick to death of always being chilly. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/33 "2018-12-02T04:39:16Z")
I’d probably still drive the same car I’m driving now (2017 Escape) if I won a ton of money. I’d probably get a new one every couple years and give the old one away, but I don’t see myself buying anything more fancy whatsoever. I might actually take up drinking a bit, too. Right now, chief among the reasons I don’t drink (granted, there are many) is that I always have to drive. Well with my own Driver On Call I might have a tipple here or there. I’d probably go to more concerts too. If I can afford great seats and, once again, have a driver, live shows would be so much better. I have a friend who is well-off and he goes to shows a lot, because he can rent a party bus and get tickets up close. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/34 "2018-12-02T08:40:53Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Buy this Message Board. Outbid you for this message board. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/35 "2018-12-02T09:09:17Z")
I would have a private driver drive me around in some kind of large and comfortable car, not a limousine but like a large Jaguar sedan, any time I had to drive around inside a large city. I enjoy driving but I hate driving in city traffic because people move too fucking slowly, are overly hesitant and timid, too slow off the line when lights or arrows turn green, and perpetually distracted by their phones. Driving in these conditions is just tedious bullshit. I would rather pay someone to do it for me. I would have other cars for driving on good roads or tracks. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/36 "2018-12-02T12:03:37Z")
Track down every outstanding debt I have and pay them off, Give lots of money to ministries I have been unable to support because I’m usually broke, Buy an old house (not a mansion) and get it restored by Nicole Curtis, (OK, not exactly modest, but not exactly extravagant, either) Cut back my hours at work so I can volunteer at a school, Travel around enough to establish connections with my nieces and nephews. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/37 "2018-12-02T16:26:54Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > As to the answer… I’d probably move closer to my job. I don’t think you understand quite how much a gazillion is. If you wanted to keep working (some people like their jobs), move your job closer to you. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/38 "2018-12-02T16:41:40Z")
I’d buy a small [_Amorphophallus titanum_](https://www.logees.com/corpse-flower-amorphophallus-titanum.html) to install in my new tropical greenhouse, and eagerly anticipate flowering to the acclaim of the entire neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/39 "2018-12-02T16:46:50Z")
> [@](#): > > If you wanted to keep working (some people like their jobs), move your job closer to you. But this thread is for _modest_ things. I’d buy a new phone and new car every two years. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373/40 "2018-12-02T17:17:45Z")
Ordering off the regular menu at fast food places. I’ve gotten into the habit of only ordering off the value menu, or only ordering items if I have a BOGO free coupon. If I were wealthy, I’d just order what I wanted. Double quarter pounder? sure. Whenever I want one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-won-a-gazillion-what-are-the-modest-things-you-would-do/825373.md?page=3)