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Discussion
8 Years Ago
In the news: A mystery lottery winner Has until Friday to claim prize of 7 million dollars! If you won 7 million how would you spend your first purchases?
Reply Order
8 Years Ago
Well 7 million, if you cashed out and payed taxes, would be slightly under 4 I think.
I would put it in safe investments, and wait for the opportunity to invest in land. 4 million doesn't go very far when you start talking land purchases and farming.
8 Years Ago
Homes for my children.
My life wouldn't change much, at this point....I have all that I need to be happy.
8 Years Ago
I'd pay off the mortgage and remodel my house. I'd buy new cars for us. I'd give a big chunk to the WWF with stipulations that it be used to buy rainforest in Indonesia. Or maybe buy some myself. :D
8 Years Ago
I would Purchase a HUGE Chunk of land, Near my current location as I have lots of surrounding photo opportunity. In the middle of this huge chunk of land I would put a Studio style open floor plan log cabin, with one "Bedroom" and an apartment style kitchen, the rest of the place would be open photography work space. I would invest in a nice gate, moat full of vicious critters, to surround the entire chunk. Said chunk would have to have a stream as I just like natural water features. Then I would buy all of that photography stuff I look at and drool but could never afford. With the remaining $10 I would probably purchase lunch at McDonalds.
8 Years Ago
I would love to donate money to local charities, too. And then start searching GoFundMe for good causes. I hate being broke.
8 Years Ago
Pay off all debt....Donate some.....And continue looking for a beach house...Only with 3.5 million, it could be right on Venice, FL beach instead of a few blocks off. :)
8 Years Ago
I would buy some small things, like a better car and paying off the condo. Small things.
I would invest a year or two from now the remainder in a Vanguard Value Fund. Value stocks should have a great
run like in the 1950 to 1965 and the 1987 to 1999 periods. I would avoid RE.
I would then have the time to study piano, computer generated music, and classical and jazz composition at the Hartt School
of Music, one of the best school in the country and just a few miles from me.
My auditory is limited for languages, but not for music and maths.
Dave
8 Years Ago
Pay off the cc and student loan debt. Donate my photo services to ailing kids families, pay my mom back what I owe her, donate to various places, then buy my way back into the UK, start up a business and live there permanently... nothing crazy
8 Years Ago
half of that goes to taxes. the rest would be divided up to different banks i guess.
---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com
8 Years Ago
Buy my dream home on the coast and fence it so my animals would be safe to roam. I'd put in automatic irrigation and have coastal cottage gardens blooming everywhere. It would also need a separate guest cottage for the caretaker who will care for my babies while I'm on the road.
8 Years Ago
This is a great excercise goal setting - I'm thinking that several of the things that come to mind could probably be done without winning the $7 Mil!
Like, I have a son with Down syndrome so doing something extra for him and kids with special needs would be right up there
then I think I would hire an assistant to extend the reach of my dreams :)
I would like to support art and artists
and - set up a p.t. base in Europe...
Probably all doable if one puts their mind to it!
8 Years Ago
Buy a small homestead in the country, a small RV and live a life like Loree does but with a home base, and with painting instead of photography. I'd also have a decent shop/garage where I could tinker with a couple classic cars. The rest would be invested for income or used for charitable purposes, (like paying off my Mom's house for her.)
8 Years Ago
Travel the world in style. Fend off long lost relatives who would come out of the woodwork.
8 Years Ago
I'd quit my day job and focus on creating, because then I'd finally have the time and energy to do everything I want to do. Plus I'd buy a little house with a little yard and finally get a dog, because I'd have the time to give it the attention it needs.
8 Years Ago
I'd help out my sister and brother, nieces and nephews (mortgages, college funds). I'd finally have a little home on Cape Cod, a decent car, laser surgery on my back...and two French Bulldogs :) ....oh and a really kick azz custom-made-to-my-specs computer.
8 Years Ago
I'd buy a nicer RV. Not bigger, just nicer. And maybe a little plot of land so I could park for a while if I ever got tired of traveling. Then I'd probably split the rest between causes I believe in and my kids.
8 Years Ago
I might try to buy a little freedom in terms of paying someone big bucks to pet-sit so I could travel more. Invest for my son's future, but I'm pretty much where Marlene is. I have everything I need or ever wanted, actually. I feel very lucky.
8 Years Ago
Pay the taxes FIRST. Bank half the remainder. Give the other half away, starting with people I have had the closest associations with, then progressing to random needy strangers, in increments ranging from a few thousand to a few hundred dollars each.
My half? ... Well, I'd have to sit on it a while and think about it. No need wasting the energy thinking about it in detail, however, until the money is in the bank, and so all I can tell you at present is that I will let you know if it ever happens.
8 Years Ago
I'd buy a small bohemian style place right on the beach maybe in Islamorada or Marathon in the Florida keys, these were my favorite fishing grounds for many years and I miss them. The property would have a separate interesting retail gallery or tourist stop on the main strip where I could show and sell my art. Other than that nothing would change. Oh, I forgot maybe a 17 foot open fisherman boat that I could have ready to go at all times at my quaint small private dock.
8 Years Ago
Move the hell out of the city and never look back and save as many cats as I possibly can.
8 Years Ago
I'd make all the doctor's appointments I've had to put off. First, though, I'd need a car, as traversing San Antonio without wheels is not for the faint of heart.
So -- car, then doctors. Oh . . . and a grocery store spree!
Everything else could wait; though if I were found to have any decent life expectancy, relocation would happen pretty quickly.
(Hoping my imaginary win would be much bigger than the 7M stated. I'd love to actually have something left after the medical stuff!)
8 Years Ago
@Sharon Cummings
"Pay off all debt....Donate some.....And continue looking for a beach house...Only with 3.5 million, it could be right on Venice, FL beach instead of a few blocks off. :)
Sharon, 3.5 million is only lump sum payout... you forgot to deduct federal and state taxes which knocks it down to about 1.75 million.
I know, bummer, huh? Maybe one block off beach? :-0
Bill Tomsa
http://billtomsa.blogspot.com/
8 Years Ago
Hmmm, this is a tough one. One of my dreams in to travel the globe (specifically backpacking around AUS, New Zealand, Iceland and all of Europe). So first I would buy that one and a half grand lens I am saving up for ;) And then I would travel; all along the way trying new foods and whatnot :D
Love this thread idea!
8 Years Ago
What's this I hear before taxes, after taxes, your left with only 1.7 million dollars really or you need more than 1 million? I didn't know we had so many wealthy people here. Lol Give me $100,000 cash for free and I'll find a great water front property, it might not be the Florida keys, but I'll find one.
8 Years Ago
You don't really want to know. My wife would get all but a few thousand of it to do with whatever she wished - a few thousand, me thinks would take care of me.
8 Years Ago
I would pay off the mortgage, finish restoring the house back to its original 1880s style, invest some into retirement, and then donate the bulk of it to my alma mater SUNY Fredonia, as well as the Frederick Law Olmstead Parks System and the Tifft Nature Preserve, both in Buffalo.
8 Years Ago
Really, first thing would be more time with my kids. Maybe take them on a road trip up the east coast.
And a stop at the B&H store in New York!
Me and some if my train buddies always get into either what steam engine are you restoring or what railroad are you buying questions with the lottery.
8 Years Ago
Money is to be spent ...............not saved or invested in a manged financially beneficial account right?
8 Years Ago
A wise person once said that "money only makes you more of what you already are". I have found this to be true
8 Years Ago
But people can change their relationship with money. I used to be a very poor money manager, spending every dime and then some, had a lot of debt, living paycheck to paycheck. Now I have zero debt and enough cash that I could survive 8 months or so without income if I had to. I don't make much more money, in fact my expenses have risen faster than my income, but my attitude towards money has changed, though it still needs work, I'm far from perfect but far better than I used to be. I'll grant you though, that kind of change is a pretty rare thing, especially when a pile of cash gets dumped on a person that doesn't have a healthy relationship with money, it usually ends badly.
8 Years Ago
Pay off all our bills so my husband could retire, put half of what was left in the bank, use the other half to buy land so my son has a comfortable inheritance, and just ride the rails like hobos for a while.
8 Years Ago
I would bless the lives of those less fortunate in my circle of life, buy an ocean front property with a view like none other, travel the world to capture unique images and open a Art Gallery.
8 Years Ago
Get out of debt, of course pay the taxes (that is debt), pay mortgage and do all the remodel and landscaping I want to do for my house, even if I sell it afterwards but I might just stay where I am. If I did get a new home it would possibly be in a new city and/or country. Maybe just a few planned trips.OH OH!! Ballroom dance lessons for sure, maybe some martial arts and of course new camera, lenses and a few photo trips would be planned. Yes, I would still keep doing photos/art but if I wasn't strapped for money, I'd probably donate profits to a wildlife org.
edit: Ken's post reminded me of something I've always thought would be fun to do. Like some of the hgtv shows, go into a neighborhood and do a complete landscape 'remodel' for a whole neighborhood's front yards. Nothing completely extreme but enough to improve all of them! Thant would be a blast. That seems to be the one area homeowners end up dropping the ball on. Either from lack of funds or lack of knowledge.
8 Years Ago
I don't buy the lottery but people give me the tickets as gifts, so if I won, well, there is a difference between what money can buy and what money can't buy.
So .... I would take it all and buy many, many of my prints of Goodness and Hope photography and give it all away by handing it directly to people who need hope. joy, peace, and contentment, etc... .
I don't think I'd have to travel the world to find what is already here in the USA. I know this from the letters I get.
8 Years Ago
I keep dreaming of winning a REALLY big lottery. Maybe in the range of 40 million or so. After taxes, I figure I would have enough left to buy a large piece of land, build a state of the art animal shelter ,have a vet on staff full time, and take in any kind of animal that needs help. Also have a large staff to care for theses animals until we could find them good, loving homes. The old ones that people don't want could live out their lives in peace and comfort.
I honestly don't know what I'd do with a smaller amount. Probably put some away and donate to the local animal shelters already existing.
8 Years Ago
Michelle,
Most people I know want to move to Hawaii, not Alaska or Iceland.
We get very tired of winter in Connecticut.
Dave
8 Years Ago
Roy, I'd happily accept that car -- and would be both grateful and humbled. Thank you for the kind thought. :-)
8 Years Ago
I suppose we'd have to find lawyers first. But who do you trust?
My life wouldn't change much. I think I'd add more to the kids trust funds and create trust funds for nieces and nephews for when they are much older.
Pay off the house, travel more and support good local charities for homeless families.
8 Years Ago
Luckily I have a friend who's a lawyer who I do trust implicitly. The trouble would be getting him to make the time to take on another client, but I'm sure a big donation to his favorite cause would motivate him. :)
8 Years Ago
Money motivates nearly everybody, (I wouldn't be doing this job if it wasn't for the money!) my friend however has a lot of interests that take a lot of time, he actually tries to minimize his workload so he can commit as much time as possible on those interests. He almost lost his biggest client over it once! lol
8 Years Ago
Marlene, I often think about this. Like many here I wouldn't go crazy with the money. I would probably purchase a modest home. I like cozy so nothing huge. I would buy the best computer for my needs, some camera equipment. A pet or 2 would be nice. (my cat died almost a year ago and I won't be getting another in the near future because I can't afford to.) I would purchase a car to be able to travel for photo shoots. I'm not really interested in luxuries. I like to keep things simple. Share the money with my sister of course!
Kenny, 7 million isn't enough for you? LOL!
8 Years Ago
John, probably the primary charity I'd work with if I was very wealthy is a local organization that works with private land owners and the government to preserve open land and wilderness.
8 Years Ago
It can buy me a boat.
It could buy me a truck to pull it.
It could buy me a Yeti 110 iced down with some silver bullets. .... 🎶🎼🎻🎸
8 Years Ago
Down around the shore
some miles from here
was a sunny beach
where time stood still
Off on the horizon
was a sailing ship
I got on and next thing
I know
I am down in Aruba
going slow
Lawyers look high
and liars looking low
internet cheats keep'n track of me
Cant run in Aruba because
the Islands so small.
Need me a mansion
up on a hill
in come the waters
and I feel so small
Storm seasons over
got on a plane
all out of money
and home again.
Everyone out there trust me I am not giving up my day job. LOL
Dave