Comments on: Friday Fun Thread: You Can’t Win If You Don’t Play

By: elibard

elibard — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:28:49 +0000

I realize this party has already closed down, but I just arrived, so I’m setting up shop, too. (Unmix THOSE metaphors!)

Eloriane, I LOVE IT! SPACE! I’m so with you.

With $1 million, I would:

1) put 1/4 into a fund for my mother, so she knows she won’t run out of money (which she probably will in a couple of years, thanks to her health needs)

2) put a large chunk into a college fund for my two kids

3) start a business with my husband. Starting a business is in general very expensive, but with that seed capital, we could raise what we needed for the rest.

By: emilyanne

emilyanne — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:44:54 +0000

Oh I’m late to this. Anyway first of all I’d pay of my debt, and my husband’s debt. Then I’d give a big chunk to my parents for having bailed me out so many times and having paid my university and school fees. Plus i’d give some to my brother and some to my sister, both of whom need it.

Then I’d use the rest to buy a house because I’ll never ever be able to afford one without winning the lottery.

If I had anything left over I’d take the kids on a crazy shopping spree, go on a good holiday, buy some books, and purchase an entirely frivolous handmade chanel suit, because I’ve always secretly wanted something that silly.

By: BookGeek

BookGeek — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:22:53 +0000

1 mill. doesn’t go far in NYC. I would give my parents enough dough to make a huge down payment on a 2-3 bedroom apt. in a really nice building (they RENT!). I would make a large donation for scholarships to my college, which made a big difference in my life. I’d stop sweating the small stuff like childcare, new eyeglasses, car rentals, and building maitenance increases. I’d stop worrying what to do if public school stops working for my child. I’d leave our student loans alone. They are so low interest and regular payment generates great credit scores.
I supposed I might buy a bigger apartment but I like our building and location and, like I said, a million (less all the stuff above), doesn’t go very far in NYC.
I would definitely make major annual contributions to the 529 plans for my child, my niece, and my nephew.
I am sadly practical!

By: xtinA

xtinA — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 20:28:25 +0000

When I was a student and my sister was a young mother we’d enter all the contests we could find and just for fun plan what we’d do with the money. We never won a thing but the process of talking about our dreams made us look at them a bit closer and figure out what part of them we could really do. I found a way to travel on the cheap and she went back to school, finally graduating at 46. But we had the privileges of decent blue collar jobs, relatively stable family and friendships and good health.

By: viajera

viajera — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 20:02:54 +0000

Like so many others, first I’d pay off my student loan debt, and would help my sister and parents with their debts as well. Then I’d take some time off to do some traveling, focusing on Central and South America, Asia, and parts of Africa. During my travels, I’d scope out possible locations for the environmental education / ecotourism / biological station I’ve been dreaming of building for several years now. I’d use much of the remaining money to purchase the land, remodel and/or build the facilities, and set up endowed grants to draw researchers and educators to the site to conduct conservation-oriented research, while working together with and educating (and learning from) locals.

Oh, if only…

By: Endora

Endora — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:37:36 +0000

I love the idea of endowing a scholarship too. I think I’d endow one for Arts/Humanities students at my college – there is all kinds of funding for scientists in the UK but it’s getting harder and harder for arts students. I know physicists who got offers for funded PhD’s with low 2.i degrees, but an English student (for example) with a high 1st has no guarantee of getting any kind of scholarship…

By: JetGirl

JetGirl — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 04:56:10 +0000

i would get all my jacked up joints replaced by the best doctors. Though I’d probably need another million to do that.

By: jennifer

jennifer — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 04:22:36 +0000

1) pay off all my debt
2) pay off all my partner’s debt
3) pay off all my sister’s debt
4) set up some sort of account so my cousin wouldn’t have student loan debt
5) visit my friends/family across the country and world
6) quit my job and move to a city i don’t hate
7) do a tiny bit of shopping. just a teeny tiny bit.

By: Av0gadro

Av0gadro — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:28:06 +0000

I want “Screw the Algorithm!” on a t-shirt.

The talk of scholarships reminded me that I had an awesome undergrad experience in a fantastic chemistry department, and endowing some scholarships and research grants would be nice.

By: eloriane

eloriane — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 02:47:12 +0000

Sigh. I’ve read too many news articles about how winning the lottery ruins people’s lives– I’ve pre-determined that for all unexpected windfalls, 72.5% goes directly into savings (or debt, if I have any). The remainder gets split 50-50 between practical concerns and pure play money. So… $137,500 for whatever I want.

I think I’d go on a round-the-world cruise, one of the ones that stops at every continent. That would about take all the money, haha! I always focus on experiences over stuff, for spending. Even experiences I hate at the time (like my November road trip on the East Coast–what was I thinking?!) turn into happy memories eventually. Stuff goes the opposite route!

(I picked 72.5% because it’s a number of personal significance; I won’t forget that I piked it, so I’m more likely to stick to it.)

If I had THIRTY million, though, I’d go to SPACE! Screw the algorithm! Space tourism is $20 to $30 million but it would be SO WORTH IT. You know, assuming I had $30 million.