What Would You Do With a Million Dollars?
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FacebookHere’s a bit of weekend fun… Jim over at pfBlueprint asked a bunch of personal finance bloggers what they’d do with a million dollars.
This was my answer:
If a million dollars suddenly fell into my lap, I’d invest the vast majority of it. The concept of “financial freedom” is very attractive to me, so I’d focus on building up that nest egg. I’m not saying that I’ll necessarily quit my job when we reach that magical crossover point, but it’s hard to put a price on being in a position to make that decision.
Boring, but true.
So… What would you do?
(Oh, and don’t forget to click through and read the other answers.)
Published on May 9th, 2008 - 31 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
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31 Responses to “What Would You Do With a Million Dollars?”
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May 9th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
“I’ll tell you what I’d do. Two chicks at the same time.”
…But seriously, I definitely agree. I’d invest (nearly) all of it. Gotta have some fun with it, too you know. Can’t save it all for a rainy day.
May 10th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Diversify investments and live off 1/2 the interest.
May 10th, 2008 at 9:52 am
I would invest about 95% of it in a mutual fund most likely. 1 Million is not really enough to retire at my current age so I would also consider working, but would have a lot less pressure worrying about money. Besides, retiring too early could make it a little too boring since there would really be nothing to do for long periods of times.
May 10th, 2008 at 10:55 am
I’d pay off all my debt, which isn’t much right now, the pay off my house and buy a house for my parents. Whatever is left over would go into savings.
May 10th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
i would get a new car! nothing too fancy just a 07 08 toyota. probably avalon. the rest would be put into a cd or something where the interest is paid to my savings or checking so i could live off it for a while. take a nice little 6-12 month break. then get back to work. =)
May 10th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
I would put about 50% of the money on saving accounts. About 10% I would invest in stocks. Some money I would use to make my dreams reality (own martial arts shool etc.) and rest probably on some funds.
May 10th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
I would spend every penny on a million dollar house, which is a whole lot of house in Texas.
May 11th, 2008 at 9:32 am
I’ld do just what I do with my “non-million” dollars I have now: Donate some/save some/spend some. In that order.
May 11th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
A million bucks ain’t what it used to be. I’d probably buy another car – as my Acura is turning 8 and has not been problem free. But I’d still buy used ($25k). I’d probably upgrade my home – maybe to a 4 bedroom with a yard so I could start a family. I’d still take out a mortgage as that’d run me $500k in my neighborhood. But I’d pay at least 50% down ($200k + equity in current home).
I probably wouldn’t tell anyone either – not even my parents. I’d probably go visit and offer to get them a nice gift, same for my sister. But they are fairly simple people who don’t owe any money (both parents and my sister have paid for homes!) and don’t lead an extravagent lifestyle so I have no idea what they’d want as they really have no true needs ($25k).
But you are always reading about lottery winners who become suckers cause every church, charity, con artist, relative is there with a hand out to get their share. (Don’t get me wrong – churches, charities, and family can be good things, but they will always be there with a hand out) That’s why I wouldn’t tell anyone. I’d give where I saw a need and not let anyone think I had anymore than anyone else.
So I guess I’ve spent a total of $250k already not including charities, which would be something I would give to over time. The rest would be invested so I could continue to help my family, myself, and others if needed.
May 11th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
As you say: add it to your nestegg (which had better be a LOT damn bigger than $1 Mill. by the time you ‘retire’!) … it’s interesting that $1 Mill. now invested wisely will spin off about $25k a year (adjusted for inflation).
$1 Mill. in 20 years (which is what most people will say that they are skimping and saving for) will only bring in about $15k a year (in today’s dollars).
When you think about it in non-emotive terms, $1 Mill. just ain’t what it used to be …
… food for thought?
May 11th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
I wrote a post on Why I Still Play The Lottery that also covers what I’d do if I won:
http://www.dontfeedthealligato.....he-lottery
May 11th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
“I’ll tell you what I’d do, man: two chicks at the same time, man.”
Seriously though I would pay off all my debt which would leave me with just about $700,000. Invest the rest, quite my job, and go work construction installing underground utilities with the local union at $35/hr May thru Nov and then ski Dec-April.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Tithe 10%, invest the rest in index funds to pass on some day to my children.
I don’t particularly like the idea of quitting my career and “living off the interest”. We have a young family, with 3 children 3 and under (and #4 on the way!). $1million could completely finance their college education, and help to buy my children’s 1st homes, etc.
Although now that I’ve said it, I am not exactly sure how good it would be for them to have everything provided for “free”, no worries, etc. Think Paris Hilton. I’ve had to work for everything, to manage the family finances carefully, to live below our means and save for the future. Could raising a trust-fund-baby actually be a curse in disguise?
Jonathan
May 12th, 2008 at 11:20 am
With 1 million dollars, I would pay off my condo, purchase 3 more in the same development, and start renting 3 of them out. I’d pay off any of my friends debts, and put the rest in the bank.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
If I had a million dollars…I would convert my house to solar. Open a coffeeshop and invest the rest.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
I would invest most of it in tax efficient investments for non-retirement accounts. Most likely I would choose Index funds + municipal bonds. I would move the money into the investments over a year or two so that I’m dollar cost averaging.
Depending on the rate of return I may pay off my mortgage, and be debt free. I’m not certain though as the mortgage is only at 5%.
I wouldn’t make any radical career changes for at least a year. $1Mil isn’t really enough to live off forever, but with a bit of compounding it could be… I think I would work part time so I have more time with my family while the kids are young. Longer term I might try opening my own company or take a very rewarding but low paying job.
I would spend a bit of it short term to celebrate, say 5% to take some very nice vacations, get some nice toys (a large screen TV, new computer etc).
-Rick
May 12th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
I’d hide it from my wife!
May 13th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I’d pay off all my debt including my house, sell my current old cars, buy new reliable cars with good gas mileage (nothing fancy), & invest the rest. Any extra money I have at the end of each month I’ll invest in the account. I just like the idea of not oweing a dime to anyone.
May 13th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
I agree with MIT Beta – donate/save&invest/spend. A million dollars is enough to do a little bit of a lot.
Unlike Flexo @ Consumerism Commentary, if I Had a million dollars I wouldn’t start my own foundation, I would contribute a portion to a foundation already doing good. There are so many deserving causes that already have the infrastructure in place to do good… why waste funds setting up another?
May 15th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Are we talking about a million dollars tax-free?
May 15th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
My husband and I would probably buy some land just outside of town and build a house with all the things we didn’t know we needed in our first house (can you say 3 car garage and solar/wind power). With more land we would need bigger garden tools…
We have both had some business ideas rolling around in our heads the last year or so, and I suspect this kind of capital would push us to make it into a real business plan.
We have some debt, and would undoubtedly buy something expensive (hybrid car/European vacation). I have thought for a long time I wanted to pay off my Dad’s student loans.
Since it is true that $1M is not what it used to be, the point of this exercise is not usually to brag about how great we are off financially and how generous we would be with this money, but to determine what it is you really want out of life.
Given that, once we get other things in order my husband and I should start saving for the next house and start drawing up the business plan. $1M or no $1M.
May 17th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I already have a cushy job as an assistant professor and we bank my wife’s salary anyway. However, I know that she would find some way to quit her job and would try to never work again.
If she didn’t though, I would say let’s take her salary and split it both ways each month and let the $1 million grow. I also would self-publish all of my books and see if I could make money from that…
May 19th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
If we had a million dollars, we would buy a house. On a little bit of land. I would learn how to vegetable garden. I would quit my job and go to graduate school, become a CPA and then do taxes for rich people while my husband goes back to school.
May 27th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Buy a nice house maybe in the $300,000 range. That will get you a lot in TN. A $30-$40,000 car. Pay off all my bills. Give close family members and a couple of close friends 20,000 each. Pay off my dads condo help my Sis and Bro put a down payment on a house they can afford. Find someone i trust to help me invest the rest for a good return. if i play my cards right my husband may only have to work part time. That would be great. Of course i would also have to take maybe 20,000 and go crazy, new clothes for the kids me and hubby, furniture I’ve had my eye on for years. New TVs for all the rooms a nice vacation to Disney World.
December 26th, 2008 at 7:44 am
First off, to those who think a mill is THAT life changing, I suggest you do a little math hehehehe….
I would pay the tax on it first, which in Minnesota would leave me with about 750k +/-, then I would use about 100k to pay off what little debt I have. then I would invest 200k in a broad base index fund and ride the market back out of this hole, and use that to pay off my medical degree, Then I would buy a modest $300,000 house in a decent neighborhood and spend another $100,000 making it the house of my dreams with all those little details that would make me never want to sell it. whatever is left I would have spent on incidental junk along the way so there is no way in hell I would quit my job, a mill isnt anywhere near enough for that!
March 3rd, 2009 at 8:55 pm
If I won 1,000,000 dollars first, i would buy basically everything at Wet Seal (my FAVORITEE store:D) and then I might buy myself a trampoline, since my parents wont get me one:D
since that would only add up to a few hundred dollars, i think i would split the rest in half, donate half to cancer research, and the rest to my Band teacher, because he does everything for us, and tries to give us the best out of what the band can afford. We’re doing every fundraiser, and i think it would be nice to give him some money to spend on the band stuff we need.
March 25th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Your financial advisors are going to HATE me. I would choose one of these:
Give it all to my church.
Start a construction company that only hired ex-offenders.
Travel around the world and preach the gospel.
Give away free Bibles.
Evangelize though billboards and full page ads in magazines and newspapers.
Go to Africa and drill a well in any town that needed water.
Fill up my local food bank.
Plant a church in a town that did not have one.
Help change “bad” laws in the United States.
Yeah, yeah. I’m a goody 2-shoes. I don’t care. THAT’S what I’d do!
March 27th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
If I had 50 million dollars, I would start a Church, invest a little in property, and give the rest to Voice Of The Mayrters, or Gospel For Asia. I would also by Ray Comfort out of tracts ,and start a big witnessing team.
I would buy gobs of free Bibles, and pass them out to the poor, and I would purchase a local TV channel for Ray Comfort’s Way Of The Master.
50 Million is a lot of money, and if one has that amount of money, it would be pure foolishness for him to buy himself extravegant needless things. He should put it towards preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
That’s what I would do.
May 1st, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Be imaginative my friends! I would sell or give away virtually everything I own and travel with my wife to every country of the world, taking on a something new in every one of them (whether it be a job, a voluntourism project, an educational opportunity, or just something invigorating or eye-opening)… have a few kids along the way (none yet but we look forward to starting) and expose them to the most exciting and enlightening life possible… and if we ever decide to settle down again we’ll probably make a boat home!
May 3rd, 2009 at 9:21 pm
I already work over 100 hours per week so that I can sustain Table Talk Ministries, we make free home repairs for the elderly and the disabled.
First, I would eliminate the waiting list, we currently have 36 on it.
Then I would purchase a couple newer trucks with tool beds and trailers so we could be more effective in our work.
Lastly, I would be able to start a proper ad campaign to bring in donations, (they’re tax deductible).
I actually, might splurge on a vacation/honeymoon, I haven’t had a vacation since 1982, I got married in 2002 and we never got to go on a honeymoon.
I would continue to work until I knew for sure that Table Talk could become self-sustaining.
December 16th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
I would splurge and re-decorate the double-wide.