Decorating & Renovating
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Stolen from ML: If you won Mega Millions
First - the clicky poll - would you prefer to take the payment as a lump sum, which would be $389 million, or as an annuity, which is $20 million a year for 26 years (both numbers are pre-tax.)
Second - what would you do with all that moo-lah?
[Poll]
Re: Stolen from ML: If you won Mega Millions
I'd take an annuity.
Well, first I guess I'd give about a third of it to the government. LOL
That leaves approximately 13 mil for me. I'd probably invest 10 mil per year. The other 3mil would get spread out as necessary. Buy a "reasonable" house and a newer car. Go on 2-3 vacations per year, etc.
The whole thing is kinda a non-issue, though, because we don't play the lottery.
Assuming that I played the lottery.
I would take the annuity.
First year, I would buy a large amount of land (possibly the acreage next door) and build a 4-wheeling/off road park. Nothing huge with trails, mostly mud holes and things like that.
I would hire all of our close 4-wheelin friends to "work". Finally lift and finish my cherokee how I want it.
Hire someone to landscape our house.
Invest.
Oh yeah and pay off the little amount of debt (student loans and small cc) that I have.
Oh and I would totally be quitting my current job. In a heart beat.
Me and mom would probably open a little place in old town.
I would take the annuity.
When I WIN the lottery
I would do this with the first year's pay:
1. Pay off all debt and our mortgage
2. Pay off my parent's debt and send them on a huge vacation. I will also have a lump sum waiting for them when they get back from this vacation.
3. Pay off my siblings' debt.
4. Buy land and build a nice home in one of my favorite parts of our state
5. Buy my husband a boat
6. Buy a vacation home by the beach
7. Buy a vacation home in Positano, Italy.
8. Start a retirement fund for my future children
9. Invest, invest, invest, save, save, save
10. Contribute to charities of my choosing
This is just the first year. I'll get back to you on the next ones:)
Take the lump sum! It's always better. I'd probably hire somebody to manage it, but even if I didn't I'd stick it in some sort of safe low interest account and still probably out perform the $20M annual payout. So you would get the lump AND interest which is more money overall, and when you factor in compound interest, it's even better. Plus if you die, I don't think they continue the payouts to your family, right?
I'd give enough to our immediate families so that nobody had to work anymore, we'd quit our jobs and probably just enjoy doing hobbies we like. I'd still want to blog and fix up houses
I would take the lump sum.
I am sure that DH would quit his current job, and we would find our forever home to move into and travel a bit.
I would really just want to make sure that we secure our future and can handle anything that could happen in for our old age.
I would have trust funds for my grandchildren and great nephews to be able to go to college, but I don't want to make things too easy for them.
I think a lot of who we are came from the struggles we have been through, so even though I would want to do something for our daughters, I don't want to make it too easy for them either.
I would like to help my sister financially, but I can't imagine she and my brother not working at least part time (especially my sister), because of the type of people they are. I think we would either start our own charitable organization or scholarship fund that we can manage together with them, or a think tank, where we can be creative together and get someone else to see our ideas through to fruition. Or all of the above, since having money like that is a huge responsibility and should be used for the greater good.
Lump sum.
Overtime I would donate to various children's charities (Ronald McDonald House, St. Jude's, childhood cancer, etc.).
Establish funds for our kids
Give to our parents and treat our siblings somehow.
Buy a lake cottage
Buy a house at the shore
Buy a ranch out west
Buy homes in all places that I like : )
All of the above would be very non-lavish homes. I really would NOT want to stick out.
Travel
Honestly, that's so much money and I would feel so overwhelmed. My H and I decided that, in the end, the majority of the money would go to childhood charities. Yes, we have discussed this and we plan on buying $10 worth of tix : )
Go Phils!!
I would sell everything I own except for a few boxes of pictures and family things, then travel with DH around the world for as long as we wanted.
Then come home to plan and build our dream house. I would also buy houses for my dad and two sisters and pay for them and their kids to go to college.
I wouldn't work and would spend all my free time researching philanthropic opportunities.
Lump Sum. I don't trust them to keep paying the annuity to term.
Pay off our rental house & give it to the tenant. She's such a nice lady who has just had a crappy run of luck.
Pay off our crappy house and sell it so we can move out west and build our dream house on acreage (and far away from our families
).
A few mil would go to the local animal shelter where most of our zoo came from - to upgrade & expand their facilities since they're always so crowded.
A bunch would go to our families to pay off their debt, set up education funds & trusts for all the kids and so our parents could retire comfortably.
We'd travel, do philanthropic work, adopt a bunch of kids and animals, and I'd set DH up with his dream garage so he can tinker to his heart's content.
Lump sum!
I'd boringly invest a lot of it, but I'd give some monetary gifts to people like my grandparents (fixed income), my dad (who is in a lot of debt and could use it), my siblings (because they're cool), the ILs (MIL and FIL are pretty money saavy, but extra helps; SIL could definitely use it too) plus put money into college savings accounts for my nieces & nephew.
I'd buy a bigger, nicer house on some land (but nothing too insane) and get a new car, but I'd probably either keep my job (since I only work part time) or become a volunteer somewhere. Especially if I could live on the interest of the investments!
TTC Baby #2 - BFP on 12/14/11 @ 10DPO - CP confirmed 12/18/11
BFP #2 on 1/13/12
I'm in it to win it x10!!! I view it as the only way out of my hell job now.
Definites:
20 million a year for 26 years...
Invest half of it every year so I'm all set...
Pay off my parents and my fabulous sister's homes and buy a family beach house "down the ocean."
Buy a full brownstone in the South end
Buy a home in Lenox, MA and one on the Cape.
Open a toy store called "Song Tails" in the South End
Take cooking classes all of the time.
Do my Doctorate at Harvard in Arts Education.
Lump Sum
Pay off our house (we have no other debt)
Buy my husband his dream car
Quit my part time job and dump about 25k into my property management company I just started ( I would want to keep working)
H would quit his job
Travel, travel, travel!
Pay for college for any family member
Tithe 10% to my church (we faithfully tithe 10% of our salaries as it is)
I don't think I would help out any family members...it's a little different since my family is decently well off and H's dad has a large multi million inheritance he's living off of.
Shopping spree for clothes and house stuff!
Oh, and I would probably eat out every. single. meal. It would be fabulous!