What would you do if you won the lottery?

You mean you don't have a plan?

Published on July 8, 2004 By chiprj In Blogging

So, I was at work yesterday and I was hanging out in the office at the end of the day with a couple friends. We got on the subject of money and that somehow led to the lottery. I mentioned that I heard on the news that someone had won the $290 million jackpot a few days back and we started in on how to spend that much money.

Well, I don't know who was more suprised... my friends because I was able to roll out a detailed plan of how I'd spend such a windfall, or myself because my friends didn't have a plan. I haven't had any sleepless nights over how I'd spend this fictional money, but I have thought about what I'd really like to do if I had all the money I needed to do it...

So here's the question - What would you do if you won the lottery? And since the jackpot isn't usually $290 million, let's say that you won a jackpot big enough to collect $1 million a year (after taxes) for the next 25 years.

Here's my plan (not in any particular order of importance) -

I'd buy a home in Hawaii. Island of Oahu. I've spent a good portion of my Army career on Oahu and I love it there.

I'd buy a home on the central California coast. Gotta have a mainland hideout and I'd put it somewhere between Monterey and San Francisco.

I'd set up members of my family with homes/money to fix/add on to their homes. (Now on $1 Mil/year, I'm not going to be able buy all those homes in the first year, but it would all happen).

I'd set up my niece and nephew with college funds - cousins and seconds cousins, too. Any family member that wants to go to college, goes. Same goes for the children of my good friends.

Here's my favorite part - I'd buy a fully loaded RV and drive all over this big, beautiful country of ours and I'd see at least one Major League Baseball game in every stadium in one season (I know, I stole the idea from that MasterCard commercial, but that doesn't make it any less valid a lottery fantasy) and I'd go to see every Monday Night Football game in one season, too. My wife likes this idea very much, too. I've gotten her interested in baseball and she'd love to spend time on the road, seeing things all over the US between the games. During football season, I'd do my best to follow John Madden's horse trailer, too.

Beyond that, I don't know how much more I'd do. I know I would travel beyond the RVing. Probably all over the world for a year or so. And then, I don't know... maybe another go around on the baseball stadiums. I do love baseball.

So, what would you do?

Comments

Poetmom99

on Jul 08, 2004

Two houses...one here in Ohio, and one in Arizona.
Full college tuition for all three of my kids.
A nice house for my mother, and help my brother and sis in law pay off their mortgage.
A new car for the family
A trip for myself and hubby, seeing all the places we've always wanted to see.
A family vacation to Disney World.

Kayles

on Jul 08, 2004

Here's mine in no particular order:

Take my ex back to court and get my poor kids' "parenting time" schedule worked out in a way that's more convenient for them.
Build a synagogue, school and all for our town.
Help all of my family and friends who need financial assistance.
Buy a house (1 bedroom for each of my kids, a few extra bedrooms for guests, and lots of bathrooms, what the hell, I'll have a maid!) and a car (a big ol' SUV, no mini-van for me).
Travel all around the world.
Go to college to be a chef.
Go to college to be a teacher.
Start a home for pregnant teens that get kicked out of their homes.
I'd finally have time to learn all of the hobbies I've been wanting to learn for so long!
Have an organic vegetable farm.
Own and help operate a bed and breakfast here, maybe even some sort of resort.
Put a lot of money into my community.

I'm sure there's more, but I think that's good for now.

citahellion

on Jul 08, 2004

Pay off my house and any other debts outstanding.
Do some remodeling, probably.
New car for my woman.
Set aside a college tuition fund for my daughter (but don't tell her about it, I want her to work for her education).
Hire a financial advisor.
Make a large donation to my alma mater and a couple of good charities (which I have yet to locate, unfortunately).
Take an interesting trip at least once or twice a year.
Sponsor some local events.
Give my immediate family members enough to set themselves up comfortably.
Make sure that I spend less than $500,000 a year and invest the rest well.

psychx

on Jul 08, 2004

Buy a seat on a russian Soyuz capsule.

chiprj

on Jul 08, 2004

Poetmom99, Kayles, and citahellion - very nice. Looks like you all have pretty diverse plans. I like the family-centric orientation. I might have to add some kind of charity/sponsorship/ community outreach idea to mine, too. I like that.

psychx - I've often wondered if I would ever have the courage to ride in a space shuttle, and I think I could, but a russian capsule? I don't know about that... Of course they are the only ones offering rides right now, but that's very brave indeed...

Thanks for the comments.

Red Rhino

on Jul 11, 2004

I'm going to pretend I won the 290 mil, not the 1 mil a year thing.

Pay off all my relatives and friends debts. Buy everyone in my immediate family and closest friends their own homes if they don't have one already. If they already have a house (which would be paid off because of the afformentioned paying off of debt thing), then a car or two. Then of course buy all my friends and immediate relatives whatever they wanted. As long as they could afford the upkeep, taxes, etc.

Then for my brother, who seems destined to never want to ever make more than 8.00 bucks an hour. I would probably be some sort of benefactor. Get him to finish college, then start his own small business (which I would be the major finnancial partner of). If he really enjoyed doing it but it wasn't successful, I would probably keep it floating by paying the bills and his wages at least.

After all that was done, I would live in an upper middle class neighborhood with nice older cars for showing off, then a little fuel economy car for normal driving around. Then have a cabin in the woods somewhere, and maybe a second home on a beach. And I think thats it. And everything I don't spend would be invested in a very diverse portfolio.

CS Guy

on Jul 11, 2004

I got two words... Vegas, baby!

Jason

on Sep 26, 2004

well chip here is what I would do.
Like you I would buy alot of things for the family. I always said I would buy a house for eveyone in the family or I would buy one big
peice a land a couple hundred acres and build everyone a house on it. I would probaly buy this land somewhere in a suburb of Cleveland. I would have my own little place somewhere down in Florida probaly on clearwater beach. just in case The "Reynolds Ranch" in cleveland. got a little hectic for me
I would travel a few places I always wanted to go Australia, Italy, Iceland.
I would donate a couple million to the Cleveland public school system cause it needs help!
I would have my own " Rocky" like statue of me constructed in the middle of Downtown Cleveland
in front of tower city. And any pigeon caught poo-poo on my statue would be shot on site!!!

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