If you won $20 million in the lottery, what would you do with the money?

[Bossy Monkey]

I wanted to put on Build a replica of Graceland (because there was a show about lottery winners today; guess what one of them did) but I have a feeling that something more level-headed would probably draw more votes. If you're bound and determined to build another Graceland with your winnings, there is an Other slot, however.

[Sonora Nora]

1. open up

a NO-Kill shelter for all the discarded animals in Tucson! Have had that dream for such a long time. I would use 90% of the $$ for that purpose. The other 10% would go to my fam & me n Bill. :)

[Bryn]

28. Me, Too

A NO-Kill Shelter for animals, better yet, one in each city all over USA! Money that went for that war in Iraq would have covered all. No excuse to kill those homeless pets. I hate it when they say "no room". It's lame!

[WindRavenX]

2. pay off all my student loans, pay off all my mom's debt, give her a mansion...

...and a pool boy to give her nice drinks and massages anytime she wants. I want my mother to have a peaceful, stressless life.

For me, I'd probably buy me and the SO a nice house, some nice clothes, donate to worthy charities, etc. And start up my own pot garden in Canada :D

[LeftyMom]

3. Hmm. Get a house, a car that doesn't suck, invest some, set some aside for LK,

and put some back into the AR community, maybe setting up a means to get small grants to local organizations to get new campaigns started or pay for needed equipment.

[Seabiscuit]

18. Buy a new pair of shoes that isn't full of holes.

[LSK]

4. half me/family half donate

[Bucky]

5. I would buy beer and maybe some beef jerky.

I really like beer.

[Lethe]

6. i would still keep my job mowing lawns...wont change anything

I HATE IT WHEN THOSE GUYS SAY THAT SHIT AFTER THEY WIN THE LOTTERY!

[Dem_4_Life]

7. I would...

Invest the money in a high percentage account and use the intrest to pay off some bills, help family members and donate to Dem Canidates.

[Jamastiene]

8. I have to honestly say I'd spend it all on my desperate attempt

to move somewhere nice and own my own home. It costs too damn much to live any more.

[crim son]

9. Set up investments so that I would be able to support

myself and my children as long as necessary. Get myself a vehicle with good gas mileage, and then set up other investments/trusts, the proceeds of which would go to various causes I support. Specifically I am interested in creating a safe house for battered women and children, with all the support services these places generally can't afford. I'd also support the local homeless shelter which is always overfull. Beyond that, I'd have to do some research. Twenty million wouldn't go very far if I just gave it away. I'd rather invest the principle and give away whatever I earn.

I've also promised a good friend of mine some help (we talk about this lottery dream regularly), and he's promised me the same. :)

[LoZoccolo]

10. Two chicks at the same time. n/t

[Omphaloskepsis]

42. Office Space rules...

I was going to say that but you beat me by about 14 hours.

[Joey Liberal]

62. You don't need to win the lottery for that

Do you? I guess I have been lucky:).

[flvegan]

11. Easy.

A mil to my mom, a mil to my bro. That sets them up without worry. 4 mil into a trust to pay family support (mom, bro, certain friends, etc) on a yearly basis based on return on the base 2. 1 mil for myself, 1 mil into trust for myself. The last 12 mil goes into another trust. One that pays out 90% of all returns to charities of my choosing (animal, homeless, battered women). The principal would grow by 10% per annum, and could thereby live forever, long after I'm dead.

[Kat45]

12. Donate a large amount to my church to keep it solvent and open

We're a progressive Christian church with not enough money to stay open for more than another year or two (and thinking of merging with another church). Then I'd use some to try to set myself up for the rest of my life so I won't have to worry about money, help family and friends, donate politically and to other good causes.

[Nicole]

13. Invest it

There's nothing I need right now so I would invest it. That would give me time to think through what trusts I wanted to establish, what amounts I want to give to different causes, etc.

[Bossy Monkey]

14. kick for Graceland n/t

[jobycom]

15. Travel, buy a Congressman, and number 7. Mainly number 7. nt

[deucemagnet]

52. Yeah, I think I'd buy the number 7.

Not post number seven in this thread, mind you, but *the* number 7. Then I'd charge royalties every time somebody used it. he hee hee. Bwa-ha-ha-ha. MUA-HAHAHAHAHA!!!11!1oneoneone

[BlueIris]

16. 1. Condo. 2. Passat. 3. Across the board insurance upgrade.

4. Become a traveling spiritual factotem and personal spiritual guide. 5. Oh, yeah, I was planning on writing 6-10 novels. I'm really trying to get on that.

[Seabiscuit]

17. Invest all of it...

The income alone from such an investment at just 5% would amount to $1 million/year which would be more than enough to live on, help out family and friends, and donate the rest to good causes.

[billyskank]

19. If I won an equivalent amount of £££

not that I would, because I don't gamble, but if I did the first things I would do would be:

1. Pay off my mortgage, car and any other debts.

2. Pay off my mum's mortgage.

Then I would look at making a big donation to the Hare Krishna movement in England, with a view to establishing a very nice temple here, and spend the rest on myself.

[Deja Q]

21. Those symbols look like 3 men...

:rofl:

[billyskank]

22. Taking Sterling in vain?

:P

[Deja Q]

25. Who?

:D

[Callalily]

30. Billy!

Nice to see you.

:hi: :loveya: :hug:

[billyskank]

31. Hi Fugue!

Nice to see you too, as always. :hug: :loveya:

:hi:

[tjwmason]

49. I've been pondering that...

how to win the lottery without actually buying a ticket.

As yet I don't have a solution, if I find a way I'll let you know. ;)

[Deja Q]

20. Replace my TV with a video projector, save for retirement, travel.

[bikebloke]

23. Buy a small farm in New Zealand

Then try out permaculture living into my dottage. When I croak, if i still don't have family as at present, the remainder can go to the community.

[Reciprocity]

39. New Zealand here we come.

Life is good here in Middle-earth.

[bikebloke]

43. Don't I know it.

I spent six months on my bike pedalling around Aotearoa. Sometimes I kick myself for not overstaying illegally.

[Reciprocity]

45. Yes the land of the long white cloud is where I long to be.

Did you have a favorite place? We loved the Bay of Islands.

[bikebloke]

59. Christchurch clicked

Nothing special, but it felt good there. A place I could live.

Though the North Island had some nice places, including Bay of Islands. Though for those of us traveling by pushbike, it was tainted by killer hill climbs. I once passed Superman on the side of the road with his bike sobbing.

At work where we have broadband, I sneak a peek at the Kiwi television news reports for some wishful dreaming.

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_index_skin/video_index_group

[Reciprocity]

63. We took on those hill driving

on the other side of the road after a looooong flight. It was worht every hair pin curve.

If we won the lotto one of the first things we would do is go on a Red Carpet Tour. It is a tour for die hard fans of Lord of the Rings, that takes you to the places that the movies were made in New Zealand.

Have you been to this site?

Once Around On a Bicycle
http://home.earthlink.net/~michaelclancy/NZSouth.htm

[hippywife]

24. I'd invest a little for myself

and my family and use the rest to help as many people as I could.

[billyskank]

26. Blow it all in a six-month long binge party of coke and champagne

NOT. :D

[jmowreader]

27. Move to an actual Blue State

After that I'm not positive...

[Callalily]

29. Invest it and

so I can continue working in the world of philanthropy, only now with my own money. Definately share with my friends. Oh yeah, and share with my siblings, even though I haven't spoken to them for years.

[kedrys]

32. Pay off everything I owe

Buy some nice property in Costa Rica. Give a large chunk of $$ to my dad the investment wizard. Take my mom on a ridiculous shopping spree in Europe (first-class flight, of course). Pay off my sister's condo, and put some $ in trust for her s.o.'s kids. Set them both up so they can quit their jobs.

Quit my job and get my own business off the ground for real, not just play at it like I've been doing the past few years. Send the s.o. to music school (better late than never). Get my father-in-law some real medical care. Do the same for his wife.

Buy a judge.

I think that's about it.

:)

[Vorta]

33. I'd like to have a studly butler.

[trof]

34. Fairly selfish. 1. Pay off the mortgage.

2. Pay off my daughter's mortgage.
3. Set up college fund for grandson.
4. Hire a professional landscaper to get this place looking like it did before Ivan hit.
5. Sizable grant to local watershed watch.
6. Have as much solar heating, solar voltaics installed as practicable.
7. Find people where you could really make a difference in their lives for a few thousand dollars each.

[GCP]

35. Spend it on Democrats?

I'd rather spend it on my own campaign than have some other person blow it all.

[Sanity Claws]

36. First, some financial planning

I would need to figure out how much I need to live my relatively most lifestyle. I'd set up a college fund for my nephew. Help certain family members. Donate money to certain pet causes and charities. Change jobs and do something I really want.

[XemaSab]

37. Buy a house, pay off my debts, get a nice car.

Pay off my mom's house and car.

Maybe get a nice but modest vacation house with property in, say, Arivaca or Portal AZ, or somewhere in Shasta, Siskiyou, Lassen, Modoc, or Plumas Counties in California. Then again, Alberta's pretty nice. And a large tract of swampland in South Carolina would be cool. I dunno, I'd have to think about it. :shrug:

Invest the remaining 18 million (houses here are expensive :scared: ).

Take part of the income from said 18 million to go on a really killer trip somewhere once or twice a year.

Keep my job because I enjoy my work. :D

(And on edit, just so I don't sound like a jerk... I would really, really, really have to think about the best way to spend money to support the community. I don't know that I can say outright what I would do with the money as far as charitable giving goes.)

[caty]

38. I would put it in a trust fund,

help my family, and move to another country.

[libnnc]

40. Invest enough so I could live off the interest

for the rest of my life

Then, I'd put a chunk in a trust for my mother so she'd be set for the rest of her life

~pay off college loans
~pay off house
~buy reliable car
~buy that '69 Mustang I've always wanted

~donate a sizeable chunck to my university's History department for a GLBT and/or labor history lecture series

~finish grad school
~donate to Dem candidates hither and yon
~donate to other charities

[Initech]

41. I'd travel, everywhere.

If I won the lottery today, I would not set foot in the states for the next two years.

[Auggie]

44. Invest it and retire

The donate my time to a worthy cause

[Haole Girl]

46. I'd buy some property in Hawaii, which, unfortunately...

...would take the whole 20 million!

[yellowdogintexas]

47. first set up a trust fund for our retirement and for our daughter

remodel our house
give some to my sisters and my husband's siblings
donate to my favorite charities and my church

join every museum and the local public TV and Radio at the great big member level.

and the zoo

There would still be money left over, I think.

Travel

[Blue_Tires]

48. finance leftist revolutions!

[tjwmason]

50. I'd buy a flat in London and a house out here.

Stick enough in investments to give me a decent lifestyle - and give the rest away to various charities and churches.

[Maestro]

51. I would....

1) Pay all debts.
2) Pay all debts of immediate, close family members (my brother's family and my parents' debt)
3) Establish funds for my children to inherit.
4) Establish a philantropic institution.
5) Establish an institution that gives to progressives
6) Probably keep my job, but I am not sure. I most probably will because I want my kids to see me get up and earn a living. I don't want them to expect that anything is given to them even if I win the lottery.

[femmocrat]

53. Easy one!

1. RETIRE!!!
2. Help family
3. Set up a foundation to help homeless animals

[BarenakedLady]

54. Run

:yoiks:

[Coventina]

55. How much do I have after taxes?

It's a serious question, affecting what I would do with the money.

[Bossy Monkey]

56. For argument's sake, $20 million

I think taxes are already taken care of, or the winnings are tax-free. I don't know for sure as I'm one of those non-lotto-players. But since we're dealing in hypotheticals here anyway, just say hypothetically that you won $20M after taxes.

[Coventina]

57. Well, this is going to sound incredibly selfish....

But I would start shopping for an island. An island that could be self-supporting: fresh water, arable land, etc. And with enough elevation to withstand rising ocean levels from global warming.

Next item on the list: a boat to get me to and from the island.

Third: Sailing lessons.


If the island plan doesn't work out, I'd invest in land in the Pacific Northwest. Land with fresh water & farm-able.

I seriously think we are in for some bad times on this planet.

Right now, I'm resigned to my fate, but with the cash resources at hand, I'd try to secure my & my family's future.

[bertha katzenengel]

58. Give most away. Buy my sisters houses. Get us all out of debt. (MORE)

Create a home for runaway/kicked-out gay kids. Create a no-kill cat/dog shelter and pay the vets/staff well so it's a great one. Buy a lot of land for it.

Give the bulk away to House of Ruth and others like it, Habitat for Humanity, ASPCA, American Cancer Society, Doctors Without Borders, and Amfar.

It's nice to dream.

[NJ Democrats]

60. I'd invest almost all of it

But spend some

[Joey Liberal]

61. I'd go to Bora Bora n/t

[sinkingfeeling]

64. Pay off my mortgage and then buy a couple of elections!

[miss_american_pie]

65. Go to Tahiti. Or Nevis.

Get out of debt. Solve some personal issues that hinge on money, and figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life.

Oh, and reimburse Penn Hills for Santorum's kids' cyberschool. ;)

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

66. I'm boring, so...

1. Pay off mortgage and car
2. Fully renovate our house and build a second story
3. Travel, travel and travel
4. Buy hubby that 69 Mustang he keeps whining about
5. Set up a trust fund for my sister's kids
6. Give $1 mil to my parents
7. Hire a personal masseur/masseuse
8. Take intensive piano lessons
9. Invest a good portion of the winnings
10. Travel, travel and travel

[jakefrep]

67. I would invest it....

...after moving, getting an unlisted phone number, and buying a nice house and a couple of nice cars.

[Arger68]

68. I'd buy the old ladies home

and kick the old ladies out. And tear down the orphanage.

[Ariana Celeste]

69. Modest home in western WA

With a finished basement and a little yard.

and this: http://www.kiva.org

and http://www.christianchildrensfund.org

A bit of shopping for me and family, help pay off mom's debt, and the rest will sit in the bank.

[Radical Activist]

70. pay off my debts and run for congress. n/t