What Would You Do If You Won the Lottery?

[Bertha Venation]

Yes, it's been done. Let's do it again.

I'd get out of debt, pay off my sister's house, buy a house for my other sister, buy a house in California, spend two lazy weeks on the beach in Florida, have the surgery, other things.

Set up a foundation for gay kids kicked out by their parents, and explore setting up homes for them.

Donate liberally to humane societies and groups that support battered women and victims of child abuse.

Donate liberally elsewhere.

Oh - and give a hundred bucks each to the valets at the garage at work and to the women who sell lottery tickets at the liquor store where I buy them.

What would you do?

[Blue_Tires]

1. i'll buy DU from Skinner

j/k

[PassingFair]

2. Quit my job. Have fun. Work for Progress. n/t

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. Quit my job. Get my family and I out of debt. Build my house. and

Go back to school and take only classes that I care about.

[rurallib]

4. There are a couple local charities that could use a huge shot

One is a scholarship program for kids that would probably not have a chance for college otherwise. The other is a potential liberal radio station.
Also pay debts and set up kids.

[Gormy Cuss]

5. Pay off the house, fund retirement,

give mad money to each of my siblings and their kids, then invest the rest in small CBOs working with people in poverty or set up a direct aid program for low income adults in order to provide some dental care and eye exams/glasses.

[TommyO]

6. First, change phone numbers, and get out of Dodge until the hype dies down

Then, the obvious ones, get rid of debt, buy my mom's house so she doesn't have the mortgage hanging over her head.

There is a great piece of waterfront property that I would love to buy and build a house on, so that's also a given.

After that, several of yours fit right in line with what I would do. Having taught Tae Kwon Do at a shelter for women and children, I would make sure that the shelter got a nice hefty donation. Being gay, your idea for the foundation for kids disowned by their family is another great one.

On top of that, local food banks are hurting, so there's another big donation right there.

[TommyO]

37. I forgot trust funds to pay for my niece and nephew's education

Their parents are already putting money aside, but this would guarantee that they could go to whatever school they wanted, as long as they kept up grades.

[KG]

7. spend most of it on weed, wimmins and beer. the rest i'd just blow on dumb stuff.

:p

[coconuted]

26. You read my mind.

[BlueIris]

8. Set about lording my money over others.

No, seriously. I wouldn't be able to resist. I've taken far too much crap from far too many for too long simply for not having what their lazy, upper-middle class asses would consider "enough" money. So I would hoard it and lord it. So sue me.

(I'm only half joking here.)

[Burma Jones]

9. Switch Parties.........

I can't have any of these lazy lib'rul bums taking my hard earned money........

[amerikat]

53. To funny, you win!

DU always has the best humor.

[NewJeffCT]

10. Pay off the house, put a bunch towards my daughter's college education

and, if anything is left over, put it towards retirement, a nice vacation and charity. I'd find a non-stressful job that had health benefits and work that job until I could retire comfortably.

[_dynamicdems]

11. Probably hit the road, be a gypsy.

Of course, I'd give to causes and political organizations and take care of family.

Just for myself, however, I'd want to see more of the world than I've been able to. I used to say I'd go back to school and be a professional student. But now, I'd rather learn about the world firsthand instead of sitting in a classroom.

Ireland would be the first place to see me again. :beer:

[Patiod]

65. That's what I'd do, too.

I've been blessed to have seen and visited a LOT of the U.S. already (ah, the joys of an SO who doesn't have a passport).

So on to the rest of the world. I'd return to Venice for a week or two, then spend a few months seeing the rest of Italy, then a walking tour of the UK and Ireland, a bike trip across France, then spend time seeing the rest of Europe (a boat trip down the Danube might be nice).

Then some time in Africa (photo safaris), followed by a train trip across Canada, ending up in BC, which I've been dying to see. On to Hawai'i and the Pacific, a week or two in Japan, investigate the rest Asia (haven't thought that one out - I know I want to see China, but wouldn't know how to go about it, plus Thailand and Cambodia)

Then a month or two in Australia (following Bill Bryson's "A Sunburned Country" and visiting a friend over there) and hike New Zealand - everyone I know who has been there has enjoyed it.

If I ever came back, I'd work as a marketing/outreach person for either a local Quaker hospice, or for hospice as a movement. Given all the bad press about "trying to kill old people", it's clear we all need more education about end-of-life options. And give some money to spay-and-neuter organization for cats and dogs.

One of the few blessings of having a very tiny family is that there are VERY few relatives that would qualify for a hand-out!

[_dynamicdems]

70. That sounds like a great itinerary.

A walking tour of Ireland and the UK sounds particularly nice. And I'd love to do a mounted pub crawl in Australia, something I read about. And I'd add Iceland and Russia too.

There are so many things I'd get involved in too. Hospice is a wonderful organization. People don't realize how important the work they do is. I'd probably adopt every PMU foal in Canada & the US (or as many as I could) and try to find homes for them before the "killers" got them.

It would have to be a sizeable lottery, because I do have a fairly good-sized family. Most of them are well-off though. I'm the poor relative. :)

[MajorChode]

12. I'd buy all my relatives a set of jumper cables

I forget who said that, but it was funny.

[Initech]

13. First thing I'd do - buy a large wall map of the world and a set of darts.

Throw the darts at the map and then go to those places. Of course if those places were in a war zone I'd travel to the nearest proximity.

[Xithras]

14. A nonprofit technology research institution.

Something like Xerox Parc or HP Labs back in the day, only without the profit motive. The idea would siply be that I'd provide the funding to allow people smarter than myself to develop the technologies that will change the world. The catch? They'd have to sign an agreement permanently granting a small percentage (maybe 5 or 10%) of any profit they may make from their inventions back to the research center, to help fund new inventors in the future.

The idea is to take innovation out of the hands of the corporations, and put it back into the hands of the inventors and creative types. More importantly, I want those inventors to have the freedom to explore and become successful using their own ideas and talents, rather than watching their employers make billions on, or bury, their inventions while they collect crummy paychecks and worry about their jobs being shipped to China.

Ever watch the show Eureka on SciFi? I'd REALLY like to do something along those lines, only without the military looking over our shoulders.

Yes, I've thought about this before :)

[mwooldri]

15. I have won the lottery!

When I did, it was put towards dinner at Golden Corral!

Yes, I got 3 numbers... $10 prize.

But, yes I won the lottery.

Next time, I'll win more.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. I have some friends who could really use some money...

I'd give them a large amount of it.

And all my favorite charities would be pleasantly surprised too...

Not sure what else...

:hi:

[CBHagman]

69. Maybe we have the same friends.

I can think of a couple of friends and at least one relative who could use the assistancefrom the Financial Equalizer.

As for the rest, I would not quit working but I would make some changes in the way I live...for starters, I'd be able to buy a condo and have a proper vacation.

Well, actually, that's not the rest, it's just the beginning...

[MissMillie]

17. Besides paying off the bills, and building me a nice house

I'd give a lot away to my family members.

I wouldn't *give* much to my kid because he's HORRIBLE w/ money, but I would set up an account for him to use when it comes time for him to either go back to school, buy a house, or both.

I'd learn Russian and spend at least a year working in a Russian orphanage (I heard an NPR story about how under-staffed they are and how the kids are suffering--it broke my heart).

[Broken_Hero]

18. hmm,

Pay off our immediate debt, my father/mother inlaw's immediate debt, my parents immediate debt, and after that...

Well, no one will ever see me again....:D

[Kali]

19. debt, buy out all other interest in the ranch, buy the property next door

hire a contractor to redo all the fencing (except maybe the two new stretches we put in the last few years) buy a backhoe with some kind of maintenance/repair/waranty program (or tractor repair lessons for somebody around here) sink a new well or two.

Send the kids all to school for one semester, the ones who do ok, show motivation to continue can do so. Pay for full medical check-ups/maintenance/repairs on all of our bodies/eyes/teeth.

Buy a decent mileage vehicle or two.

Pool.

Horses.

Travel.

Donate large to a few good causes.

Satellite internet? Hell I could probably afford the two miles of fiber-optic or whatever if I won the lottery:rofl:

[KamaAina]

20. Actually, the retailer gets a bonus for selling a winning ticket.

Of course, that's no guarantee it'll actually go to the person working the register.

[AwakeAtLast]

21. Considering how my life has changed recently

I would be incredibly happy. I would have to hide the ticket until the divorce is final though - :rofl:

DU would get a big donation, house would be paid off, I'd buy a sweet ride of some kind (Lexus? :shrug: ).

Oh, and go on some kind of fantastic vacation.

[CreekDog]

22. Make the down payment on a Bay Area house

:eyes: :banghead:

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

23. I'd buy the house my dad and grandma died in

and live in it, pay off all family debts, travel around the world, donate to charity, etc. I would also adopt a child from disadvantaged circumstances.

[LeftyFingerPop]

24. I'd buy a farm, staff it, fill it with dogs and horses, and have inner city kids...

visit for a few weeks in the summer to take care of the animals, bond with them, train them, etc.

[Zavulon]

25. Call an accountant and make sure I kept as much as possible from Uncle Sam, despite

Joe Biden's claim that more taxes are "patriotic." After that, I'd split the money between me and everyone who would be on my Facebook friends list if I actually had a Facebook account, doing so in such a way that they wouldn't have to pay tax, either.

I'm afraid I'm not nearly as charitable as the OP.

[gmoney]

27. go to the doctor

get out of hock

get my sister and father out of hock and set them up

quit my job

start a magazine

travel the world

[armyowalgreens]

28. Take a small portion for myself. Donate the rest.

[LostInAnomie]

29. 1. I'd go to work.

2. I'd really fuck something up horribly (I work for a railroad so that's saying something)
3. Wait for my boss to show up.
4. Tell him to fuck off.
5. Quit
6. Travel the country by car for the rest of my life.

[laylah]

30. I'd pay off my daughters'

student loans, buy them each a house, give money to the ex 'cuz he has been awesome, get myself out of debt, fix my little cottage up, TRAVEL, donate to CASA and other children's organizations, and salt some away for a rainy day.

[guitar man]

31. quit my damned job

I just wouldn't show up...ever again :bounce:

[Mudoria]

32. See if that woman Eliot Spitzer got into trouble over was still in the business..

[stray cat]

33. Buy a house - pay for my brother to get an education and keep his house

take my mom and sister and family on an Alaskan cruise.

[Rob H.]

34. As soon as the money is in the bank

Go to work, quit, and on the way out tell certain people exactly what I think of them. Then buy a new car, pack up, and move to Montana (where my parents, with whom I would already have split the money, currently live) and be a professional student for the foreseeable future, taking whatever classes interest me. I'd also do a lot of charitable giving and do a lot of things for friends and extended family (new computers, tuition, etc.).

[MrSlayer]

35. Retire immediately. Provided the jackpot was big enough.

First thing I'd do after securing a financial expert to help me keep as much of my winnings as possible is to call out of work forever.

[EvilAL]

58. Don't forget

to send me a cool million once you got it all figured out.

:toast:

[Callalily]

36. First and foremost

I'd take care of my family (siblings, etc.) Then I would take care of friends (internet included). To be selfish, I'd keep enough for myself so I wouldn't have to work anymore and could travel to my hearts content. After that, I'd give to woman's shelter, homeless shelters, etc.

[rrneck]

38. Fly first class and eat out a lot.

Start a charitable foundation.

Grease the skids for the rest of the family.

Go back to school and learn fun stuff.

[backwoodsbob]

39. buy the entire valley I live in

and have the beer truck set to a regular run for my house.

seriously..My great uncle donated the farm I grew up on to a rescue...they are struggling..we help as we can with food and such..I'd give the first million to them.

yes folks us dumnass rednecks try too..I lived on a working 100 acres and my great uncle donated all but 5 acres..where the house is...to a rescue.

THEN..I would trust fund the beer truck :)

[yy4me]

40. I'd do some major work on my house, take care of my kids so

they can stop worrying about this mess we are all in. Put money aside for college for my grandchildren.

I'd then plan a trip to Rome where I would sit on a balcony of a rented apartment somewhere and figure out how to best spend the monies on worthy causes when I got home.

[Moondog]

41. In this order -

set up a self-directed trust
set up a non-profit in the form of a foundation
have my landline phone disconnected, and set up a new, unpublished phone number
go claim the bucks; for the demanded data provide a phone number for a phone that I never answer, and have the prize $$ paid directly to the trust and the non-profit
check the banks and make sure the $$ cleared
leave town for at least three months, after making arrangements to have my recurring bills paid in my absence
when I got back, do some "good", and spend a hefty amount of $$ foolishly
reassess my entire situation
move in order to make myself harder to find
live the rest of my life

[moriah]

49. Sounds like you've thought this one out... n/t

[Moondog]

59. Well

I suppose you could put it that way.

[bigwillq]

42. Scream!

:bounce:

Pay off debt. Pay off family members debt. Give money to my family and my friends. Buy things. Donate to charity. Have fun and enjoy it!

[jakefrep]

43. Move somewhere and get an unlisted phone number.

Buy a phat house or 3 and a bunch of cars. Travel a lot.

[northernlights]

44. you mean powerball, right?

K9 Lifeline
Feline Lifeline
Equine Lifeline
Thoroughbred Rehabilitation and Career Center (TRACC)

4 national rescues. I'd buy distressed properties, starting in the high kill regions, and rehab them into no-kill animal shelters staffed by vet techs and volunteers. Pull every dog, cat and horse from death row for rehab and rehoming. Work with the prison K9 people, and also a service dog outfit in Oregon that teaches the best of their rescues to be hearing ear dogs, and rehomes the regular rescues. And offer low-cost neuter programs in the high kill areas, too.

TRACC would rescue t-breds from the track (known in the horse industry as ottbs), give them the physical care needed for the injuries and stress ulcers they almost invariably suffer, retrain them for suitable careers, and rehome them.

[JohnnyLib2]

45. Buy an entire case of matching socks.

It would be life changing.

[UndertheOcean]

46. Buy DU from skinner.

[carlyhippy]

47. 50 ways to leave your debtor

my master plan
1. Double check the numbers
2. Make 20 copies of the ticket, sign the back and put the ticket in a safe place
3. get airline tickets to whereever I need to go collect (first class of course)
4. While gone on an extended vacation, there will be people behind the scenes selling the house, paying off the bills, attorneys and investment bankers and accountants taking care of my business, while I am searching different sections of the country for a new place to live
5. Movers to load up our stuff from the old house and move to the new location
6. look at a vacation home in the caribbean

[ThomCat]

48. Get out of debt, set up a trust fund independent of myself

that exists to supplement me and/or my friends, whomever needs it most when we need it, so that none of us is ever desperately poor ever again.

[moriah]

50. Pay off all of my debt, and then...

1) Pay off my mom's and sister's debt.
2) Get headstones for my father (he died July 21st) and his mother (who died in 2001 but we still haven't been able to get hers) -- neither had burial plans or life insurance, and at the time of their deaths I didn't have the money to pay for both the funerals and the headstones.
3) Get my grandmother transferred to the most posh nursing home she wanted to live in -- she has said she prefers the socialization in the nursing home, previous to her saying that my thought was to have an in-home caregiver.
4) Set up a trust for my mother's retirement and let her pick out a house.
5) Give my sister enough money to do with what she wishes.
6) Buy 160 acres as close to the National Forest in the Ozarks as I could get it, and build a nice home on it.
7) Figure out with how much is left over how much I need to live off of the rest of my life in relative comfort, and put that into a trust.
8) Take a 1-year world cruise.
9) Donate the rest.

[JeffR]

51. take out a contract on someone i've never met

[Ohio Joe]

52. And nobody ever heard from Ohio Joe again - nt

[Lindsey]

55. Quit my job. Start a foundation for young single mothers/unwed

mothers, go to all of the seminars that I'm into (the path of self-actualization/spiritual), write, pay off all of my bills, buy my siblings, myself,and my son and two nephews condos (We're not really "house people, however, I would buy a cabin in Big Bear and probably a couple of other places here in California), even though I have my already have my Bachelor's Degree I'd take classes that I'm really into and not for credit to get a Master's - just classes that I've always wanted to take but that weren't in my major, help my friends out. Man, I'd have NO problem figuring out what to do (of course I'd need to have an awesome savings/portfolio plan). I'm thinking a really big amount in terms of the lotto winnings. :bounce:

[hyphenate]

54. Most likely

I would become a conservative and demand they lower my taxes.

j/k!

I want to live everywhere, so I would be buying expensive real estate and have parties.

I would definitely use some of it to finance films and TV shows, though.

[Forkboy]

56. Drop off the face of the earth.

[proteus_lives]

57. Couple of things.

Give some money to my parents and siblings.

Give to a few charities I support.

Travel and write and coffee-table/special interest book I've always dreamed about writing.

Most personal thing I would do: Build the world's greatest comic book collection.

[BarenakedLady]

60. Pay off my house

Buy a new car, help any family/friends who needed it, and put the rest away for the kids.

[susanr516]

61. Here's my list

1-My husband can retire.
2-Pay off debt.
3-Take entire family to dentist.
4-Pay for my daughter's upcoming wedding.
5-Trade in my oldest car for a new one.
6-Tear down my ratty old house and build a nice, energy-efficient one.
7-Buy a few acres of land with riverfront access in the TX Hill Country for a vacation home.
8-Set up a trust fund for my disabled grandchild.
9-Help my kids with college IF they keep their grades up.
10-Contribute to some worthy causes.
11-Travel to places I've never been before. First stops: the Pacific NW and New England.

[dropkickpa]

62. Oh man

Pay off my debts. Buy a house. Get my family health care (most of them haven't had any in years). Quit my fucking job and sleep for a week.

[Phoonzang]

63. Quit my job and buy this place:

http://www.silohome.com/

Of course I'd donate to important causes and all...er...oh hell why lie? I would keep it all for myself (and help my close family).

[A HERETIC I AM]

64. Something like 30% of big lottery winners declare bankruptcy within 5 years. I would avoid that!

Like many, I suppose, I've done a lot of thinking on this, so here's what I would do;
The Powerball for tonight is $138 million so for the sake of argument, I'll use that figure.

1st, I'd take the lump sum, not the payments. You are going to receive roughly 1/3rd of the stated jackpot after taxes, so tonights win would net about $45.5 mil. You are quite likely to do much better over the course of 29 years than the fixed annuity the Powerball will buy you if you take the payments. Opinions vary on the wisdom of this, but that's what I would do. One difficulty many big money winners who take the payments find themselves in is they buy numerous large-ticket items (houses, boats, expensive cars) that have huge ongoing upkeep costs and their bills outstrip their once-a-year checks. With a large boat, for example, the "10% rule" kicks in where it may take up to ten percent of the cost of the boat just to keep it in the water. Having the lump sum up front allows for better planning for such things. (no, I wouldn't buy a huge yacht. Probably just a nice houseboat on Lake Powell)

Hire an attorney and form a Limited Liability Company (L.L.C.)
Send the lawyer to pick up the check in the name of the LLC.
Form several trusts for giving some of it away i.e. a Charitable Lead Trust to take care of donations I want to make right away and a Charitable Remainder Trust to endow favorite causes after my death.
Set up UGMA accounts for all my minor relatives.
Hire my various family members and close friends as employees of the LLC. That way I should be able to avoid the gift limits of the tax code. (that's what the attorney is for, after all)
Buy my own fixed annuity or long bond portfolio with at least 20% of it so I never have to worry about running out of money.
Conservatively invest what remains with a target rate of return of 8%.
Take $500,000 and put it the checking account and disappear for a year.
Lease a custom Prevost motorcoach and travel the parts of the US and Canada I've never seen, staying OFF the interstates as much as possible.
Buy a few, small plots of land in locales I like (Panhandle of Idaho, Captiva island, for instance) and build spots for the coach to park with hookups for sewer, electric, etc.
Travel the world by ship and air, first class.

At 195 million to one odds, it will likely never happen, but it sure is fun to think about.

[Patiod]

66. But there's exactly why I like to buy a ticket now and then

Not that I think I could actually win (statistics are against me) but because it's worth a dollar every few months to scheme and plan...

[A HERETIC I AM]

67. Yup. In spite of the odds of winning, they are 100% against if you don't buy a ticket.

Best of luck to us all, eh?

[Evoman]

68. Set up a business designed to scam Nigerians.

[hippywife]

71. We don't have much debt so

that would be a really minuscule part of the winnings but I would hire someone to finish the last few things that need to be done on our house. Then I guess I would wipe out all my siblings and parents debt.

Then I would set up some type of progressive non-profit organization of some kind because there aren't too many of those in Oklahoma, ya know.

I would also make some decent Kiva loans, too, I think.

:hi:

[Ex Lurker]

72. pay off debts for family, set up neices and nephews college fund

fully fund my retirement accounts. I might take a trip or two, and I'd splurge and buy primo season tickets for my favorite sports teams. Other than that my lifestyle wouldn't change. I'd end up giving most of it away just because I don't need a whole lot to be satisfied.

[keroro gunsou]

73. at the risk of being mean-spirited

pay back my mom the money i owe her and tell her to fuck off.

then i'd do whatever the hell i want.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

74. Pay off bills, fix up the house, and invest in green energy

Of course, a generous amount of any profits I made would go toward my favorite charities, non-profs, and environmental orgs.

[Rising Phoenix]

75. pay off my moms mortgage

pay off my brothers' student loans
buy my sis a car
buy a loft and vespa for me

[MineralMan]

76. Buy everyone on DU a star.

Then live my life until it was all gone.

[Mojambo]

77. I'd buy a million more lottery tickets.

Let it riiiiiiide!

[quakerboy]

78. how big did I win?

Are we talking a mil, or 40 mil. It makes a difference. A million would vanish quite rapidly, but my family and I would have housing and be debt free, and I would have a stake in the small company I work for. And a couple charities that have impressed me would have a new anonymous donor.
40 million, and I would probably get a little more extravagant. IE, I would own 2 cars instead of none, I would build my own home to suit, and my friends and extended family would also be housed and debt free. And retirement would be taken care of. And I would own 50% of my company. And the same charities would have a substantial new and continuing anonymous donor.

[Highway61]

79. Well

Give money to my daughter to pay off her college loan and mortgage... to my son to pay for law school...money to shelters that help abandoned animals and perhaps buy a small house to go to in the winter. Most of all...tell the corporate bastards I work for..."I QUIT!" :)

[JTG of the PRB]

80. Quit my job, pay off my car, pay off my parent's house, maybe buy a house of my own...

I'd also take a road trip the very next summer and drive all across the country and see a baseball game in every major league ballpark. It's been a dream of mine for almost a decade, and all I need is the money to be able to do it.

I'd donate to the local humane society, adopt a dog, and give money to other local charities in need.

And I'd probably take some of my friends to Las Vegas for a week to celebrate.

[Q3JR4]

81. I'd buy you a k-car

A nice reliant automobile.

Q3JR4.

[Q3JR4]

82. Wait, wrong thread.

I wouldn't take it all as one lump sum. I'd go ahead and let them pay me $50,000 a month for the next 20 years (or whatever it is). Then I'd volunteer 40 hours a week for various charitable causes.

Also I'd tear down my parents home and put up a brand new one, fix their car, buy myself an electric car, pay off my debt, pay off my sister's debt, pay of my grandparent's debt, go to Europe, maybe buy myself a congresscritter or two...

Q3JR4.
If the health industry can do it why can't I?