JFF What Would You Do If You Won a Million Dollars?

Pay off my house. Pay off my student loans and credit cards. Buy new, fuel-efficient cars for myself and my daughter.
Set up a retirement account for myself.

If it were one million I would invest at least half. I would buy a slightly bigger house and pay it off in full. I would travel. I would increase my charitable contributions somewhat, but really a million dollars isn't a whole lot of money these days, so I wouldn't go too crazy.

I read a story about a Toronto woman who won ten million about ten years ago. She wasted her money and now has nothing but a broken down Cadillac Escalade to show for it. She lives with her six kids in low income housing and takes the bus to her job as a health care aide. It is a sad story.

Invest it. In my favorite charities, and in my retirement account. Even if it were enough to retire on, I like working and am not yet ready for that.

Sara:

A million sounds like sooo much money - but in today's world - sorry - it would go fast.

So is that $1M before or after taxes? After taxes?
hhhmmm...pay off my mom and dad's debts so their retirement is "golden" and put my grandmother in a great retirement home so my parents could enjoy their years together.

After that? hhhmmm...good question...give some to charities that I support and our church. They are building a new building and the money would go a long way to support the parish.

I've seen too many stories of people winning goo-gobs of money and losing it all. So I think I would wait at least a year before I did anything major. Ensuring that it is in a secure investment fund.

If it was $100M? I would buy out my boss from our company and hire him as a consultant! :)

Still taking care of my family and friends. I would upgrade my house and "rent" it out. I would most likely buy my dream home - or have it made. I really don't know how much I would change. Seriously. The money would be nice, but I know some really rich people (talking school buildings being named after them rich) and they aren't any happier than I am.

It would be great to be able to help other people more.

I would donate most of our things, and put what we wanted to keep in storage. We'd buy a new, comfortable, full amenities vehicle, and travel for a month or two to see where we truly want to live...then we'd move there, buy a house (in my dream world, a ranch in Kentucky, but who knows), etc. I'd be able to help all the charities that I want to but currently can't afford, I'd be able to wear what I wanted (which isn't expensive, but regardless...my clothes fit, so I can't justify buying new ones!)...oh, it's a dream, all right.

Pay off our student loans (about $150k left to go)
Buy a new house for my parents and little brother (Probably about $300k)
Buy a condo for my in-laws (about $150k)
Pay off our house (about $370k)
The remainder would go for a down payment on a new house, and we'd rent out our current home.

Let's say what ever amount it is is what you'd have after taxes and the cash out option.
1 million isn't enough to retire on.
5 million or more - I'd be done working.
I'd pay off the mortgage - that would make us debt free.
Our son's college would be taken care of and we could sell our other house (since we wouldn't have to wait for the market to improve).
We'd probably go to Disney World soon as school is out.
My husband would probably build a 2nd garage and we might buy the soybean field next door.

The majority of winners are poor in less than a 5 years. They buy million dollar homes and cars but don't think about the cost of taxes, insurance and all that comes with caring for it.

I'd buy a new home, no more than $400K. Decent neighborhood, good school. I'd buy a new car, a Pilot since it seats 8 for my family and I will be able to drive my mom with me. I'd create an college fund for all my kids and retirement fund for me. I'd definitely pay off mom and dad's mortgage. Probably build a tree house from scratch, decorate the kids room in those cool ways like I see in Pinterest but mostly do it myself. We'd take trips but just like we've always done except I wouldn't have to worry too much about budgeting our camping trips but I'd still get a deal on a hotel. I dunno, there's not much I wish I had, just more room for the kids to live and a house they can bring their friends home to. Most everything else, I'm a crafter so I like to do things myself.

1) pay off our business' debts
2) properly fund my son's college fund
3) finish building our house that has been under construction for too long
4) replenish my retirement fund
5) visit the Galapagos Islands!
6) make bigger donations to my favorite charities than what I can normally afford

Kind of boring, I know, but a million would be gone pretty quickly.

I would buy a house. Nothing fancy, just a small place to call my own. We have always been renters and I hate it. I wouldn't want a huge house because I don't want to clean it! Just a regular sized house with a nice yard. The rest I would put into savings to pay for my kids college and our future retirement

I'd pay off the house we have, and then hire a pro landscape service to remove all the grass from the front yard. Sounds silly, but I am going for no grass up there. ( I know, kind of strange that my fantasy is "no grass" but there you have it!)

With the remainder-- maybe have some new cabinets/counter/backsplash put in the kitchen and finish that project. The rest, we would save and use for a few modest vacations and a new car when the old '92 Honda gives out. We aren't much for luxury products, so we still would have our pay-as-you go (dumb, not smart) cell phones and our tv antenna converter box, no cable. We are fortunate to have a house with 'good bones' and live in a neighborhood with a good school. We keep it pretty simple around here!

Besides let H retire, get my kids comfortable, help some people at church?

I would like to travel to see our church's missionaries around the world.
My Pastor is in Ghana right now. I could make a whole lot of people happy!

Pay off my house, set aside $100K for each of my kids, and save/invest the rest.

ETA: I would tithe part of it too. Should have put that first! :)

A million dollars?
Pay off money that is owed. Probably about $40,000. $36,000 is from a car accident that we had before we got married.
Put $100,000 aside for each of my kids. Probably find some way to "grow" the money, although I don't know how. I would need a financial advisor.
Buy two brand new cars. (I expect that would be around $50,000)
Buy a house for us. Nothing super fancy, but I expect it would be around $300,000.
(Damn! We are already at $700,000!!)
Buy a home in Mexico for my husband's family. That's probably about $100,000.
Go on a cruise.
Make the rest of my money work for me! Again, would need a financial advisor for that as well.
Oh! I would go to college.
L.

5 million: I'd pay off my best friend's IRS debt so she could esentially start over and breathe. Pay off my house. I'd give some of my other friends and family 20k each (since that can be gifted tax free - 10k from me, 10k from hubby). I'd ear mark 250k for frivolous spending - vacations, home upgrades, etc. The rest (I'd estimate about 3.5 million) would go into savings/investments for retirement.

Pay off house, put inground pool in, and full privacy landscaping in back. Buy full sized, super awesome van. For starters.

I would meet with a builder and build a new home on some family land. I'd want a basement with a reinforced room in the basement, perhaps under the stairs, that could serve as a storm shelter. I'd make a living area and some other areas like exercise. We would have a room that would be for food storage, so that if it was needed I could help my neighbors....but some of them already have their own food storage that they share with those in need so together we'd be able to really help out in a crisis. I'd have lots of space and light and make the house very well insulated so it was less expensive to heat and keep cool.

Most of the homes in my area are selling for between $50 and $100 per sq. foot so I'd plan on about 3000 sq. ft for our home or about $150K up to $300K. I don't have extravagant tastes but do like clean lines and simple designs. At least 4 bedrooms with 3-4 bathrooms and at least one 1/2 bath.

I have a friend who lived in OKC when the May 3rd tornado's destroyed a lot of her neighborhood. She took all her food from food storage and had someone take it to the church in Moore to help feed the people that were using that building as a shelter. That was such a good example to me. That's what having food storage is for, making sure you have enough in a time of crisis and are able to help others.

Someone built a custom mansion in my town a year or so ago and they only spent about $500K. It's on 20 acres, has 3 floors, a pool, 4 or 5 outbuildings, all sorts of stuff. They tried to sell it for $800K this past fall, I think the price is down to nearly $600K and they have had no offers. I think it's a bit gaudy and overdone or I might make an offer on it......It's 5 bedrooms/5 bathrooms, and is well over 5000 sq ft. The price it is right now is just under $100 per sq. ft.

I'd pay for the cable company to string cable that last mile so I could have cable TV and internet. We now have satellite and each time the wind blows a cloud in, well, we lose internet, TV, cell service, everything. So we are totally out of touch when there's a storm.

When we had a severe ice storm about 10 years ago our town and all the surrounding area was without power for days. We had our TV and computers on battery backup surge protectors. We were able to watch TV and be on the internet the whole time due to cable always being there whether there is electricity or not. So that's why I feel so strongly about cable.

I'd book trips for cruises and take my family to see lots of places. I don't fly, planes fall down and go splat.

I'd buy myself a new or program vehicle. I want a Suburban so we'd have a lot of space behind the 3rd row seats. I'd make sure it had a DVD player and lots of extra's.

I think I'd send my brother and my sister some money, enough to make a difference in their lives.

I don't know what charities I'd support but Habitat would be one. I think Habitat has the right idea. The prospective home owner works sweat equity hours and that's their down payment. They make a monthly payment for their home to the Habitat organization and they use that money to buy more supplies to build more homes for more people. So as long as someone is buying their home someone else is able to be working to have a home.

I'd probably donate to the local church that provides free meals to anyone who wants to sit down and eat. I'd make sure they have enough money so that if anyone wanted 2nds or 3rds they would always have enough food. They often have 2nds on most meals but do sometimes only have enough for everyone to have 1 plate.

I'd want to help my daughter but am unsure how I'd go about it. I know she's so much stronger now and has no intentions of going back on drugs. She is going to college full time to be a drug counselor. She gets financial aid and does an internship at the rehab facility she went to for over a year. I wouldn't want to make it too easy, wouldn't that take away from the experience? Perhaps I could help her some other way but I don't know what that would be.

I'd also send my ex hubby some money. He has sent us money on occasion when we just didn't have enough for groceries or something. His wife is a wonderful loving person who has influenced all of us. She's off work right now from surgery. They live modestly and their home is paid off. Their vehicles are older and frugal on gasoline. She still has a motorcycle she takes to work sometimes just to save a few dollars. They do have some nice toys, a TV that takes up the whole wall....and season tickets to Thunder games and OU football. They are also raising a couple of our grand kids. They are super deserving of a blessing.

I know that this wouldn't happen to us, we just don't seem to have this kind of luck, but if it did that would be awesome.

a million dollars is not much nowadays. so if i won that, i would probably decide to just count that as our vacation money for next 10 years. like guilt-free vacation spending. one trip to italy, one to france, then scotland and ireland, and then hawaii. there. i am happy.

#1 build a house (we have land in the country). #2 new car for hubby (i just got one). #3 retirement investments. #4 college savings.

that's it. it'd be gone pretty fast lol.

pay off my student loan. pay back my inlaws for helping us buy our house. Buy my hubby a really nice truck because he deserves it. Finish fixing up my house. give some to my kids school. and if there was enough left over take a trip. most often when people win money. they quit their job and blow it all. I am sure I would spend it. but it wouldn't all be frivilious. Unfortunately $1M is not enough to live off of for the rest of my life. Where I live it can barely buy a house (after taxes you'd be lucky to have 1/2). oh and i am going off the assumption that its $1m before taxes.

Buy a house, reconstruct for therapy rooms and start a not for profit. I'd throw myself into the business/therapy. Then, I'd take a vacation to an exotic local with my girl when the business was running fairly smoothly. Essentially, I'd have the same goals as I do now.

ETA: I personally know four people who have won the lottery. One person won $30 million, one won $175,000, one won $250,000, and the last person won twice, totalling around $1 million.

I would pay off my mortgage, business loan, invest $500K, give $50K each to my mother, MIL, and brother, and spend the rest on furniture, art and a pool.

It would go way too fast...pay off all debt. Maybe pay off a few debts for friends. Then save save save!!!

We don't carry debt, so I think we'd sell this house and purchase in a neighborhood that is our ideal. Housing is very affordable here, so we'd have a lot of money left after taxes and a home. I would split the rest between donations and savings. I'm sure we would choose to use some of that money from savings to help various people over the years.

If I won a million, id really have about $500k after taxes... pay off all debts(house and 1 car), take the family on a nice long Disney land and sea combo(we just got home from a 9 day Disney cruise and we miss it!), make a generous donation to our church and the doberman rescue I volunteer with, put the rest in savings, put our mortgage payment in savings, not change our lifestyle.

1) retirement fund
2) college fund
Would there be any left after that?

If there is,
3) live for a summer in Europe somewhere
4) build a house on Lake Michigan

I would start a non profit.
We are debt free, but times are tough here in MI and I am one of the many displaced workers. We went 8 months without a dryer. Im grateful for fluffy towels!
I would say yes to the kids a little more often.
The kids and I have a "secret plan" to go to Hawaii with our winnings. We will tell dad(who doesn't like crowded places) that were going shopping and jet off. Ahhhh....nice to dream...

Pay off my student loans and be sure my kids don't have to gain any when they go to college and grad school :)
With what's left over, I could maybe buy a nice cocktail OFF happy hour pricing but that would probably be it!!

1. Pay of my debt to the last penny.
2. Fix my house so I could sell and buy my dream home (not based on size or luxury, but distribution and needs met).
3. Buy a new dependable mini-van.
4. Invest in my kid’s college funds.
5. TRAVEL!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah, the dreams I've been having as to what I could do with a windfall like that:
1) pay off all debt
2) put some into retirement fund/buffer
3) buy land and build a house so that it is self-sustainable/live off the grid
4) put some money into remodeling our current home for resale, then sell
5) go back to school and use some money to start up a new business (both are related)
6) gift money to some friends in need (a one-time gift)
7) travel
8) gift/give donations to those organizations that I feel are working to change things/make life and the world a better place to live. Donate money to fight for our rights and freedoms (organic food, alternative health, clean air/water/land, help engandered species, etc.)
9) make sure there is money put aside for daughter's higher education (college)
10) provide a ten or twenty year endowment at both my college and my husband's university so students in need (or with good academic scholar) can get scholarships they need to study.

I would save it - a combination of investments - primarily for retirement and my son's college education. $1 million is not enough to fully fund retirement, let alone stop working early. A college education currently can easily run $200,000. Who knows what it will be in 12 years.

Now $10 million - much different story. I would likely travel more and retire earlier than planned. I would also donate more - to both charities and political organizations.

Pay off my house.
If I won more than 1M, I'd pay off my families' homes, too.
Pay off ALL debt.
Put money into retirement.
Go on a nice vacation that I normally would not be able to afford.

If you really look at it, a million dollars is not that much money. If you are funding retirement, you need more than a million to continue your lifestyle, pay for college educations for children, etc.

If a million landed in my lap, ($500,000-700,000 after taxes), I'd probably have a fun vacation but most of it would more than likely go to savings and work for me, go to my daughter for a downpayment on her first house, and I would use some to fund a favorite charity. We choose to live debt free and we would stay that way.

It is easy to see how people who win the lotto, etc eventually lose all the money. They have no expereince with financials and see a million dollars as a never ending supply of money therefore it is gone before they know it. It is sad because a million dollars could be lifechanging for someone who is self disciplined and puts the money to work for them.

Of course, no one should make investments, etc unless they fully understand all the risks. If they have never had any money to use to work for them, then they need a good financial advisir to walk them through it and invest it so that they will keep the money and not lose it.

Good question!

I would take an awesome vacation. I would also buy a vacation home, either on Maui or else closer to home, like Lake Tahoe or Mammoth.

The rest, I'd save or invest. I'm generally pretty frugal.