Sunday night I watched the special on TLC "How Lottery Changed My Life". It was really interesting to hear the stories of different mega lottery winners and where they came from. One guy had filed for bankruptcy a few years before winning, so it changed his life completely. One of the youngest lottery winners (I think he was 24 when he won) had a premonition that he was going to win the night before he actually did. I'm not sure about that one.
It was sort of like an episode of MTV's Cribs, actually. They visited the lottery winners "mansions", took a look at their enormous backyards with pools/hot tubs, and of course checked out their expensive sets of wheels! A few of the winners were more modest with their purchases, others extravagant. It got me thinking... what would I do if I hit it big?
The closest I have ever come to winning a significant amount of money was when I was in college. My grandmother and aunt were always asking me to come and play bingo with them at a local Catholic school. I caved one night and to be honest, had a lot of fun with them. The last game was a cover all. The first to cover all the numbers on the card wins and since it was the last game of the night it was for the big money - $1,000! And I won! $1,000 was a lot of money to a college student so of course it didn't last very long. A few books, trips to the cafeteria, and hello new clothes!!
If I were to win the lottery now there are a few things that I would definitely do:
- Quit my job. And if you wouldn't you're crazy! I may freelance from home though, because I'm sure I would have a few days when I was bored... maybe. ;)
- Build a dream house out in the country. Ever since Clancy and I started dating, I fell in love with the country. Maybe we could get a horse!! :)
- Give money to my family. Probably buy a house for each of my parents and brother. And a condo for my grandma. She's been wanting one for so long.
- Donate some of course. Most likely Susan G. Comen foundation (breast cancer research), the Columbus Children's Hospital, Save Darfur, local animal shelters and probably some to a Democratic president's campaign (although I haven't decided who I'm supporting yet).
- Throw the biggest wedding ever somewhere warm and tropical. I would pay for all of the guests' flights and rooms so they wouldn't have to worry about a thing. I guess I would probably need to be engaged first...
- Travel! First to Ireland. Other possible destinations: Australia, Italy, Greece, France, Hawaii, The Netherlands, England, Scotland, and Spain.
- Pay for Clancy to sky dive because apparently he's crazy.
- Learn to cook - maybe I could get Rachel Ray to teach me?!
- Buy new clothes and shoes and purses! Because I'm a girl and couldn't resist!!
So tell me, what would you do with say... $18.2 million?
Oh and I almost forgot to mention - CONGRATULATIONS MOLLY!!! :)
18 comments:
That's a very interesting question- I would buy my family new houses as well, make sure my parents didn't have to work, college fund for the kids and vacation forever!
Love this! I wanted to watch this special but forgot lol.
I would...
1. Quit my job. (of course) But definitely start my own business (which I'm on the verge of doing anyway but right now there is so much risk and with money in the bank, bye bye risk!) :-)
2. Pay off our student loans, then our mortgage, then SELL OUR HOUSE
3. Buy this pretty house on Arbuckle Road - http://howardhanna.com/property/property.asp?PRM_MLSNumber=88462&PRM_MlsName=EriePA&VAR_AgentCode=&VAR_OfficeCode=#
or have Kim (my pastor's wife) design one for us in Whispering Woods.
4. Pay off my sisters and parents debts.
5. Contribute 1 million to my church's relocation fund
6. Go on a fully funded missions trip.
7. Invest the rest for life and retirement!
How's that :)
hm... that link didn't work. but it was:
http://howardhanna.com/property/
property.asp?PRM_MLSNumber=88462
&PRM_MlsName=EriePA&VAR_AgentCode
=&VAR_OfficeCode=#
not that you really care that much.
I love and hate to think about this. Love it, because who doesn't like to dream, and hate it because the chances of it happening are ZERO since I never play the damn lotto.
Anyhow, I would...
Pay off my student loans and credit card
Take my entire extended family on a vacation somewhere tropical
Have the wedding of my dreams in Newport, RI on the ocean, complete with a two-week honeymoon to a private villa in Fiji (flying first class, of course)
Buy a home in Connecticut
Probably donate some to where I work (international nonprofit organization) since I would temporarily quit my job (but maybe freelance after the initial excitement wore off)
Invest the rest (after buying new clothes and shoes of course)
Maybe I will buy a lotto ticket tonight.
Fantastic question!
I immediately thought selfishly- buy all the expensive triathlon gear, hire coaches and a nutritionalist.. heck why not a chef, too. Fancy bike. Train all day, get massages.
BUT I mean, I have to finish school. So, fine. I would finish school. But I'd get a huge nice apartment all to myself. With still said chef. And way nice notebooks, pens... a fancy ass laptop perhaps.
Also I would give most of it to my parents. They'd know what to do with it- in a way that's best for all my siblings.
I'd invest in real estate. I love house shopping and you can make serious money there. Obvi you need money to make money. So I'd invest here and become a real estate mogul.
And donate. A lot to this improv tournament I volunteer with. Breast cancer, yes. Childhood obesity (you know how I feel about obesity).
Clearly I could go on forever. Mostly talking about what bike I would buy. So I'll stop now. But awesome question!
-amen on quitting of the job and doing my own thing
-pay off all my silly debt (student loans bleh)
-buy a new car
-invest
-probably not buy a house because I have no idea where I want to live
-def pay for something big for my parents
-you could have a pretty fancy wedding with that kinda moola
1. Pay off my debt
2. Buy a house
3. Get boobs (lol - well, maybe)
And the list goes on and on... but to be honest? I've read all about lottery winners and what happens to them after they win and personally? I'd rather just live my life the way it is. OK maybe I'd take 500,000!
Haha, bingo's the only thing I've won at, and it wasn't even money!
1. Pay off my student loans, my parent's house, my mom's business loans, my sister's student loans, whatever loans my brother accrues in school, my bff's loans, my bf's loans, and my credit card. So many loans!
2. Send my extended family money.
3. Get a nice place.
4. Keep working, crazy, I know.
5. Have B quit his job so he can work on whatever he wants instead.
6. Travel to Italy, Greece (all over Europe, really), Australia, etc.
7. Shop!
Oh, and Obama for president :)
i would travel travel travel! get a car a condo and SHOES. clothes too. donate to causes i believe in. buy my parents a bungalow!
$18.2 million... what a random number!
Pay off my student loans.
Buy my folks the piece of property they've always wanted.
Get my first car (sad, isn't it?)
Take a year off grad school to travel (I'm a dork and would probably still feel the need to get my PhD- I can be rich and called Doctor!)
Probably live the high roller life in a nice house (a real yard?! OMG!) where I am now, but with the idea to sell when I settle down and move out of the city.
Ahhhhh....
I don't think I could ever stop working, I go crazy being at home all the time. But:
1. Start my own business, build it up big
2. Give my parents money so that they didn't have to work if they didn't want to. (But I know they are also the type who wouldn't stop working, maybe they can use the money to build up their businesses so that work would be easy breezy)
3. Invest in companies and real estate
4. Donate and volunteer my time more often
5. Hire a live in maid/cook/trainer
6. Travel more
7. Stem cell boobs! Have you guys read about this? It sounds fabulous!
8. Buy the boyfriend whatever he wanted
9. Get my hair and nails done regularly (I never do this, now)
10. ...something else that doesn't make me sound overly selfish
1. Pay back student loans
2. Pay back my sister's student loans
3. Travel, Travel, Travel
4. Shop, Shop, Shop
5. Ooooo and do some House Flipping
Oh definitely with the house flipping. But only the most high end house flipping.
Travel, travel.
Build a better house.
College funds for my kids and all my friends' kids.
Big donations to organizations close to my heart.
A housekeeper (I love my kids but I don't want to fold their socks any more.)
A week at Canyon Ranch spa in Arizona for me and all my favorite girls--blogger girls included! :)
1. Pay off my school loans and my credit card.
2. Put my almost-in-college brother through school.
3. Buy a house in Tennessee (not an extravagant one though. who needs that?)
4. Fill the house with wonderful musical things like a Steinway baby grand.
5. Hire lots of intelligent people and start an independent record label
6. Sing! (that doesn't cost money but since I won't be out making money I'll have lots of time to do it and a record label to do it at!)
Give parents money.
Not work again for the rest of my life.
Donate to animal shelters. Hell, build an animal shelter. Or two. Or three.
Travel.
Buy camerasss.
Buy booksss. Notice they're highly pluralized.
Relocate to Italy.
Do nothing but take pictures, drink wine, and eat gelato with the husband for the rest of my life.
Sigh.
1- pay off my debts and the debts of my bf (we got most of them together so that seems fair)
2- give my mom money
3- is shopping for all new clothes just a given
4- take a vacation
5- get health insurance!!!
1. never work again!!!!!!!
everything else would be a bonus
Ahhh these types of questions are my favourite (although, after I'm done thinking of it, I fall into a deep depression because I realize that I didn't actually win the lottery. However, the high I'm feeling now pretending, is worth it). So let's see what would I do... nap more. Work less. Travel more. Complain less. Shop more. Stress less. And I think I would have someone else do my laundry.
Post a Comment