Poll: What Would You Do If You Had a Million Dollars
By Jeremy on Feb 02, 2010 with Comments 71
Time to close your eyes and dream for a moment. What would you do if you suddenly had a million dollars? I’m not talking about a million in net worth. I mean a million dollars in cash, after taxes, sitting in the bank. This is no time for excuses or to say how implausible this may be. That isn’t the point. The point is to get you thinking about what you would do if you woke up tomorrow and had that kind of cash sitting in the bank.
Some of you could probably answer this question in a few seconds, but for others, I bet it makes you stop and think. A million bucks might not be the kind of money that buys you a private island that you travel to on your private jet, but it is no doubt a potential life-changing sum. What’s even more interesting are the different priorities that surface from person to person. Some may be content to park it all in an investment that churns out interest to live off of, others may donate it all to charity, while some would act like nothing happened and go about their daily lives.
You’re probably wondering what I’d do, so I’ll start things off. First things first, I’d pay off our second house and put a few thousands into some improvements. It needs new carpet, a few fresh coats of paint, some miscellaneous maintenance, and things like that. That would hopefully increase the chances of selling before the end of the year. We might not recover every penny that we have into it, but unloading that from the books would be nice in the long-term. Next, I’d put enough money into an interest-bearing account so that we could pay off our current mortgage in 5 years, which would probably take a little over a quarter of the money. Then I’d secure our daughter’s college fund. Our plan has a $350,000 total maximum, but with nearly 18 years until she heads to college I can let compound interest do most of the work. Just a $100,000 contribution given 18 years to grow at a modest 5% would yield around $240,000 for college. Hopefully she gets scholarships and doesn’t need a penny, but it’s a large enough sum that it’s there if need be, and hopefully enough left over for any possible future children or even pass it on to grandchildren in the future. After those necessities are taken care of the rest would be spread out across retirement accounts, taxable investment accounts, and some kept liquid so that opportunities could be taken advantage of as they come up. Last, but not least, I’d probably put a nice chunk aside to start a scholarship fund at my alma mater. I know, it’s kind of dry and practical, but I enjoy what I do too much to quit, so I might as well just put things in place to secure our future and keep doing what I’m doing.
Share Your Answer and Enter to Win $25
So, now it’s your turn. There’s a poll below that has some general answers, but I know these can’t entirely encompass the goals most of you have in mind. So, just pick the answer that closely resembles what your general action would be. Then, share your thoughts in detail in the comments. Each person who leaves a comment will be entered into a drawing to win a $25 gift card to Amazon. Hey, I can’t give you a million bucks, but $25 is a start! Make sure you include a valid email when leaving your comment and get your comments in before 10 pm EST Friday, February 5th, and I’ll randomly select one comment as the winner.
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So much to do, so little money.
First, I would pay off all debt (student loans, etc) probably 15%.
Second, I would set up a trust fund with 25% for my kids (to be received at at 28).
Third, I would invest 50% of it.
Fourth, I would take the last 10% and travel to all the places I have dreamed about – London, Paris, China and Africa.
I would pay off my credit card debt, put a down payment on a house, donate to charities that are important to me, and then give some to my Dad. I used to have a pact with a friend of mine that if one of us won a lot of money, we’d pay off the other’s debts. Thankfully I’m not friends with her anymore, because she’d come out way better on that deal than I would!
I chose the “Share it with friends and family”. If I won/had a million dollars, I would first settle all of my personal debt. Then, I would help clear the debt of my family and closest friends. While doing this, I would ensure that I had enough money left over to invest in the best way possible. This would be to ensure that I can continue to live debt free and help the others in my life do the same.
I picked “Invest it and keep working”, but I would probably work part time and try to start a business. Knowing that I don’t need to save as much money with some sitting there, I could take more of a risk and hopefully not have to work at a job again.
I’d share some with family and friends then invest the rest and retire and live modestly with the rest and travel around.
Pay off mortgage and invest. I can’t imagine I would be any less frugal than I am now, even with $1 mil in the bank.
First, pay off hubby’s old tax debt. Then max out our retirement accounts and pay off the house. Fix up the house & car & yard; take a couple of trips; try and come up with awesome gifts for family members that they wouldn’t get themselves. I would not quit my job or buy a new house or car or anything. I might not even pay off my ridiculously cheap student loan, though I probably would.
I chose other. I’d pay off all our debts immediately, give some to my parents to help them out, splurge on a trip (we never get vacations) and invest the rest for ourselves and our children.
Interesting question, and a fun game to play as well.
1) Immediately eliminate all debt, including mortgage and car loan (approx. $230,000)
2) Fully fund my “Emergency” Account ($30,000) to top it off at $50,000
3) Fund 529 plans for my 2 children ($75,000 apiece). We’re currently contributing about $5,000 p.a.
4) Repairs/upgrades to our home (i.e. updated kitchen and bathrooms = $50,000)
5) Fund savings accounts for my 2 children for private school (the public schools in our area are decent but on the decline = $65,000 apiece)
6) Invest in my “on the side” business ($25,000)
7) The remainder would be invested in some select equities and index funds.
This seems kind of boring and I’m sure a nice vacation would be thrown in for the family, but we really don’t need much.
Have to pay off the rest of our debt, very little when compared to this sum of money. Then invest the rest, mostly for retirement and interest. See what happens when the kiddo needs some money for school, years to go!
1) Take out 40% for taxes (you know they’ll come get you!)
2) pay off our mortgage
3) fully fund our daughter’s college fund
4) Invest the rest.
1) Take out 40% and save it for tax time
2) Pay off our mortgage
3) Secure our 2 daughters’ college fund.
4) Invest the rest.
pay off debts for myself and family, invest the rest!
Just had a baby, and I suspect that by the time he gets to college, that’s what it’ll take for him to go.
I voted for “Invest it, but keep working,” but that’s only part of the story.
First, I’d stop looking for another money job and work at writing. My current novel is a little over half done, and I’m enjoying being able to work on it every day without the mental fatigue that would come from a money job.
Second, I’d take a portion of it and pay off the remainder of our mortgage (in the low $100K range). Then I’d set up automatic transfers of our monthly mortgage amount into the same investments as the remainder of the million to rebuild it.
Once the million was rebuilt, I’d start looking at charitable organizations to give the bulk of our mortgage amount to each month.
Long and convoluted plan, but there it is.
First on the list would be making somewhat-aggressive investments with roughly $500K. I have a couple years before coming out of college, so there’s quite a while before I retire!
My next purchase would be an old house — Victorian fixer-upper, preferably. This probably wouldn’t be the best fiscal itself decision, but I love old houses, decorating and remodeling work.
Additionally, I’d try to use the house as a personal investment, providing a meeting place with clients and somewhere to host others to network and socialize. If all goes to plan on the remodeling front, too, I would hopefully be able to do some design consulting on the side! (Dream job, nothing to do with my degree in Finance, haha.)
I’d look to buy a condo close to where I work.
Not sure it’d be enough, housing still expensive
here in silicon valley.
save the family farm and live there …leave it to my grand childern ( the money and the farm)
First, I’d head on a LONG cruise so I could reflect and think about it. Then, I would put about $750,000 aside to live off of and buy a house with the $250,000.
First, I’d pay off the rest of my college undergrad education. Then, after I graduate, I’d marry my long-term boyfriend
We’d help his mom get a nice house, and then we’d get a nice house too. And we’d of course donate some money to church/charity, as we’d owe our thanks to God for such a wonderful blessing. 
(note: every day is a blessing, with or without a million dollars- my thanks goes to God every day!)