lottery fantasies...

tonight's lotto 6-49 (in canada) is estimated at $43M.  what would you do with it?  i did the math last night, and i think i could pay the 2008/2009 tuition for everyone at my uni for about a million.  i might to that.  and i'd establish a few scholarships.  then i'd build my parents a house with living space for a full-time caregiver for my mom (who's disabled due to a stroke). 

unfortunately i can't buy my master's, so i'd still have to stay where i am and work on that, but i'd also start shopping for some waterfront property in the thompson-okanagan ;)

Ranch in Montana to give wild horses some room.

House in Ireland.

Charitable pursuits of many varieties.

Travel.

I would sell this house, and buy a bigger one in the same area that I am in.  Pay off loads of debt, buy a new car, and a house on a tropical island.  I then would stash the rest away so I could prepare do whatever I want with the rest of my life.  Oh!  That would include tons of travel and seeing the world.

Well, if I ever won 43M.....

Build houses for my parents and me.

Definitely travel around and eat some delicious food!

Hmmm, I don't know where to start lol

For sure a house

Put some away for both of my kids

Travel

Charity

And give some to my mom and both of my sisters

oh - first, a motorcycle.  because summer's not over yet ;)

Hmmm..

3000+ acres for a wildlife reserve

donate a large chunk to ASPCA

rescue abused exotic animals and relocate them in a reserve

flying lessons and a plane

bills

BOTOX!!!

nanny

personal trainer

(dont laugh at this one)  a volkswagen thing hehe... I've wanted one since I was 10 years old  :)

weekly massages/pedicures  :)

I think I may have answered this before but here it is:

Pay off all debts

Unlimited therapy for my youngest son in addition to enrollment in the private school in our area designed for working with austic children.  Establishment of continued financial resources throughout his life for needed support.

College funds for both kids.  Retirement funds for me and hubby.

Financial security for my brother, and retirement for my parents.  The best cancer treatment available for my mother, no matter where it is.

Establishment of subsidy program to assist parents of autistic children with  treatment/therapy/educational costs.  Specific endowments / scholarships to institutes performing cancer and autism research.

on edit:  But really, I would give the whole enchilada if 1) we could have conversations with our boy and 2) my mother could live the rest of her life in comfort and with peace of mind.  The rest will be be taken care of in one way or another.

moody, i love volkswagen things!  also karmann ghias.  and do you remember the volvo P1800 coupe?  lovely.

i also have to second flying lessons and a small plane.  i've wanted my recreational pilot's license for years. 

starting to feel a little decadent, now....

Buy a few new bras, a package of snaps (to make scrub jackets with), get Alex stocked up on clothes for the winter, shove the rest in savings until we need it.

Same thing I do with all of my money. :\

I would buy a house so I'll have a place to live in a month and a half when the lease runs out. It would be amazing not to wonder if I will have a place to live or can afford to eat.

I would give enough money to my 65 year-old parents so that my mother could finally retire and afford health care.

I would pay off my student loans and those of my boyfriend and brother.

I would buy a new bicycle.

I would upgrade my older Prius for a new one with the GPS and the good sound system that wasn't in an accident already.

I would get a small tattoo of a lilac, since that's a symbol of hope to me.

I would take my mother to see Peru for her birthday, since she's always dreamed of seeing Machu Picchu.

And if it's truly enough money that I would never have to work again, I would quit my job and go work for a non-profit or volunteer 40 hours a week, perhaps at an animal shelter or with homeless people or children or something.

The rest would go into savings and retirement funds.

So I think that naturally there are people I'd want to share it with. I'd set up each of my close family members and friends with half a mil each and allow them to do what they want cause its theirs (that would take away 10 mil or so).

I would put a quarter of it (10 mil or so more) into investments so that I would always be provided with an income.

Next I would set up similar investments for a lot of soup kitchens and homeless shelters across Canada. I am going to say that this would take another 10 mil to set up. This way the shelters are provided with a continuous amount of money with which to operate and any further donations could go to improvements and possibly expansions!

Next I would find somewhere in the world, maybe a couple of places where I could purchase large buildings, think like mansions, and turn them into orphanages. I would also try to set it up so that these places had continuous sources of income, and lets say this would take another 10 mil of the cash. I would end up spending my time volunteering/working at/possibly running one of these two orphanages (maybe more, I have no idea what they money could really do).

With the last 3 million I'd spend that money on buying myself some stuff, being generous where I can to people I care for. I'd buy some of my good friends parents new cars/pay off their mortgages. I'd buy myself a couple of cars that I've always wanted (like BMW M3 and Mazda RX-7). I'd purchase some lakeside property in a couple of different places (one in BC, one in New Brunswick and one in Ontario) and leave them open to any family/friends that want to visit them. I'd take some time off and learn lots of the skills I've always wanted to/improve them - bartend well (mixing drinks), scuba dive, become a better dancer, masseur, play guitar better, learn violin, learn piano. I'd also travel and use the money to visit remote places that aren't everyday excursions. Areas that are less touched by humanity. My house (if I didn't just decide to live in the orphanage in the end, which I probably would) would be decked out. I would have an AMAZING entertainment system, a home theatre set up, pool, pool table, all the luxuries that I desire. Which also means it would have a large vegetable garden!

I believe that is all. Alas, for my dreams that seem too big!

Edit: I forgot this on my way back to my desk - since I would make it so that I did not NEED to work I would no longer worry about my image and professionalism in that I would get the piercings I want and I would probably hire an artist (such as...Todd McFarlane) to design a tattoo or two that I've had in mind for a while.

My kids and my husband and I play this game alot... we call it "What if...."

Lets see, $43m, assuming that is for a 20 year payout and taxes, the present day value, after taxes, would only be around $17.7M....still nothing to sneeze at.

I would:

• $1.8M donate to charities of choice.
• $3.7M set up investment account, average yield of 10%, gives monthly income for the rest of life at approx. $31k
• quit my job
• have husband quit his job
• pursue hobbies, interests, travel, and time with family
• set up trust funds for my kids and grandkids
• set up a family trust fund to give annual payments to my entire extended family (and in-law family) for the rest of their lives.
• $1M mad money to spend like crazy until we are tired of spending money...hope it works.
• another $1.7M tithe to my church
• $2.8M to establish a charity servicing those who seems to "slip through the cracks".... ie - I read an article about a young girl (14) who had to use a manual wheelchair even though she didn't have the strength to wheel it because Medicaid doesn't cover electric wheelchairs........

i would buy lots of clothes and shoes, a private jet so that i could jetset anywhere at any time, and save a lot of abandoned puppies.

43 million eh?

1 million - buy my parents a motorhome with a car to tow behind it and the rest on gas for them

40,000 - fly all my relatives out to visit me when I hand over the keys to my parents

400,000 - buy my brother a fair sized home here in Edmonton

160,000 - debts

250,000 - give to boyfriend as a gift to purchase any car he wanted

500,000 - buy my parents a lake front home in whatever province they choose

200,000 - to buy my parents a cottage in their second choice province

400,000 - build my brother and myself cottages next to mom and dads

5 million - buy a Tim Hortons

500,000 - give away equal amounts to all immediate family members (~50,000 each), if they want more, they can plead their case

300,000 - buy boyfriends twin brother a home but keep it in my name, they can rent from me for less than they pay now (he is only my boyfriend)

1,350,000 - two homes for me

100,000 - buy myself a car and insure and gas it

2 million to charities - SPCA, Meningioma research, big brothers/big sisters, U of A hospitals

1 million donated to brother to find his birth parents if he wanted

20,000 - whole bunch of new clothes and home gym

Which means I've spent 13,220,000 dollars without even trying

where you from, bigbones?  because here in BC, that $500,000 might buy you a lakefront lot, but not the house ;)  well, except in the north.

To our American dreamers - the Canadian jackpots are not taxed, and are not reduced if the person chooses a lump sum payment.

So 43 mil is 43 mil.

I don't normally buy lottery tickets but I might buy one today.

Hey pg, if I win, I'll send a mil your way. ;)

I'm totally buying one today.  I don't even live in canada haha.

off subject- did you all hear about the crazy guy from china that killed and then started eating someone on a bus in canada?  nuts.

I would spend about half the money on building the largest animal adoption facility ever built.... bigger than all the farms KFC has put together.  Then I would hire a bunch of vets to take care of the animals.  I would also hire a group of people to take pictures of the animals and start a web site for potential adoptions of the animals.  I know there are a bunch of wonderful places like this already, but I'd build another =)

Pg, great choice for your waterfront home - lake okanagan is probably my favorite place in the world! (course maybe my opinion is not one you'd like to share ;p) I'm very sad I can't go to the peach festival every year.

As for what I'd do with the money, I'd pay all my medical/credit card bills, save enough to cover my tuition, buy my parents a new house and car, travel the world, buy myself a condo, invest in something, adopt a dog =D, and save the rest for later. Then I would donate some after I researched who was most worthy ;p

Oh, I would also buy a boat and/or jet ski

Original Post by trustwomen:


Hey pg, if I win, I'll send a mil your way. ;)

 back atcha, trust.  i think i'll buy 5.

inara, i have no problem agreeing with you on this one.  and you just reminded me: a sailboat and a couple of windsurfers.

My husband and I periodically have this conversation :)

I don't have kids, but I'd set up the nieces and nephews for university (I'm in Canada so it's not that bad), plus the four kids of a couple we're really close friends with.

I'd set up my mother (my father's dead), my husband's parents, and both of our brothers with a lump sum each.

I'd make donations to World Wildlife Fund and to local animal shelters.

I'd buy a nice condo / townhouse downtown. I suck at lawns and household maintenance :)

I'd set myself up with investments to give a steady income for the rest of my life, indexed for inflation.

I'd replace our first-model-year Prius with a new one.

I'd do a lot of travelling, learn foreign languages, go back to school and get my master's, and work on open-source programs / operating systems.