You just won a huge lottery drawing.

[TXlib]

Let's say you end up with a lump sum of $15 million, after all taxes and other fees.

What is the very first thing you do?

For me, the very first thing I'd do is spent top dollar to change my identity, and disappear, so that all the assholes grubbing for money and trying to scam me can't find me.

On Edit:
I've read in a variety of sources that people who've won the lottery often say that it ruined their peace of mind, because after winning, every potential relative they had came grubbing for money, as well as every charity, and every scam-artist.

I'd set my parents and inlaws up to be comfortable. I'd pick a few charities and donate some. That's it; Of $15 million, I wouldn't give up more than $5 million in family obligations and charities immediately. After that, I'd be VERY serious about my privacy, and keeping money-beggars at arm's length.

[trotsky]

1. The usual: quit my job.

But I'd give my two weeks' notice, and complete that time. Honestly.

(By the way, if you win, be sure to let me know your new name so I can grub for some money.)

[camero]

2. This is appropriate for post #7000

The first thing I would do would be to pay off my house and give it to my mom and family. Then start looking at emigrating if things go the way I think they will.

[TXlib]

5. Congrats!

[camero]

8. Thanks

:party: :party: :party: :party: :party:

[bubblesby2002]

30. Wow 7000 posts

makes my number look pale in comparison. Big hugs and congratulations to you Camero.

[camero]

31. Thanks

and big hugs to you too. :hug: :toast:

How are you doing? Haven't seen ya around for awhile. :)

I need to get a life. :D

[bubblesby2002]

39. That's kind of the same thing I keep saying, but....

I have been working on a big project for the appraisal course I'm taking - it's due today - but I can hand it in over the weekend and not be penalized so that's what I'm going to do. Then I write the final exam on April 15 - can't wait.

Plus my sister's been here visiting which means lots of stuff to do with her and my two nieces.

But I'm back to normal now - a fairly quiet existence.

How about you? What's been happening with you?

:hug: :7

[camero]

41. Cool.

Nothing like a quiet existence. :) Had to change my insulin and start the kidney meds but it's minor right now. The grass is starting to grow again so it's time to do the lawn. This is the best time of year weatherwise here. It's gonna be 90 again soon. Yuck.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Pay off family debts, buy a hybrid mini-van, then

buy some land and build a solar home. (I'd head for Canada, but hubby won't go.)

[DarkPhenyx]

4. First thing?

Sell the truck I wrecked over the weekend and which my insurance isn't going to cover and buy a new one. Just a truck people, nothing fancy.

After that I'd probably pay of my roommates house, buy a small fixer upper place for myself, and pay off the debt to my family.

Finally the erst of it would go into a bank account or investments till I got over teh idea of being rich. Then we'd see.

[VelmaD]

14. Sorry to hear about the insurance thing

My offer to go hit someone on the head with a shovel on your behalf still stands. :hug:

[Ganja Ninja]

6. I would give my boss 6 months notice.

I would have to train my replacement first. After that I would start putting my money in banks in Switzerland, Costa Rica and the Cayman Islands. I would spend my summers in Europe, probably home based in Amsterdam. (legal pot among other reasons) I would spend my winters in the Caribbean and Costa Rica and just generally travel until I was tired of it.

[thom1102]

7. Are we talking after the check is deposited?

Because, of course, that is the first thing that I would do. The next thing that I would do is call a financial specialist to advise me on how my money should be diversified to protect it. Then: Pay off the all the bills, and call my brother's fiance, and tell her to cnacel her plans for the wedding, because I will be making arrangements for the event to happen in San Diego at the Hotel Del Coronado. I will charter a plane for the guests and arrange for their accomodations. While I am there I will start looking for a house to purchase. Quit my job, finish my degree full time, and move to San Diego and live happily ever after. The end.

[slinkerwink]

9. I'd buy a really nice house---not a mansion, but a nice house

and settle there with my partner and raise a wonderful family there. I'd pocket some of the money for their college education, and spend some of my money on surgeries for my family. Also, I'd take three months' worth of vacation in Europe. Just go around and see the sights.

[southerngirlwriter]

10. Easy.

I'd keep $3 million and give the rest away. $1m each to my four best friends, and then I'd make my (freeper) parents admit that they were and are the shittiest examples for parents and human beings possible. Then I'd give them half a million to be sure I'd never have to take care of them later. The other 4.5m would go to various charities.

Me and my $3 million? I'd protect 2.5 of it in offshore banks, then take the rest. Moving to Ecuador. Coming back only if we inaugurate Kucinich or some other true progressive some day.

[DS1]

12. That's only 12 million accounted for, do you work for Halliburton?

:evilgrin:

[southerngirlwriter]

21. Damnit.

This is what I get for posting before my brain wakes up.

If I were more awake, I'd alert you for a personal attack. :evilgrin:

Tell you what. I'll give the other 3 million to your favorite charity, how's that? ;-)

[DS1]

32. I love me, fork it over

:evilgrin:

[DS1]

11. In reality - I'd sit in my chair for hours and hours

trying to figure out what to get/do first. Then, I might just pick a random city and get a first class ticket there, after walking into a bank and setting up a Platinum card with a huuuge limit.

I'd quit work immediately, they can manage without me and I'd hate to get hurt doing something stupid in the last two weeks.

I'd buy myself a really really nice computer and probably a Bimmer M5, and at least get my friends' cars really fixed up and good for a long time. Closer friends, maybe a new one.

I'd spend a number of days with a minimum of 4 financial advisors to get different ideas and go with the most logical - high risk and low risk investments etc. I'd select 10 charities and give them each an hour to tell me why they deserve the better portion of a million dollars. 500,000 to first place, 250,000 to second, etc.

That's all I have time to jot down at the moment.

[GOPisEvil]

13. OK - after the check is deposited, and I have some spending cash...

1. Leave town. No way I'd be able to think clearly with outside influences.

2. Think about which charities and worthy causes I'd like to support. Make appropriate donations.

3. Arrange for my parents to have access to a fund of $1M to do with as they please.

4. Invest a significant portion in low-risk funds, to make sure there is always some money left.

5. Purchase a smallish, but well-appointed home in a city that has great culture, and is easy to travel to and from. Say, New York, Chicago, LA, something like that.

6. Travel the world. See what there is to see. All the while searching for a second home, located outside the US.

7. Above all...ENJOY MYSELF!

[5thGenDemocrat]

15. I'd look into bringing Class "A" baseball to Saginaw

I already know where I'd build the ballpark.
John
What are Midwest League teams selling for nowadays, anyhow?

[Bertha Venation]

18. you could probably get the Brewers . . .

;)

Sorry, JonathanChance. :)

[TreasonousBastard]

16. Set up a foundation...

and pay myself a reasonable salary to run it. The foundation would be set up to support to whatever I felt important at that time.

The foundation would have some of its investments directly in small businesses and work with the local small biz incubators.

The thought of wandering around the country with a pile of envelopes with $1,000 in them and randomly giving them to seemingly deserving strangers is an intriguing, but probably silly, idea.

[Bertha Venation]

17. first: exhale

second: call our families & have them tally their debts

third: get out from under the thread of forclosure in the most emphatic terms possible -- by paying off the house immediately

four: give two weeks' notice

five: buy land, as much as we can that's being sold "ready for immediate development"

six: relax a while

seven: start planning

[THUNDER HANDS]

19. I'd buy Will Pitt's brain

And become an evil super genius who writes really well.

:evilgrin:

[VelmaD]

20. Can I have the other parts...

if you're not gonna use them? ;)

[THUNDER HANDS]

22. I'm just purchasing the brain

You'll have to negotiate with Will over the price of his other organs...or at least the one you want.

:D

[VelmaD]

23. I wouldn't give much for...

his kidneys or liver, that's for sure. ;)

on edit: *snort* Dude, you said organ...hehehehe

[PROGRESSIVE1]

24. If I won $15 Million clear, I would give only $1 million away total!

I'd keep the rest.

[Endangered Specie]

25. Put in a MM and live off the interest

[SarahB]

26. I know exactly what I'd do

I'd make sure all my closest relatives were taken care of, evne the mean ones so they couldn't bug me (anyone who has THESE kinds of family members understand what I mean). Then, I'd set up some type of compound where my husband and I could raise the kids very close by each other for their benefit but not have to live together anymore. (Like a main house and a guest house.) Instead of working or going to school, I'd start doing a lot of charity work.

[Bluzmann57]

27. Set up my parents

who are the two greatest people alive imo, and then invest a large chunk of it and then buy a boat, a truck to tow it with. Oh yeah, I'd try and help out the Democratic Party too. In all actuality, I'd probably be dead in less than ten years because of excess.

[Lefta Dissenter]

28. Give to Move-On!

and I'd to to WesClarkDemocrats.com and give the max to every candidate who's listed there.

THEN I'd take care of my family's debts and my own, of course, build a house on our back forty, along with a nice barn with indoor riding arena for my daughter, and set up accounts for all of my family members (yes, even for the icky ones).

Get the truck painted, and buy myself a new car!

I guess I'll bank the rest... for now... :)

edit: oh shoot, forgot the workshop for my husband. It's already designed - for working on cars, etc. and for the woodworking projects he does. oops, if he saw that I forgot his shop, he'd be hurt! :cry:

[bubblesby2002]

29. The very first hing?

I'd bring my mother home from the care hospital and I would set up a room with all the necessary medical equipment and then hire 24 hour care for her. Then I would charter a plane and take everyone I know to Hawaii for a week. Then I would settle down and decide which charities and which friends and family members should get help.

[radwriter0555]

33. Travel. Travel. Travel. Buy a few properties in various cities, then

travel some more.

Apartments in Paris, Cannes, London... casa in Mexico...

And some great luggage.

[northzax]

34. all of this altruistic crap is great

but let's be realistic. I'm going on a bender. I'm putting a million dollars in cash in a suitcase, flying to vegas, and I'm not coming home until its gone.

[Mr.Green93]

35. Give the money to the Kerry campaign

[grannylib]

36. First: pay off house and all debt . Second: ensure for kids' educational

future and a modest financial future for us, etc. THEN: head up north, find a lake that is just being opened up for residential development, buy ALL the lots and as much surrounding land as possible and build my dream house...log cabin lakeside.
And get a piano.
10% would have come off the top for the church (I'd give it to the seminary, to forgive student loans for newly ordained pastors, who usually make really very little money) and I would give to causes I support now in spirit, but cannot afford to support financially.

[NoPasaran]

37. Fifteen Million Bucks? Guess I'd become a Republican!

So long suckers!

[rbnyc]

38. 1. Pay my damned student loan. (30K)

2. Buy the annex building that the community center where I work desperately needs and donate it to the center. (3 mil)

3. Divide 5 mil between my 10 favorite lefty non-profits and political orgs, like DU, the ACLU, NARAL, etc.

4. Buy a house and build the perfect recording studio in it or on the property. (Just a 3 or 4 bedroom house near NYC. Not a mansion.)

5. Pay off my mom's mortgage.

6. Buy a house for my dad and and step mom near us in the NYC area, so they can be near their grandchild.

7. Buy an electric car for my husband.

8. Save and Invest.

[Wonco_the_Sane]

40. Buy a pint of Super Premium Ice Cream!!!!!!!

[HydroAddict]

44. And buy really expensive ketchups...

Dijon Ketchup!

:)

[Blue-Jay]

42. Quit job, Pay bills, Buy land, Donate to Kerry

With the rest, I figure I'd do anything I damn well please.

[indigo32]

43. Ahhh it's fun to dream isn't it?

I don't have alot of debt to pay off, but then I don't have alot either. I'd be quiting my job, buying a home in San Diego (yup, another vote for San Diego) and a new car and motorcycle

My folks don't need much... but I might convince them to go on a nice vacation (Greece anyone?)

My siblings and their children, I'd help out. I'd also figure out a way to set up my best friend and her son while hiding from her friends LOL.

I'd surely also give a large chunk to charity (after careful evaluation) and do some traveling.

[Beaker]

45. I would buy a small 'estate' in hawaii-

invite some friends to come along, and set up an 'artist colony' of sorts...offering instruction and studio time in various disciplines, live fairly simply, and do A LOT of diving(scuba, not sky).

[Lydia Leftcoast]

46. Before claiming the money

I'd consult both a financial advisor and an attorney who specializes in estate planning.

Then I'd pay off all my debts, set up trust funds for the education of my nieces and nephews (except for my one niece who is already in college--I'd take over her tuition payments), buy nice midpriced condos in Minneapolis, Tokyo, some place in Europe (to be determined), and Hawaii, give away 1/3 to charity, invest a bunch to ensure a continuing income stream (partly in offshore banks), travel, and write. Oh, and I'd definitely never fly coach again!

Since my nieces and nephews would be my heirs, I would set up my will so that they could not inherit before the age of 40, although they could draw on the fund for one of a designated list of emergencies. That way they would have the satisfaction of accomplishing something on their own but would receive the money just in time for their midlife crises. :-)

They would also get a few thousand dollars upon graduation from college to be used exclusively for overseas travel or study abroad.

[Fleshdancer]

47. I love this fantasy

first I would disconnect my home phone and if strangers discovered my cell number, I would talk to Sprint about my options.

Then I would purchase my Mother's home, the house of my In-laws and siblings, my best friend's condo, etc and then take them all out to a nice meal, hand them their mortgage statements and a lighter, and watch them burn it all.

Next I get rid of all my debt...pay off the credit cards and then yell at the representatives by telling them where the hell they can shove their 29% interest, pay off student loans, and the car...which I will donate to an emergency women's crisis center or something along those lines. Then I buy a Honda civic hybrid for me, family members, friends, etc on the condition that they too would donate their car (if they have one) to a charity. I would start with the friends and family members who drive SUV's first.

A sizable donation to MoveOn.org, the DNC (with reluctance), NOW, DU of course and I'll do whatever I can for the Doggett campaign down here in TX. There's also a family center here in Austin called Family Connections that I would give money to as well.

Long term investments of course for a good chunk of it, help bankroll the new business my husband and I are starting, and set aside enough money for one or two really nice vacations per year. A modest size home (no larger than 1600sq ft because homes should be cozy and intimate), a big back yard, and another dog for Wellstone to run and play with. And a tree house for my daughter. If I were ruler of the world, every kid would have a tree house.

[amazona]

48. it isn't that hard to disappear

You don't need to pay top dollar to change your identity and it won't work anyway if you are still keeping contact with your parents and in-laws. Re-locating to some place the beggars can't find you would be my top priority. I never answer my phone anyway, so if anyone leaves a message I don't want to respond to, who cares. If you really wanted to stay in the same area, it would be more effective to hire security to keep hangers-on from hanging out near your place. Especially if you hired an off-duty cop or two and built good relationships with the local police department, you could stay in the same area (if you wished) and still not be hassled too much. Personally, I wouldn't tell anyone in my family if I won $15 million after-tax dollars. They live in a different state and would never know the difference anyway. If an emergency came up and they needed money, I could make a big deal about how I took out a loan against my house or stock and that I don't have another dime. If people know you won the lottery and also know you already gave away $5 million, I really don't think changing your name is going to stop them from tracking you down to hit you up for more.

I like my area but considering they seem to be on track to chop down every tree in my lifetime, I would strongly consider relocating elsewhere. Some foreign country where it would be too much trouble for indigent family members to track me down. I could always fly down the people I want to see and make up some story about frequent flyers tickets etc. Yeah, it seems deceptive to keep one's true net worth a secret but I think it's the only way to avoid lawsuits. Just changing your identity...even if they don't know your name of the moment, they might know you're rich and that might be enough for hassles.


I met a man who sued his ex-wife when she won the lottery. I mean, excuse me? The judge threw it out of course. What was he thinking? Why would your ex-wife owe you anything?