All right. You win the mega-million-beaucoup-bucks lottery. What do you do?

[Arugula Latte]

Me:

-- All the boring stuff, like put aside $$ for retirement, kids' college, pay off mortgage, etc.

-- Massive world travel. Every year, a major trip. Maybe two or three months spent out of the U.S. Nothing is off limits.

-- I don't think I'd move, but I'd do lots of house improvements.

-- I'd buy organic produce every single time, a huge honkin' wheel of parmigiano reggiano (sp?), splurge on the best food available.

-- Help friends and family. That could get tricky ... How much? How often?

-- Start a foundation. Emphasis on helping animals (especially kitties :loveya:, elephants, apes), help ecosystems, buy up land, donate to green projects, anti-poverty, Africa relief, clean water access, women's issues, education, etc.

-- Buy a little place in Kauai to live in the winter.

And you?

[DS1]

1. plunk down on a sweet local house

hopefully on the river. park a nissan gt-r and ferrari in the garage spaces. jet off to wherever first class, after hiring someone to watch the cat. or fuck it, bring him with me on a chartered flight

[Texasgal]

9. What?

You mean you won't give it to the poor?

What the fuck is wrong with you?

























:sarcasm:

[DS1]

13. give it to the what?

:confused:

[Texasgal]

14. You know....poor people?

:P

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. Go to the elementary schools and pay kids $5 each to start fights,

until over the course of a few years I've created in my town an entire generation of violent soldier-children who have eliminated all the weaker ones, and also learned to do whatever I tell them to do, and then we'll start taking territory.

[Arugula Latte]

22. That sounds like a good use of resources.

:thumbsup:

[kick-ass-bob]

43. Rabrrrrrrkid?

Is that you?

:bounce:

[Generic Brad]

3. Buy a boat and fish full time

You are all welcome to come fishing with me.

[flvegan]

4. Pay off all debt for my family.

Chunk of cash to mom, chunk to brother.

Buy a Ferrari F430 and an XTerra. Do lots of upgrades to my house. Consider moving so I could have a nice pool and hot tub.

Rest of the money goes into a trust earning safe interest. 20% of the interest gets added to the principle and the rest is used to live off of and to expand my rescue and donate elsewhere. Principle never gets touched unless absolutely needed.

[Deja Q]

5. Pay off debt, further education, exercise, all in a reasonable timeframe...

Doesn't take much to keep me content.

[AlCzervik]

6. Pay off my mortgage then give my house to one of my friends, give a lot to charity

College funds for all the kids in the family, Nana gets a new sweet one level condo with whatever help she needs to run the joint and then we travel the world.

[sasquatch]

7. Pay off debts, buy a new pickup truck, and buy a farm

B-)

[Deja Q]

8. Once you've bought the farm, who will you bequeath the truck to?

:yoiks:

[Initech]

10. Here is what I would do:

- Buy a house (I found a really nice one in San Clemente that I'd take if I had the $4 mil price tag)

- Buy a really nice sports car (like a Bentley Contintenal GT)

- Pay off loans, help friends/family, etc.

- Massive travel - like spending 2-3 months outside the US every year

Oh and I'd quit working.

[Systematic Chaos]

11. Hmmmmm...

I think I would buy a fairly large house (NOT a mansion but 3,000 sq. ft. would be awesome) on a large plot of land, and have several smaller guest homes built if they weren't already.

Then, my wife and I would go live quiet, secluded lives and our present roommate and some of each of our families would be invited to stay with us.

I would hire a live-in chef and a couple of housekeepers. The chef would have to be skilled in many different kinds of cooking but vegetarian would be at the top of the list.

I'd hire flvegan to become our personal trainer and give him one of the cottages. If anyone could help me get my weight down and my health back, and help my wife get in better shape, he'd be the one. :)

I'd buy a couple small cars for single-person trips, like Priuses or something, and also one or two big passenger vans for group trips, run on reprocessed used cooking oil. Maybe a motor home also run on cooking oil to visit distant family members. I can't stand sports cars or luxury vehicles so there'd be none of that.

We'd have solar panels installed to use less electricity from the grid, because I'm a gadget freak and would have a room full of nice computers and a really top-notch home theater and sound system. I'd never have to worry about not having money for our Everquest addictions ever again!

I would start learning to grow all kinds of food and would also have an orchard full of fruit and nut trees.

I would also open a no-kill shelter on the property for cats and have it fully staffed with animal-loving attendants.

I'd start a massive scholarship fund for especially gifted kids from low-income families.

I would definitely spend some time visiting places like Europe, Australia and Japan, but I doubt I'd make a habit of traveling more than once a year or so.

There are a few very good friends and family members whom my wife and I would help out. I'd probably also help out a few select DU'ers as well.

That's about all I can think of. Just imagining it makes me want to cry.

[Arugula Latte]

38. I like this the best:

"I would also open a no-kill shelter on the property for cats and have it fully staffed with animal-loving attendants." :applause:

I'd like to do something like that, too, and also do major spay/neuter efforts around the country.

[flvegan]

53. I'm flattered.

I'd happily take that job.

[DarkTirade]

12. Start two businesses.

One: a meadery.





Two: a company that makes cute little fun video games.











I guess technically my company already exists as just me working under that name. But I'd make a real company. Hire a couple of programmers and artists, get a small recording studio, ect.

Beyond that, world travel, donations, ect. that would all be on the side. I'm one of those people who has to be doing stuff. Those are just what I'd do in the breaks inbetween. :P

[charlie and algernon]

15. ok

Pay off all remaining college loans for both myself and my brother

Get out of my apartment and buy a nice house in the Shenandoah Valley

Pay off all debts for my immediate family

Invent 60% of remaining winnings in trust fund/retirement

Donate to my grade school, high school, and college

Donate to various charities

give to Democratic Campaigns

take month off and travel Europe

[TK421]

16. Pay off my credit card debt...get a car ( nothing fancy, as long as it runs )

put some in savings and make sure my family and friends are properly taken care of

[hobbit709]

17. PARTAY!!!

[lizziegrace]

18. Pay off all my family's mortgages

and buy myself an old house and bring it back to it's old glory. I'd have it handicapped-adapted for Thom and the dining room would be full of family and friends eating and enjoying being together.

[SoxFan]

19. I assume you're talking bottomless pit-o-money lottery

Pay off the debts
Send my parents on a vacation to Switzerland
Travel to Ireland, Israel, China, Kenya, and maybe even North Dakota
See the Red Sox play a game in every AL ballpark
Send some money to Lazarus House, a homeless shelter founded by one of my high school teachers
Start scholarships for students at Central Catholic HS, U of New Orleans, U of Arkansas
Help start a math and science charter school in a low-income neighborhood
Feed the cats swordfish, grilled tuna, and chicken cordon bleu for a few weeks

[Taverner]

20. Find a way to make an electric '65 Mustang

Chargeable at home

And get solar panels

Have my cake and eat it too

Run a solar-powered data center

Start a TV station

[Lucian]

21. Pay off all debts, save a lot of it, and then splurge the rest.

I'd probably buy a house in all the countries I want to visit, such as France (I want to live in Provence), Ireland, Italy, Spain, England, Greece, etc.

[BarenakedLady]

23. Disappear.

:P

[Callalily]

24. Help out family and friends,

move the the Caribbean, and play for the rest of my life!

[jakefrep]

25. First thing - move and get an unlisted phone number

1. Buy 2 or three houses in some combination of the following locations - DC, Lexington, KY, and Saratoga Springs, NY, perhaps even Germany.

2. Several cars, including a big honkin' Mercedes S-Klasse or Audi A8 - and probably a Cadillac or Corvette.

3. Travel - a lot.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

26. First and foremost, pay off debts

--Set aside college funds for my nieces and nephews (and give a nice annual gift to my niece who has already graduated) However, I'd set up my will so that the nieces and nephews couldn't inherit until the age of 40 except for certain designated emergencies.

--Buy a condo in my favorite section of town and have one room furnished Japanese style.

--Travel like crazy, perhaps spending three-month sojourns in various cities around the world

--Contribute generously to my favorite non-profits, including my church (which does a lot of charitable work in the local community) and the college I graduated from (which has an excellent track record for social consciousness). I'd also give to my graduate alma mater, but only to top off the fund that allowed me to study in Japan

--Start arts programs for children and youth in poor neighborhoods, giving them a vision of something outside their current hardscrabble lives

--Play "secret Santa" year around. If I heard of someone who was in financial trouble, I'd send them an anonymous cashier's check.

[Justpat]

27. After buying a five hundred acre farm in Highland County, VA,

I'd start buying radio stations.

I'd be a major advocate for the progressive voice on the airwaves.

[noonwitch]

28. Quit my job! Pay off my house note, buy a new house and give mine to my cousin, 10% tithe, etc.

Set up trust funds for my nephew and my nieces. Payoff my mom's debts so she'll stop bitching about it all the time. Buy some good jewelry at Tappers. Take $5000 for a cash spending spree at my favorite upscale stores.

[Parche]

29. Take Oregonian Out To Saylors Old Country Kitchen

For steak and lobster!!

:woohoo: :hi::hug:

[Arugula Latte]

42. Aww, thanks!

Since I don't eat red meat I'll just have an extra lobster, which, when you think about it, is red, too.

Or maybe I'll just have another drink. And dessert. :P

:hug: :hi:

[NV Whino]

30. Buy several large duffle bags

Stuff cash in bags.
Get out of Dodge.
No forwarding address.

[Spacemom]

31. After all the usual stuff

Put away for kids education, House, Car....

I know it sounds boring, but I'd love to go back to school. I'd love to have time and money to study and get a degree.

[Marrah_G]

32. Buy Iceland.

[Inchworm]

33. Get a trike and a trailer

Leave this place and ride all over the country volunteering at Humane Societies. I'd visit people as I travelled and possibly take a few with me :D

:hi:

[Rambis]

34. Summers in Ireland or Scotland

Until the kids are out of school. Then search for a nice cottage close to the pub but with some land for the herd of dogs I would have.

[KittyWampus]

35. Put brick paths between the beds of my huge, symmetrically designed veggie garden.

[TheMightyFavog]

36. Pay off Student Loans, Retire to a modest Flat in London, if possible.

Maybe while there, become a silent partner in a few small businesses, spend my days wandering the city visiting and financially supporting the museums, have a pint or two at local pubs, and go to Speaker's Corner every Sunday like I used to When I was over there in 2007.

I'd also travel quite a bit.

I'd also secretly take out 10,000 pounds in 20 pound notes, put them in black envelopes and just leave them in random locations throughout the city. Along with the note, there'd be a note asking whoever finds it to do good with the money.

Oh, yeah there would be a couple cars I'd buy. One a brand new caterham Seven, and a 1967 Shelby GT500

[Arugula Latte]

41. Cool idea about the notes.

I always thought that something like that would be so much fun to do if you were massively wealthy.

I'd also max out on my contributions to various liberal candidates during elections. That would be satisfying.

[insanity]

37. A few things:

--I'd put my friends through college

--I'd put a bunch aside for life

--I'd travel and hopefully move to Europe

--Give more to charity

--Buy a nice car

--Get my girlfriend something pretty

[jobycom]

39. Give it to the Big Three, AIG, and several investment banks, since they are suffering so.

[Arugula Latte]

40. Awww, that's sweet.

:)

[Bake]

44. I'd buy Mr. Coffee to be my beyotch!

Or hire him, if you prefer. Maybe even pay him benefits, like medical insurance.

Oh. And I'd hire a personal ball-washer. Scrub, scrub, rinse rinse.

Bake

[fizzgig]

45. pay off my student loans and credit cards right away

then:
- set some aside for retirement, investments, savings, etc
- help out some of my family members who really need it (within reason)
- set up an endowment fund for area nonprofits: the women's shelter, the sexual assault advocacy center, the local aids project, etc.
- travel, travel, travel, and more travel
- either move or buy a nice house here (or maybe both if it were feasible)
- help my boyfriend open his own restaurant. we've been tossing around ideas for some time now, but it's been nothing but talk and a goal that we know might never be reached

[Z_I_Peevey]

46. Tell no one,

except my new lawyers/estate planners.

Quit my job.

Build a decent house.

Give anonymously, where needed.

Never be heard from again.

Ahhhhhh.

[mokawanis]

47. So many things

Buy a new house here in Madison because my wife would love it.

Quit my job immediately (no 2 week notice) and never work for anyone else again.

Buy a small place in Alaska or out west to stay when it's winter in WI.

Set up a scholarship fund for low-income students.

Set up trust funds for all 3 of my kids, with the stipulation that they pursue education and careers.

On a selfish note - I would spend a lot of money on travel. Several trips each year to explore the world, particularly wilderness areas.

[Beer Snob-50]

48. well first the normal stuff (college, retirement, mtg, ect0

and then:
red sox and patriot season tix (and not the seats where i will freeze my ass off)
the pirate foundation- i would like to sponsor a couple of deserving inner city kids to four years of college
i would want to have a party. it would include massive quanities of beer and i would try to get jimmy buffet to play
a beachhouse somewhere
take mrs pirate on a nice trip

[AngryAmish]

49. tons of hookers...tons of blow

[Fire Walk With Me]

50. Replace pro football, the superbowl, and Budweiser

with curling, curling tournaments on Thanksgiving, and Bradors. And that's just the beginning. Some give me a budget.

[TommyO]

51. The standard stuff to start with

Pay off my bills, buy my mother's house so she doesn't have to worry about the mortgage payments, get a new car or two, spend an entire season visiting amusement parks around the country. Buy a piece of property, settle down and build a modest, energy-efficient house with enough space for me, the cats, and the person who will decide I'm now wealthy enough to be my husband :D

[mitchum]

52. Set up an animal rescue complex and become a narcotics addict

[Inchworm]

54. hmmm

Not bad

:)