What would you do with $355 Million?

[chumley]

With the Mega Millions drawing tonight estimated at $355M :GB: ($224M cash option: pay Uncle Sam and end up with about $130M to spend)...

First of all, I would NOT quit my job. I might ask to introduce some flexibility to my schedule, but I enjoy working.

I'd also donate a bunch of cash to a variety of causes I care for. And if I wasn't able to keep working with my new flex schedule, I would set up a variety of gigs to volunteer for.

Then I'd start getting selfish. Pay off the house. Maybe make some minor improvements (new floors, some furniture, etc.), though nothing absurd (I do not need a $50k home theatre/media room or an indoor bowling alley).

I'd like to do some traveling, and that would probably constitute the bulk of my future spending. Kilimanjaro, check. Definitely New Zealand. Skiing in Argentina and Chile. Need to get to Phuket sometime. And Seychelles. Eastern Europe.

I better get back to work. This could keep me distracted all afternoon. How about you?

[juliachaos]

Apparently there are two tickets out there that matched all six numbers.. one sold in ID and one in WA. Sooo.. I guess the new question is what would you do w/ $177.5 mil? ;)

I'd do a lot of boring things, like pay off student loans, car, all that... get my parents all taken care of, of course. Then I'd find a part-time job doing something I loved, or volunteer. I'd spend the rest of my time hiking, climbing, and traveling. Nowhere in particular; just talk to various random people I'd meet and pick their brains on best-kept international secrets. I've already got a couple small lists going on somewhere..

[Tough_Boots]

I'd do a lot of boring things, like pay off student loans, car, all that...

I would stop paying all that stuff and tell the lenders, "sue me... I got $177.5 million! Now you can waste a bunch of money trying to beat MY lawyers!"

[kingsnake]

Buy an island in the South Pacific. (Caribbean is too crowded.) Put up a Gilligan Hut, a fridge, generator, and plenty of beer. Hire a sea plane to fly in supplies (more beer) once a month. Live the rest of my life being a beach bum, as far away from the rest of "civilization" as possible.

Btw, at least two different winning tickets last night ...

[CannondaleKid]

I would stop paying all that stuff and tell the lenders, "sue me... I got $177.5 million! Now you can waste a bunch of money trying to beat MY lawyers!"

I wouldn't waste so much as one penny giving a reason for more lawyers to exist. That's what's wrong in our country today... nobody is willing to take personal responsibility for their actions... nope, I didn't sign for those loans, I'm not paying! OR My house is worth less than I owe, I'm not making those exorbitant payments! OR It's not my fault I put myself in this mess!
With attitudes like that it simply breeds more contempt. Surely we have enough of that on our planet already.

Now if I had won... (I didn't because I didn't support the lottery this trip so the odds were 100% I wouldn't win.) I would...
1. Pay off my debts... oh wait, I have none... the little I have I own free and clear, and it feels great!
2. Donate a healthy 20% to various religious as well as secular good causes... (yes, HAZ would benefit) ones that help sustain healthy minds, bodies & souls, ones that help promote peace and eradicate world hunger... of course the latter two would necessitate bringing down big government, which means bringing down all of big business so they have no $$ to buy that big government. And of course I'm doing my part by donating to tax deductible causes which in turn will allow me to pay less taxes and thereby depriving big government by that small amount.

Whoops! I'm straying from the gist of the thread... so I better get back on the trail.

3. Take a 6 month trip to Africa, providing hands-on education to help local people get clean water, raise their own crops, etc. (Leaning toward central Africa, but having spent my youth in South Africa I feel more of a tug here > Lat 28° 55.712'S Long 30° 57.045'E)
4. Take 6 months to hike/bike/in-line skate all over the world... not so much by plan as by whim... by who I meet, what they have experienced, and what I can learn.
5. Resurrect the mission I was on when I moved to AZ in '02, start a new driver education school on a plot of land large enough to have a mini-town, using the latest technology to simulate various scenarios so the students can actually experience the dangers first-hand, teaching in a controlled environment. Making use of skid cars, pop-up "children running into the road" and other aids.
6. Dang? Have I saved the world yet? At least I'll do my part to encourage others to do their own little part and together we will make a difference.

[chumley]

I take comfort in knowing that the winning tickets were not sold in West Virginia. Those backward hill-people always seem to win the big jackpots. ;)

[paulhubbard]

It cost me $3 to win $2. Better than getting skunked, and it'll buy a Pick and a Powerball!

[kingsnake]

It cost me $3 to win $2. Better than getting skunked, and it'll buy a Pick and a Powerball!

Better ROI than real estate these daya ...

[Jim]

On second thought, I think I would have cashed my first check in all one's and rolled around in a big pile of money.

[kevinweitzel75]

On second thought, I think I would have cashed my first check in all one's and rolled around in a big pile of money.

hopfully not naked...at least for anybody to see.

[paulhubbard]

See my post RE jobs on the South Rim... Without having to worry about money that would be the cat's meow!!