• About
• Contact
• Terms
• Best Of
• Advertise
• Privacy Policy

10 Comments »

1. Love this question… I think it is possible to know what you would do with a million dollars. I think everyone should know ahead of time what they would do just in case. Life throws funny things at you and it may be far fetched but certainly not impossible that this could happen….

   A million dollars could last and could be gone quickly. In the whole scheme of things a million dollars isn’t a whole lot of money. Change your life, yes! But it could be gone with a few major purchases. ….. I would quit my job for sure, buy a condo and invest invest, invest. Learn everything I can about opening a small business and live happily ever after. I would stay frugal, buy cheap, probably even still use coupons. But having the opportunity to to allow my husband and myself to stop working for other people would be the best gift the million would give.

   Comment by Kimberly — October 8, 2007 @ 2:23 pm

2. Good ideas Kimberly! I agree, to me it’s worth it to spend less if you can spend your time doing something you enjoy, rather than working at a job you’re not crazy about.

   I will disagree with the comment, “In the whole scheme of things a million dollars isn’t a whole lot of money”. It’s a lot of money to me. Here in the midwest at least, a million dollars would be enough to pay off our mortgage and allow me to spend a lot more time at home with our son and much less time working.

   Comment by Ben — October 8, 2007 @ 7:54 pm

3. Asking yourself this question should give some insight into what you truly want to do with your life (Office Space anyone )

   Sure 1 million dollars could last if lived frugally. But where’s the fun in that? I would certainly find ways to leverage that money to secure more income.

   Comment by Jason — October 9, 2007 @ 9:02 am

4. I wondered this for years. I’ve been investing for about 14 years, steadily increasing our portfolio, but I didn’t think we would be in retirement territory for thirty years or so (we’re in our mid-thirties)

   However, I made a rather big stock purchase about five years ago and suddenly our portfolio is almost $300,000. It’s not a million, but we’re looking at passing into the seven figure territory within 12-14 years. Suddenly it looks like a million might actually happen.

   Now that the possibility is there, I find myself agreeing with Kimberly. It’s not an unlimited amount of money (it’s $1000 one thousand times), but it is significant. If we had it today I don’t think we would suddenly start spending like crazy. We’d probably travel a little more and make sure our health is in good shape, but otherwise my wife and I would keep our current jobs. As the bank balance has grown we’ve realized that life isn’t about money but about quality. A larger bank balance (and the passive income it generates) gives you the real treasure… TIME. Time to spend with family, time to do what interests you, and time NOT having to go to a job that you don’t enjoy in order to earn your way out of indentured servitude. I find that I value my time now much more than a dollar.
   One final thought: you don’t have to get lucky and hit a big 10X stock in order to do very well. If I were a college teacher I would tell every single student I worked with one thing- the very day you get your diploma, write a check for $250 and stick it in an index fund (no load). Continue making this modest car-payment-sized investment every month of your working life and never, never skip it or take the money out. Once that check is written spend the rest as you like

   Retirement solved.

   And if I was a parent I’d find a way to scrape together $5000 and put it in a fund for my child that would mature when he/she hit 65. 5K now will look paltry in 65 years, but the knowledge that I’d have given my kid a million to retire on would be priceless.

   Comment by abignobody — October 9, 2007 @ 10:38 am

5. It is an interesting thought, but the real thought is how much money do you really need? For some of us a million would set us up for the rest of our life, but it would be a meager one. If you really want a great life what does it take? Two million? Ten Million? It all depends on if you want to sit at home and grow a garden or travel the word seeking new play toys. After you figure out what you want, then you have to find out how to get the money.

   Comment by Sean Epeprson — October 11, 2007 @ 12:27 am

6. I actually have this problem.

   I’ve been working for twelve years at a high-pressure job. I’m now less than fifty thousand dollars away from one million. Of that, half is in retirement accounts and half is cash. I have a passive income stream outside the retirement accouints of about seven thousand dollars per month (non-retirement). .

   I’m utterly at a loss as to what I should do next. Part of me wants to stop working so hard and enjoy the money. But part of me is too scared to do so.

   I’m thirty seven years old. To keep my million intact, I’d need to increase my capital by inflation each year (three percent of my million every year). That figures out to thirty thousand dollars next year out of about ninety thousand in cash income. I also need to pay taxes (about ten grand in all). So, out of ninety, I have a take home income of fifty g — which means four grand per month, after taxes and reinvestment.

   I’ve got rent of 2300 per month but no other debt and a one year old child.

   I’m terrified of what to do next. Anyone have any ideas?

   Comment by cthulhu — October 14, 2007 @ 9:03 pm

7. I trade options part-time, earning roughly ~$40K per annum, while maintaining a regular day job. I’m an relatively unaggressive swing trader and therefore, I use a conservative amount of my capital to maintain my positions. I’ve been in this part-time business for approximately 7 years.

   If I were to get an additional one million dollars, I could immediately increase my business to earning $250K/yr w/o any additional risk since I employ a strong money management regimen. That’s essentially what I’d do and then I’d quit my day job, attend graduate school part-time, engaged my other physical and intellectual hobbies with a greater deal of time during the normal week.

   Comment by Randy — November 7, 2007 @ 10:02 pm

8. well i will put it to you this way i am on ssi i live in a trailer park i found out that the park i live in is closeing down june 30 2008 and the cily where i live tells me that my trailer is to old to move so it has to be destoyed i get $643 a month i cant get a house i have to find an appt i can afford appts rent for $550 i still have to pay for heat phone and food to last me the hole month and now that my home is being destored i found that i will get a bill for that $3000.00
   i dont see me here much longer all i have to say if i had a mill i would live for many more years
   but as it stands now i dont see it ………

   Comment by Richard — April 28, 2008 @ 10:50 am

9. If I had a million bucks I’d first pay off my house and then my credit card debts. Then I would buy myself and my mom a new car. I would buy my son a used but good car,(he’s 17). I would sit down with my mom and clear her of ALL of her debts,(they’re steep). Then I would take me and my mom out to shop for brand new clothes. Then I would pay taxes for our family cabin for the next 5 years and buy a brand new boat motor. Then I’d bank the rest and live sensibly.

   Comment by Lisa — May 4, 2008 @ 1:22 pm

10. I would get a house near the sea; a house with a deck and a lovely view at the ocean. In summer time I would enjoy to go swimming on the beach right down the house or just to sit on the deck and paint or read a good book. That is what I would do with a million dollars.

    Comment by Birgitta — May 9, 2008 @ 10:17 am