So if you won the lottery....

AbbysMom

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.....what are you doing with the money?

Now I know we all always answer pay off our bills and open an animal shelter/rescue/sanctuary. So I am taking those answers off the table. ;) What else are you doing with the money?



I would buy a few other homes in various spots, take a few vacations, and help my nieces and nephews out. Some of them have huge student loans. obviously there would be some charity donations as well.
 
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bbdoll22

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Buy a house
a car(mines dying)
Buy houses for family that rent
Set up college funds for my children
Put my children in private school
Take a month long vacation with my family
Donate to certain charities
Invest
 

denice

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I wouldn't do anything for a few months.  I would continue living the way I am and working, kind of get used to having the money so I don't blow through it on silly stuff.  I would see a good financial planner.  At some point after a few months then I would have a plan in place.  If it's enough to quit work which given that I will be 60 next month wouldn't take as much money as a young person would need then I would quit work.  

I would probably move to the desert southwest, that is my favorite part of the U.S.  I would take a photo safari to Africa.  I would also take a trip to India with one of the tours where you go out on an elephant to try to see a tiger.
 

fyllis

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As of right now, no one has hit the Power Ball Lottery. The next drawing will be set at $1.3 BILLION, so there would be a lot to consider and do before I even acted on it. But it has been a topic of discussion and some of the things I would most likely do are:

1. Don't tell anyone ... yet!
2. Make digital and paper copies of the winning ticket and a photograph myself holding the winning ticket.
3. Secure the winning ticket and all copies in separate safety deposit boxes.
4. Contact the lottery authorities.
5. Hire a good attorney who is well-versed in financial issues, as well as a solid fee-based financial advisor and a CPA.
6. Change my address to a post office box and get an unlisted phone number.
7. Consult and attorney regarding a Will.
8. Pay off all of my high interest debt.
9. Invest appropriately - start an emergency fund, annuity fund, and start a college fund.
10. Set up secure funds for my daughter.
11. Donate to non-profit organizations and the less fortunate (determined by their qualifications and assurance the money goes directly toward benefitting the cause. Too many 'charities' pocket the majority of donations).
12. Learn to say, NO! (cockroaches will be crawling out of the cracks begging for hand-outs!)


Finally, after the preliminaries have been set in place, I would -

1. Invest in propety.
2. Design and build a custom home for myself.
3. Possibly do some traveling in a nice tour bus that would comfortably accommodate my cats!


After that, who knows? Build a kick-butt cat sanctuary with an in-house veterinary clinic, personal groomer and boarding - all state-of-the-art. 
 

damicon

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Haha Hoosiers always have good sense. My folks are Notre Dame alumni, Hammond born and raised.

Yes, in California, and probably most other states, "non profit" organizations are allowed to keep SEVENTY (70) percent of ALL donations for "administrative" purposes. This allows for serious tax shelters, especially when you can hire your family members at wildly inflated prices to purchase things for "needy people" that their own companies sell, by the time they get done with the money, it has ALL gone into their pockets. This is why they are rich, and why rich people have so many charity events, each one has one every year, and the money goes around in a big circle. Remember "Live Aid"? All those celebrities putting on a concert for the poor Africans so they could eat at Christmas time 1983-ish (Im getting old!) ? NONE of the money raised went to help the hungry, well, hungry African SOLDIERS, who then slaughtered their neighbors, but after the funds were mismanaged by unqualified but well meaning people, they dropped off a couple hundred tons of food in a dusty deserted African airport, posed for a bunch of photos with smiling starving children, then got the hell out of that pit. The local magistrate who greeted them was probably the guy who started the whole thing, using his townspeople, whom HE was squeezing the food supply for his army, and sent photos to the right people.

Right now I am living in the poorest section of Los Angeles while writing my sixth book entitled, "Life On Skid Row", about the myth of poverty and the reality of poverty, how most charity is actually more harmful than good, and if people want to do something charitable, there are plenty of kids with cancer, AIDS, blind, deaf, etc., but 99% of the time feeding grown, able to work adults is just giving them another day to not have to work. One state started feeding the poor this horrible bread/ meat loaf, it was nutritionally sound, but tasted horrible, and the state saw a sudden increase in employment applications and employable people, but the ACLU stepped in, and cried "cruel and unusual punishment" for giving the poor free food that tasted awful. In the old days, they just let them starve to death outside of town, so how is giving them ANY kind of food "cruel and unusual"? I bet those miners trapped in Chile would have done ANYTHING for a horrid tasting loaf!

Anyway, if I win the drawing, I'll let you know! If you do, let me know.

Ivan
 

handsome kitty

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Depending on the size of the winnings I would split with family members.  Many could use some extra funds and this way I wouldn't have the drunken sister calling and asking for money all the time.  This would shrink the amount quite a bit since I have 3 kids,  7 siblings DH has 3, there are about 16 nieces and nephews and soon to be 6 grand nieces and nephews, plus the parents who are still alive and my best friend.

Of the rest, I would bank money for retirement.  I might invest some but after watching my kids college funds rise and fall I wouldn't trust all my money there.  I would give some to charities.

The rest?  I have no idea.  Having a lot of money scares me.  We would probably by a condo or two near ski areas.
 
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DreamerRose

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We all have dreams, don't we? Those millions are more than most of us can spend. I would pay off my mortgage and debts, buy a new car, and make upgrades to my house. I'd give some to my sons, and for my grandson's college expenses. I'd donate to my favorite local charities, those that I know spend their money wisely. I'd invest most of the money to provide me with a nice yearly income. Beyond that, I can't really think of anything.
 

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Split the money with my family

There are some charities I would support (more so animal than human)

I'd really be interested in buying a large house and opening a bed-and-breakfast. That's been something I've wanted to do for quite a while now. I would quit my job, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be interested in doing something.
 

kittens mom

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Move to a place where I lived next door to decent people and then buy the property on each side and to the front and find neighbors that are so bad even they will start to hate their lives.

Don't think me petty , you have no idea.

Hire a lawyer that can take the death of Kitten to a higher court with the funds to get the best experts to testify and bankrupt the vet who killed her.

Set up a foundation to help other pet owners who have had a pet injured or killed by veterinary malpractice and spend my new found freedom working to change the laws and hold professionals accountable for their actions and allow pet owners the right to recover in court a monetary value that at least recognizes a companion pet as having real value.

I might become everyone's worst nightmare and attend law school myself.

Without a doubt my husband our pets and myself would lead a better life although I'm quite content with what we have.

I have a few family members and friends that I would certainly make sure had an easier time in life.
 

kitty kisser

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I would save money for the kids college . We agree husband & I we would buy a vacation home where all the family could go and vacation at together. I would open a business of some sort ( possibly a Petco) so I could stay busy managing it. We would help family members who we felt are deserving. We would buy a new permanent home cause we live in a single wide trailer. A new car cause mine has high mileage. A new boat cause husbands is ancient. I would like a lot of land with some horses but this is just a pipe dream! LOL
 

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As of right now, no one has hit the Power Ball Lottery. The next drawing will be set at $1.3 BILLION, so there would be a lot to consider and do before I even acted on it. But it has been a topic of discussion and some of the things I would most likely do are:

1. Don't tell anyone ... yet!
2. Make digital and paper copies of the winning ticket and a photograph myself holding the winning ticket.
3. Secure the winning ticket and all copies in separate safety deposit boxes.
4. Contact the lottery authorities.
5. Hire a good attorney who is well-versed in financial issues, as well as a solid fee-based financial advisor and a CPA.
6. Change my address to a post office box and get an unlisted phone number.
7. Consult and attorney regarding a Will.
8. Pay off all of my high interest debt.
9. Invest appropriately - start an emergency fund, annuity fund, and start a college fund.
10. Set up secure funds for my daughter.
11. Donate to non-profit organizations and the less fortunate (determined by their qualifications and assurance the money goes directly toward benefitting the cause. Too many 'charities' pocket the majority of donations).
12. Learn to say, NO! (cockroaches will be crawling out of the cracks begging for hand-outs!)
Very smart! Yes, definitely those are the preliminaries that need to be done. What would I do after that though? (aside from the stuff we can't mention as explained in the original post)

- Donate enough money to Harmony House so they can get out of debt, stay open, and save as many kitties as they used to. And then make sure they are comfortable for a couple years to come.

- Donate to Tree House Spay/Neuter clinic; they helped me when I needed to neuter my boys since they neuter pets, for a fee, but they still have TONS of TNRs they do on ferals

- Help my brother and his wife get out of debt and be able to move wherever they want to (they hate their apartment)

- Give some money to all my other siblings (who are well off), my nephews and their families

- Take my mom on a cruise of the lake; I don't think she could handle the Alaskan cruise she always wanted, but I want to take her on a cruise

- Sponsor adoptions of cats and dogs; I think I'd have a select amount I would do and then do it every year.

- Set aside a set amount that will not be touched for however many years I decide (ideally for when I retire though)

- Oh, and my dear neighbor, I'd make sure she never had money troubles ever again
- Set up a fund for people trying to deal with the financial aspects of taking care of CKD/AKI kitties
- Donate to research to find a cure for eplepsy

- And of course, donate to stem cell research for CKD/AKI.

I don't know yet if I'd buy a new house, or if I'd quit my job. I probably wouldn't do either for awhile. Well, I might buy one, but would probably stay where I'm at for awhile. I kinda like it here. I think I'd ultimately decide to leave my job though and then find something where I work helping animals. Whether that means volunteering in a shelter, or at a vet. I've already been considering that but it's not something I can just jump into. Unless of course I win the lottery.
 

ginny

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I would:

Get a team of advisors together.  Collect the money and put it in the bank(s). Buy a nice house.  Buy a car, or two (but no more...who can keep up with all those keys not to mention oil and lube every 3 months, tire rotation, sheesh!) Get a state of the art security system as well as sound system.  Most importantly, I'd slip off the radar.  
 

fyllis

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Very smart! Yes, definitely those are the preliminaries that need to be done. What would I do after that though? (aside from the stuff we can't mention as explained in the original post)

- Donate enough money to Harmony House so they can get out of debt, stay open, and save as many kitties as they used to. And then make sure they are comfortable for a couple years to come.

- Donate to Tree House Spay/Neuter clinic; they helped me when I needed to neuter my boys since they neuter pets, for a fee, but they still have TONS of TNRs they do on ferals

- Help my brother and his wife get out of debt and be able to move wherever they want to (they hate their apartment)

- Give some money to all my other siblings (who are well off), my nephews and their families

- Take my mom on a cruise of the lake; I don't think she could handle the Alaskan cruise she always wanted, but I want to take her on a cruise

- Sponsor adoptions of cats and dogs; I think I'd have a select amount I would do and then do it every year.

- Set aside a set amount that will not be touched for however many years I decide (ideally for when I retire though)

- Oh, and my dear neighbor, I'd make sure she never had money troubles ever again
- Set up a fund for people trying to deal with the financial aspects of taking care of CKD/AKI kitties
- Donate to research to find a cure for eplepsy

- And of course, donate to stem cell research for CKD/AKI.

I don't know yet if I'd buy a new house, or if I'd quit my job. I probably wouldn't do either for awhile. Well, I might buy one, but would probably stay where I'm at for awhile. I kinda like it here. I think I'd ultimately decide to leave my job though and then find something where I work helping animals. Whether that means volunteering in a shelter, or at a vet. I've already been considering that but it's not something I can just jump into. Unless of course I win the lottery.
Just what I said in my original post:

Finally, after the preliminaries have been set in place, I would -

1. Invest in propety.
2. Design and build a custom home for myself.
3. Possibly do some traveling in a nice tour bus that would comfortably accommodate my cats!


After that, who knows? Build a kick-butt cat sanctuary with an in-house veterinary clinic, personal groomer and boarding - all state-of-the-art. 
 
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