What if you won the lotto? How to survive?

I wonder if we are off task here.

My thought was this.

Assuming you needs your friends - could you retain them by keeping the money?

We fixate on what we would buy - but I think we need to realize that with 10 million - our friends and relatives would be different. Right?

That is what I am wondering.

TF
 
I've had this conversation at work all the time, since we usually do a group thing. If I ever did win I would give some to family, keep a little for me to do some traveling and the rest would go to charity, at least 80% of it.
 
I'd give my dad, brother, grandparents, and my wife's sister some money, then keep the rest and live like a king.:thumbup:
Think skydiving paintball fights and buying jetpacks(they have a cool one for $100000), and you'll get the idea.:D
And, for ME, more money brings more happiness. Always has so far, at any rate.
 
Talfuchre said:
Assuming you needs your friends - could you retain them by keeping the money?
TF
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Hell yeah.
There'd just be alot more fun when I saw them.
And if anyone tried changing, and bugging me for stuff I wasn't willing to let go, they could piss off.
I have about 3 good friends(two of whom I've been friends with since 1987), and they wouldn't change.
And that's all I need.:thumbup:
 
Talfuchre said:
We fixate on what we would buy - but I think we need to realize that with 10 million - our friends and relatives would be different. Right?

TF
Click to expand...

I think with some people the friends and family would be different. It's easy for me, I don't talk to most of my family anyway. I'm light on friends, I like some people on these forums more than I like people I work with or live around, etc.

A lot of people would be different, you would find out who the assholes were really quick. This type of thing is a real litmus test for what people really are, deep inside. I am pretty much what I said in the last post, those are the things I would do. I would really give a large chunk away to those five charities and I would not purchase a mansion in Southern Callie-forn-ia and have a bunch of Harleys and Humvees like the governator do. :D

Instead of flying to Paris to eat in the finest restaurant I could find, I would hunt me down the elusive M6 Scout in .22 LR, get a super-duper laptop with some way of uploading to a website from the woods and go "survive" for a week or so and upload updates (if that is technologically possible, I don't even know! With ten million dollars, a lot of things become technologically possible!).

When shopping for sleeping pads and mats for wife and son...and myself, I wouldn't have to think about what I can afford, I would just get the best, within reason.

I'm just not into the real lifestyles of wealthy people.
 
Talfuchre said:
I wonder if we are off task here.

My thought was this.

Assuming you needs your friends - could you retain them by keeping the money?

We fixate on what we would buy - but I think we need to realize that with 10 million - our friends and relatives would be different. Right?

That is what I am wondering.

TF
Click to expand...

I read a study somewhere that the majority of the average person's friends had an income within 10% of their own.

So, I would think it would be hard to maintain most friendships in that situation.


If it were me I'd buy a bunch of land and do my best to become a modern day Jeremiah Johnson or Dick Proenneke.:D
 
quietmike said:
I read a study somewhere that the majority of the average person's friends had an income within 10% of their own.

So, I would think it would be hard to maintain most friendships in that situation.
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It would be extremely hard to maintain those relationships if you decided to live a wealthy lifestyle. My wife and I rent an apartment, you would think there is a hot tub and jacuzzi in this place for what they charge for it. So, just moving away to another state where we would be more free would basically eliminate real-time friendships here. But even if we decided to stay here, we wouldn't buy a huge house or anything so it wouldn't strain much. Might even keep it secret anyways.
 
bulgron said:
I would simply tell no one except for my wife and (eventually) my kids. And, yes, I think we could keep it a secret. Beyond that, I'd probably buy a larger house and then invest the money so that I could be sure that my wife and I would never have to work another day of our lives.

And then I'd go fishing.

:)
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You are SO RIGHT:thumbup:

Here in Scandinavia, lottery winners can remain anon. winning would allow me to be free from the stress of work, free to develop myself,learn skills, benefit the environment by being able to buy land for conservation.I would simply be happy doing what I need to not doing what I have to:D
 
There are times when at the grocery store, pharmacy, where I notice folks having a tough time with their bill. (the old couple with the $340 monthly medication bill), you know the folks, you can see their pain when the bill arrives. Rather than donate to a charity that has an advertising budget, I would pick up a tab or two, as an unexpected gesture. There would be alot of joy to spread around with 10 mil. Ah. to make someones day better, take off some stress, and not require any paperwork on their part, would be nice.

Oh yes, I almost forgot. and a 45+ foot sailboat ..............hello blue water...........
 
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I would buy a large plot of land and set up a couple of houses on it for me and the mrs. and for friends or family and set up a play area(pool, ping pong, etc.). On the land there would be a dedicated primitive area too. I would also pay off houses for my family. Like Crunchtyme I would give to charity by helping the average joe day to day. As for friends changing I think it is in part of you changing. You get that feeling of I could pay for lunch and then everyone feels weird IMO. So as long as you don't let the money change yourself which can be a hard thing things wont change among friends.
 
Talfuchre said:
I wonder if we are off task here.

My thought was this.

Assuming you needs your friends - could you retain them by keeping the money?

We fixate on what we would buy - but I think we need to realize that with 10 million - our friends and relatives would be different. Right?

That is what I am wondering.

TF
Click to expand...

I don't see why the friends and relatives would be different, though I suppose it all depends on the individual. I have a lot of acquaintances but I can count the number of friends on one hand and I sure can't see that changing because I suddenly have money. Perhaps some relatives will come begging but if they do they'll get kicked down the road. I'm not going to hand out money to someone just because they're related to me....I'd do it because I wanted to.
 
Talfuchre said:
I wonder if we are off task here.

My thought was this.

Assuming you needs your friends - could you retain them by keeping the money?

We fixate on what we would buy - but I think we need to realize that with 10 million - our friends and relatives would be different. Right?

That is what I am wondering.

TF
Click to expand...


Not for me. I've got few friends-I've always believed that they're the only family you get to pick:D-and if I'm wealthy, they're wealthy:thumbup: If I've got the $$, I've got no problem getting the tab (God knows, they've covered me a time or two;)). As far as actual family, my immediate family would be taken care of, and some extended family would get helped out, but since I'm not close with any of them I doubt they'd even know before I blew it all on a new shop:p
 
10 million, hmmm.. first off I would go to work and sit at my desk in a hawaiian shirt and flip flops, I would be eating a fat burrito and be drinking a six-er of beer waiting for security to come get me.
then.. I would put 5 million in the bank live off the interest and be hiker trash for the rest of my life. the rest I would give a million to mom and a one to pops, one to my brother and split the 2 million between some of the friends I know have always been there for me.
 
Well, right now, I have no friends to speak of (I'm strict with my definition of "friend". What most people call friends, I call acquaintances), and only my father for family. So, no, I don't think it'd change anything much.

I'd buy my dad a house where he's been wanting to go for some time now. The house and utilities would be in my name, so the bills, taxes, etc would come to me. He'd like like a high hog on his retirement then.

I'd buy a big spread of land in Montana (to keep people away), and put a small log house on it, and a big log workshop. The holdings would be in a holding company's name. Then I'd work -- on things I want to do. There's some things I'd contribute to, I'd just set up accounts with a good dividend payout and just have the checks go to them.

I'd fence in about 2 acres around my house, so it doesn't look like I own the whole spread. I have no problem with not answering my phone for people I don't know, so gold diggers can piss off.

Then I'd just do my work, sell my products, and probably raise some dogs (not a full-on breeder, but I'd have more than one). And then just enjoy life.
 
:confused: What to do with Big Bucks? :confused:



I would have to give most of it to fellows like Bob Loveless and Dietmar Kressler, :eek:

…in exchange for a few favors of course. :thumbup: :cool: :thumbup:





Big Mike

”Scaring the tree huggers.”

Forest & Stream
 
I think my plan takes this into account, talfuchre- it's designed to. *I* am not rich. I'll have a management role in some of the charitable trusts and the two family trusts. But I'm still probably going to have less disposable income than many of the friends.


No, i'm not just massively dumping 90% instantly into one time donations. But I'm taking the money, most of it, out of MY ownership- and with some legal binding, out of my complete control. I might have fun putting a few friends on the boards of the charitable trusts- but they won't be big enough to pay more than a token 1 or 2 thousand dollar annual stipend for the work. I'll have some massive parties- I dream of having a full SeaBee hosted BBQ every memorial day and a veteran's day truckload kegger every year.

but the money goes "poof" and becomes a set of trusts for the family.
 
I think there have been a couple of British studies that followed the winners of jackpots to see how they made out. I think a lot of those folks wound up burning the cash and were ultimately unhappy. I think accumulating wealth through your own efforts is a better deal for "survival" purposes (its a more gradual process). I grew up pretty poor, and over the last 10 years have built a couple of reasonably successful businesses. At the end of the day I can buy pretty much what I want, but now I have less time for my family, fishing, camping, friends, etc... I was happy as a poor kid (albeit a little hungry sometimes), and as an adult I've always considered myself to be the luckiest man I know, so I don't how much influence money has on happiness... The cliches that we all hear about money are substantially true in my estimation....
 
Okay - let's imagine this scenario. Your brother just won 10 million dollars - you, then happen to have a house fire the day after your insurance lapsed.

You WOULDN'T think to call your brother? You don't think EVERY friend that has come on hard times or needs some money hasn't thought to call your brother too?

Before the lotto - your brother could offer you some help and you would be greatful - now - he has the means to help you - and one part of you is going to think he should.

If he did NOT help you, because everyone has been hitting him up and he is sick of it - you don't think that it wouldn't change your thoughts about your brother?

TF
 
I would use the money to take care of my family and a few close friends.

Then I would quit my job and become a Police Officer. Being a Police Officer is something I have always wanted to do but financially I cannot afford to take the pay cut.
 
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