I have been working on mechanicals all morning so I find myself daydreaming of “what if” scenarios as I am working. My favorite is What would you do if you won the lottery, say $100 million after taxes? I don’t even play the lottery but I like to dream still.
Would you stay at your job?
If not would you start a business?
What would you buy?
How would your life change?
I also think of those shows about how the lottery has ruined peoples lives but I think that if you’re a poor moron then you will be a rich moron too .
For me, I would probably stop working full time and freelance part time. I can’t imagine not working at all but I could handle a little.
Plus I would want to travel a lot.
Pay off my student loans
Write big fat checks to my family.
I would stay in Chicago, but move places (something with a garage, see next)
Buy my dream car(s).
Donate: Time & Money
Pay off my debts (house, CC, student loans, etc.) move to the countryside so my kids can live closer to their grandparents (but not too close…), but still close to a major city.
Buy a house temporarily, and build a new one exactly how I want it.
Then go back to school for business and finance while my money continues to grow in safe low-ish interest investments.
Once I gain the investing and business knowledge, time to pour some of it into money making ventures. I would likely go into my own business but it may be a larger company that encompasses smaller hobbies of mine.
Ultimately I would still work, just differently and on my own terms. I would use the cash to have fun at what I do for work instead of using money from work to have fun.
I’d set aside plenty for my kids but with stipulations that they don’t get it (or don’t know their getting it) until later in their lives so they learn to be smart with money.
Quit, do nothing but travel for several years, buy a lot of toys, and eventually use the balance to start a performance tuning garage so I could fritter around on cars all day and still get paid. The Jay Leno model if you will.
Get a place in Old Town (Chicago). I can now afford private school for the kids. Eat once at Charlie Trotters and Alinea. Become a regular at Frontera Grill.
Apartment in Milan, cottage on Lake Como. Hang out with George Clooney.
Design and fabricate furniture and sculpture. I wouldn’t care if it sells or not.
I’m pretty close to Nurb.
I’m already completely debt free so I’d take care of the debt for the rest of my family that have helped me out along the way.
Then I’d buy 3 places: a country house with land to be able to get away from it all, a suburban house for general living, and a city condo/loft to be close to the action (hey, we are talking 100 mil, I get to splurge some!)
Next of course is the business. Go to school for the business and marketing matters I don’t know and then set up shop.
Also of course would be the extra investing so that the money makes itself.
Then I’d pursue other hobbies and fantasies that I couldn’t before due to money (adventure sports, music production, etc…). Basically try to be able to live happy and keep my mind stimulated.
Then I’m sure there would be plenty left over so I’d have to use the rest to help others build up their dreams as well, most likely through education so I’d have to start some free schools to help re-educate disadvantaged people.
In these tough economic times, lottery signs everywhere, a second child due any minute, and crappy insurance coverage, I daydream about that lottery win quite frequently. Sorry if it sounded rehearsed.
I would add a condo in the city, too. That’s a good idea.
I’ve thought of it many times… this is what I would do.
maybe work for a bit and not tell anyone I won, just to see what that felt like. I might do that for a couple of years to be honest. Don’t you just think the feeling would be amazing! Everything would just feel so different!
Buy a live/work space, probably in downtown Portland OR, Austin TX, or maybe Palm Springs. I wouldn’t spend more than 2-3 million on this, total cost including kitting it out with mid century furniture… I’m thinking 5,000 sq feet, enoughto have a small living space, studio for my wife, studio for my team, and a classroom
hire an office manager/assistant, a 3d CAD guy, and an intern
buy a small country home in the mountains or on the ocean, approx 1,000 sq ft, 2 or 3 room little thing. Under 1 million
but a few classic cars, under 1 million
set aside enough money to pay for most of my expenses for life.
give the rest away to various charities and maybe set up a scholarship fund. Out of the 100 million, that should be 80-90 million to give away. I just wouldn’t want to sit on all that money.
A friend of mine was creative director at a large corporation. This company has a history of cycling through directors, and he did his 3 year tour of duty, then accepted a lateral position within the same company with a little less stress. There was a 2-3 month transition period while he helped locate his replacement and this was the period he did his best work! Because he was designing and directing like there would be no tomorrow. Totally free to make the best decisions politics be damned.
1 ) Pay off student loans…
2 ) I would work for a few years while I continue to learn the skills necessary to be able to run my own small company.
3 ) Build my dream compound style house/studio that I could work out of (location to be determined). It would need to be set in a wooded area near some water. Deck it out with all of the MCM furniture I could get my hands on plus some select new designer pieces. I am fine with living in a design museum. Possible locations include… Portland, Seattle, Austin, Boulder, Chicago, Boston, Grand Rapids. I want to live in a city close to a university that I could be involved with.
4 ) Build an ID fun house that would have a lot of advanced technology for me to experiment on my furniture designs. I would open this up to fellow designers so they can have personal access to machines they would normally not have.
5 ) Buy a few classic cars and design/build a few hot rods.
6 ) Donate a new furniture workshop to my Alma Mater.
7 ) Invest in some products I think have viability (Cerevellum is one I have wanted to help)
8 ) Set my parents and close relatives up for life if they wish.
9 ) Put enough money away to pay for my needs for life.
10 ) Buy a few small vacation homes.
11 ) Donate to many charities and set up some local and national scholarships.
12 ) Eventually open up my own Atelier style shop doing custom one off pieces of hardware, artwork, furniture, etc… Hire a few talented artists and designers to work with me there.
Speaking of $100 million - Did you hear about Mark Zuckerberg (of facebook) donating a $100 million to the Newark NJ school system? Nice little donation. I hope they spend it right and not spend half on a football stadium.
Yo, I have thought about the scenario before where you continue to work your normal job and not tell anyone. I agree, I think your work could drastically improve purely though enjoying it more. Of course the co-workers might get curious when I pull up in my Austin healey 3000 mk3.
