Alas, I didn’t win that big Mega-millions jackpot from a week or two ago. Hard to believe. Well, actually I did win — a grand total of $7. But I did buy a few tickets, and it was fun to think about what I would do if I won.
What would I do if I won? As a purely academic exercise, I thought I would actually write it down. I suppose this is a bit of self-aggrandizement, but whatever. It’s interesting to think about. So here goes. This is what I’d do if I had won the $1,600,000,000 lottery.
- The very first thing I’d do is calmly (well, as calmly as I could) go to the bank, rent a safe deposit box, and put the ticket in the box. Then I’d put the key in a safe place in my basement.
- I’d call my Dad and ask him what to do. He’s likely tell me to call my cousin Dick, who is rather wealthy in his own right and ask him what to do. He’d give me good advice on how to proceed.
- This is the part I don’t understand, but I’d make arrangements to get the money into an account totally under my own control. I have no idea what kind of account takes that kind of money, but there has to be someplace safe to put it.
- I’d endeavor to remain anonymous if I could. Not sure what the rules are about that in my state.
- I’d take the lump sum (of course) and again, I’d have it in an account under my control alone. At this point I’m trusting no one. Again, this part is unclear to me, as I’m not familiar with accounts that hold hundreds of millions of dollars. But I’d get familiar, that is for sure.
- So the first thing I’d do is pay off every debt that I have — cars, house, credit cards, etc. That would take like a day.
- Next, I’d go out and buy the most luxurious four-door sedan I could find. I’d make it a hunt to find the perfect car, and enjoy the heck out of paying for it in cash — literally. Then, I’d by a huge, luxurious SUV for my family.
- Then I’d pay of my brother’s house. I’d pay off my sister’s house. I’d figure out a way to be of service to my parents who are already about as well off as they can be in their late years. (They live in a wonderful retirement community).
- Then I’d set up generous trust funds for my kids and brother’s kids. I’d make sure that all of them had money to live comfortably, but I wouldn’t let the trust shower them with cash. I’d set it up so that the money was there, ready to be pass down to the generations, but as a trust, not as a lump sum.
- Next, I’d buy three homes. One would be a beautiful home on the ocean. One would be a log cabin in the mountains, and one would be a nice home on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota.
- Okay, so this is where it gets interesting. I’ve taken care of my family and future generations. All the obvious stuff is taken care of – houses, cars, etc. How would I spend my time? Hmmm.
- First, I’d spend at least an hour each day scouring GoFundMe.com and similar sites for worthy causes and fully fund them. I’d do one or two a day, if that proved to be enough. Maybe more. I think that would be a fun and gratifying thing to do.
- Then, I’d spend a lot of time attending software development conferences in cognito. Just me, the average software developer. I love software development conferences. It would be fun to got to web development conferences, Microsoft conferences, etc. It would help me keep learning and to be active doing something that I really like to do.
- After that, it’s hard to say what I would do. I suppose I’d travel. I’d like to go on an around the world cruise. I’d like to go to Tahiti. Bali. Hong Kong. I love Hong Kong. And of course, I’d fly first class everywhere. 😉
- Finally, I would never put on a used pair of socks. Weird, I know, but I just love putting on a new pair of socks, and I’d do it every day. I’d save all my used-once socks and donate them to the local thrift store that supports prison ministries. (Don’t worry, I’d wash them first….)
What would you do?