What would you do if you won the lottery?

[ravfem]

This is pretend, so might as well make it really good!

Let's say you won $50 million after taxes in the lottery.
What would you do??

__________________________________________________ ________________

me? Oh...where to start :thinking:

-i'd give all my clothes away, except for one special sweater, and go on the shopping spree from heck! :dance2:

-pay off my few bills :dance1:

-have homes in SF, NYC and Asheville, NC :elefant:

-get my Mustangs! :carride:

-charter a ship & cruise over to the UK to do some visiting :theisland:

-open my school :thumbsup:

-give bunches to bunches of causes i love :fireworks:

-have weekly shipments of See's chocolates sent to me :eatinghersheybar:

-set up a monthly stipend for my son for as long as he's in college and after he graduated, until he got on his feet :poc-nod:

-take some classes like ASL & dog training :dog::aslpeacelove:

i know there's more, but that's enough to get started.

:hippie:

[Tucker]

I would donate it to animal charities.

Specifically No-Kill shelters.

They need it far more than I do.

[Jesse]

Well first I would hire a team of financial advisers, then I'd disappear...

http://www.blavish.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/princess-mariana.jpg

[suebee]

Fifty million? That's a lotta dough! :blink:

Oh well.....the usual suspects: pay off debts, build a nice - okay....FABULOUS house in the country, help my family....we all know them.

I'd love to have a 1958 MGA. Baby blue. Just because I could.
My fun car: a mini cooper. Yeah. Goes like hell! :)
My bike: a pan-am spyder:

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g89/airvulcan32/spyder.jpg

Yeah! Just like that one!

But what I'd really like to do is have enough land around my FABULOUS home to have an animal refuge. Exotic and farm animals that have been thrown away, a parrot retirement resort, so they don't have to go to a dozen more homes in their lifetimes, and a foster home for my fav dog breed - australian shepherds.

Of course I'd have enough staff so I could drive my bitchin' cars, and travel, and not have to worry about the critters.

Oh yeah. And I'd spoil my beautiful butch lady rotten!

And eat Ben and Jerry's ice cream whenever I wanted to!

Nuff?

[Soft*Silver]

I would pay off all my debt...

and my sister's debt, including her house, for being so good to me when I was down and out

I would give my daughter the wedding she never thought she would have, pay off her student loans and buy them a huge house and set up college funds for grandbabies

I would donate to the newfoundland dog rescue a huge sum of money

I would buy the lot next door and set up a kennel to rescue local mixes from our high kill pound. I would train residents from a local drug addiction rehab program to work with the dogs and then adopt the dogs out when ready.

I would buy two horses and pay up my board for twenty years.

I would buy a truck...blackberry blue

I would buy a tumbling composter

and some clothes. I havent bought clothes for myself in ages.

I would buy a zillion primroses and line my walk with them

I would fix the ceiling in my kitchen where it was damaged when I left the upstairs faucet on and it leaked all over the floor and thru the ceiling

I would get a cell phone and my hair cut and cable tv

I would replace my china I had to sell when I lost my farm

I would pay for top surgeries for some trans friends of mine.

I would fence in my yard with a white picket fence

I would donate to this site...so that people could have memberships who couldnt afford them as well as scholarships to go to the reunion

I would fund the reunion for a decade

I would buy lots of nail polish

and a small freezer

I would put money away for a rainy day

[WolfyOne]

I would start a shelter for cats
With what I've seen since living in Oklahoma,
I'd want to also educate people on spay/neuter
Why it's so important to have it done
and bringing an animal home is a lifelong commitment

[Guy]

Spoil my girl

Help my family and friends

Buy a boat (um not quite as large as Jesse's) lol

Travel

[Blade]

First I'd do all the transition stuff then I'd buy at least 100 acres in the mountains and build a log cabin on it. New Tundra of course. Build my parents whatever where ever they wanted it, same with my best friend. Then I'd take a trip to Alaska and a trip to Australia. Come home and tour every state in the US. Course there would be some charity stuff in there too.

[Greyson]

If I did play the lotto and then by some miraculious stroke of time and space becoming non existence and rendering unto me all the money....... I would,

Give some of it away.
Hire a financial advisor.
Retire from this particular profession.
Buy a new home.
Take care of my loved ones.
Do a graduate program in something I feel passionate about.
And of course become a Lifetime Big $$$ Donor of this site.

[Gayla]

After the usual stuff, I'd go shopping. For a liver, a truck, a Sonic, a couple of west coast houses and a couple of east coast houses and a couple smack dad in the middle. A couple of big trucks to move some people out of where they don't want to be to where they do wanna be.

But the first thing I'd do? Go bid on Diva's cookies.

[SimpleAlaskanBoy]

Get a cabin built for my parents and one for me back in Alaska
get top surgery
go to Scotland, Paris, the Netherlands & Japan...and Sweden because I know daisy misses it and Alaska so I can see my family and daisy can meet them
buy daisy a car
get a suit made
spoil our cats and donate to no kill shelters and other worthy causes
get the basement finished and remodeled, along with the attic
personal chef!
&
Finally see Fenway park in Boston
buy an Xbox 360, a PS3, and a PSP

~SAB

[always2late]

If I won the lottery:

I would set up a trust fund for my son and my two nieces.

I would set up a non-profit foundation that gives grants for transitional surgeries and related expenses (an idea of mine for years...but no money to make it come true...I even have the name of the foundation picked out! :) )

Travel to everywhere and anywhere I've ever wanted to be and see

A house in the mountains and one near a beach

And then, I would disappear to my above mentioned houses and only reappear for the monthly board meetings of my foundation :)

[Ebon]

Hook my family and friends up. Pay off debts etc...

Invest

Donate some to my favorite trans charity to supply surgery for people that can't afford it.

Get my own top surgery.

Try to visit every country on the planet earth. Some places with my baby and some without because she doesn't like camping.

Come back to the USA buy some land build a farm house and a buy a housee in the city. Live off of the money I invested. Start an organic farm with real food for humans to eat.

[chefhmboyrd]

first hire a lawyer

pay off debt for me and my family/friends
make sure that i invested wisely
set up a trust for my boys
build a eco friendly house on my newly purchase hobby farm
travel
buy a fleet of mobile kitchens to feed and deliver water to people in need

and i am sure there would be a special extra large BFP reunion at my expense :sunglass:

[Gemme]

Once I did the usual suspects, like paying off debts and whatnot, I'd set up separate accounts for a few folks.

I'd buy a house for my friend, Jennifer, and my heart nephew with one stipend. Her ex-husband is not allowed to live there. She's a sucker for him and if I caught him there (or my eyes and ears caught him there), then I'd have to get mean about it.

I'd give her family a nice chunk of change because they took me in when I had nowhere to go and tried to protect me as much as they could when I was younger. They're my surrogate family.

I'd give my dad and stepmom enough funds so that they can age comfortably.

I'd give something to a number of friends who are like family to me.

I'd buy a Sentinal membership here. :cheesy: And donate a lil sumthin sumthin to help keep the place running for a long, long time.

I have a number of friends who would like top surgery. I'd help them out with that.

I'd give Gayla a call and buy a nice property in WA and then call my old agent up and buy another small property in FL. I'd buy a lovely, much bigger property in TX since it's my home base now. I'd decorate said properties cuz I love that stuff.

I'd set up retirement and long term savings accounts in case I'm stupid and waste the rest of the money, which has happened to a lot of Lottery winners.

I'd take a year or two off to travel with my honey. We've agreed that he can go to the stinky, sweaty, nasty places and I'll stay in more civilized places and when he comes back to me, I'll check him for ticks.

Once we've seen what we want to see, he wants to set up an organic farm. Well, I'm not happy with knowing my meat, so I'd take a huge chunk of his land away from him and set up a children's home for the kids that fall through the system. From birth up to 19. I hate that so many kids age out of the system before they really know how to fend for themselves. We'd make use of Organic's veggie and grain part of the farm, teaching the kids how to grow, pick and prepare the food. There'd be a house of worship on the property as well as a school house. I'd have animals that have been rescued and the kids would learn to work with them, for job skills and emotional growth. Teaching kids how a family, a true family, operates and flows and functions is the goal. In the process, they'd heal and grow and become beautiful, lovely, loving people with enormous capacity for love. That is something we all need.

[betenoire]

I would pay off my parents house and ask them to gift it to my sister (she loves that house). I'd buy them a giant all-season cabin on a lake in the Ottawa Valley. I'd get them a second vehicle so my mom wouldn't be stranded every time my dad takes off hunting for weeks. I'd pay off my sisters student loans and get her whatever she wanted to drive. I'd pay off my debts.

I would get the hell out of stupid Sarnia and move back to Toronto where I would buy a nice condo in a high-rise with a balcony big enough for me to grow some tomatos and herbs on and near to a dog-park so Nick can have his cocker spaniel.

I would buy a fabulous 4 story Victorian in the College+Bathurst area and convert it into a backpackers inn. Then I'd get to spend my days around interesting and thrifty travelers.

I'd buy a Vespa. I would also buy a bus pass every month so that I'd be supporting public transit (cuz that's important to me) and I wouldn't have to shake down my laundry basket for change any time I had to go anywhere.

I would go to India. I would go to Thailand. I would go to Ireland.

I would go to University and study English - and then make no attempts to use my degree.

I would never eat ramen noodles again.

I would get a breast lift and ass implants. Shut up.

[WolfyOne]

I'm reading what everyone else wrote and I wonder if that makes me an oddball
I never once thought about using the money for myself when I posted
I just figured, animals need it hella lot more than me
I can go and work for the things I need to sustain me, they can't
I also thought, if I didn't have it by now, I didn't need it and learned to live without it
Material things cannot replace human or animal life
I find I need both species to enjoy life
Both bring me comfort in ways material things can't
I worry about both species and never about material things
I think I'd rather live poor and happy than rich and miserable

[Scorp]

Hide for a month or so to figure out what it is I would want to do with the $$$ and come up with my "giving/contributing" list.

Lastly, I'd let certain folks know I was ok and just needed some time (without disclosing where I was) and yes, I'd call from a payphone....

[Corkey]

Lets see 50 mill, well I'd put half in an interest bearing account, then spend the rest doing good things for our family, our extended family and be as generous as I could to the charities we give to.
That means that the Southwest Indian Foundation would have enough heating stoves for all of the Navajos, Pueblos and Apache who need them. The St. Joseph school for children would get an endowment and scholarship monies for Native kids to further their education.
Best Friends Society would have an endowment for all of the services they offer, including veterinary scholarships.
Then we'd go on a trip to Alaska.
Live still in our home if that is what we decide to do and not have to worry about being at another Reunion.

[princessbelle]

blow it.

Ok maybe not, maybe i would use my god given brains and do something useful and constructive, plan for my kid's future and give a lot away to charity and help the needy.

but, i would also blow at least some of it. I am certain that at the mall i would have a parking place with my name on it right in front of the shoe store.

[dark_crystal]

become a full-time student. forever. and save the world i guess

[dixie]

Hmmm....pay off my debts and those of the ones I care about, plus make sure that we can all live comfortably the rest of our lives.

Set up a good trust fund for my son.

Build my dream house that I drew up the blueprints for back in the day when I took all those darn drafting/AutoCAD classes...lol

Buy a shiny new Dodge Ram 2500 quadcab...yeah baby...LOL

Travel the world for a while.

Donate a sizable amount to this wonderful website that accepts me so wholeheartedly.

Split the rest between domestic violence shelters and humane societies.

[Massive]

Invest it in some real estate in the US
Open up a shelter for disowned gay kids
Do a road trip across the US to visit all the friends I've made online over the years
Seek dual citizenship between the US and UK
Get Mum her camper van
Buy my brother his own bar
Buy my brother and his girlfriend their own house
Get Mum, my brother and his girlfriend brand new cars so they didn't end up spending more getting them fixed than what they first paid for the damn things
Get Mums cat surgery for her cataracts
Set my cat up for life with all the fish, ham and birds to chat too that she could ever possibly desire
Live my life.

[Diva]

Because I'm a Pisces, I'm a dreamer....so I LOVE stuff like this! Great idea for a thread!

~Call my financial guy. He's terrific.
~Not tell anyone but my Sissy and my daughter. (Maybe not my daughter!)
~$25million would go into some no-fail investment areas.
~Thankfully, I don't have a lot of debt, but I would pay off the little that I had first.
~I would set up a trust fund for my daughter.
~I would give substantial amounts to the following organizations:
*No kill shelters
*Alzheimer's Association
*Elisabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS
*Homes for Katrina victims
*SafePlace (Austin)
*A condo-haven for aging GLBT persons
*Financial aid for folks who cannot afford their total transitioning

To name a few......

~I would fix up the rest of my home....I love this home, I don't need anything bigger/better....but I WOULD gut the kitchen and go a little crazy in there!
~Travel
~Donate books to libraries in underprivileged neighborhoods/schools


Thanks! THAT was fun! :eyebat:

[Cowboi]

Get financial guy.
Invest some.
Pay off all of my debt.
Help some friends out.
Buy ranch in Texas,complete with cattle and horses.
Do some traveling.
Donate to a couple of charities.
Enjoy life!

[Sachita]

wow what a great dream

I would buy my family houses.

I would build an underground small domain in the mountains

I would build and staff a large complex for foster kids - somewhat self sustaining - gardens, solar, education, classes and projects to continue funding

I would convert my 30 acres into a rescue for dogs and cats with a nice dog park w/cabins to continue funding the care of rescued animals. It would additional offer veterinary care - free neutering, shots, etc for people that cant afford it.

[Rockinonahigh]

Wow so much money..well lets see.I would call my cousin ( she is a financial advisor) and set me up right money wise..I would pay off my sons home and gracer him with a bundle so he would neverneed to worry a bit about $$ ever.
I wold buy a home on the coast on the beach,one in a nice valley to put the wild horses in a safe place for ever.I would hive there a lot of the time too.
I would for shure have a home/school/job educational center for kids gay straight or other wise who needed help or a home to stay in so they wil have the resorses to get a good start in life.
Donate some to charityies.Set up a foundation for battered women $ children with medical help/job schooling or placement
Set up no kill shelters every where I can with vets and good help on staff.
Thats a start anyway.

[ravfem]

when i build my dream house, the land around it will be filled with fruit trees & vines & whatever else fruit grows on!

To be included:

-muscadine vines

-fig trees

-cherry trees

-pomegranate....trees? what do they grow on?

-plum trees

and lots more!!

:byebye:

[ravfem]

i'll get electrolysis to remove body hair so i never have to shave again! :cheesy:

[scootebaby]

all the obvious aside--house,debts,kids trustfunds,couple nice houses-invest a bit too i'd...

1. donate to No kill shelters--build more!
2. build prisons especially designed to house ppl who are cruel to animals and children
3.donate a chunk to diabetes research so maybe someday ppl with it can live better and without fear
4.donate a huge chunk to abused and neglected children and the elderly


5. and just for kicks and giggles i'd design a lightweight suit built to protect ppl such as Rav who cant seem to ride trikes very well :)

[ravfem]

...

5. and just for kicks and giggles i'd design a lightweight suit built to protect ppl such as Rav who cant seem to ride trikes very well :)

You're so sweet :twitch:

[girl_dee]

I would take care of everyone in my family

and move to Canada with my butch!

[Hack]

Disappear.

[Canela]

That's easy!

I'd go shopping (and take some of my girls with me!)

Then I'd figure out what to do with the rest...provided there was some left after that shopping spree!

[PlatinumPearl]

I would speak to the right people and the best people money can buy...such as a Lawyer, Accountant, Financial Planner, and Real Estate Agent.

Then, I would hire a personal trainer and chef.

Donate to charity, start a charity.

The rest I would think very carefully about.

[Deborah*]

First, I'd wait before I claim the prize and decide what to do to have the check be tax-advantaged, etc.
Second, I'd claim the prize anonymously.
Third, I'd invest in real estate properties.
Fourth, I'd buy myself a little something as a treat.

Deborah

[ksrainbow]

I would not post nor boast!

ks-

[Kätzchen]

If I won the lottery (for real, lol), I'd pay off my six-figure higher education debt (guess what's most important to me, next presidential 20/20 election) *FIRST*.

Then, I'd create a non-profit medical center to serve the needs for those who need medical help or need medical supplies and can't afford either to see a doctor or buy medicine. AND, said medical center would have to have accessible body centered care treatment teams for diabetics and access to insulin for zero cost or some small donation along in-kind type trade for services.

That's just a start for now.

But, I'd like to also put some of the lottery winnings to good use by creating a food network of some sort to help feed anybody who needs access to clean food.

After that,...or even before,.... create a national campaign to bring about the adoption of law to regard water as a human right, deserving of full protection, so no one will die of thirst.

Last but not least, I know- I know, lol, it's dream of sorts, this 'winning the lottery', but I'd take a nice long vacation, go on a walk-about, providing my legs hold up, and visit places around the northern continent of our country. Maybe go up to Canada, visit Montana, visit rural areas, go coast to coast, but mostly visit northern territories I've never seen before (as long as it is possible to visit such places). Maybe....Take a few pictures. Eat some local foods. Purchase arts and crafts from local artists. Invest in another's happiness, and my own, somehow.

[Amulette]

I visualize spending my lottery winnings like this:

Real Estate purchases in interesting cities that can be used as Airbnb's when I'm not there. Apartments with great architecture in lovely centralized neighborhoods. Places like: Paris, or France, Italian Riviera, Buenos Aries, San Francisco, Hawaii. I would pay people well to run them, and spoil my guests. I would advertise internationally and show up without notice. I would also create family events and memories. Come to Paris for Christmas my loves, here are the tickets. Don't be late!!! I would create interesting events and parties.

Buy land with good water rights. Open a retreat center and host events that benefit causes that my heart believes in.

Set my kids up with housing and businesses. Beautiful gift, use it well or loose it. There are no second chances for poor decisions.

Hold close and paint life interesting for those I love, the ones that love me well and honestly.

Help animals somehow.....

[C0LLETTE]

I'd hire a chauffeur. I hate parallel parking.

[Orema]

What would I do with a 50 million lottery win?

Would quit working but be on call as a consultant. Would consult over the phone and Skype.

Would contact a financial advisor (my employer makes one available to employees) to give me some needed advice.

Would call David Bromstad from My Lottery Dream Home to help me find homes on both coasts.

Would buy homes and set up trusts for my family.

Would invest in real estate Michigan, Mississippi, Louisiana, NY, CA.

Would give money to my favorite charities plus some.

Would hit the international jazz festivals starting with Montreux (then Havana, CapeTown, Panama, Kraków, Monterey, Newport, Lisbon).

Would visit all the countries my DNA can be traced to.

I'd have fun blowin' some cash with plenty left over.

:pursebee:

[MsTinkerbelly]

I went back to the beginning, but I never answered this question...

Give to our family
Buy land in a remote area and build a compound for family to live on.
Prep for the apocalypse
Fund a restaurant/food bank in a poor area that would provide jobs and training.

[clay]

I would:

Set up trust for land to build an LGBTQ senior housing on that would be self sustaining!

Build a HUGE animal refuge sanctuary with GREAST help....food...water....fun places to play...great kennels for each to have spacious accomodations

Buy a nice oceanfront place to live on East Coast

Travel to see other parts of the world!

Donate to Womens' Shelters locally

Fire tRUMP!...:)

Take care of my CHOSEN family!

[easygoingfemme]

I'd pay off my house, my parent's house and my sister-in-law's house. I'd take care of most, but not all, of my daughter's student loans and set up an emergency fund for her.

I'd kick a ton in to the building we are going to be building from scratch at work that will double our housing possibilities, including more housing for homeless adults with children and I would add in an animal shelter on site so that people don't have to surrender their pets due to homelessness. And we used to have a pool but it needed repairs that we couldn't afford. I'd put in a new pool because that pool rocked. Was such a treat when we could go for a swim before or after work and it was so good for the residents.

And I'd love a no-frills trip to Ireland.

[RebelDyke]

I would buy my old house. I loved that house.

pay off my college debt..hmm

build a cabin in the woods. Completely off grid with a huge stocked pond.

and maybe travel some.

buy Pete his own castle. babah and call it Petelandia

[Princess]

Hmm.

Make sure that my parents and sister/ nephews and chosen family are comfortable.

Invest some.

Buy a private island and open a cat sanctuary. I love cats.

The end :)

[cathexis]

Say, I'm lucky winning 1Mil. Would expect 500K in windfall taxes. Would hire an attourney, CPA, and all else would be on my wealth management team at my chosen large bank. Would not tell anyone except maybe my Partner, holding off only for Her ne'er do well siblings who are known to mooch. My Partner is a chatterbox who would let it slip.

Would take out only what we needed to start living Her dream of having a large RV bus. Would need to modestly gift left wing charities, including beginning a domestic medical care group similar to Doctors without Borders with personal labor and seed money. Various small donations to pro-sex and pro-choice organizations

Having no family, Partner and I will off on the road to the US National Parks. Before leaving, make a down pmt for a 2bdrm Adobe house in/near Gallup, NM, Flagstaff AZ, or somewhere in that region.

[Kätzchen]

If I won the lottery (for real, lol), I'd pay off my six-figure higher education debt (guess what's most important to me, next presidential 20/20 election) *FIRST*.

Then, I'd create a non-profit medical center to serve the needs for those who need medical help or need medical supplies and can't afford either to see a doctor or buy medicine. AND, said medical center would have to have accessible body centered care treatment teams for diabetics and access to insulin for zero cost or some small donation along in-kind type trade for services.

That's just a start for now.

But, I'd like to also put some of the lottery winnings to good use by creating a food network of some sort to help feed anybody who needs access to clean food.

After that,...or even before,.... create a national campaign to bring about the adoption of law to regard water as a human right, deserving of full protection, so no one will die of thirst.

Last but not least, I know- I know, lol, it's dream of sorts, this 'winning the lottery', but I'd take a nice long vacation, go on a walk-about, providing my legs hold up, and visit places around the northern continent of our country. Maybe go up to Canada, visit Montana, visit rural areas, go coast to coast, but mostly visit northern territories I've never seen before (as long as it is possible to visit such places). Maybe....Take a few pictures. Eat some local foods. Purchase arts and crafts from local artists. Invest in another's happiness, and my own, somehow.

My list above is pretty much the same except I would also like to help local chapters of Domestic Violence Shelters in ways that help keep shelters still open and in ways that help victims and their children too. Like maybe set aside special subsidies available to DV shelters, so they can do something special for victims who need special help in restoring order to their world. Like maybe book an salon appt to get a special hair cut or salon service. Or set aside funds to help a victim move into their first apt after leaving an abuser or helping them with unexpected purchases necessary to their survival.

Most victims don't have any financial resources. I didn't, so I know as I too was a victim of DV.

And I would want to leave a special set of funding in place for DV shelters so they can keep their building up to code or pay yearly taxes on property or have enough funding for special support staff. Those who staff DV shelters need proper breaks from service, so leave enough funding to help staff members have time away and time off so they can recoup their energy and be able to renew their perspective and be with their own circle of family and friends. DV not only is emotionally taxing to the victim but to those who serve the needs of victims who experience Domestic Violence.