Spend a Million
We Asked:
What would you with your money if you had a million bucks?
You Answered:
Capitalize it and reinvest. Live moderately, pay off interest accounts and never open them again. Continue to work because it is part of who I am. Any money I profit from the original would be secretly given to people who I see need and deserve it—and it would be given in a way that they would not feel it was a gift of charity.
—Anonymous
I would do whatever it took to make things right with the one person I totally disappointed in my life, the person I still love so dearly and wish with everything that I am that I could change what I did to hurt her and make her understand that I´ve grown, matured and changed.
—Anonymous
I have four sisters and two brothers. If they needed some help, I would help them. I want to move my Mom from New York to Georgia. I want to do non-profit work and go to South Africa and help with the poverty there. I also want to visit Australia. I have one daughter. I would buy her the Navigator she has always wanted and put money in a trust for her. The rest would go to work for me. Maybe I’d purchase a modest home, one with land so I could grow flowers and have fresh-cut flowers in my home everyday. Life’s too short these days. I would help the people I love, then love myself and be content with that.
—Anonymous
First, I would set up trust funds for my daughter, nieces and nephews, which couldn´t be touched until they were at least 21. I would then pay off all debts for my husband and myself and our mothers. With the rest, I would quit my job and be a stay-at-home mom, give some money to each of our parents and siblings, invest for the future (so I never have to work again if I didn´t want to), and donate to worthwhile charities (including one for infertility research).
—Anonymous
I would make a down payment on my heating bill, fill up both cars with gas, buy a fan for the kids’ room to use this summer, and—if any money is left over—I will take the family to the Dairy Queen.
—Anonymous
I will travel around world, buy a house in a small town, and donate the rest to my church.
—Kevin W.
Set up a scholarships at my high school, college, and former music school with at least 10 percent of it. Education funds for my niece and nephew. Buy a new house, purchase a beach property, a (reasonable) new car for each of us, and invest whatever´s left.
—Anonymous
First, I´d move my parents away from their neighborhood, which has over the years become more poor and unsafe. I´d pay off their debt and my own, and put money away for my daughter´s education. My dad is a 13-year cancer-free patient; I´d definitely donate to leukemia and lymphoma cancer research. Then I’d invest the rest and live off interest.
—Jeri Marvin, Roanoke, Virginia
I would invest and use part of the interest earned to subsidize income so I could work part time.
—Monica Cooper, Atlanta, Georgia
INVEST AND SAVE!!! Open trust funds for my nieces and nephews, and my unborn children. Then buy my mother the land in the country she has always wanted. After all....travel.
—S. Browder, Dickson City, Pennsylvania
Quit my job, pay off bills, travel and then sell Mary Kay.
—Arlene McCoy, Powder Springs, Georgia
I would pay my debts, buy a house, give some money to my parents & charity, shop and invest.
—D. Savovic, Atlanta, Georgia
First, I would pay off my home loan of $130,000. Then I’d take an additional $200,000 to invest in rental property. I would need $100,000 to make relatives comfortable. $100,000 would go to set up a family college fund. The remaining $530,000 would go 50% stocks/ 50% bonds. Finally, I would get the fun-est part-time job that would sustain my monthly expenses, and the revenue generated from rental property would fund modest travel. In the end, it all goes to charity, since I do not intend to have children or spend principal.
—Anonymous
First, pay off all my debts and my parents´ and brothers´ debts. To be free of debt is my paradise. I would definitely stop working, and travel; maybe go back to college. Of course, I would invest enough to generate enough income to never have to work again—but I don´t have a clue where to start on that one.
—Laurie Chamberlain, Bagnolet, France
I would pay off all existing debt, buy a home and invest the rest.
—Alison Kimszal, Linden, New Jersey
Making my family comfortable and financially secure for the future. Giving to charities that spend all their income on the cause, not administration and advertising.
—Jenny Fletcher, Portsmouth,England
First of all, all bills would be paid off for myself and my parents. (My parents have helped me tremendously this last year while I have been going through a divorce.) Next, I would invest part of the money in real estate and part in the stock market. I am still young enough for a high-risk investment and hopefully would turn the investment into five million. After I feel secure with the investments that I have made, I would take a very long vacation to a very secluded tropical island and sit on the beach for days sipping fruity drinks and letting my money work for me.
—Kristina Lock, Lakeland, Florida
Of course, I would begin by paying all the bills in full. Any debts I owed to anyone since the beginning of (my) time would be paid. I´d immediately invest the majority of this $ somewhere (I will learn that when I read your magazine, right?); set up a college (and then some) fund for my daughters; learn to live on the interest I make from my investments; study and find out who and what charities could use my time and some money; and okay, here´s the selfish part—have a tummy tuck (I´ve had 2 C-sections), have my teeth whitened, join a yoga class with an awesome instructor, and put a fund away for the dream vacation somewhere tropical for myself and my girls.
—Treasa VanEaton, Portland, Oregon
- Retirement plan
- Pay off personal debts
- Charitable donations
- Personal spending
—Jolie Misek, Wonder Lake, Illinois
Pay off my house plus my family´s houses . . . invest, and donate some amount to charities.
—Shawn Donato, Albuquerque, New Mexico
A million dollars doesn´t get you much these days—aim higher! I´d share it with some friends and organizations who needed it.
—Anonymous, Cardinal, Arizona
First, I would invest $50,000. Then, with the rest, I would buy myself a car, pay for my little sister to finish school, pay for myself to finish my college degree, buy myself a couple of homes, rent one out so that I can continue to have money coming in, and live in the other.
—Grace Clark, Philadelphia
I would invest for myself, my husband, my children and my grandchildren.
—Jan Kopple, Philadelphia
Buy a home, a new car and a few splurge items. Contribute to AIDS and cancer research. Travel. Invest for the future.
—Harriet Weil, Philadelphia
