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Permalink Reply by won on October 26, 2010 at 4:41pm

Can I have a do-over on the question? I did not have the right photo on my last question. This one shows my reasons for all that I do....

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Permalink Reply by Cara Riggles on October 26, 2010 at 4:42pm

I would want to do so many more things than a million would allow, but (assuming we did not use it to move), the priorities would be...

Give to charity.

Open a small non-profit business.

Pay off our mortgage and all other long-term debt.

Purchase a good used truck.

Purchase a tractor to help us tame our 10 acres.

Purchase several loads of gravel to upgrade the driveway (which is slowly turning to grass).

Purchase fencing and a barn for a variety of animals.

Do some remodeling of the house itself (carpet, paint, etc.)

Travel in Europe.

Invest the rest and live off the interest! :)

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Permalink Reply by Crystal on October 26, 2010 at 4:42pm

I would donate a portion of it and with the rest I would buy a house, pay of our dept, buy a car, and of course i would go SHOPPING!!!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Donna B. on October 26, 2010 at 4:43pm

1. I'd call the bank to make sure it wasn't an error (yes, I'm one of those).
2. I'd set aside 35% to cover the federal/state taxes (I told you, I'm one of those)
3. Pay off my son's college loans and put enough money in trust for him to finish his degree program, pay off my mortgage and misc. debt, my mom's mortgage and misc. debt (yeah, I know... I'm one of those)
4. Open a low-cost daycare for working parents that's offers 24/7 childcare. There's a lot of people here who work nights/weekends, and fall through the cracks of traditional daycare (not to mention how incredibly expensive it is). I'd take a page from some of the local charter schools, and make the parents volunteer a couple of hours a week as part of their "tuition". Cost would be a sliding scale, dependent on income.

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Permalink Reply by Tamara Chewning on October 26, 2010 at 4:44pm

First, I'd set aside some to invest. Then I'd buy a car so we can go back to being a two car family instead of a hectic one car family. After that I would buy a decent house that we could grow into but not too huge. I would give some away to our church and family. Last, I'd set aside enough for our family to live on for two years so my husband could finish school without having to work at the same time.

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Permalink Reply by Hanan Webster on October 26, 2010 at 4:46pm

I would fix up our house and sell it, buy a bigger car, buy a new camera, get the rest of computer stuff for dh, and start a college fund for my girls. Oh the possibilities!!!

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Permalink Reply by Mommies with Cents on October 26, 2010 at 4:46pm

Oh my goodness, where do you even begin to answer a question like this? Of course we would pay off our cars and house first- heck, we might even get new ones! A house with enough bedrooms for each of the kids and a big yard for them to play sure would be nice.

Then we could set aside money for their educations.

There are so many charities I've always wanted to get involved with, if I had the time and money. Not having to work would create the time and the million dollars would obviously create the money! Being able to donate time and money especially at Christmas time would be awesome- children's charities and cancer charities would be our focus. Involving our own kids and showing them how to help others...

I'd also help my mom with everything she needs as she is on a very limited income due to disability. She has always helped me with everything. In fact she helps others way more than any person I've ever known so it would be great to be able to do a lot for her...

I could go on and on! :)

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Permalink Reply by Melanie Burbage on October 26, 2010 at 4:46pm

If I woke up and had 1million dollars, I would finally be able to let some stress off my shoulders.

The first thing I would honestly end up crying about would be, putting money into the kids college funds. Four kids in today’s world, and a job that's an "if" in a few months has made each week to week pay check stressful. My husbands job may not be there, the one thing we both worry about is the future of our children. They deserve a great start.We save pennies here and there, but our kids mean the world to us.
The second thing would be buying a house. We've moved 6 times in 8 years, and had to sell our house when we moved back to CA after moving to NC for a year.Though renting is nice, we just can't make this home "ours". I want to be able to plant some roots, and have a place my children could grow up in without worrying if we have to move if the owners want us out. Being able to paint a room the color you want, put up some simple decorations in the kids room to make them feel more as if it's theirs has always been something I wanted. Moving is stressful, but so is not being able to make your own home improvements when you want to. My kids deserve a steady solid house to dig their roots into. I hope one day we can do that.

The last thing would be being able to go visit my family in NY. I haven’t been back since 2002, and have family that have never met my children or husband. Both sides can't easily fly, or travel, these days it's too much . Not to mention the fact that my husband doesn’t even get time off because we live pay check to pay check. With a little extra money, he’d be able to take a vacation, just as well as all of us having family time and meeting my entire family. That has been on my mind for years. Not just seeing them, but letting my husband take a breather, he works so hard. He knows I want to see my family. But it’s not possible. I would love to be able to tell him, take two weeks off, we’re going on a trip. To see his face relax would be a sight to see! That’d be a lot of stress off of his shoulders for him to just relax for once in his life. So I guess my third ends up being a double win in the end.

~Melanie ~

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Permalink Reply by Bethany Learn on October 26, 2010 at 4:47pm

If I woke up one day to discover one million dollars had been deposited in my bank account, the first thing I would do is contact the bank while giving my kids a lecture about honesty and integrity. If it was an error, we'd give it back. If it was for real, I know exactly what I'd do with it.

The very first thing I would do is set up college funds for my kids and trusts for their first down payment on houses. Our home mortgages is the only debt we have, so I'd pay that off next. Then I would donate our home to our church for housing families in need, and we would build in the country like we've always dreamed of. Next I would buy cars - not new - but good used ones in better shape than the ones we have now.

After my immediate family's needs were seen to, I would make sure my nieces and nephews all had partial college funds. I would invest the remaining money in a good RothIRA or money market account and have my Bro-in-law oversee the interest being donated to various charities.

It's not flowery. But it's what I'd really do.

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Permalink Reply by mamamarathoner on October 26, 2010 at 4:47pm

First, I would faint.
Then I would wake up and scream.
Then I'd make some coffee and scream some more, if I didn't faint again.
Finally, with the million dollars I would

1) Purchase a new car for my mom, along with a new home (small one, near the ocean, that she could maintain on her own) and pay for lawn care and someone to come in and help out as needed. She was a single mother who worked three jobs at a time, and I have always wanted to publish a novel to buy her a car. I plan to do it, as soon as I get some time :0)

2) Take my husband and kids on a vacation. Doesn't have to be fancy, just has to be something in which we have no work, no phones, no televisions, and no internet. I want quality time of playing in the sand, building castles, laying in a hammock reading a few books, and bonding. Oh, and eating a lot of ice cream. So I'd spend a few hundred on that, too.

3) I'd give some to a local charity that helps abused children.

4) I'd buy a new pair of winter boots, because I really want them but I'm too hesitant to spend money on myself these days :0) (And I'm sure I'd buy them on sale at rack room, BOGO half off, with a coupon ha ha).

I think that would do it for the million!!

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Permalink Reply by Wenona Napolitano on October 26, 2010 at 4:47pm

First I would pay off all my bills- no more debt. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Then the hubby and I would go searching for the perfect land to buy and build a house on it. That is if the land didn't already have a house. If it had a house we'd remodel.

Once we had the land and house we'd shop for a vehicle or two.

After that I'd invest some money and set up a few trust funds for the kids that could be growing as they grow.

If anything was left after all that (you'd be surprised that a million dollars doesn't go very far these days) I'd start a business that I have been thinking about for awhile now.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Selligman on October 26, 2010 at 4:47pm

I've given some thought to this as well. I'd divide it into 3 almost equal parts.
The first third I would donate: to the colleges I went to, our churches, the charities I support.
The second part I would set up as trusts for various family members, to help our parents/grandparents to live more comfortably, and the children in the family--not just our kids, but my sister's, and my cousin's--to go to college without going deeply into debt.
With that last $334,000 I'd pay off our debts, establish a good safety buffer, and ...
... go to Cozumel for a month and dive every day.

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