What would you do?

ggirl2001

If you won the lottery? 

(Can you tell I don't want to work today)

Let's say it is a million dollars. My first order of business would be to pay my student loans (and other debt) and buy myself a new car.  I would then buy a house, and set money aside for my nieces and nephew, and possibly give my parents some. 

I would invest the rest. I would still work, at least part time. 

Also, H and I have started to look for a new car for me. We need to get it before next year spring when he might be deploying again. I've never had a car payment. I don't want one, but I want a new car. Oh the dilemma. 

melbelle24

A million dollars? That would be lovely. Let's see, I would start off by paying off my massive student loans, then pay off my car. With what's left, I would take half to invest it. Use some to fix up FI's car, pay for the wedding, take a fabulous vacation to an AI in the Caribbean somewhere, give some to my parents and to FI's parents. Think there would be anything left after that? If so, I would put it in savings for anything we might need for an apt/house.

Beachy730

1. Pay off our mortgage, both cars and my student loans.  

2. Take H and I, my parents and grandparents on a month long Mediterranean cruise. 

3. Remodel our master bathroom and make it fantastic.

4. Invest/save the rest.

LetsHikeToday

1) Pay off some debt, which isn't a whole lot and includes the car

2) Buy H a new car since he sold his sports car because I don't have a job yet!

3) Save money for a downpayment on a house since we aren't ready to buy yet

4) Help my brother get a house wherever he finds a job

5) Give some to my parents to help retirement come faster

6) Save

BinxRose

First, I wouldn't want to tell anyone. I would hate for people to start coming out of the woodwork just to ask for money.

I would pay off FI's Camaro. I don't mind my new Corolla, but I certainly wouldn't mind getting a new one. So I would sell mine and buy a better car. Then I would pay off my student loans. Our wedding is coming up here pretty soon, so I would spend more money on that!

Then I would set up college funds for my 2-year-old niece, and my little nephew who is set to greet the world in May!

I would build a brand new house for my FI and I, and our future family.

I would set aside a bunch of money for savings for the future (kids, emergencies, etc.).

Then I would travel and donate!

ETA: Also, secretly give money to my friends and family

kara811

H and I were just talking about this! We play the lottery so, we actually do talk about what we would do. 

1. We would pay off my car, it's the only debt we have. 

2. Buy H a new car/truck/motorcycle. He wants all 3, so it depends which one he wants more !

3. Give some money to our parents and grandparents. 

4. Go on a vacation! We'd love to explore more of Europe and Asia! 

5.Save/Invest the money! 

crownsuperstar

Well I would likely sale everything I owned and use that money to pay off any debt and with the lottery money I would fulfill a dream of mine to open bar on an island some where and just live the island good life.  Of course I would move my family and friends there to enjoy this with me. 

Actually my college roommate and I have long planned on doing something like this when we got older.  We even came up with a name "Last Chance" which is joke between her and I.  

AmandaSC1988

First, is this tax free? Because I believe taxes on winnings is around 50%, which would leave you with only 500,000, which is just enough to buy a super nice house. Sorry..I had to ask, that was all I was thinking. Haha.

1. Invest 75% (750,000) of it…hoping I could get at least 4% on it. Wouldn’t be a lot, but it would be some nice pocket change.

2. Buy a huge lot of land and build a house on it, with a small guest house for visitors.

3. pay off FI’s debt, which isn’t a lot.

amh04

1. Pay off our mortgage, cars and any other debt.

2. Put a good chunk into savings/investments, at least 75% of whats left after paying off everything.

3. Do a little work to our home

4. Do something nice for ourselves with a part of it (vacation, new clothes)

calindi

FI and I talked about this in depth on a long car ride once... only we were using the PowerBall number at the time, so we would have brought home around $140 million after taxes, so that was the number we were playing with.

We'd take the cash up front option.  With $1 million, we'd immediately invest 80% in a portfolio, we'd use the $20k to pay for a nice honeymoon, buy me a new car, and I'd quit my job and start doing graphic design classes.  We'd only give ourselves 1/2 the interest each year in addition to whatever we make ourselves, the rest would be re-invested. 

Now, if it were a lot more than $1 million, we'd like to create a college fund for FI's youngest two sisters and niece, and we'd do a dollar match program for the rest of our siblings - every dollar they make, they get another dollar from the fund.  It gives them incentive to work and not let the money ruin their lives, but at the same time will make life more comfortable for them.  FI wants those restrictions for his sisters, my brother would manage it well though.  For his parents, we'd buy their houses and new cars and let them live rent free the rest of their lives.  For my parents, we'd send them on their dream trip to Paris which they've been talking about the whole 28 years they've been married and make it 5 star the whole way - first class flights, amazing hotels, incredible restaurants, private driver & translator, etc.   We'd buy a house in Costa Rica for us.

We'd have to talk to an advisor about FI's debt because I don't think his plans to stay in the Marines would change, so it would be more financially savvy to keep paying the debt off so it's forgiven in 10 years - we'd likely pay less in the long run than paying it all up front, oddly.

calindi

Ggirl - as far as the car goes, get certified pre-owned.  It's usually previously leased cars or rental cars that have been off the lot for 2 years, they've had all their scheduled maintenance, and the dealership fixes them up and inspects them and gives you all the warranties of a new car and a MUCH more affordable cost.  I got my car certified pre-owned for $15k when it was coming off a 2 year lease - you wouldn't have known it wasn't brand new.  The retail value for new cars of the same model was around $24k.

ggirl2001

Cal were definitely going to do certified pre owned. I'm just a baby because I love my car and I like not having payments haha. We already know kind of what we are looking to get, either another accord, or a ford fusion.

calindi

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_what-would-you-do?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:13Discussion:e33f40db-862d-41f4-89b6-3de787199b55Post:d4f8a513-ca95-4ce4-911e-dd869e651e07">Re: What would you do?</a>:
[QUOTE]Cal were definitely going to do certified pre owned. I'm just a baby because I love my car and I like not having payments haha. We already know kind of what we are looking to get, either another accord, or a ford fusion.
Posted by ggirl2001[/QUOTE]

If I were you, I'd stay away from Ford Fusion.  The repairs are constant.  I was at my local mechanic getting an oil change & my horn replaced, and was sitting reading a book and they thought I couldn't speak Spanish and were talking about how stupid this other lady was for buying another Ford Fusion after her Ford Focus had crapped out a few weeks before.  They said they were just pieces of crap mechanically, they compared them to Legos.  And when I laughed, they apologized and said they don't usually bad mouth their customers but that it's frustrating to see people buy Ford sedans (their trucks are apparently much better) because they are repair pits.

The only experience I have personally is driving a Ford Focus as my drivers ed class car and as a rental several times, and the seats always hurt my back.  That alone would be a reason for me not to buy one!

My next car will likely be a Toyota RAV-4, a Honda CRV, or a Subaru Forrester

crownsuperstar

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_what-would-you-do?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:e33f40db-862d-41f4-89b6-3de787199b55Post:d4f8a513-ca95-4ce4-911e-dd869e651e07">Re: What would you do?</a>:
[QUOTE]Cal were definitely going to do certified pre owned. I'm just a baby because I love my car and I like not having payments haha. We already know kind of what we are looking to get, either another accord, or a ford fusion.
Posted by ggirl2001[/QUOTE]

GG- has your H looked at military auto sales or something like that.  I am not sure what is called but some dealers have deals for deployed people to get cars at really good prices and little to no tax involved.  H is getting my car through them and a lot of his friends have done that and he even did that back in the day.  Just a thought.  I priced the car here that I want and the priced through them and there is a big difference in cost and they are even having a speacial on the "extras".  Just a thought.

CozyHeart13

If I won the lottery -

1. Pay off my debts, inlcuding my house
2. Pay off my parents' house so they can relax a little
3. Start a trust fund for my kiddo
4. Invest

Then I would ask how I won since I've never played!

ggirl2001

I wouldn't get a focus, but I don't know what car she bought because AJ even recommends a fusion and he's a mechanic. They were actually best car of the year in like 2009. They are very similar to accords/civics actually and is rated one of the top used cars. It I the

ggirl2001

As I was saying, it is the only ford I would buy.

Irishcurls

Hmm....I would pay off my student loans, buy a vacation home and gut the kitchen to let H build his dream. And then I'd make him cook me dinner in it!

amh04

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_what-would-you-do?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:e33f40db-862d-41f4-89b6-3de787199b55Post:cc22edf5-2c2b-4600-b112-912b65845c11">Re: What would you do?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: What would you do? : GG- has your H looked at military auto sales or something like that.  I am not sure what is called but some dealers have deals for deployed people to get cars at really good prices and little to no tax involved.  H is getting my car through them and a lot of his friends have done that and he even did that back in the day.  Just a thought.  I priced the car here that I want and the priced through them and there is a big difference in cost and they are even having a speacial on the "extras".  Just a thought.
Posted by crownsuperstar[/QUOTE]

I second this! FI used it on top of our family GM discount and got a killer deal on his truck. My mom has also used this for her Jeep Wrangler. It's a pretty big cost difference. I would definitely give it a thought as well - I'm not sure if they do certified pre-owned. But I wouldnt be surprised if there is a slight cost difference between pre-owned and new. It's an awesome program that USAA has (not sure if that is the one crown was referring to - thats just the one we've had experience with)

AmandaSC1988

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_what-would-you-do?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:e33f40db-862d-41f4-89b6-3de787199b55Post:d4f8a513-ca95-4ce4-911e-dd869e651e07">Re: What would you do?</a>:
[QUOTE]Cal were definitely going to do certified pre owned. I'm just a baby because I love my car and I like not having payments haha. We already know kind of what we are looking to get, either another accord, or a ford fusion.
Posted by ggirl2001[/QUOTE]

<span style="line-height:115%;font-size:9pt;"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Fi has a Ford Fusion. He loves it and it has never had problems. FI’s brother has an older model Ford Fusion and he likes it a lot, as far as I know he hasn’t had any problems. The only complaint I have is the Sync is a little spotty, but that comes with most Microsoft products. I had a 99 Ford Taurus as my first car. That little thing never had any problems….The alternator went out, but that isn’t a terrible fix. As far as I know it is still probably driving around. I only got a new car because my parents were moving and they didn’t want me having a 10 year old car without them close by.

</font></font></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:9pt;"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Be careful about buying “Certified” used cars. (FI worked for a dealership for a couple of months) Most of the time the tests that they run it through aren’t that great.<span>  </span>I bought a GM certified used Pontiac last year…that thing was in the shop more times in 6 months than any of my other cars (Ford Taurus/ Chevy Malibu) All things that should have been caught…fuel injectors, battery, catalytic converter…

ETA - If you are thinking of going GM. I LOVED my Chevy Malibu...up until I got pushed off the road into  a barricade...now I get panic attacks when I sit in one...but it was a wonderful car and great gas milage.</font></font></span>

ggirl2001

Yeah, I'm not too worried about the maintenance work they do or don't do. H does all my maintenance and would go over it anyway.

shan87

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_what-would-you-do?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:e33f40db-862d-41f4-89b6-3de787199b55Post:ff5c1d0a-5d3f-4e7b-a618-98e9683e5291">Re: What would you do?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: What would you do? : If I were you, I'd stay away from Ford Fusion.  The repairs are constant.  I was at my local mechanic getting an oil change & my horn replaced, and was sitting reading a book and they thought I couldn't speak Spanish and were talking about how stupid this other lady was for buying another Ford Fusion after her Ford Focus had crapped out a few weeks before.  They said they were just pieces of crap mechanically, they compared them to Legos.  And when I laughed, they apologized and said they don't usually bad mouth their customers but that it's frustrating to see people buy Ford sedans (their trucks are apparently much better) because they are repair pits. The only experience I have personally is driving a Ford Focus as my drivers ed class car and as a rental several times, and the seats always hurt my back.  That alone would be a reason for me not to buy one! My next car will likely be a Toyota RAV-4, a Honda CRV, or a Subaru Forrester
Posted by calindi[/QUOTE]

H has a 2010 Ford Fusion and loves it. He has had zero problems with it, so of course we have a very different view/experience. H's was brand new and has taken very good care of it. (minus weather damage of course)

Cars are really personal to people though, I test drove several vehicles that didn't feel right before I settled with my current vehicle. I am also a big supporter of certified pre-owned vehicles. :)

shan87

If I won the lottery.. and it was $1 million (let's say that is after taxes).
(1) Pay off H's Cadet Loan
(2) Save enough to put our kids through college 
(3) Pay my mom back for all she has done for me
(4) donate the rest 

calindi

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_what-would-you-do?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:13Discussion:e33f40db-862d-41f4-89b6-3de787199b55Post:d0692c4f-c212-4c84-90fa-764cabd2844a">Re: What would you do?</a>:
[QUOTE]Yeah, I'm not too worried about the maintenance work they do or don't do. H does all my maintenance and would go over it anyway.
Posted by ggirl2001[/QUOTE]

I completely forgot that your H would do all your maintenance!  Yeah, it was the first time I ever heard about Ford Fusion, but I've heard an awful lot of bad stuff about Ford Focus.  Glad to see others have had good experiences with it!

divinemsbee

Yeah, I would pay off my student loan debt immediately and pay off FI's car to trade it in. Then I'd get myself a newer car that I would actually own. I didn't learn to drive until I was 21, and didn't get a car til I was 23, and it was my Mom's old Buick that she didn't want to drive to Utah because it was breaking all the time. I drove that for about 4 years until it basically broke to the point that it would cost more than blue book to fix it. My grandmother inherited a Cadillac from her sister, so she's been driving that and I have her decently new Buick, but I know that she needs this car back, and after that, I feel really stuck.

Then I think we'd give some to our parents and invest the rest so that by the time we're ready to buy a home, we'd have money to get what we really want.

Zimsgirl

I would:

1) Pay off my car

2) Pay off school

3) Give some to my parents

4) Put the rest away in savings for a house someday. I wouldn't buy a house now because we'll be here for 2 maybe 3 more years and it just makes more sense for us to rent. I would love to build my own house and have already found a company I like haha

tyleet87

Oh lovely. Is it bad to say that I don't think a million dollars would cover everything I want to do? haha

First I would pay off FI's student loans.
Buy both of us a new car.
Pay off my mom's house.
Buy my dad a house.
Give several thousand to my aunts and uncles and my grandparents.
Hire a live in personal trainer who will kick my ass into shape.
Hire a personal shopper who will throw out all my clothes and start from scratch so that I can have my dream closet.
Buy a huge plot of land and build my dream house.
Go with my mom, sister, and FI and travel Europe.

kyrgyzstan

Yeah, TBH, very little would change. We don't have much debt, mainly just student loans, which I would pay off but aren't a large chunk of money, and I'm about to have some 0% dental surgery loans, but I wouldn't pay those off. Yeah, I'd just be investing very, very aggressively. I know exactly who I want to buy into, and with that much $$, I could do very well, I think. 

H would still want 20 years, I would still be fighting for the Marine Corps. We're using a small portion of the SDP H is maxing out for our honeymoon (if we get a chance for one). I guess we'd have to quit maxing out our ROTHs thanks to what would be a crazy AGI. Sad. 

shan87

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_what-would-you-do?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:e33f40db-862d-41f4-89b6-3de787199b55Post:81f8fc5e-2286-49dd-a7fb-f9a2f85cbf7f">Re: What would you do?</a>:
[QUOTE]Yeah, TBH, very little would change. We don't have much debt, mainly just student loans, which I would pay off but aren't a large chunk of money, and I'm about to have some 0% dental surgery loans, but I wouldn't pay those off. Yeah, I'd just be investing very, very aggressively. I know exactly who I want to buy into, and with that much $$, I could do very well, I think.  H would still want 20 years, I would still be fighting for the Marine Corps. We're using a small portion of the SDP H is maxing out for our honeymoon (if we get a chance for one). I guess we'd have to quit maxing out our ROTHs thanks to what would be a crazy AGI. Sad. 
Posted by WishIcouldbeinthe'stan[/QUOTE]

Cosigned. H would invest it all too.