This is Day 1 of the 21-Day Journaling Challenge held in Nov 2011. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.
Hi everyone! Welcome to Day 1 of the 21-Day Journaling Challenge aka 21DJC!First off, I’m blown away by your enthusiasm for the challenge. Many of you jumped on board upon the opening for sign ups three days ago. Some of you have experience journaling in the past, while the rest of you do not journal but are keen to give it a shot. We now have an amazing 428 official, registered participants and it’s increasing as we speak!For the 428 of you who have registered, I want you to give yourself a pat on your back. Because you have put your name up for the challenge, you have sent out the intention to the universe that you want to grow. And trust me — it’s going to happen in this 21-day journaling challenge. As long as you commit yourself to journaling the assigned questions every day, you WILL grow — in your consciousness, in self-awareness, and in your connection with your inner self.
Seriously — what would you do? Would you save them in a bank? Would you use them to buy stocks? Would you share them with other people? Would you invest the money in your business? Would you give them away to charity? Would you quit what you’re doing and start a whole new life?What would you do with your million dollars?(Today’s question can be found in #45 of 101 Important Questions To Ask Yourself In Life.)
Hi everyone! Welcome to Day 1 of the 21-Day Journaling Challenge aka 21DJC!First off, I’m blown away by your enthusiasm for the challenge. Many of you jumped on board upon the opening for sign ups three days ago. Some of you have experience journaling in the past, while the rest of you do not journal but are keen to give it a shot. We now have an amazing 428 official, registered participants and it’s increasing as we speak!For the 428 of you who have registered, I want you to give yourself a pat on your back. Because you have put your name up for the challenge, you have sent out the intention to the universe that you want to grow. And trust me — it’s going to happen in this 21-day journaling challenge. As long as you commit yourself to journaling the assigned questions every day, you WILL grow — in your consciousness, in self-awareness, and in your connection with your inner self.Read: 8 Tips To Excel in 21DJC
I’ve written a list of 8 Tips To Excel in 21DJC in the announcement post. Please make sure you read them and follow them to a tee to get the best out of the challenge.Please Use Proper English
Because this is a journaling challenge and there will likely be long passages of text, I require the cooperation of everyone to follow Tip #6 in particular — which is on using proper capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and grammar in your answers.I noticed some registrants using chat speak when signing up (e.g. “i did all d thing wid ney email id”) and some registrants using full caps (e.g. “I LOVE THIS IDEA AND I WOULD LIKE TO SIGN UP FOR THE CHALLENGE”). While it’s only a small handful of registrants, it’s enough to ruin the experience of the challenge for everyone.We’re doing this as a community, so let’s be considerate to everyone who will be reading our answers. Use capital letters if it’s the first letter of the sentence and small letters for the rest. Use proper English words that you’d find in a dictionary, not chat speak. Punctuate accordingly: use commas and semicolons where necessary and avoid run-on sentences. Do a quick scan to make sure your spelling is right before you post your answers. Let’s make this a positive experience for everyone taking part!(For participants who do not comply with #6, I’m afraid I’d have to remove your posts for the benefit of the community. I seek your understanding on this. Thank you!)With that said, let’s now move to our first question, shall we? ;)21DJC Day 1
Today’s question is a simple, age-old, yet powerful question:What Would You Do If You Have 1 Million Dollars?
Seriously — what would you do? Would you save them in a bank? Would you use them to buy stocks? Would you share them with other people? Would you invest the money in your business? Would you give them away to charity? Would you quit what you’re doing and start a whole new life?What would you do with your million dollars?(Today’s question can be found in #45 of 101 Important Questions To Ask Yourself In Life.)Your Task Today:
- Reflect and answer today’s question. Like I mentioned in Tip #4 of 8 Tips To Excel in 21DJC, there’s no word limit – whether minimum or maximum. Write as few or as many words as you want. It’s all up to what you want to express!
- Share your answer. After you are done writing, copy and paste your answer in the comments area and post it there.
- Check out other participants’ answers. Other participants will be sharing their answers too, so feel free to read and reply to their answers. This is a group course, so let’s support each other in these 21 days.
(Images: Empty book for journaling, Money notes)
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While I was waiting for this challenge, lot of exciting thoughts were going around my mind. However, I was a bit disappointed to read the first question and here came the thoughts Oh no Not again…
Then I thought, I never had this kind of money and although would have heard this question umpteeenth number of times, was yet to give it a serious thought even once.
I am a firm believer that people should always constrain their wants as there are not enough means available in our ecosystem to satiate the ever growing wants of everyone, irrespective of the fact whether an individual possesses the required resources or not.
Getting a million dollars now would free my mind from worrying about my finances and I will be able to devote more time and effort towards my passion, i.e to educate those children who don’t have access to schools because of varied reasons. I’ll spend 20% of the fortune to get myself a decent house, pay-off my education loan and the Home loan on my parent’s house and travel around the world with the remaining amount(want to see the Great Migration in Africa in a Hot air balloon). The next 20% will be invested in such a manner which will provide me sufficient liquidity every month, without eroding the capital for the rest of my life.(It is possible);-)
The next 30% will be used to set up a residential school for the underprivileged/orphan kids providing free stay/food/education. Out of the remaining 30%, 20% will be spent to create an infrastructure which will be similar to any open air theatre which will allow me to run classes in the morning to a lot of other kids who cannot be educated in the residential mode. The same infrastructure then can be used to generate revenue by actually acting as an Open air Theatre( although I am yet to test the feasibilty of this concept. Worth a try though!!!)
The remaining 10%, will be used to provide for the costing of the school in the initial 2-3 years, by which time I will arrange for further funding from Govt./CRY etc
I might make some structural changes later on depending on the feasibilty in the prevailing scenario, but more or less this is my idea of spending a Million $.
Cheers;-)
I’d pay off all my debts. That would be the mortgage & the business loans. I’d have $300K left. I would then take my family away for 6 months. We’d spend time in India, in Italy & lastly go to Africa/Egypt/Jordan. We’d have family time to regroup and enjoy each other without constant work & staff demands. What ever was left, would just go into the bank. On return, I’d have the financial freedom to re-configure my healthcare practice that is slowly eating away at my health because I failed to put in appropriate boundaries. I’d only see patients 3 days/week & spend the other time reading/studying & writing to share this knowledge with more of the people who desperately need this guidance.That way I’d be contributing to my society in the best way I can – rather than donating to others to implement. Oh – and I’d buy a gorgeous, sexy new dress.
if i have 1 million dollars…………
first of all i will thanks to god for it.
1. i will keep it in bank for my kids education.
2. i will give to my husband as he wants to do business.
3. i want my own house where beach is nearby.
4. i want to help needy in various way. like food , shelter and i think i can do counselling too for that also i can invest in office etc..
Like: 0
If I had 1 Million Dollars I would first thank God for his provision by giving the 10% of the amount then for the rest invest in a business. I will consult with friends, family and business associates on what will be the best business to invest in then take it up from there. Most probably in music or fashion business and in shares. I would as well give part of the money to the needy in society.
If I had a million dollars I would do the following (in no particular order):
– I would help my parents pay off the house and car loans.
– I would set aside some money to pay for my university education (my parents are paying for it now). And I would definitely continue my studies and I would try to get into my dream job.
– I would get my driver´s license and I would buy a small car for myself.
– I would get a small apartment for myself, nothing too fancy, just a small confortable place.
– I would travel to Mexico to visit my best friend.
– I would do something special for all those people who have been there for me.
– I would travel to Tibet.
– i would buy a house near the beach for my parents.
– I would give some to my brother.
– I would invest some money on something. (I would probably need somebody to help me do that)
– I would start a project to help the people in need in the world. I don´t know what kind of project would be the best.
I´ve been thinking that a good thing to do would be to take all the rich and powerful people in the world and give them lessons on how to be better people, how to help others and how to stop thinking only about themselves.
I´m sure that if all the rich and powerful people in the world helped others or donated a small amount of their money there would be no hungry people on earth.
I’d set up additional retirement accounts for myself and my wife for a total of $400,000, pay off all of our credit card debt $25,000, renovate our house $150,000, buy new cars for us and then donate $100,000 to the after school music program of the church I play for. I would then set up a scholarship fund($100,000) for gifted, hard working students who would like to attend the music school where I’m a professor. After all that, I’d take a vacation with my wife to some warm beautiful exotic island.
First some numbers. Correct me, if I’m wrong.
If I would put it in the bank and have one percent return – 1% of one million = 10000 Usd = around 7260 Eur/year = 605 Eur/month. Not an instant solution to all of the lifes problems, but a decent amount still.
I would not change much in my lifestyle. I’m generaly happy and already slowly working towards my goals, but having spare money would accelerate the process by far. I would be able to afford private lessons, buy more books, afford to pay professionals to handle parts of my creative projects etc.
(..I dreamed a bit of which projects I would do.. But they have too much specific details).
Then I came to conclusion: Am I sure, that I’m doing my best to achieve those goals in my currect life situation? Have I done my share of the job and only thing, that there is left is dependant on others? Absolutely not. Even with the money I would still need to search for professionals and approach them.
(I concluded this exercise with a list of what can I do right now to make me move closer to the one particular goal, but it’s also a bit too specific to share).
What Would I Do If I Had 1 Million Dollars?
Making more than 1 million dollars is on my bucket list and I know I am going to have it (probably in next 2 years). When I would have it, I would be super excited and happy. I might go little crazy too and be like; I would buy this, buy that and everything that is possible in 1 million dollars. But then, I would sit down, take a deep breath, relax and plan what I am gonna do with the 1 million dollars.
Firstly, I would buy a house and find tenants to give it on rent because I am a student and where I am from, we live with our parents until we get married, so with being a great investment, the house would also be a passive income stream (from the rent).
Next, I would save some money in bank under some scheme so that I would have another passive income stream from the interest I would be getting from it.
Then, I would buy gifts for my parents, brother and some close friends.
Then, I would go to an orphanage and an old age home. I’ll find about the things that they need that are in my budget and provide those things to them. I always prefer to buy the things myself and give it to the people in need rather than giving money to a middleman and not knowing if the person in need got those things or the middleman kept the money. I do give money in charity to NGOs where I can’t reach the people myself, but otherwise, I always prefer to contact the people directly.
Then, I would pamper myself by buying things that I want and getting an appointment at a spa for some kind of relaxing treatment :)
First thing’s first, I would take my Grandpa to Spain. He has always wanted visit Avila, Spain; Our family name and where my family came to America from. Next I would help our any family members or friends that were struggling financially, before I left for the year.
The next year (maybe more) I would spend traveling the world. I would volunteer everywhere I went and meet as many people and experience as many places possible. I love to learn and also share my knowledge with others.
Million dollars…I would be ok with half of it. First thing that comes to my mind is to move out of my parents place. But more important is to move my parents out to a nice neighborhood. Perhaps they would like to move to the country. The point is, first I would make their wishes come true, than I would take care of myself. They have done so much for me with so little, and even if I would live on minimum wage I know I will take care of them in the future. They were driving me crazy last night with their stupid questions and all I could think of is that I need to find my own place to live, but somehow, no matter how crazy and annoying they are, they are my family, the ones that are always here and I want to be there for them.
Million dollars…Well, as I said, I would get my own apartment, car and stuff like that. I would love to spend it all on one big trip around the world. But, I would be smarter than that, and just get the essentials, like the apartment and then put the rest in a bank and continue with my life as if I don’t have any money.
It would be so good to have a tiny bit of that money now so I could quit the job I hate and do something I love. Right now, that is not an option. It is so hard to find work that anything is better than nothing. But, I’m not giving up, today is a job search day.
I hate that money matters.
If I had 1 million dollars I would buy a nice apartment for my family in downtown, made some improvements to my village house, put some money in bank on my child’s account so he could have any education he wants in future.
Also I’d invest some money in my own business, plus I have a charity idea I’d like to make with some help of government.
And last but not least, I’d like to build, or help to build a church.
If I had 1 million dollars today, I would definitely put about 800,000 in a bank, so I get even more with the interests. Then, I’d rent an apartment near my college not to have to go by train everyday, a new phone because mine is dead, and travel as much as I can !
But then, that’s very “immediate”. Maybe I live too much in the present, but I also don’t use all that money – I would be terrified of not having anything left, so I’d always keep some in the bank that would actually be of no use..
This is a question I have thought about many times before. The interesting thing is that over the years, my answers have changed. Right now, today, if I were to win a million dollars I would definitely start a new life – what this means to me is the ability to relocate to a country I have always dreamed of living in. I would be able to buy a small home somewhere in a rural area and would set that up to be completely eco-friendly and self-sustaining. I would pursue new directions in my life, such as art and writing. Maybe I would be able to own a horse again and reconnect with a life-long passion. A million dollars would be a dream come true!
First, I would celebrate: I would treat me to a cupcake and celebrate quietly by myself. Next I would bake myself a chocolate cake and eat the slices with my family. The cake slices would be accompanied by ice cream and tea.
I would pay off my debts and clear any of my parents and sister’s debts as well.
Next, I would plan and set aside the appropriate amounts to pay for the rest of my education – bachelor’s and master’s degrees. I would set aside another portion for my sister’s education (should she need/want it).
I would help my parents relocate to places closer to downtown.
I would save the rest and start planning the bigger items on my bucket list that I was saving due to financial constraints (ie. that trip to Japan during Obon week to trek up Mt Fuji! It would happen a few years sooner than I currently have it planned ;).
I would not plan on how to spend the entire amount. I would simply plan a few more travelling excursions/classes than I currently have planned now and I would take my sister and my parents on some trips with me – I would like them to travel with me!
In the meanwhile, I would also look into investments and ways to grow the money.
I know more money would eventually be spent on classes of some sort – professional certifications, language courses, cooking classes, music lessons, hula dancing! Anything that might pique my interests! I love learning and meeting new people!
I would invest in good quality pieces for my work/business wardrobe, and in gear for adventuring – like trail running, climbing and hiking because I like these kind of things and want to get more involved in them.
Essentially, the million would go towards making my family more comfortable, ensuring my sister and I can afford school, learning new skills and adventuring around the world!
Thanks for reading my post!
Crys <3
1 million dollar! If I get that much money today, I will divide it into 5 parts and I can see myself spending them as under:
1. First 1/5th – 200,000 USD – I will buy a decent 3 bedroom apartment. Though, I personally think getting a house as an unnecessary constraint on free spirit and movement but It will act as good investment and will give some good sense of stability to my wife at least. :)
2. Second 1/5th – 200,000 USD – I will pay off my debts, plan a good self-drive holiday in New Zealand, some shopping, will share some amount with my sister and parents. Remaining amount will save and invest.
3. Third 1/5th – 200,000 USD – I will save / invest for my little kid’s present and future.
4. Remaining 2/5th – 400,000 USD – I will quit my job. I will convert my ideas into products and will start my own business. This amount will give me decent working capital to sustain for next 2 years. Will start an internet/mobile product company to develop user centric applications. Will turn this into profitable business in 2 years.
Will fulfill my other personal goals (my bucket list) from income/profits out of my business.
A MIllion Dollars in South Africa is a lot of money in my community. I would develop a Getaway Holiday makers Haven by buying a very large farm fill it with animals, fruit trees, a world of organic grown veggies, plants, birds, bee farming and lots of different flowers. I would make sure that there is lots of entertainment like, a spa, horse ridding, go-carts, orb balls, water slides, with a restuarant that serves food mainly grown on the farm. I would also have a shop and butchery selling homegrown products not just to the vistors but introduce them to retail stores throughout our country. It will have a typical farming and gamming experience Log cabins. I will ensure that this Farm must have more than 5 income generating projects so that it can be self sustaining in and out of all seasons. I will also arrange with schools and companies to have tours and day away from the office conferences and also have wifi and internet.
If I have a million dollars, I would do many things.
First, I put 500.000 dollars for investment which have 60% return a year, half of them deposited for monthly withdrawal, half of them deposited on a yearly term. The monthly withdrawal is enough for me to quit my work, sustain daily living and to give some to my parents.
For another 500.000 dollars, half of which I would spend for training, developing myself. I love joining the training with coaches like Anthony Robbins, Brendon Burchard, developing internet/website development skills. I would also apply to be trained to be a professional EFT coach. I would also consider joining Positive Psychology Association. Once I’m confident of the knowledge and skills I have, I would set up a coaching business to help develop people, I’m especially interested in doing something for children and parents. For the other half, I would spend in giving to others, including my family members, ensuring they live happily and stress-free, also i would choose and support a project in helping disadvantaged children.
I would put them to a bank for 2 years, so I can deal with it later.
In the meantime…
– I would take the amount needed for upcoming 2 years for me and my boyfriend. The amount based on our current salaries.
– These two years would be for us to stop doing what we’re doing, and only do what we passionate about or to find out our passions. Since there would be no pressing to “earn money for bills” – we could easily do that. At least we would have no excuses :)
– This might include visiting my relatives in another county, which we don’t do now because of the money. Maybe some travels.
– This might include studying.
– The goal would be to find out how we want to live and what we want to do. I believe 2 years is quite enough for it. I also believe that if I did only what I’m passionate about, without pressure – it will become something eventually.
After this, I think I would have a better idea what to do with the money. I hope that after 2 years I would not even need it that much. Because I would be living the way I want, and doing what I’m passionate about. So after those 2 years I can give them to all of my relatives (or maybe this should be done before those 2 years?), and give the rest to charity.
Well, the answers should be “give all to charity” – but I would really want to think about it. And maybe by helping myself now, I could be better help for others later? Or maybe I just want the money :D I know money itself does not bring happiness, so the idea is – try to use it wisely.
Hmmm, but if it is a million dollars, then I could by apartments for all of my relatives and there would still be plenty of the money left? I would really want to make life easier or better for everyone around, but I would like to make it in a way that it would last. However, if I give the money to someone, than I would have to let them do as they please, right?
I guess my point is – use only a little bit of the money, find out how I want to live, don’t need the money after that, and give it all to others – so they can do something similar. I don’t know what would be if those 2 years doesn’t turn out as I imagined :) But I believe I would still learn a lot from the experience.
Difficult question! It was a lot easier when I was 8 years old :)
I would pay off debts, share with family, travel ard the world, donations – give to people in need, visit Africa with lots of food, clothes, medication.
Do some investments, let the money making money for me and of course still be working and pursue studies : )
First of all, I would donate 10% to Michael Pritchard and his lifesaver bottles because I think these bottles can make a huge difference.
Then, I would cross off some things of my personal wish-list like buying a cute little house powered with renewable energy, inviting my parents to a great vacation and getting eye surgery.
As for the rest of the money, I would either save it or invest it to generate passive income (that is buy a flat/house and rent it out).
I admit, it is not particular exciting, but actually I am not getting excited about that much money either. Becoming wealthy is not one of my goals. I am more than happy as long as I am self-sufficient.
What would I Do if I have a Million Bucks?
I would put up a bank account and put everything into it. I would buy a house for myself and my family. I would go back to college and take up the degree that I have been wanting to take all this time, ‘Culinary Arts’ :)
I would ask my two other brothers if they would also wanted to go back to studying, since none of us finish college. And if they said yes, I would pay their tuition fee and let them go to college too. I know they have so much potential.
I would take my whole family into a week vacation. Because I know they deserve it.
Would put up a business for my mom. buy a farm for my dad.
Would learn the stocks and give it a try.
And finally, I would put up a lending company in the Philippines, lend them some money, and help people to learn and manage their own small business. For me, that is the most important thing in helping. Letting them learn how to earn a living, giving them a chance to grow, so that when they become successful, they could tell themselves that they earned every peso of it. Instead of just giving them the money and leave. :)
The rest of the money, will keep it the bank. I know how it is hard to earn money, so I don’t think I will spend everything all at the same time.
:D
If I have 1 Million dollars, I will
– First and foremost, put half of it in a fixed deposit of some kind which will yield interest and I am not going to disturb it. This will become my life-saving, let it multiplies by itself.
– Then I will pay all my debts, I want to feel the freedom of being debt-free
– Then I will share some with my parents and siblings, I want them to feel happy too
– Then I will give whatever is left to charity
The most important thing I am dept-free for the first time in my life.
I admit this amount of money would be a lot for me to handle all at once. $1m is about £600,000. I’d say I’d use it to buy myself a nice house but even after that I’d have less than £100k to use. (Shows that I have some scarcity thinking when it comes to money that I need to work out). I think the wisest use of that money for me would be in starting a new business. With a sum of money like that I wouldn’t have an excuse not to. The idea is that I could use this sum of money to make more money.
It’s surprising that I wrote about how scarce the money would feel when it got down from £600k to £100k, because even for me today £100k would still be a lot of money to handle all at once!
I would invest some in stocks but only a little bit. Stock values can go up as well as down, plus they can do some surprising things if unexpected things happen in world markets. It would keep the risk down but still hold out a possibility of a reward.
As for giving some away to charities… only once everything else has fallen into place. I do see myself giving some part of my money to charity every year once I have a proper job and I’m earning enough to support myself 100%.
What Would I Do If I Have 1 Million Dollars? – What would I do if I had a million dollars? Ohhhhh… let me enjoy the feeling of having a 1 Million Dollars. It’s a good amount in country like India.
First Thing First – World Tour
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The very first thing I would do is to plan a World Tour with a budget of 2 lakh Dollars. Amount will be spent for enjoying the best stuff all over the world with utmost luxury like 5 Star Hotels, Suite Rooms, Mercedes etc. this include some crazy stuffs like Bungee Jumping in Spain, Scuba Diving in Mauritius, Gambling and Night Out at Las Vegas etc which I had dream t of. After completing my World Tour, I will plan my remaining amount to take care of my future and charity.
Buying a Flat
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I will purchase a small but beautiful flat with a budget of another 3 lakh Dollars in peaceful location having scenic beauty like Sea View. This location should have all modern amenities like Swimming pool, Gymnasium, Billiards, Jogging Track, Night Clubs, Disco Theques, Library, Yoga, Meditation in nearby areas.
Investment and Insurance
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I will invest say 2 lakh Dollars in Deposit and some part in insurance which help me to get steady interest income and also act as buffer in time of crisis. I may also use that deposit amount to start my own venture ever if I get some smart business idea in future.
Charity
———-
Now from remaining 3 lakh Dollars, i will open school for people having Disability where they will be taught some skills looking to their weakness which will help them to earn their own livelihood and making them self dependent. In other words, i want to teach them fishing rather than giving fish. Once people who had benefitted starts earning, they have to donate few amounts to school which will help to run school smoothly for ever.
By the way, I had already spent whole 1 Million Dollars so I would never quit working which will help me to stay connected with people and also help me to keep me active and self dependent.
Thanking you
Krishnakant
I had given this some serious thought since the summer when 20 people at a local Costco won the Powerball lottery and netted approximately 3.5 million after taxes each. To my surprise only 1 or 2 people from that group stopped working (deservingly retired).
My 1st reaction, “what are they thinking about?” this is a no-brainer! Well since then I realize that it would be a mistake to do so–health insurance costs the primary reason. You never really know how much it costs until you pay for it all ‘out of pocket’. I heard someone say “one medical event can costs you that much”.
Change my family tree, re-invent myself. Find another job with benefits but something that immediately demands less of my time so that I re-invest it back into my family. I would tithe 10% back to God’s house. Move to a city where the cost of living will allow my dollar to go further. Buy a modest home with sufficient square footage to support a growing family. Invest my time / money in other opportunities, charities, church ministries. Most important, pay my debt and avoid it at every turn.
What would I do if I had one million dollars?
Since I’m already fortunate enough to own my house and have a reliable 8 year old car that’s never let me down, none of the money would be spent on either of these things. I know for a fact that materialistic items such as expensive cars will never make me happy. Buy a Mercedes and it’s value will drop quite quickly, insurance and repair costs will be a lot more, there’ll be the fear of it being scratched, and it essentially won’t do any better at getting you from A to B.
Now here’s what I would do with a million dollars. Firstly I would give away all my old junk. Things that I’m currently planning on selling on eBay. I would start with friends and family, and would be happy to give away as much as I could to charity too. Just remove all that clutter from my life once and for all.
Next I would put $950,000 in a direct saver account my bank has with an interest rate of 5.75% per annum, and live off that interest. After tax this would mean I would receive around $850 a week. But I would leave at least $200 of that money in the direct saver account to compensate for inflation, so we would still be able to keep up with the cost of living for many years to come. That remaining $650 would still be plenty for my wife and I to live a comfortable life, eating out a few times a week, going on holidays every so often, cheap camping trips around the country, and with enough left for all the bills we would need to pay.
That million dollars would essentially provide us with the freedom to do what we want, within that budget. If we felt the need for additional income we would then have all the time in the world to concentrate on other passive income streams, most likely pursuing our passions. My wife could continue writing her novels with the eventual goal of selling them and I could concentrate on music, film making, or anything else I felt like doing, but without the pressure of clients on my back making demands.
The remaining $50,000 not placed in the direct saver account would be used for anything else we needed. The pavers in the backyard could be replaced with concrete so we would no longer need to worry about the weeds there, new up to date laptops for my wife and I, a proper cinematic video camera, better acoustic treatment for my studio, a few more plants, and whatever else we needed.
And that’s basically it. Even without a home and car already, I would still put that $950,000 in a diect saver account and live of the interest. $650 a week would still be enough to rent somewhere with enough left over for food and bills. It would mean cutting back on a few of the luxuries, but would also give us more incentive to concentrate on building up additional streams of passive income.
In conclusion, I would like to add that as much as I have planned out what I would do with such a large sum of money, I feel it’s important to remind myself that receiving a large sum of money like that will most probably never happen unless I desire it enough, and take enough action to make it happen. Since I don’t buy lottery tickets, play Lotto or anything like that, my chances of receiving a lump sum of one million dollars anytime soon are pretty much non existant :) But if I can find a way of achieving that through doing what I love, it may just happen. Otherwise, I won’t let it get me down, but will continue to live a happy fulfilled life the best I can.
Nice post, Glenn. Your plans with a million dollars seem to be pretty similar to mine. There is no need to go crazy with the money and buy all kinds of ridiculous junk. I too would just want to buy a few nice to have things and put the rest away to collect interest.
Like you I don’t play the lottery or gamble. I did once go to a casino though, lost $20 within 5 minutes, then immediately left. :P
Hi Matt,
Yes, true about not having all kinds of junk. I used to be like that years ago though. I’d buy all this music gear, and then end up selling it and losing money on it.
I used gamble a bit also. Not proper gambling, just a Powerball ticket each week with the same numbers. For Powerball you select 5 numbers and also the Powerball number which gets drawn separately. I had the same numbers I’d always use and got my $3 ticket each week. Sometimes I’d make back $30 if 3 numbers came up. Then one week I got 3 numbers and the Powerball, which would have paid $500 I think, but idiot me forgot to put my ticket in that week! It happened another time after that. Same thing, and I forgot to put in my ticket again that week. I gave up after that :)
Very well-planned, Glenn! I’m amazed with your detailed explanation, esp. the numeric calculations. You are right about fancy car, any decent car that is good enough to transport you from point A to B is good enough.
If I had 1 Million Dollars, I would do solo traveling (backpacking) to Europe and South Asia. Then I would buy a house and donate most of the money to a nature school and other programs which promote peace and harmony.
Consume.
While it’s perfectly nice to ask this question, such aspirations are entirely rooted in greed. Lets face it, if you’re reading this blog and doing this challenge, you’re likely to be rather well off. You live in a warm home, in somewhat comfortable conditions and you don’t need a million dollars – not like the thousands of poor villages in Africa, China etc.
It is desires like these – to constantly grow and move economically upwards – that is destroying the world as we know it. Our identity, dreams, aspirations and everything we work towards is rooted and based entirely in consumption and on economic status. In the last 50 years, our greed has consumed more of the world’s resources than have been used in the entire history of the world. Some scholars argue that if trends of consumption continue, we will run out of most resources within 100 years. Aspirations of perpetual growth on a finite planet.. It just doesn’t make sense.
There is enough food in the world to feed all of its population, but still millions go in want. In the west, there is such a culture of personal greed, that we don’t even notice it. Quite frankly, we don’t care about the homeless on the street, as long as we have enough pieces of art in the living room. It is from this culture of unadulterated greed that questions like the one above come from – our own greedy personal aspirations.
So basically, when people ask me this question, I refuse to answer. I am content with my current surroundings, there’s no point pining mindlessly after possessions I will probably never attain and do not really need. Greed is a sure-fire recipe for unhappiness.
A million dollars.. Whew! There is a list of things I would love to do if I had a million dollars. Top of the list would for sure be: To set aside 10% and donate it to charity. The rest of it would be to pay debt, buy a car, and build a business. From that business, I will do my best to save, and set aside probably a month every year just to travel. I learn a lot from traveling and I am definite that it is one of my top priorities in life as well.
If I had a million dollar, I would go round the world to seek my passion. As of now, I am still trying to find my ‘passion’ in which people always say is the light of their lives, where you feel excited jumping up from bed every morning and what makes you up and alive.
There are things which I like doing but I am at this point of time still trying to expose myself to things that I have not had chance to do before. In this journey of search, I can say it’s pretty exhilarating, from going on a solo 6-days exploration trip for the first time in my life, to taking up piano lessons (something which I had tried persuading my mum to let me learn but was regretfully rejected), taking up painting lessons (just to see if I had the artistic blood in me) and learning to love someone in a different way (the way he would want to be loved rather that my way). Time and again, I would end up feeling tired, wanting to get a break, stop doing it a while and come back again when I was rested. Like a cycle.
I had thought being rich and owning lots of luxurious goods would bring me some form of happiness (of course it won’t) or at least level myself up to some social standing. I was not one who would adore and chase after fashion every season, nor one who would buy to fit in. Up until recently, all I had was a Coach purse and it was the only one I had. I got myself another Gucci and Burberry just to see the cognitive effect of it. Truth be told, I felt nothing. In fact, the Gucci is still unused, not even once. Except internally telling myself that others now know I can afford these stuffs, it still does not define who I am, nor how I act in front of other. In short, my inner self.
There are a lot of things that we couldn’t do without money, all sorts of restrictions. I am always telling and asking myself how I could get more income to sustain my lifestyle, if not improve it. Convenience comes along with money. But, if I cannot manage the small amount, what more the millions I will have. It still comes back to being zero.
Seriously, besides using it as a form of showing filial piety to my parents, I would not have any idea what to do with it. If anything else, I will definitely donate a large part of it away to some children’s aid associations, perhaps orphanage, or to children’s cancer society, something to do with children.
One million is not much, after securing myself a shelter and putting away some in preparation for retirement. In this era, by the time we are due to retire, perhaps one million is not even enough to sustain the rest of my life. Doing businesses and investments are not my forte. I will need to think of a way to re-generate another million from this million.
I love what you said about going around the world to “seek your passion”. I too am searching for my passions and would use the money to travel on a journey of self-discovery.
Material items can’t buy happiness, they only supply short-term joy. True happiness is a prologned state of being that is influenced by a number of things and in my opinion and for me personally it seems to stem from experiences rather than objects. Whether that be a good relationship with someone, or with yourself, a hobby or a fascination like playing piano as you mentioned, being creative and feeling connected with your true self, engaging in activities that you make you feel amazing, late night conversations that inspire you or moments that just are plain perfect in every way, shape or form – experiences will fill your heart more than any material item in the world money can buy.
You posed a good statement. Even if we all were given a million dollars, we wouldn’t be able to buy our way to happiness. That ticket is own we have to fulfill on our own. :)
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