December 17, 2013

If I had a million dollars.....

As of right now the Mega Millions jackpot is hovering somewhere around $636 million dollars. That would total out to around $340 million in a single lump sum cash payout. I have no idea if that includes taxes or if that's after taxes or what, but I do know that folks are going NUTS over the Lotto right now.

I honestly don't know if I've ever played lotto before. Husband has a handful of times but to little avail. In fact, I think he may be about $3 in the hole with his loosings over the course of 16 years. We're not big lottery players around here.

The higher the jack pot gets, the more speculation is going around about what people would do with their winnings. So I want to know what you, dear readers would do if you suddenly found yourself with a bigger net worth than Beyonce (seriously- it was on the news). I know, I know. You'd pay off debts. You'd give (blank) amount to charity/church. You'd buy your mother the (blank) she's always wanted. You'd quit your job. You'd start a trust for your children's retirement. Etc. Etc. Etc.

What I want to know is what you'd do with it after you've done all the rest. After the lawyers have been hired and the accountants have been vouched for. After you've done all the things you would do if you won, say, 5 million dollars.

I would build a new school for my kids.

I would give a large amount of money to our local school district (yes, the one I work for) with certain stipulations in place for a new, updated, state-of-the-art building. We'd have a gym with functioning bleachers and places for everyone to sit during basketball games. We'd have a sound system that worked the first time it was turned on. We'd have servers that could handle the load of our computer systems. The heat and air would function properly at all times. Our janitor wouldn't have to purchase her own cleaning supplies. Our teachers wouldn't have to purchase markers and construction paper for their classes. There would be more bathrooms, lockers, and an actual computer lab. There would be a music room that was designed as a music room. There would be a library to equal Belle's from Beauty and the Beast. There would be a cafeteria that never had to function as a foyer to the gym. The playground would be expansive, perfectly manicured, and beyond the wildest dreams of a bunch of country kids. And the kitchen....oh, the kitchen. It would be spectacular. With walk-in coolers, a freezer that is inside the building, and a top of the line Vulcan convection oven.

I wouldn't quit my job. I wouldn't move to Aruba. I wouldn't buy a yacht or a Bentley or put a recording studio in my house. But a small town in southern Illinois would have a school to rival any Urban private school with unlimited funding.

To dream, to dream.

1 comment:

Kork said...

I never make it past the basics of paying off everything, setting up our folks and kids in style, giving a ridiculous sum to Churches and charities and buying dream properties and building dream houses...

I simply cannot wrap my brain around that much money...even breaking it out into the annuity (which we'd totally do)...that's $15.9 Million per year..., or $1.325 million per MONTH!!! How do you handle a monthly income of $1 Million after taxes?!?!?! We truly would only need that much to pay off our debts and set up financially secure futures for our kids, our folks and ourselves...anything beyond that is insane!!!!