Telling my boss to kiss my butt would be kind of fun :-)

I'd probably take a bunch of family and friends on a guided fishing trip somewhere in Canada or South America (or both).

I am guessing you mean the gigantic lottery that is now going on. I would take my entire family on a trip, donate lots to small grass roots charities, support addicts through rehab, change lives for as many people as possible. I have everything I need or want.

If we're talking 10s to 100s of millions of dollars, I'd talk to whomever advises Melinda Gates on her philanthropy. I've been involved in the non-profit/charitable giving world for a while, and it's really important to do your due diligence before giving away your money if you want it to have a lasting impact.

Fun you say? I would buy an OBSCENE amount of holiday decorations. All holidays.Absolutely vulgar amounts that would make Santa himself ask me to tone it down a little.

And I would buy more land than anyone ever needs, and build my dream luxury fairy cottage in the woods to live in. With a sparkly pink in ground pool. Then I would fence it all in to keep people away from me and aaaaaaaall my money.

If SO left me any money after he goes on his inevitable car binge.

All this would take place AFTER doling out money to people I want to. And making it clear that it is a one time thing dont ask me for ANYTHING ELSE PERIOD.

Before I collect the jackpot, I'll do one things. Sign the ticket to establish legal ownership. And I'd add two more names: my son, and my husband's cousin, who is like a sister to him. Neither would have to ask us for money or wait for us to die. And don't add husband's name or daughter in law. Each name gets an equal share, so 1/3 to me and husband, 1/3 to son and his family (including his father and step siblings), 1/3 to cousin and her 5 kids.

I'd like to donate 2000 FREE spay and neuter's to a local vet clinic. To be offered to the public. And...put another $150K on file for animal surgeries people can't afford. There's a woman on CL who's giving away her English Bulldog because she can't afford hernia surgery it needs.

Funny, I was thinking about this very thing this morning. First i would give a nice sum to my friend’s non-profit that serves our community. I am on her advisory board and we don’t exactly struggle, but it would be so nice to have a windfall to do some bigger projects we’d like to do to help some of the under-served kids and others in our little community.

Second would be to donate a new work building to another activity we support.

Third would be give a fun vacation to each of our kids…their choice of places to go, with or without their kids as circumstances allow (two are still in college, some still in HS, one about to marry).

Buy everyone on kitchen table plane tickets and set up a meeting spot for 4 or 5 days. All expenses paid. Location in the contiguous US. It would almost be Central. Doesn't shorten the flight times for floral or Colleen, for instance. I'd still pay for their tickets, it just wouldn't be a short flight.

Disappear for a year. I would hop vacation spot to vacation spot . Maybe after a year the money hungry people would stop looking for me. I would ship my kids and grands to wherever I was for visits.

I think I mentioned on the other thread my friend who is fixated on older high priced homes. Not certain that here you can add names to a ticket or if all individuals must sign it. Not likely to need that information. I would split it with he and his husband 1/3rd each. Depending on how much was my portion I would setup trusts for my two steps and my niece. See if I could purchase the house next door from the nice young couple plus the non-taxable amounts allowed for gifts for each member of the family. Then move into their house adding a four season room for the furkids while I have my house repaired and enlarged if possible. Travel for a while. Rather than donating to some of the TNR groups I would like to set up something to provide a fund similar to what my old vet did from a bequest he received. When one of his human clients mostly older did not have the money to provide treatment and the only other option was to put the furbaby down even for minor things he used the bequest to offset any charges and medication needed. He received it because he had waived the fees for the lady and just passed it on.

I am realistic enough to know every charity and person with a problem would come with a need for the money.

I agree gathering your loved ones and whisking them away someplace safe for a while might be good. People who win the dream homes and lotteries often have bad things happen to them.

The question after that is do you help out a bunch of people/animals or do you do something huge that clearly makes a positive impact on one group or individual. I'd probably go big and find one or two situations that I thought I could change. I might fund a few smaller things too. Obviously, I'd give some money to relatives without their asking. I'd make it clear that I didn't want people hounding me for money.

Whenever there was a big lottery jackpot making noise, my step father would always say what a waste it was. He emphasized that giving many more people smaller sums would be life changing. In the 80s he thought as little as 20k to 50k would be a huge boon to folks.

I think he was right. Were I to win (impossible since I refuse to volunteer for that particular tax, my husband calls it the bad at math tax,) I would see about distributing the money to people directly.

NB My engineer husband would buy the big lottery ticket back in the days he worked in Dc and he and all of his colleagues would go in together on buying a bunch. Even my civil engineer grandfather bought lottery tickets regularly at the conveniance store when he worked and frequented one of those for coffee. I just would never buy on. I abhor the fact that lotteries are a regressive tax on the poor, so it's not just me being a spoil sport. Plus gambling makes no sense to me, and lotteries make the guys taking your money in Vegas look like nice sports.

PS For what I would do if I came into a tidy sum which I could spend frivolously; I would DM Bookwoman and learn about her world of special books and happily fall down that rabbit hole.

Oh I could definitely lead you astray!

I would never fly economy again. First class all the way!

I’d endow my local library so they would be all set forever.

Id give my closest friend a huge chunk of money because i know she is struggling a little.

I like Rob’s idea of a big forum gtg, all expenses paid!

I think at my age it would be hard to uproot and buy a dream house on Nantucket. I don't buy lottery tickets but if I won that ginormous amount I'd give a large portion to animal rescue groups and give a ton to my library.

As said in the other lottery related thread, I do not participate, but that does not make day dreaming about huge windfalls impossible. I have two things in mind.

I know it's weird but, if the windfall happened today, I would look into donating the dollars to our metro sewer system.

That is crucial to us all and it urgently needs repair. With the flooding we are having today (12 inches of rain) so many people are feeling the results of inadequate sewers. The failing sewers (and also water mains) are affecting our streets above them, scouring out caverns, allowing sinkholes to form. People cleaning out their basements, homes, gardens, and streets of sewer overflow today and the rest of this week need more functional sewers. So could a couple billion dollars please come along for the sewer district?

The more fun thing I'd do with some money is to hire a lawyer to untangle the ownership of a specific piece of city property on which I would like to start another garden so that we could persuade the owners to sell. I've looked into it myself starting 40 years ago and can understand some possible reasons why, when the area was redeveloped in 2003, this lot was not included.

This particular piece of property appeals to me because, when I was 21, I looked out my kitchen window at it and had a split second hallucination! I saw a garden. A beautiful garden. I did not immediately feel like it was my place to try to plant that garden, but after four decades and my experience with gardening other vacant lots, I feel like I would love to do it if I had the money and energy. Both are in short supply, though. With tons of money I could buy the lot and hire the work.

I would donate half to our local Boys & Girls Club.

The first thing I would do is pay of my sons mortgages. Then I would sit on the rest for a year to assess what I would do with it. But fun? I'm not much of a traveller and fun for me is a hike with friends.

For fun, I’d buy a little car. I love my Odyssey, but wouldn’t it be fun to have a little car to tool around in! Red, or maybe yellow! There’s a cute Mercedes, but today I saw a Mercedes station wagon, i didn’t even know they made one.

For kindness, I’d do something for a local organization that helps children in foster care feel loved, and feel part of their school and community. Oh, and something fun and beneficial for the group home. And then, pay the school fees for families in our district who can’t, and for families in a neighboring town.

Also, a non profit senior facility I know is planning a major capital improvement. I’d cover that.

My son’s classmate’s mom had good advice. She was setting up a fellowship, and her father recommended that she retain rights to decide who got the fellowship. After all, it was her money. So she set the parameters, and while she has advisors, she makes the final decision each year. She’s had some amazing people benefit from the fellowship.

Oh, something else fun I’d do: our high school has no outside signage for the theater and auditorium. I’d fund lettering for it. Just ”Auditorium” and whatever the small theater is called, I can’t remember its new name, in a style that coordinates with others at the school and in town.

If we won a Billion bucks we'd keep about 10 million of it to get us through our golden years and distribute out the rest to family, friends, and worthy charities to help those who need it the most.

I thought of another fun thing I’d do. I’d get a cute fun car to tool around in. We currently have a minivan, and while I love it, wouldn’t it be fun to have a cute little car!

Although, given my experiences from Chisue’s thread, maybe I should stick with getting a neon yellow minivan next.

vgkg, if you go through $10million, I’m moving in with you! You’re living quite the lifestyle! Tell you what, whichever house or Paris apartment or ocean yacht you are not occupying, I’ll stay there and dust while you’re gone.

^^ most of that 10 mill would go for a new home, a 2nd vacation home, hired help (maid, yard work, etc) and insurance for old age calamities. Out of that 1 Billion we'd end up with 1% of it.....we're not too greedy, nyuk.

I'd buy a HUGE piece of property, and save as many animals as I could.

Oh my, of course would get whatever they need. Trust for our Granddaughter. I would buy us each a car/truck brand new! We have nice cars but also buy used at a better price. Build a small retirement home and hire yard man, pool man and maid. Give to charity's I like and support. Otherwise, I really don't know, put in proper financial and hire a financial advisor with an attorney. Oh of course a fabulous trip with all expenses paid.

My mom treated my brother's school choir to go see A Chorus Line, the first touring company. But anonymously. It was 30 years before even my brother knew who did it. Wouldn't that be fun to do.

I would take 1 million and go to the zoo. I'd donate it either way but would love to pet some of the baby animals...oh and hug an elephant.

I would donate 1 million to the animal shelter I adopted Myben from.

Fun: buy a fully tricked out RV - DH, me and our dog wou.d travel the U.S. for as long as we want. DH would buy a boat to fish all year long.

Charity: Donate to animal rescue groups, especially Match Dog Rescue where we adopted our boy Leo. they do great work down on the Texas/Mexico border and then transport to NJ for adoption.

Set up mulitiiple spay//neuter & animal education clinics in the South where there is great need.

Donate to local food banks.

I would buy a farm, a great big pretty farm, like Martha’s with a beautiful old Victorian! Of course I would only do the work I wanted to ;^). Food would be donated to the food banks.

I would also set up free dental clinics.

And while "in hiding" after I claim the prize, we would travel the world :^)

Things I would not do:

Immediately support groups I am unfamiliar with that claim good deeds and ask for money (some are frauds, one should look into organizations before giving lots of money).

Buy expensive new stuff to replace present stuff that I love and am comfortable with.

Buy Twitter

sign me up lone jack ...

First...give God His share...Pay off all of my kids/grandkids debts...set up funds for all my greatgrands education. save enough for any long-term care that I might have. Then donate to finding a cure for ALZ, cancer, ALA, and other dreaded diseases.

I'd build a swimming pool for the town's kids, a new Humane Society building and among other things if I could find a way to do it annonymously. I wouldn't want anyone to know I had the money. Then there's funding the SE KY flooding victim's fund. Then I'd donate money to all the politicians who actually want to do something about climate change and gun control so we maybe can stop floods like that from happening and mass shooting events.

Something fun? I would hire someone to stay in my house and take care of Chewie and take a year long trip and live abroad.

Does anyone else have this dilemma?

I have two rogue niece and nephews. I would love to pay everybody an equal amount, but they stay in trouble. So, just give them their share and let them waste it away, right? That would be so hard to watch. I have to say there is one niece I would pay triple what everybody else got. She has cerebral palsy. She's in constant pain, mid 20s, and will never work, even though she has tried for years. It's okay to spoil her right?

I think I’d go to the local motels where I know people live week-to-week. Like, some of my parents’ caregivers, a local manager, etc. And find them apartments. I mean, you can never accumulate first and last month’s apartment rent when all your money goes to the week-to-week. And buy them a car, most of them use uber. One walked two miles from the train for her 3-day shift at my parents. I didn’t know, I’d have driven. Where we live, public transportation is limited, which limits your work opportunities.

My brother was living in another country, and his housekeeper was a student in a physical therapy program. He decided to pay her tuition, even after he moved to another country. He paid it directly to the school, and he knew what her academic standing was. She graduated, and is in her new career.

For something fun, (in the absence of covid risk) I would definitely spend a lot of time traveling, even living for months at a time in one of several countries.

Then, I would maybe buy a different house, outside the urban/suburban ring (but still close enough for convenience) with a larger piece of land where I can indulge in growing many different apple varieties and a few other fruits - without the pressure from overpopulated deer and raccoons.

Not for fun, but for philanthropy, I have often thought about using an extremely large jackpot to rehab older housing stock, especially in deteriorated neighborhoods that used to be full of beautiful houses, and make them available at affordable rents (affordable for lower wage workers, not what is typically labeled "affordable" around here.)

Whenever we used to discuss this, I would get focused on traveling and where to and where I would buy houses, and so on and so forth. Then it hit me that if I won that kind of money (a billion or several hundred million....) I think I could change my mind all the time and it woudl be ok. So I think I will find it a lot less stressful figuring out what to do if I win big. So , now I'm ready.