If I had a million dollars...

[magid]

Actually, I was thinking about what I'd do if I suddenly came into money, but not a totally life-changing amount like a million plus. Rather, something more life-ameliorating, say, something in the five-digit range. It's enough to do some very nice things with, but not enough so that you'd retire and give all your friends Porsches.

What would you do with $50,000 (after taxes)?


definites

• fund the IRA for this year and last
  
• pay down the mortgage a chunk
  (depending on what was left after doing other things, but a decent chunk of the total; it makes me happy to be closer to freedom from debt)
  
• give extra to favorite charities
  (though this leads to a dilemma: if I give more this year, then they'll expect that level next year, which I won't (necessarily) have. What I'd really like is some kind of middleman to make the donations anonymous to the recipients, yet still get a tax receipt.)

strong possibles (ie, the things I'd juggle to make the numbers work, so probably some of all of these would happen, but not all of everything)

• condo upgrading things
  (built-in bookshelves, redo the floors (including movers to deal with the stuff currently on the floors :-), replace the futon, replace the fridge, redo the porch, rewire as necessary, etc.)
  
• travel
  (somewhere new to explore, perhaps take that trip to Gibraltar I'd thought about last fall, and/or a trip to Israel)
  
• art
  (treat myself to a new painting or other artwork. Also, buy more supplies for doing my own creative things, such as camera accessories, yarn, fancy paper, a sewing machine, fabric, and so on. Perhaps classes as well.)
  
• food
  (I'd definitely have to have some kind of awesome dinner party to celebrate, trying out trendy ingredients and such. If I found more room in the kitchen, perhaps buy some new kitchen gadgets.)

Comments

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

All good choices.

[bitty.livejournal.com]

fund the IRA for this year and last

i do not think you mean what i think you mean

[magid.livejournal.com]

Hey, things are cheaper in Ireland than here, right?

Yeah, Roth IRA. Boring, but fiscally responsible.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I picture you buying lots more books.
And possibly taking another year to write.

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

I'd
- pay off student loan and misc other debt
- start an IRA
- Go on a nice vacation or two, probably to some place I've not been
- set the rest aside until I could figure out what to do with it, or use it for sundry things over time on things might otherwise seem a bit extravagant (expensive dinners, mini-vacations (a few days in NYC?), a new wardrobe, etc.); no doubt some would go into householdy things. I suppose it's not impossible that I'd use it as a down payment on a condo.

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

You know, I was thinking of buying a house/condo until I saw your response. I would probably pay off the student loan and the credit card debit left over from school.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Seeing how some of much of this lines up with my thoughts, I have to say it's all good stuff. *grin*

I thought about new clothes and householdy things, then realized that I'm cheap enough that once it gets mentally set aside for 'later' (and into the bank account), I won't necessarily actually spend it, even once I find something I think I should buy. I'm weird that way.

[magid.livejournal.com]

How long is your gig in NM?

(The current wisdom is that you shouldn't buy a place if you're going to be there less than three years.)

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

then realized that I'm cheap enough that once it gets mentally set aside for 'later' (and into the bank account), I won't necessarily actually spend it,

Yeah, I understand that, and well might do the same myself.

You know, a while ago I started "setting aside" the leftover money from the monthly bus allowance that I give myself. It's not a huge amount but now sits at around a hundred bucks (so I could get a pretty nice dinner-out out of it or a bit of clothing), yet I'm resistant to digging into it--perhaps because I know that once I spend any significant portion of it, it will take me a long time to build it up again. Or because while it's there there are a number of possibilities for what I could eventually spend it on, but once I actually spend it, there are no possibilities.

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

2-3 years. I could stay longer, but there is a lot of factors in that one -- personal and otherwise.

If I did buy, I would rent the place out afterward. As long as the DOE doesn't kill LANL, this place is a killer rental market, especially in the summer.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I totally understand about keeping the possibilities. I might be worse; I have, not money, but gift certificates, and a number of them are over a year old, because I can't seem to narrow down the options to one actual purchase.

[hyounpark.livejournal.com]

I'd totally redo the kitchen, clean up the plumbing, fly somewhere interesting once a month for the next year, and save the rest (probably around $20K or so).

Semiresponsibly,
Hyoun

[magid.livejournal.com]

What sorts of things to you want redone in the kitchen?

[hyounpark.livejournal.com]

I'd want to completely redo the cabinets because they make no sense. They only go 2/3rds of the way to the ceiling, leaving a lot of empty space, and they're actually positioned to minimize the amount of space in the kitchen.

I'd want to move the refrigerator next to the sink by destroying the cabinets around the sink. This would open up a whole section of the kitchen for counterspace. I'd get marble countertops because the laminate ones I have now just suck. And I'd get track lighting. And a venting fan that actually blew heat out of the ouse. And a nice pan rack. And a pony.

Daydreamingly,
Hyoun

[magid.livejournal.com]

That'd have to be some makeover, to fit a pony stall in your kitchen!