How to lose a billion dollars?

[Out-to-Lunch]

There is different levels of spending according to how much you have...


I guarantee that if I won the big pot I would be spending a LOT more than I spend now..

But, given this info, when would be the best time to claim SS?

 

[aaronc879]

But, given this info, when would be the best time to claim SS?

I know that was meant as a joke but the answer is, Never. I would not take money away from people who actually need it.

 

[camfused]

I am not remotely interested in buying a ticket where I could win $1.73B. Change it so that 1,730 people can win $1M, and sign me up.

 

[2HOTinPHX]

I am not remotely interested in buying a ticket where I could win $1.73B. Change it so that 1,730 people can win $1M, and sign me up.

But you'd only get to keep about 40% or so if you take the cash option....400 ughhh.

 

[JoeWras]

I see a lot of people who say it is being bad at math... but it really is not..

If you only go for the big prizes you are 'good'...

A ticket is $2... odds are like 290 mill to one.. so if the post is over $580 mill you are positive....

Sure, the chance of winning is super slim... but the math is in your favor..

But, but, if I bought 100 tickets over the previous weeks, SURELY I have better odds because this one is The One that will hit, right, right?

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

One thing I never understood about these lotteries, if you take the annuity, is it indexed to inflation, or no? For instance, if this one pays out $56M over 30 years, is it just a flat $56M each year, where the true value gets eroded by inflation? If that's the case, in the final year, that $56M could easily be chiseled down to around $25-30M, at best.

That would be about what a year in an assisted living facility would cost. So, you'd still be golden.

-BB

 

[Andre1969]

There is different levels of spending according to how much you have...

I guarantee that if I won the big pot I would be spending a LOT more than I spend now..

Yeah, I think when you're on the outside looking in, it's hard to imagine spending that kind of money. But, I have a feeling that once you have it, it's not hard to adjust!

I know it would be hard for me to imagine living off of that kind of money. Right now, the only extravagances I can think of that I want, are to get my '57 DeSoto repainted (most of the body work is done), my swimming pool replastered, and a modest "pool house" built. Oh, and the truck is going to need new tires soon But anyway, all that put together might come to $100K, at best. That's a drop in the bucket when you have millions to blow.

Well, okay, I have one neighbor beside me that gets on my nerves, and another behind me. Perhaps I'd make both of them offers on their homes that they couldn't refuse, to get the annoying one out of my hair, and get the ones in back out, for more privacy. So, maybe another $1M each?

I'm sure if I had that kind of money though, more expensive things would come to mind.

 

[Aerides]

I read a post on a different forum, years ago, about steps to take to rename anonymous if you win.
<snip>
I would definitely ask a lawyer about it.

Yes, this is the first thing to do! Or at least, interview several good lawyers in the financial realm.

And don't do the publicity photos, or be very different looking in them. Never understand the people who stand there smiling with the big check.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

step 3: If you are a man, grow (or shave) facial hair to get a different look. Both genders, dye your hair, change your glasses (or get rid of them if you wear them, or add them if you normally don't.

I like this. I have a full head of thick, curly gray hair. I think I would get my brother (who is a hair stylist) to give me a dye job and cut my hair into typical male-pattern baldness!

 

[Texas Proud]

Yeah, I think when you're on the outside looking in, it's hard to imagine spending that kind of money. But, I have a feeling that once you have it, it's not hard to adjust!

I know it would be hard for me to imagine living off of that kind of money. Right now, the only extravagances I can think of that I want, are to get my '57 DeSoto repainted (most of the body work is done), my swimming pool replastered, and a modest "pool house" built. Oh, and the truck is going to need new tires soon But anyway, all that put together might come to $100K, at best. That's a drop in the bucket when you have millions to blow.

Well, okay, I have one neighbor beside me that gets on my nerves, and another behind me. Perhaps I'd make both of them offers on their homes that they couldn't refuse, to get the annoying one out of my hair, and get the ones in back out, for more privacy. So, maybe another $1M each?

I'm sure if I had that kind of money though, more expensive things would come to mind.

Well, I noticed one of your problems... you never buy tires for any vehicle... you just buy a new vehicle!!!


Years ago me and one of my friends was talking about how we could spend so much money.. first off, let's get what we are talking about... $400 mill will produce $16 mill a year in income (should be easily)... or $1.3 mill a month...


So, you could buy a car every day if you want... or every few days if you want an expensive one... so new thinking is... it needs an oil change.. buy a new one... you never will get close to needing new tires..

 

[indiajust]

I have always considered the best approach is to donate the entire sum, to your own charity of which you are now the investment manager. Don't make the mistakes of the Ford foundation et al with a thing that mutates into an unrecognizable institution. Do like Gates/Buffett and BTD on a 15-25 year timeframe. Withdraw compensation commensurate with the effort, setting it up for the glidepath to zero. You now have a job till death, that you control completely.

 

[indiajust]

Well, I noticed one of your problems... you never buy tires for any vehicle... you just buy a new vehicle!!!


Years ago me and one of my friends was talking about how we could spend so much money.. first off, let's get what we are talking about... $400 mill will produce $16 mill a year in income (should be easily)... or $1.3 mill a month...


So, you could buy a car every day if you want... or every few days if you want an expensive one... so new thinking is... it needs an oil change.. buy a new one... you never will get close to needing new tires..

Wanton destruction of stuff is one of the consequences of productivity advance. I had a friend who never did any maintenance. add oil and gas. He usually got about 100k out of a car before it would give in to neglect. Sell and repurchase.

If productivity and change is fast enough, it can pay off, such as with computers. The opposite side is a static market. Shovels have not changed in a century, endless handle replacements until the blade wears out.

 

[Andre1969]

Well, I noticed one of your problems... you never buy tires for any vehicle... you just buy a new vehicle!!!

Years ago me and one of my friends was talking about how we could spend so much money.. first off, let's get what we are talking about... $400 mill will produce $16 mill a year in income (should be easily)... or $1.3 mill a month...

So, you could buy a car every day if you want... or every few days if you want an expensive one... so new thinking is... it needs an oil change.. buy a new one... you never will get close to needing new tires..

Back in 2012, I bought a brand new, but end-of-the-year, Dodge Ram pickup. It was something like $20,754 out the door. At the time, my investible assets were around $750K. One way I justified buying that truck was comparing it to my portfolio, and thinking I could buy a truck like this, give it away after a year, buy a new equivalent one, be able to do that for 36 years! Assuming my portfolio, and vehicle prices, stayed in line with inflation.

The 2023 Dodge Charger I bought last month came out to around $54,000 out the door, which kind of blew my mind, that I'd ever spend $50+K for a car. But doing the same mental exercise these days, I figure I could do the same thing for 45 years.

$1.3M per month means I could do that 24 times per MONTH!

So yeah, it would probably take a lot of time for me to get used to that kind of money.

My paternal grandparents used to trade their cars in every 3-4 years, and as a result, usually got rid of them before they needed much in the way of maintenance. Their last car, a 1994 Taurus, Granddad kept for 10 years, before giving it to one of my cousins when he gave up driving, at the age of 90. I remember one day, the car wouldn't start, and Granddad didn't know what to do. Turns out, it was just the battery. Granddad swore he'd never had to change a battery in a car before, which surprises me, especially since batteries tended to not last quite as long back in the old days.

Granddad tended to be pretty bad about the maintenance on his cars, which was surprising, because he worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad, and much of his career was spent doing maintenance work. I used to joke that he did the brake job on that runaway train that crashed into Union Station back in '53, just before Inauguration Day. The one where the GG1 fell into the basement and they just built a temporary platform over it until after the ceremonies.

 

[FedRetired50]

My paternal grandparents used to trade their cars in every 3-4 years, and as a result, usually got rid of them before they needed much in the way of maintenance.

Granddad swore he'd never had to change a battery in a car before, which surprises me, especially since batteries tended to not last quite as long back in the old days.

I just bought a new F-150. My last purchase, a Suburban in 2012, cost $30k. This new truck was $56k. I, too, never thought I'd spend so much on a vehicle. But to tow the camper my girlfriend and I want to use in my retirement, requires a capable truck.

In my experience, flooded lead-acid batteries have always lasted about 5 years for my cars, whole-house UPS, and generator. So I can believe that he never experienced that problem with a 3-4 year trade-in schedule. Oddly for the 36 years I've owned my John Deere garden tractor, its batteries have always lasted longer.

 

[Koolau]

The Powerball, a tax on people who are bad at math.

Well, at least they get to pay SOME tax instead of getting only tax credits. Everyone should get to feel SOME tax pain, even if it's only buying a few lotto tickets.

 

[Koolau]

Well, I noticed one of your problems... you never buy tires for any vehicle... you just buy a new vehicle!!!


Years ago me and one of my friends was talking about how we could spend so much money.. first off, let's get what we are talking about... $400 mill will produce $16 mill a year in income (should be easily)... or $1.3 mill a month...


So, you could buy a car every day if you want... or every few days if you want an expensive one... so new thinking is... it needs an oil change.. buy a new one... you never will get close to needing new tires..

Ah, HAH! So YOU are the one soaking up all new car production - making street and others wait for their new cars!