If I had a million dollars . . .

[calmloki]

Hewoo. I am Elmer J. Fudd, millionaire. I own a mansion and a yacht.

An interesting question might be how a Fudd millionaire (yacht,Ferrari, etc.) lives before making the pile. I know as a LWBYM person that it's tough to change the inertia of the spending patterns that I've had in the past. So do the Fudd millionaires live and spend boldly when less well heeled? Are Fudd millionaires more likely to make their nut through bold moves; wilder gambles?

 

[citrine]

If I had a million dollars....I would pay off my parent's mortgage and invest the rest of it.
I would still work at mega-corp for another three years so I can collect my $275K at 55 years.
I would still do everything that I do today.

 

[yona]

If I had a million, I would have told my boss that I f***ing quit.

Hey, but I have 1 million.

Unfortunately, I can't quit now, as I need to keep my current status so my DW can get an Hong Kong passport next year.
But then I will tell my boss…

 

[pj86]

If I received a million dollar, I would be pretty pissed off with the current EUR/USD exchange rate.

Nevertheless, I would put in an index fund and take 10% of the capital gains out each year. (While saving as much of my income as possible.)

 

[walkinwood]

Bongo,
How about?

"If I were a brain-washed consumer" or "If I were a lemming" or "If Richard Branson adopted me" (Note: may not work if Warren Buffet adopted you)

 

[kcowan]

Hewoo. I am Elmer J. Fudd, millionaire. I own a mansion and a yacht.

An interesting question might be how a Fudd millionaire (yacht,Ferrari, etc.) lives before making the pile. I know as a LWBYM person that it's tough to change the inertia of the spending patterns that I've had in the past. So do the Fudd millionaires live and spend boldly when less well heeled? Are Fudd millionaires more likely to make their nut through bold moves; wilder gambles?

The ones I know made their pile through bold moves.

They always liked the good life and this was one of the drivers to get them to take chances, but there were many others. I would not classify either of them a big egos. But then they ARE Canadian Eh?

Neither one of them bought any of their toys before they made it big. So they were LBYM. They hated debt and were stressed when their businesses had to take any on. They would pay it off as vociferously as ERs here pay down their mortgages.

If they had a few extra million, they would not change their current lifestyles. Why? Because they already have more than they need and are LYBM at that.

 

[bongo2]

Bongo,
How about?

"If I were a brain-washed consumer" or "If I were a lemming" or "If Richard Branson adopted me" (Note: may not work if Warren Buffet adopted you)

I've tried, "if I didn't care about money I'd. . ." and "if I had ten million dollars. . ." or "if I spent a lot more. . ." but none of them have the ring of "if I had a million dollars." "If I had a billion dollars" has a nice ring, but feels unnecessarily extravagant.

 

[sweetana3]

I usually say "if I were Warren Buffett" or "If I were "Bill Gates"........

Their stratosphere is so foreign to me.

 

[Eyerishgold]

I just tell myself I'll wait until I'm FI to buy whatever item I'm looking at. I imagine myself 17 yrs from now buying anything I want because I was smart and made some sacrifices when I was young.

 

[DallasGuy]

About 8-10 years ago, one of my sister's friends once said non-chalantly..."oh, the first million was the hardest" and she wasn't trying to be funny or brag about how well she and her husband were doing. I thought it was hilarious though...there I was sitting there with a few hundred $thousand thinking that I'd never hit a million. It felt like an impossibility at that point. Once I reached that $million$, I thought "yeah, it was hard, but WHAT NOW?". The thrill lasts a few days, you feel more secure and then you go on with your life very much the same as it was before. Sure, you might splurge a little more occasionally, but your spending patterns remain basically the same. I'm still frugal and look for bargains, but I now force myself to "pry open that wallet" occasionally and enjoy life. The main benefit for me having a $million was that I was that much closer to FIRE'ing.

 

[OAG]

The first Million is the hardest. That is why I skipped it and I am now working on the second million as it is supposed to be easier.

It is strange how this on-line banking, on-bill paying, on-line ability to move money around has become. We have not spent any real green money at all in a long time; only the change we pick up in the parking lots. I have had a $100 bill tucked away in my wallet for the past two or three years just in case.

 

[aenlighten]

No real change

I would just buy more investments, perhaps some that don't necessarily have a great return like antiques. If it were a few million, a second home would be nice. (No reason to wait for a flat panel anymore, they really are quite cheap now.)

 

[SteveR]

From a poll done in 2006 http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/part-2-watcha-worth-20185.html
There were roughly 68% of the 147 who responded who had a net worth of $1MM for more. That is a a pretty high percentage (assuming they all responded truthfully) which means there are a LOT of millionaires on this board. Like has already been said...a $million is not what it used to be but it is not peanuts either.

$1 MM will generate $40k per year in income for 30+ years. (SWR of 4%). $40k/year is not exactly living high on the hog but is still plenty if you don't have a lot of expenses.

Congratulations to all those that have made this milestone. Keep up the good work to all those closing in on it. For those that have COLA pensions at 70%+ of your base pay.. you most likely will never need $1MM. But, it is fun to dream about having and EXTRA $million to spend as you want without concern for having to live on it the rest of your life.

 

[steve88]

For those that has a million, is that combine you and spouse? or each?

 

[travelover]

For those that has a million, is that combine you and spouse? or each?

Yea, it makes a pretty big difference if one of you gets the "itch".

 

[Andre1969]

I have enough money and enough sense now that I realize that if I had a million dollars I wouldn't do or buy anything that I wouldn't right now. Despite this, I still find myself thinking / saying, "if I had a million dollars I'd. . ." The most recent one was "If I had a million dollars I'd buy one of those high-def TiVos." Does everyone else do this too? Has anyone come up with a better phrase than "if I had a million dollars" to express this sort of thinking?

I have a habit of doing the same thing sometimes. Maybe not a million dollars, but I'll tend to set financial goals and think that I might do such-and-such once I achieve them. But then, once I cross that financial threshold, nothing really changes. I'm still just the same person I always was.

I moved back in late 2003, but didn't get my condo on the market until late 2004. Before I started renovations on it, I remember calculating that I might actually clear $35-40,000 on it. That was about the time the Chrysler 300/300C came out, and I was thinking that I might "reward" myself by buying one once the condo sold. Well, once it was said and done, I walked away with about $76,000 from selling that condo (by the time the mortage, 2nd mortgage, rennovation costs, etc were factored in). So I could've easily blown my money on that 300C and had about $40K left over. But I didn't....just went ahead and invested all of the profits.

Basically, if I want something bad enough, I'll probably buy it when I really want to, rather than waiting for some financial goal to "reward" myself.

 

[semtex]

DW and I will ER sooner definitely. Maybe save us 8 to 9 years.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

I just tell myself I'll wait until I'm FI to buy whatever item I'm looking at. I imagine myself 17 yrs from now buying anything I want because I was smart and made some sacrifices when I was young.

Good for you. I retired last year at 48 after a lifetime of hard-wired LBYM, and
now can buy pretty much anything I want. My wants tend to be small - a new mp3
player, camera, $300 bicycle, printer, dvd drive, Starbucks whenever I want, etc -
but I never have to think about the cost anymore. It was definitely worth it.

 

[njonge01]

Also interested in escaping Corporate America

Forget the fancy cars or big house, I'd give corporate america the double middle finger as I'm running out the door! I would partake in a job that satisfies MY dreams and not be stuck in a job that pays so well, that I'm handcuffed to my darn paycheck.

Love it! I need help identifying what will be my "semi retirement gig". I'm just south of 2 million in savings... I am 46, single (but have my spousal equivalent... she has her own finances and we share a household budget of about 3K a month), with no kids.

I make $45 an hour as an IT consultant... if I could find something that pays $20 an hour and I enjoy doing it full time... I would blow this popsicle stand.

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

As I mentioned elsewhere, I've been forcing myself to buy stuff that makes my life better. That poverty mindset has to be smacked back a little.

I'm going to have to start replacing shoes/clothes/sheets/towels fairly soon; they are simply wearing out. You know that moment when you pull on a sheet to fold it and it rips?

There is much wisdom in this.

 

[growing_older]

I'm just south of 2 million in savings... I am 46, single (but have my spousal equivalent... she has her own finances and we share a household budget of about 3K a month), with no kids.

You could live on 1.8% withdrawn from your savings. That's a safe withdrawal rate for any time frame. Why do you need any semi-retirement gig at all?

 

[aaronc879]

If I had a million dollars... i'd wonder why I worked so much longer than I needed to. I will never be a millionaire because there's no reason I need that much money. I will retire long before I reach a million dollars unless I get some kind of unexpected windfall.

 

[jdw_fire]

I'm just south of 2 million in savings... I am 46, single (but have my spousal equivalent... she has her own finances and we share a household budget of about 3K a month), with no kids.

You could live on 1.8% withdrawn from your savings. That's a safe withdrawal rate for any time frame. Why do you need any semi-retirement gig at all?

even less than 1.8% since he isnt responsible for the entire $3k/month

 

[kumquat]

A million ain't what it used to be. For me it's

If I had as much as I did once. Shoulda gone to cash!

Then again, that was the top of the bubble and I still have 50% more than when I decided I had enough in 2007.

 

[GaryInCO]

For those that has a million, is that combine you and spouse? or each?

Yea, it makes a pretty big difference if one of you gets the "itch".

You got THAT right. DW and I have well over $1MM between us, with savings and real estate. We were getting to the point where we would have been reasonably comfortable once our teenagers got through college.

But DW recently decided she didn't want to be married to me any more, and she's walking with at least half our net worth. Plus now I have to look at setting up my own house &etc., enough to house 2 teenagers half-time. And I may be looking at a lonely retirement instead of spending my golden years with my best friend. So not only is my heart getting ripped out and stomped on, my finances and my retirement dreams have taken a major hit as well.

So make sure you invest in your relationship while you're investing your savings. It's a lot more valuable and a lot more painful to lose.