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[Criptfeind]

Good luck with your changing the world.

And yeah. You could live on a million dollars or whatever. But a lot of people don't once they get rich. 40 times the amount you need? Spend 100 times as much. Not to mention that everyone wants to A have a large reserve to be safe no matter what, and B leave something for their children.

I mean really. Now. If you just spent spent spent and did not bother to save in a generation or two you would be out of money. That really fucking helped yourself/the world.

[Flying Dice]

Don't get me wrong--I could live on one million dollars. But if I have money, I have the capacity to cause some sort of change on the world. It isn't right, and $1m isn't a whole lot compared to the people with real power, but it could do something. So yeah, invest a good chunk of it, live off the interest and whatever isn't invested/donated/squirreled away/used to pay debts. Sure, I could work things out so I run out of money around the time where I die, but what's the point of that? I'd need less than that to live comfortably, and there's no point to having that money sitting around. So let it grow, use it to effect changes, make sure there's enough left to give some help to my kids and grandkids (if I have any). If I ended up being childless at the end of my life, I'd give it all away in my will.

The bottom line is that money is only important in that it has the capacity to provide for those you care about and motivate political action. If you have enough money that the returns from investment would be notable, it is almost always better to invest it. Not for the sake of having money, but because of what you can use money for. As for living an extravagant life? Fuck that, the Hedonists got it right. You don't need a truckload of money to leave a pleasant life.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Firstly, I would hire Truean for an indefinite period of time to make sure I don't screw something up and lose it all on a triviality I didn't know about.

Secondly, I would pay off the debt my parents accumulated due to having me and getting a lot of credit cards when they were younger. (These events are related, my father was 19 when I was born.)

Thirdly, I would buy a number of expensive electronics, including the most powerful computer I could find on the normal market.

Fourthly, I would purchase a modest but permanent home, ensuring that if nothing else I will have property.

Fifthly, I would invest the rest, with the now-hired Truean's assistance, until I finished college. With my newly acquired funds I would increase my intended time in college from my current four years to acquiring a PhD in my field, because fuck you I want to be a doctor.

Sixthly, I would, after finishing college and becoming Doctor MetalSlimeHunt, use the now hopefully grown sum of money to begin a photovoltaic cell company. I would then proceed to create a massive ad campaign and bribe lobby politicians to increase subsidies for PV cells. Using this new influence, I would proceed to sell PV cells to every household in America, ensuring our energy independence and decentralization. I will then proceed to become even more exorbitantly rich off of my business, and will use my now vast personal fortune for philanthropic means the world over. Finally, retiring at 45 thanks to how much money I have, I will spend the rest of my life attempting to become President of the United States. I will run every four years until either I win or I die. Eventually people will begin to vote for me in admiration of my unyielding persistence, if nothing else.

And that is why I will end up running America if I ever win the lottery.

[Telgin]

invest it

I don't really understand this.

You make fair points, but this also depends on the exact amount of money won.  Suppose you did only win $1 million.  That might be enough to live your whole life, or maybe not.  If you have a chance to make it last with more certainty, why not?

If you win significantly more, then that argument doesn't hold as much water, but there's also the future past you to take into account.  Suppose you've got kids.  Wouldn't it be nice if they could take advantage of the money too?  There's certainly some arguments for and against the concept of handing money to kids without them having to earn it, but I'm torn on the issue.

In any case, the money can serve a lot more people than just you, and if you can make it last longer, then it might be beneficial to do so for things that matter after you are gone.

I probably wouldn't quit my job

See, I don't really understand this either. If I suddenly had many millions of dollars thrust upon me, there are far more important things I could be doing than showing up to an office every day.

Changing the world > pushing around pieces of paper

This is also highly context dependent, but in general I agree with you.  If I had a McJob, there's no way in heck I'd keep the job if I won the lottery (for several reasons, including denying it to someone who really needs it).  In my case though, I would probably stay with my company.  I suppose saying I wouldn't quit my job is a bit incorrect here: I really doubt I'd still be programming for Elauwit Networks.

No, instead I'd invest money in the company and try to help them grow and improve.  That way I'm creating jobs for people (new programmers, support technicians, field technicians and so on) and helping out those who are already part of the company (improving job security, maybe pay raises that many of them have earned over and over again but could not be awarded due to budget demands).

I also really doubt I'd be working 40 hour work weeks.    No, probably more of 5-10 hours a week to keep up with things and see how stuff is going.

That's sort of changing the world.  It's not curing cancer or AIDS, but it's making a difference to those people who needed the jobs, and to the communities where we provide internet and give better service than our competitors.

(I definitely would try to change the world in grander schemes though, such as giving money to medical research.  That's just something that would require a fair bit of thought and soul searching though.)

[quinnr]

1.) Send large sums of money to the couple of games I love and have played for a long time.

2.) Invest the rest. Live off of income.

[Urist Imiknorris]

Pay off student loans, then

1.) Send large sums of money to the couple of games I love and have played for a long time.

2.) Invest the rest. Live off of income.

[kaijyuu]

I certainly wouldn't have a boring old job if I won a ton of money. I'd have a job I like to do and would do even if I wasn't getting paid (like game design).

I may be a fool in many respects, but money isn't one of them. Over half the lottery winners blow their winnings in under two years or so; I'd be lucky if spent it all in a lifetime.

[Ancre]

invest it

I don't really understand this.

I'd invest it too. Mostly, if I suddenly had a large sum of money, I will try to make sure I'd invest it in things that would give me money back. The point is to effectively turn a one-time sum into something that replenish itself perpetually, so that I can never run out of it. I can burn a million of dollars and then have nothing left. But I can't get rid of it if it always come back.

That I would do not so much because I'm scared of running out of a million, but because it will give me peace of mind. I don't have to count my money anymore. I have a certain amount of money that comes in my hands every month instead of a fixed sum that shrinks in time. It becomes cyclical, or a renewable resource, so to speak. That's the appeal for me.

As for me, if I suddenly won a lot of money, I'll secure myself an income and a place to live, and then have fun. I'll have an extremely large library, a fancy kitchen, I'll hire a driver so I can live in the states without having to drive a car, and uh, I guess I'm not very good when it comes to personal dreams. Mine aren't costly, most of the time. I'll also fund a lot of crazy ideas and projects, just because. We would have a boat on Titan and space projects and stuff if I was rich !

[Zangi]

if you didn't need to buy a $5 latte every day to be awake enugh for the drive

Highway robbery!  MickyDs used to charge less then half that per 'large coffee' in my area... now its a dollar.  Might also be cause its summer... and its kind of a rural area.

But then, I don't know the difference between latte and coffee...

[i2amroy]

Keep in mind that a large percentage of lottery winners (something like over 50% IIRC) end up going bankrupt in the next few years. And that's the reason that you should invest it right. Think of it this way, without investing sure you might be able to keep living the way that you are right now without working, but do you really want to live the way that you are right now for the rest of your life? Properly invested it is fully possible to live off of the interest of what you are making, and then your life can be maintained at the same standard indefinitely. In fact if you invest right then your life can actually improve if you end up spending less money then you are making in interest every year. Investing allows for you to potentially improve your life without needing to worry about potentially running out of money later in life, where if you don't invest then you run the risk of running out of money in your later years.

Also keep in mind that the amount of money someone earns over the course of their life is highly dependent upon where they are living. For example the average wages earned in California are approximately 120% the amount earned if you are in Arizona doing the exact same job, and those are two states that are fairly close. Compare the difference between some of the middle states and the places like CA and you get even larger differences.

[Ancre]

if you didn't need to buy a $5 latte every day to be awake enugh for the drive

Highway robbery!  MickyDs used to charge less then half that per 'large coffee' in my area... now its a dollar.  Might also be cause its summer... and its kind of a rural area.

But then, I don't know the difference between latte and coffee...

Yeah, do your latte at home before going to work, it's likely to be waaay cheaper :p

[Svarte Troner]

I wouldn't invest just because the whole stock trading and banking system needs to crumble apart in a fiery death. in America and then I'd move to Europe. I'd leave up to 50% for my family and save the rest while living out my dream in some cabin in Scandinavia.

[Hiiri]

Pro tip: It's much better idea to give the money to charity in the first place, instead of playing lottery with it THEN giving it to charity.

A) It's more cost-effective.
B) You won't get second thoughts so easily at moment of payment.

Edit: This was to OP.

[FearfulJesuit]

The thing is, kids, there are exactly five secrets to happiness. These are: good food; good books; good friends; good romance/sex; and a good job. Anyone who says otherwise is lying.

Numbers three and four are free. Number five is expensive in terms of time time but will pay out. Number one takes more effort than money. As for number two, well... I'm seventeen and have 600 books. Over time, they'll accumulate.

If I were to suddenly come into $20 million, I'd build a dream house (that mostly means a large library, well-stocked pantry and sauna) in Ketchikan, AK, find my dream girl and move her in, and live the rest of my life collecting/reading books, cooking, writing, and snuggling. What I didn't need...well, I'm not sure; I suppose I'd give it to promising inventors, or something.

[zombie urist]

To fund school math programs. >_>