I’d immediately exchange it for a million English poundies.

I’d ask who was screwing with me.

@ucme What would you do with them then?

Pinch myself.

I’d say it’s about time dammit!

I would fill my gas tank up and spend the dollar that’s left on M&Ms.

It wouldn’t change me… I’d carry on working…. yeah right

@jessyamr I’d buy shares in crayola, get some donkeys & blow the rest on a big party.

If someone walked into my office right now and handed me this cash? I would move to a more progressive community, buy some land, build an environmentally-friendly/sustainable house, and live off the grid.

Ask me this tomorrow and you may get a different answer.

I’d stop working, liquify all, and then I would be known as “go granny, go granny, go granny go” all the way to Pasadena and beyond.

I’d pay off the house, plan a few vacations, and invest the rest.

I’d move.

Pay off all my debts and some of my boyfriends, buy a decent car, give a large chunk to my favourite charity, put down a deposit for a house and, if there was anything left after all that, I’d travel a bit.

We’d buy a brand new house, a new car, give our parents and siblings some of it, take a 2 week vacation in Ireland and Scotland, and put the rest in savings.

My husband and I have discussed this at length, lol.

I’d pay off my debts to begin with. I’d then pay off my Mum’s, followed by my brother’s. I’d have a good ol’ fashioned shindig and mull over my prospects with a martini( & then some) in hand.

Purchase 526 one ounce gold bullion coins.

Two chics at the same time.

F*ckin’ A.

Buy a house and go to college.

Buy a modest hime with space for gardening and invest the rest of it in instruments or property I feel are safe even in troubled times.

I’d set my daughter up, give a lot to my charities of choice, and then, I’d build my dream goose pond. A several acre pond with an island and Willow trees and a little dock so I could row, row, row, my boat with my flock of geese and swans. :-D

Buy gold.

Gold or platinum.

Invest it conservatively, use the income for maintaining and housekeeping my 20 acres of woodland (now called the Gailcalled Nature Wilderness), give to my charities of choice and leave the principle to my great nieces and nephews.

Invest
Move
Re start my business
Build
Travel

I’d do a lot of things with them. But mostly I’d spend them.

I’d give half it away and start spending the other half.

I’d take a class on economics so that I can wisely invest it so that I can have ten million instead.

I’d wonder how I’m going to manage to do all the things I imagined my self doing if I won 10 million. If I win 10 million I’m helping out my friends and family, but If I win just one, that would be very annoying actually. I would spend it all within hours, 500k won’t even buy me a decent house anymore in certain areas of the world.

Deposit it in several different banks, then pay off my mortgage and buy some basic transportation.

I would buy new vehicles for my husband and I and put the rest away for retirement.

Wake up and find it’s just another dream.

I’d throw a big party and invite all my friends. Give some money out to some people. Then move somewhere peaceful and quiet but not too far from a big city. And just watch movies, get drunk, and play games until I go blind. Then fix that, and do it all over again. And get myself a pool, but filled with pillows instead of water.

@poisonedantidote what about 50 million dollars?

Live modestly (good life) Use a quarter of it to get a nice house, car, etc. and pay utilities for first year.. Use another quarter (½ to start my own business, the other part to go on a well deserved carnival vacation and luxuary necessities, house items).. The last half would go into 12 month cd’s that pays from 6 to 8% then live off the interest (modestly) for the rest of my life (with profits from the business, if any, as my mad money).

@chewhorse: If you know of any 12-month CD’s that pay 6%, do let me know.

Best rate I could find for yesterday

@gailcalled .. Hell, times have gotten tougher since my investment days.. May as well just put it in a savings account for.. wtf ever.. Guess I’d just invest the remaining 500g’s in failing businesses so that I could receive tax breaks, loopholes and a bail-out when I fail.. That should make me a good yearly profit, huh?

@chewhorse: My all-time favorite investment is the Vanguard NYS tax-free long-term muni bond fund.

It agrees with my nervous system, generates a reasonable amount of tax-free income yearly (if you live in NYS) and when the interest drops, the NAV rises. So there is a good balance.

Now the interest is %2.78 but my principle has increased in the last month, on paper, at least. Your $500 K nest egg would generate $13, 900 per annum, tax-free and there for the taking every month.

You can do better than a savings account. I have $5000 in mine and get, monthly, 11 cents of interest. Dude!

If I were younger, I buy a decent house, (rates are low here and you get a lot of bang for your buck) with 20 acres of land. Then I’d fix it up, furnish it, down to do-dads and photos, plant a country garden and some fruit trees, build a pond and sell as-is.

@gailcalled & @chewhorse Real estate on short sale or auction is a steal now if you can hold it for the long haul. The old saw that “They ain’t making any more land.” hasn’t changed, recession, depression or boom.

Warehousing (U-Store-it’s) are not completely saturated yet. Given the bad economy I foresee a resurgence of demand. even at 50% occupancy, a 100 unit location will make pretty good ROI. Buying existing units that have already amortized, (if anyone is selling) eliminates capital spent on construction and comes with an established client base. I think I would invest in them. My father used to always say “God got out of the real estate business a long time ago, He ain’t making any more” always a good long term investment.

@gailcalled… I know what you mean about savings account interest but I couldn’t live in NYS because you can’t even smoke a cigarette in the privacy of your own home if you have neighbors close by (am I wrong?). I just can’t fanthom smoke police although I know it’s eventually coming to a State near everybody.

@chewhorse: Vanguard has similar funds for CA., MA., Ohio, NJ, and PA. And there are lots of misguided smokers in my area. I see them all the time and need to cross the street because the smell is so nasty.

Personally, I have no smoking friends or acquaintances.

However, since you are a smoker, you might try high-risk or junk bonds or short-term munis. Don’t even consider going out more than 6–7 years.