What would you do with a million dollars?

So I was watching the Paul and Jacob (ERE) Discussion video, and in it the question of what would Ferd do with a Million dollars came up. I recently saw something similar asked in crypto twitter. Jacob said something like after he spent 20K he'd have no idea what to do with the rest, and I found myself remembering middle school math class...

*cue harp glissando as the camera zooms into my eye, or make up your own flashback sequence*  

We had an assignment where we were supposed to go to magazines cut out pictures, and "spend" a Million Dollars. I think the point was to show us how big of a number that was, that it was exponentially bigger than numbers we were more familiar with. And for us to apparently practice subtraction, although we were a little old for that? And, perhaps, to stimulate the economy by increasing posterboard sales.  Pretty much every significant assignment in the 80's somehow required posterboard...but I digress.

Well, I couldn't do it. Not the math or posterboard- no problems there (after I got my parents to shell out the 50 cents or so). I literally couldn't figure out how to possibly spend that much money. I bought everyone in my family something I knew they wanted, including getting cars for parents, then bought some clothes, and I think a house with a pool, then bought myself a horse (because I was a tween girl in the 80's) and said I invested the rest to pay for upkeep on everything (and utilities and incidentals  (ex: the pool required pool toys), and my college education (which was more than 2/3 of it) and.... failed the assignment (Technically, I was told to re-do it).

Even today when I think about buying something I'm always thinking about what I will pay in future maintenance/upkeep, etc.

All the other kids bought things I considered stupid, mostly because they either weren't old enough for them like cars, or because they'd never afford the upkeep on that airplane that they don't know how to fly anyway.

Anyway, could you actually spend a million if you got it? Has your answer changed as an adult? Did you ever do an assignment like that? as my teachers would say in high school : Discuss.

Probably just keeping farming until the money ran out!!!

The first action I would take would be to hire a financial advisor.

Dave Ramsey would be my first thought.

Most towns have an office for Edward Jones. I am not recommending them, just stating a fact.

If I didn't own a place in the boondocks, that would be my next step.

I like these kind of fantasy brain games.

Unfortunately 1 million dollars does not go as far as it did in say the ‘80s.

I assume that we are talking about tax-free dollars?  Even so, I think that I would go through this fairly quickly.  I have the following debts/expenses to pay off.

House
Car
1 child in college
1 child approaching college
Wife’s Med school tuition
We are looking to replace carpet in at least 2 rooms (looking at flooring today)
2 Windows need fixing/repair/replacement

After all that might get a couple of tractor attachments:
Land Plane
Hydraulic Top Link
Flail Mower

Build a Pole Barn for the tractor

Whatever my wife wants

Invest the rest

I have done this basic calculation many times.  Unfortunately, one million just isn’t what it used to be—which was a life-changing amount of money.

If the amount were 5 million, I would do all of the above, invest the rest and have a nest-egg large enough to live on interest.

Eric

Cat Knight wrote:I bought everyone in my family something I knew they wanted, including getting cars for parents, then bought some clothes, and I think a house with a pool, then bought myself a horse (because I was a tween girl in the 80's) and said I invested the rest to pay for upkeep on everything (and utilities and incidentals  (ex: the pool required pool toys), and my college education (which was more than 2/3 of it) and.... failed the assignment (Technically, I was told to re-do it).

That's a shame, your financial forethought is a desperately needed quality. Maintenance costs on anything really worthing buying will be higher than the initial purchase for anything sufficiently sustainable.

I think I'd skip the pool.

I have to agree that 1 million dollars is nothing like what it was in the 80's.

Having said that, I would be able to spend that in a heart beat. Maybe I'm just greedier than most or have more grandiose plans than most. I see a couple farms in my area for sale for 500k apiece. There goes my million.

Even buying a single farm
A car for my mom
A car for me
A van for me and my kids
A tractor
Livestock
Fencing
Vacation
Root Cellar
Farm store
Hiring lawyer
Hiring Tax Accountant
Build cabins for airBNB
Donations to charitable organizations
... I could keep going, but I think I already used up my million :)

The company I work for is building an addition and has spent over 200k just for plans/permits. And its not even that big of a building. Inflation is frustrating.

I'd first investigate what it would cost to emigrate to a patch of property in rural Iceland. If that was attainable for a million, I'd seriously consider it -- I'm dying to find somewhere with nice weather and antisocial enough that the language barrier doesn't put me off.

If that's impossible, spending that kind of money on desirable land would be trivial. The trick would be to figure out how much I wanted to reserve for other things -- $200k in trust for the education of my descendants, $x for a glass greenhouse, $20-50k for a truck.

Or maybe I'd just drop it into an index fund, quit my job, and draw a salary from it.

I have been faced with this very situation. My bowhunting products company (started in 2015) affords me to know how to answer this. (FYI, a million doesnt go far today so aim higher. )

Im using the revenue to buy land/homestead (and we are buying more land), a new Tractor and every attachment for it that they make. We have been doing improvements to the homestead like clearing land to put in a huge garden and chicken coop and hired loggers and excavators. Im building my new headquarters on our homestead, etc. We have also invested a good sum for the future.

I used to travel the world with a bow and arrow, hunting all manner of species from Hawaii to Africa but now I prefer to homestead and grow veggies. I suppose our kids will end up with the excess some day.

This photo is just some of the bow hunting trips I did in one year. I used to spend a great deal of time traveling to bowhunt. Now Im more interested in growing carrots and potatoes and staying on the homestead.

Maybe a little priority list (different for everyone) might look like this:

1.  Service existing debts and major expenses

2.  Repairs, Replacements and upkeep

3.  Land/property improvements

4.  Investments

5.  Toys and Travel

These are all just my personal way of looking at spending priorities, and yours may be different.  That’s fine.

Eric

Anne Miller wrote:The first action I would take would be to hire a financial advisor.

This seems like a sensible plan, at first glance. However, they way financial advisors in America are often paid- they are paid whether they give you good advice or bad advice. In fact, they actually make more money giving you bad advice, i.e. to trade repeatedly or to buy high commission funds that they/their firm gets kickbacks from. A little research tells me that almost none of the funds beat a low cost index fund long term.  Not a bad Idea, but also not an exactly hands off one for me

Something about this : motley fool article
About financial advisor vs Feduciary: written for physicians
Forbes Article to the same effect: Forbes
and here's Warren buffet saying the same thing: CNBC BUffet on Index funds

I *would* get myself a tax professional to help me figure out how to keep as much as possible, or at least distribute it to the charities I want to help...

James Alun wrote:[
I think I'd skip the pool.

I would keep the pool today, because I know myself and what kind of exercise I enjoy versus what feels like torture and swimming is a thing I genuinely enjoy. I wouldn't just swim in a lake/pond because I prefer 4 season locales and I'm not into Wim Hof.

However, my family now gets nothing except copies of the books, because they are all irresponsible with money and reasons which I will not get into here. Also My house would be much smaller, because less to clean and easier to maintain temperature. And I'm too fat to subject a horse to it now, so if the horse happened it would be a plow/cart horse. Or one hubs rides. Or just a rescue to love on.

Matt McSpadden wrote:I have to agree that 1 million dollars is nothing like what it was in the 80's.

Having said that, I would be able to spend that in a heart beat. Maybe I'm just greedier than most or have more grandiose plans than most. I see a couple farms in my area for sale for 500k apiece. There goes my million.

Ok, yeah. To be honest, If I had a million today I'd be pretty tempted to buy the place that Sepp did in Montana, if I were worthy. But then I'm not sure that I'd learn as much as what I'm doing with the small place I can afford.

Cat Knight wrote:

Anne Miller wrote:The first action I would take would be to hire a financial advisor.

This seems like a sensible plan, at first glance...

I *would* get myself a tax professional to help me figure out how to keep as much as possible, or at least distribute it to the charities I want to help...

You must not be familiar with the one I would use, Dave Ramsey ...

Getting a Tax Profession is also good advice though I assumed everyone already has one of those.

I’d support a handful of nonprofits.  No huge donations, but rather a smaller stream of income well into the future.

This question was answered years ago by the Barenaked Ladies:

Anne Miller wrote:

You must not be familiar with the one I would use, Dave Ramsey ...

Getting a Tax Profession is also good advice though I assumed everyone already has one of those.

I am familiar with Dave R, and I think it is silly to pay someone else to do something I can easily do myself. If you're familiar with him you could just follow his baby steps, which are reasonable. Years ago (Early 2000s) I got several of his books from the library for free and followed the best advice there.

I can either pay someone, (best case) a yearly fee, to do something simple or I can spend 20-50 hours doing the research and an hour a year maintaining it myself. I'll take the DIY option where I don't need to worry about who to trust with my money.

Of course, back when you needed an broker to have access to the markets, I did have an Edward Jones account. When I was told in no uncertain terms to invest the thousand dollars I got for high school graduation my parents had me use Fidelity who had me put it in their funds and lost over half of it for me. Today, there are plenty of self directed options online, and they're all fee free. You just need to remember that they earn fees when you trade and stick to your plan. Last time I checked with a financial planner, he said there is nothing I can do for you that you aren't already doing. Mostly, I did that to show my spouse to stop arguing with me and put the max contribution in his employer matched 401k.  

(it is for this reason I've never hired a tax professional even when I owned my own small business. It isn't that hard to do my own taxes)

A million dollars? I'd buy about 1,800 shares of VTI, about 7,000 shares of VXUS, and a rental property.

hire a helicopter to find bigfoot
use the left over on our homestead

Cat said, "I think it is silly to pay someone else to do something I can easily do myself.

I know you don't need this advice because you can do what a financial advisor can do.

This is for all the other folks with the million dollars:

https://www.ramseysolutions.com/retirement/why-you-need-a-financial-advisor

So, when it comes to investing, some people say, “I can handle it all on my own.” But let us ask you this: Do you fix your own air conditioner? Build your own computer? Fly your own plane? Yeah, us neither.
You use a professional because they have more education and experience. You know they’ll do the job right. And that gives you peace of mind. The same applies with your finances. You need a pro in your corner. Here’s why.

The term “financial advisor” isn’t an official title or name of a degree. It’s a generic name for people who provide a wide variety of financial services. And those services often have specific training or education attached to them. Here are just a few:

   Certified Public Accountant (CPA) — These folks have to pass a rigorous exam to be certified. They can help you with taxes, business services (like mergers and acquisitions), consulting and accounting, of course.
   Personal Finance Specialist (PFS) — These people are CPAs who have passed even more exams and have gained extensive education and experience. They can help you with broader financial planning, not just accounting.
   Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) — These advisors specialize in managing the assets of people who have a high net worth. They also work on behalf of endowment funds, commercial banks, mutual funds, hedge funds, and insurance companies to help those businesses make more money.
   Certified Financial Planner (CFP) — These individuals also have to pass an exam to earn certification. Plus, they must have work experience and agree to a code of ethics. Their expertise includes taxes, estate planning, insurance and retirement planning.
   Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) — These folks must take three exams and have three years of experience in their field. They focus on stock analysis for banks, mutual funds, and other big institutions—not financial planning for individuals.

Happy spending everyone!

I am probably older than anyone else who has answered this question. In my case, in looking back on a rather long life, my conclusion as to what to do if suddenly having a significant amount of money is, ...

You get one chance to change the course of your family's history. If you are like me, it is not really necessary to change one single immediate thing. A new or newer tractor, a pool, vacation, nicer tools, things, only last so many years, then are "gone". There is only one that your descendants could make use of to improve their lives. Land. Get the best land with the best soil and the best water, in the best surrounding community, with the least likelihood of being overrun by city folks moving in. I would move as close to old order Amish I could. They live as close to self-sufficient lives as is currently happening in the U.S. I would not move anywhere on a line between two cities. Eventually there will be a freeway built between them, and there goes the neighborhood. I would set up a family trust so the land can never be divided. And with the left-over money, I would set up some sort of account to provide the land tax money far into the future. Land is the only thing there will never be more of. If you have land, and work hard, all the other things you desire, covet, want, will come to you. But the land comes first. Keep it safe from government, teach your children to live well and productive, make your best guess to avoid being overrun by new neighbors, and you can hopefully die knowing you did your best for the family you leave behind.

Jim Fry wrote:I am probably older than anyone else who has answered this question. In my case, in looking back on a rather long life, my conclusion as to what to do if suddenly having a significant amount of money is, ...

You get one chance to change the course of your family's history. If you are like me, it is not really necessary to change one single immediate thing. A new or newer tractor, a pool, vacation, nicer tools, things, only last so many years, then are "gone". There is only one that your descendants could make use of to improve their lives. Land. Get the best land with the best soil and the best water, in the best surrounding community, with the least likelihood of being overrun by city folks moving in. I would move as close to old order Amish I could. They live as close to self-sufficient lives as is currently happening in the U.S. I would not move anywhere on a line between two cities. Eventually there will be a freeway built between them, and there goes the neighborhood. I would set up a family trust so the land can never be divided. And with the left-over money, I would set up some sort of account to provide the land tax money far into the future. Land is the only thing there will never be more of. If you have land, and work hard, all the other things you desire, covet, want, will come to you. But the land comes first. Keep it safe from government, teach your children to live well and productive, make your best guess to avoid being overrun by new neighbors, and you can hopefully die knowing you did your best for the family you leave behind.

I absolutely love this, especially about the part about land being the one thing that can change the course of a family's history. Beautiful.

Maybe someone has the $1M to give, invest, (Let's Raise it)

And this is what I would be doing.
1. Head back to Newfoundland, Canada and start Ocean reclamation of what was once the World Largest copper Mine. Tilt Cove Mines. and clean up the Ocean Tailing dump.
a. $100K to complete a bulk recovery of 1000m3 of tailings. With the Gold, Copper, Cobalt, zinc that we recovery and prove the value of 5 to 6 millions tons of tailing that sits on the ocean floor.
b. $200K to start a Natural Rainbow Trout Farm  
c. $100K to open a Graphite Quarry to start manufacturing Graphene, for making Graphene for Graphcrete (Super Concrete)
d. $100K to local charity and food bank to buy grow towers for growing food locally and Educational Program for Home Growing Towers

2. $500K for a Ocean Dredge to start full recovery of tailings (Potential $100M+ in Gold, Copper, Cobalt, Zinc, etc)
a. Most of this ROI would be invested in the development of a North America Largest Deepwater Port Graphite Mines and Graphene Manufacturing Facilities (100MMT Gf Deposit $3B to $12 B)

So I have my retirement Rainbow Trout Farm and Give the rest of the Wealth created back to make a better world.
We need to. :)  


 
 

In the 1967 movie Bedazzled, the matter of a million dollars/pounds comes up when hapless mortal Stanley Moon (Dudley Moore) first encounters The Devil in the form of George Spiggot (Peter Cook):  

George : Good evening. I couldn't help noticing that you were making an unsuccessful suicide bid.
Stanley : What are you doing in my room? What do you want?
George : I'm here to help you, Mr. Moon.
Stanley : I don't want any help. Please go away.
George : Oh, all right. I just thought you might be interested in a little matter of a million pounds. Don't let me interfere with your doing away with yourself.
Stanley : What's this about a million pounds?
George : You remember your great-great-great-grandfather?
Stanley : Well, I never even met my father.
George : How very sad. In all events, your great-great-great grandfather, Ephraim Moon, sailed to Australia in 1782 on a ship of the Line. Set himself up as an apothecary. The business flourished, and by the time he died it was worth something in the region of 2,000 pounds - a large amount in those days.
Stanley : Yes...
George : Your great-great-grandfather, Cedric Moon, by skillful management and careful husbandry, increased that sum a hundredfold. This in turn was inherited by your great-grandfather, Desmond Moon, who expanded, diversified, and built up a personal fortune of well over a million pounds!
Stanley : Oh!... it's a lot of money!
George : A great deal of money, Mister Moon! And this gigantic sum was inherited by your grandfather, Hubert Moon, who returned to London and frittered it away on wine, women, and loose living.
Stanley : ...ermh... where does that leave me, then?
George : Penniless, and on the brink of suicide! (giggles)

I like the idea of this exercise, it makes me think of how powerful consistent management of one money can be.

As a matter of reference,  someone who nets 50k/year will have 1 million pass through their hands in 20 years of work, so it's likely that many of us will have made a million before we die. Though some of us will choose less income and perhaps not reach that 7th figure.

I think I'd like to see the money go like so:

100k into liquid savings

100k invested into my community and charitable causes over time, I wouldn't want to use up this full 100k at once because that increases the chance of spending it wrong, but it is important to give back so I think I'd have a separate account or fund for giving purposes. Ideally it would be somewhat liquid, though if I could manage not to lose it all to inflation while I searched for the right opportunities this would be good. I would consider helping an individual through a house fire to be more important than donating to a non profit board in hopes that they used it appropriately, but no doubt some would be used for that as well

50,000 into inflation resistant retirement assets, diversified between precious metals and bitcoin

50,000 into a managed portfolio with a financial wealth manager I felt I could trust, this would take significant effort to properly learn who could be trusted but I'd want it in as soon as possible to give it time to grow

After those things were seen to, then I would proceed as follows:

Buy my freedom from lenders
Without counting low-interest mortgage that looks like around 32k, mostly because cars are expensive and my past self didnt maintain enough savings to replace his vehicle when 3 broke down in a row.
I'm currently doing this slowly using SSL to save on interest and ensure that i have the money back for the next debt when the previous is paid off, I think I'd probably utilize 32k out of the 100k in liquid savings for this so idk if I'd count this against the total. But for the sake of the exercise, let's just say I paid it all straight off and didn't use it my trick.

Now that puts me at $668,000 left, out of credit card debt, no vehicle debt with titles to my vehicles, money growing for the part of my life when I can't work to make it, and monthly expenses in the required column down to less than 2k/month, though likely less because I shouldn't have as much expense spent on fuel going to and from town every month

At this point, it is awfully tempting to pay off the mortgage and eliminate that monthly expense, though that money could perhaps make more for me on the market than it would save on expenses. Let's see...

Let's assume 100k mortgage, 9 years left on 10 at 840/month 3.5%
90k in expenses over 9 years
100k with a 5.5 average return rate and i have 161,909, so I've made 62k in 9 years
So I could pay the mortgage off immediately and be out the 90k, or I could put that 100k to work and my overall financial picture is only 28k less than that 668
Which makes it less tempting to pay that off right away... but the reduced required expense is very tempting, and I like the idea of owning that free and clear also, in 9 years the deed holders could die or leave the country... so assuming I had this windfall I'd pay it off to eliminate risk

That puts us at 578,000 free capital, own vehicles land and home and no debt, monthly expenses in 2023 dollars, $1100
Much left to do

Now the question is, build our lifetime home now or invest into cashflow producing business while we still have more than 1/2 our million in liquid form? Won't be investing I  my own farm with this money because it has yet to show reliable profit  so we'll keep bootstrapping that to where it needs to be, some investment could be considered after other things have been seen to

You know at that point, I'd accept that I could do better with the money if I was smarter with it, I would try to find a way to make it untouchable for 1 year, 3 at the most while protecting it from inflation as best as I can while I sought the education nessacary to make the best use of my remaining 578,000 that meets my goals for my life and that of my children and grandchildren

So i haven't spent the full million but I have no fear that I would be unable to, simply would want to be wise with such an enormous windfall.

I need to put this exercise down for the day, but I'll be back, because I think it's important to think it through.

Being well into retirement, there really isn’t much I would change from my current situation.

1. Pay off a handful of standing bills.
2. Put at least 1/2 into savings.
3. Add a sunroom to the house (my wife’s dream).
4. Hire a handyman/ farm labor for 4 hours a week.

Anne Miller wrote:This is for all the other folks with the million dollars:

So, when it comes to investing, some people say, “I can handle it all on my own.” But let us ask you this: Do you fix your own air conditioner? Build your own computer? Fly your own plane? Yeah, us neither. You use a professional because they have more education and experience. You know they’ll do the job right. And that gives you peace of mind. The same applies with your finances. You need a pro in your corner. Here’s why.

For $11,000 a year (i.e., the advisor fees paid on a million dollar portfolio [1]) most people would learn how to build their own computer or fix their own air conditioner. I know I would.

Since our community needs jobs, a franchise requires a large net worth to buy the franchise and have cushion when it gets started. I want a hotwings franchise here. I looked it up and was shellshocked how much it costs to start and keep it going.

John Wolfram wrote:  For $11,000 a year (i.e., the advisor fees paid on a million dollar portfolio  most people would learn how to build their own computer or fix their own air conditioner. I know I would.  

I guarantee that if a person has $1,000,000 they are not going to quibble over $11,000 and most people wouldn't want to learn how to build their own computer or fix their own air conditioner.

You must be the exception.


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I would build a prototype Skytherm roof probably on a tiny house built as an ADU in my daughter's backyard.
Skytherm was invented by physicist Harold Hay back in the 1970s and he built a prototype house in Atascadero CA.

http://www.solarmirror.com/fom/fom-serve/cache/30.html

For a tiny house I would put a waterbed bladder on the roof but surrounded above and below with a sheet material on two rollers. The sheet would be half transparent (e.g. strong netting) and half insulation with a silver/mylar reflective layer on top. So the sheet can be rolled to put the insulation either above or below the waterbed. In the winter you uncover the waterbed during the day to gain solar heat, and then cover it with the insulation at night to retain the heat. In summer you do the opposite, cover with insulation/mylar during the day and uncover at night to radiate any heat into the sky. This will moderate temperatures in the building and greatly reduce the need for supplemental heating/cooling. To keep the weather out you can cover it all with a supplementary shed roof covered in  clear corrugated polycarbonate sheeting. Would need to vent the roof space in summer and close it up in winter.
Can use multiple waterbed bladders as you have space for and obviously your roof and supports would need to be engineered to take the extra weight.

If that were a success, I would do the same on a bigger scale with a doublewide mobile/modular home.

The other thing I would do is try to buy shares in Brilliant Light Power that I believe has the ultimate solution to global warming by making either heat or electricity from hydrogen with an efficiency of about 200 times just burning hydrogen despite what wikipedia says.

https://brilliantlightpower.com/news/

Anne Miller wrote:I guarantee that if a person has $1,000,000 they are not going to quibble over $11,000 and most people wouldn't want to learn how to build their own computer or fix their own air conditioner.

I'd quibble over $11,000 because it isn't one time, but every year if you want to maximize your portfolio value. My sister in law is one such advisor and her clients happily pay her a lot of money every year because they have a way more than $1M and it's worth it to them.

For a $1M sum there are likely a lot of exceptions like me and John W. out there who would do it ourselves. And I like learning new things. That's why I'm on this forum.

John Wolfram wrote:
For $11,000 a year (i.e., the advisor fees paid on a million dollar portfolio [1]) most people would learn how to build their own computer or fix their own air conditioner. I know I would.

Heck, for $11,000 a year, I'd learn to grow my own veggies and make my own tinctures, rather than paying the professional farmers and herbalists to do it for me.

- Pay off existing debts
- Get myself a degree for social worker
- Buy a smallish farm in the UK/FR, and needed equipment
- Do up some small property/ies on the land for Airbnb/steady income
- Use whatever's left to set up some form of the agricultural version of the Brownies & Downies company

I think considering property prices and the cost of maintenance and for sure having to hire some people to help out I will have well and truly torn through my million

Robin Katz wrote:For a $1M sum there are likely a lot of exceptions like me and John W. out there who would do it ourselves. And I like learning new things. That's why I'm on this forum.

The average millionaire is quite a bit more frugal than many people might think. The Millionaire Next Door is well worth the read as it gives a great view of how millionaires actually live.

The average millionaire is quite a bit more frugal than many people might think. The Millionaire Next Door is well worth the read as it gives a great view of how millionaires actually live.

While I agree that this is true, I think it has a great deal to do with how quickly that money came in. If someone worked over 20 years to become a millionaire, they probably have already done many of those things that people are listing here. Buying a house, tax accountant, etc. Whereas I was assuming the question was more, what would you do if someone dumped a million dollars in my lap all at once. It would be different getting it all at once vs over time.

Pay off my property. Pay off my parents' property. Buy a years worth of animal feed. That money is spent. From there, however, I could set up a private farm membership, sell cheese, raw milk, and soap from my goats (milk), raise beef cows to butcher and sell, hire someone to show me what I'm doing wrong in the garden-then make a market garden, and live happily ever after.

$1,000,000 would speed up the plan we are already working on.  
Pay off mortgage  
Renovate house with high quality, low maintenance, and long term durability materials.  The work will be done with aging in place in mind so we can grow old here.
Finish the various outdoor projects including fencing, food forest, carport or garage, garden pond, and water storage high on the hill.  
After that it would be figuring out an investment strategy to cover our living expenses, taxes,  old age medical costs,  and having excess to donate organizations we want to support.  

Buy land for the family. 😀

A million dollars is still a lot of money. If I was able to invest it then I could envisage having $200000 a year income to use. I think you could do a fair amount of good with that (taxman permitting...)!

If I kept a bit to live off, I could rent out the shop (complicated, but I think it would mean we wouldn't lose the Post Office there) and my hubby could work on his own vehicles, rather than other peoples. Oh I can think of some good local causes that could make the area more resilliant. I probably wouldn't be able to resist buying land locally when it comes available - for growing food and maybe 'affordable' rental properties. It would be good to set up a scheme to renovate less energy efficient properties too (including ours!). Start up grants for local businesses.... Hmm, can I have another imaginary million please?

It's fun to think and fun to read.
Firstly, take off somewhere for a month  by renting good size motorhome, so people wouldn't bother, beg, or claimed to be some long lost relative. (Permaculture Bootcamp would be great choice !) Nope! I'm not kissing ass.

Me/us, like where we are, but would like to build a garage/workshop combination (we like to work with wood, tinker around, but have no place for the tools after we moved).
Pay off bills
Donate to Institute for the Blind and few other places.
Build proper shelter for dogs/cats and personally monitor trust fund for food and other necessities that we would set up.
Buy Highland Scottish cow to keep as a pet and love it to death
Buy a super awesome sewing machine
Pay someone to sit with me and teach how to knit nice & neat sock heels in Continental style only.
Purchase life insurance for a good laugh and to take care of our pets if they should outlive us.