On What I Would Do If I Came Into a Lot of Money

[danieldwilliam]

What would I do if I came into a significant amount of money? I was asked this a wee while ago and these are my sort of serious musings.

The answer really depends on how much money I came into.

£1 million. 

A million isn’t enough to retire on. Not quite. More accurately, it is not enough for MLW and I to retire on and still have the same level of material comfort in perpetuity.

A million invested in treasury bonds at 3.5% would yield £35k.  Split between MLW and I with some judicious tax management we’d probably not pay any income tax and pocket the whole £35k.  £35k is a nice income but between two of us it’s not exactly living in the lap of luxury. There would still be the mortgage to pay.

Also, with inflation running at 5% we’d really need to tuck away some of the income and re-invest it to maintain the value of our investment over the coming years.

We could invest in a more risky balanced portfolio and perhaps make 5%. We’d pay a little tax, still tuck away a little against inflation and probably have about £40k a year to live on between the two of us.  It’s getting there but there’s a risk that we could lose a big chunk of the capital and have to go back to work after some years of idling.

I could, of course top up my income by writing, *ahem* literature for discerning adults.

 Three options remain.

 We could invest the capital and not touch the income and retire in about ten years.

 One of us could give up work.

We could keep working, buy a big house on Gray Street, invite my mum to live in the granny flat and have several more Captains.

Personally, I’d probably vote for door number 3.

£10 Million

Now this is retiring in affluent luxury.  Post tax and inflation income about £300-400k. That’s proper house in the city, house in the country, flat in Barcelona terratory.

So, taking Door Number 3 as a given (That’s safe, you’ve won that and it’s yours to keep what ever happens) what would I do with myself with such a handsome living and plenty of time.

I’d go travelling. I’m very aware that apart from living in Australia I’ve not seen too much of the world. So I might pack up the Captain and the rest of his Crew, MLW and the au pair and take a turn around the world.

I would certainly spend some time in Australia reconnecting with my family out there.

I’d help my sister out financially over the long term as she’s not well.

Then once I’d returned I’d need to find something to do. 

Options would include .

Doing a PhD in something really intersting. Probably to do with low carbon economies.

Offering my services as a person of some small intellect to one of two politcal parties, one of two constitutional reform societies and / or a handful of environmental charities with the added advantage that I could buy in some admin help of my own.

£100 Million.

 See above for Door Number 3 (with the possibility of having two crews and two au pairs).

 I think with £100 Million one could just about buy an election. Not the next one or the one after. The election I would buy would be a Referendum on adopting the Single Transferable  Vote. This assumes that by the time I come into this fortune the Scottish Independence referendum had been and been lost.

 If I came into it tomorrow I’d set up a think tank to critically evaluate the case for independence from a broadly supportive point of view i.e. assuming that the whole thing is a not a grade A cluster fuck from start to finish how does an independent Scotland feed and clothe itself.  Naturally I would be CEO of this august body and I would hire a really good executive assistant to make sure I turned up and a really good coach to make sure I worked well.

 £1,000 Million

 See £100 Million but I’d buy the STV election early.  I’d buy a couple of newspapers and rent a load of bloggers and get cracking on installing democracy in the UK.

 I would also bank roll substantial educational initiatives in Scotland. I’d try and fund each of the 11 universities in Scotland up to the standard of the Russell Group and I’d pick Aberdeen and Edinburgh to begin with and try and lift them up to Oxbridge standards.

 As an alternative I might create a large number of generous bursaries so Scottish students could pick the domestic courses and institutions that suited them and therefore only those Scottish universities that supported a good student experience would get hold of my cash.

 I’d want the focus to be on science and engineering and business and economics. It’s not that I don’t think the Arts and Humanities are worth studying. I think Scotland has a business creation problem and improving the number of economically investable spin-offs from universities in Scotland along with the business tool-kit of Scots I think would give us a long term and self re-enforcing boost.

 I’d be tempted to create a charitable trust to send working class teenagers to Eton so large that 51% of Etonians were working class. Then I’d promise / threaten to do the same to all the other public schools in the UK. Just for laughs.

Comments

[rosathome.livejournal.com]

I love this question. I often ask myself what I would do if I won the lottery (I don't play, so you know, am marginally less likely to win than if I did). It's been very reassuring during the PhD to know that actually, I would carry on doing more or less what I am now. I'd give up at least one of the part-time jobs, though.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

That is reassurring.

I often think it would nice to have a long time doing nothing. I say nothing. I’d travel and read and take classes in cooking and Spanish.

However, I think work is part of a fulfilling life. Doing something useful and structured is important to me – so I’d be loath to give work up entirely.

So, I notice that the things I would do are work-like.

If I Had A Million Dollars, I'd Be Rich.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

That's proper, well worked out day dreaming. I've never really got beyond the £10 million point, and that only happened once I grudgingly admitted that £1 million wouldn't do it.
My first thought, at any level, is always "give away half of it". This probably an outcome from 1) my Catholic upbringing and 2) my Catholic sized family. Anyway, they'd got a sum, and then the rest of the other half would go to some favourite charities. There would be a graphic novel collection in every library in Easterhouse, Balornock and Springburn, for a start.

Then a house somewhere I wanted to live, and then some living. And that's about it. Apparently there are people who can tell you what to do with lots of money, and I'd probably ask one of them, after getting tired of sleeping on £100 notes for a while.

Re: If I Had A Million Dollars, I'd Be Rich.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

I’d like to think that I would give a lot away but I know I wouldn’t.

I would do good with it (honestly I think I would) but I wouldn’t want to fritter away the chance to make some profound changes in the world by providing some free material comfort to people I know. Also, I would be so reluctant to give up the control over the outcome and the range of choices and options that holding onto the capital would give me. Also, the influence.

Re: If I Had A Million Dollars, I'd Be Rich.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

I guess on this one I start from the position that there are a lot of material comforts my family don't have. I'm pretty much at the pointy end of the achievement pyramid for the Mooneys (although my little sis has put herself in position to catch up fast) and there are a 'king hell lot of them.

I'm not sure I want influence, and control, and all those good things, espescially if they flow from the amount of capital I have available. I can't see too many people who've actually done good from that position (Bill Gates probably being at the top of a dammingly short list). I like Carnegie's quote, that he who dies rich dies disgraced.

I'd like to think that my relationship with money is much the same as Tom Bombadil's relationship to the One Ring. It has no power over him, but he can't be trusted with it since ultimately he'll just throw it away.

Re: If I Had A Million Dollars, I'd Be Rich.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

And my family are either generally able and determined to look after themselves or don’t much care. Except my sister, who is unwell.

The Apogee of Mooney.

In this Bill Gates is my role model. I might, if I had the energy, be very tempted to demonstrate exactly how my huge wealth was allowing me to subvert the system and see if my life lived as a work of art provoked sufficient people into being outraged enough that they started changing the rules on how money can buy influence.

My view is that a large pot of capital is going to be used by someone to do something and then someone else is going to try and subvert those goals. It might as well be me pursuing my version of the Good.

One could of course donate the money to the public.

I wonder how the good people of Scotland would react to a referendum

“You are about to be given £1 billion pounds. Do you want it equally divided amongst yourselves giving every man, woman and child about £200 or would you like it invested and the proceeds used to fund cultural capital and scientific research and educational scholarships?”

Re: If I Had A Million Dollars, I'd Be Rich.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

I thought you were already living your life as a work of art?

Re: If I Had A Million Dollars, I'd Be Rich.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

This would be a richer work of art.

Re: If I Had A Million Dollars, I'd Be Rich.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was a sad day when I realised that a million pounds wouldn’t cut it any more. £1m for MLW and I is only about 10-15 years of combined income in one go. Nice to have but not tranformative.

By the time I’d bought a house that was exactly what I wanted and where I wanted it I’d be about half a million down.

It would all make for a comfortable retirement or an earlier retirement but it wouldn’t change my life much more than landing a really good promotion.

It might change the life of someone who didn’t have the education and employment opportunities that I and MLW have.

Re: If I Had A Million Dollars, I'd Be Rich.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

My brother won something around £100k on the lottery a few years ago, and it was totally life-changing for him. He paid off a good lump of mortgage and bought a nice car, but that wasn't the life changing stuff (both of them went when he split up with his partner). What changed things was being able to take time off work and go to university to get a qualification in social work. He now spends his time working with young people who suffer from multiple deprivation and substance abuse issues. In a lot of ways, he's my hero.

(Going to university also meant meeting a new partner, and having beautiful twin daughters with her, so I guess you could include that in the life-changing stakes)

Re: If I Had A Million Dollars, I'd Be Rich.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

Yes - the opportunity to use even a relatively small amount of money as a fulcrum for the lever of education is probably the most life changing thing going.

Re: If I Had A Million Dollars, I'd Be Rich.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

I really can't overestimate the extent to which my life has been enriched (materially, socially, spiritually)by free access to education. It was my ladder out of what was basically slum living, and it's the tragedy and stupidy of our generation that we're concentrating on removing that ladder for those who come after. Nothing epitomises the difference between Scotland and England more than the fact that Scottish (and EU) students don't pay fees at our univerities. One of the first things the Oil Fund should do is replace the Student Loans organisation with the Student Grants organisation.

Re: If I Had A Million Dollars, I'd Be Rich.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

I'm second generation for this sort of life transformation.

Conflicted about the student loans vs student grants thing. I think it's all the same money coming from and going to the same peole at the same time so I'm not sure that there is a huge difference and I wonder how much of an effect the badging has.

Re: If I Had A Million Dollars, I'd Be Rich.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

Would you really put a graphic novel collection in every library?

I’m not quibbling with your choice of things to back. Graphic novels have clearly had a big influence on you, so fair enough to pay it forward (I think my equivalent would be a cricket outreach programme or an improv outreach programme).

I’m wondering if putting the collections into bricks and morter libraries would be an effective way of making available to influencable youth, free at point of use something that you love.

Re: If I Had A Million Dollars, I'd Be Rich.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

It would give them a good reason to go into a library.
My local library changed my life hugely for the better. It was a 1950's or 60's prefab, bungalow sized. On the outside, at least - it was much bigger on the inside.

Graphic Novels, comics in general, suffer from being transposed onto the web. I expect that to change, but not right away (I subscribe to the Marvel site, and it's good for trawling through back issues and trying new stuff, but mostly I buy collections these days).

So yes, there's probably other ways to attract youngsters to words, but that's the one that worked for me.

Re: If I Had A Million Dollars, I'd Be Rich.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

Defo – libraries of my youth changed my life.

Especially the school library at my high school in Australia which had lots of science fiction.

I think libraries might be about to be caught in the cleft of the contradiction between our media licensing regime and how we use technology to access media. I think, like the post office, they risk to them as a functioning institution is high.

Although, that said, I am not that fussed about the post office.

Re: If I Had A Million Dollars, I'd Be Rich.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

I still use the library on Byres Road from time to time. It has free internet access, and as many books as I remember. The SF section is excellent, mostly because the Glasgow SF Writers Circle is very good at requesting their own books. Mike Cobley practically stocked the place with his favourites when he lived in Hillhead.

Balornock Library introduced me to Asimov, Clarke, Silverberg, George MacDonald Fraser, Donald E. Westlake, Richard Condon, Brian Freemantle, and dozens of others.

Re: If I Had A Million Dollars, I'd Be Rich.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

Good shout - I must start requesting books that I'd like to read at the Edinburgh Central or Morningside Libraries.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

Wow, you've thought about that a lot!

I just want a nice 3 bed house outside the city with a garden and two workshops (obe for my pottery and one for the Boy) and some money to live on while the Boy finishes his course until a job comes up for me again. I'd give my sister some money to pay off her debts while she finishes studying, help out a couple of friends who are really struggling and then give the rest to charity, mostly Oxfam probably. Although if I won enough, I'd set up education funds for university students and give money to libraries too.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

There is a risk that I've actually spent so much time thinking about this that in the event of actually coming into a lot of money my life would become empty.

Why Oxfam?

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

Because I think they make a huge difference to a lot of people who literally have nothing. Because I've never got over seeing the famine in Ethiopia on the TV news when I was about 5.

I dunno, if I won 10s of millions I guess I'd set up a charitable foundation and do more research about where best to give the money, and probably get involved in financing microloan schemes and stuff as well as just donating money.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

I like microloans.

I think the images of the famine were really powerful. I don’t think anyone of our generation won’t have been affected by them.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

They do seem like a wonderful idea. I keep wondering about getting involved with Kiva as I've heard good things about it but I'm not sure I could cope with looking through reams and reams of projects that I'd love to help but can't afford to at the moment. Maybe once I know where my next wage packet after April is coming from.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

Kiva do look good.

I think I should punt a little "investment" that way.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

Was there some particular reason why you asked why Oxfam other than curiosity BTW? Have I missed something about them wasting money left, right and centre, or dodgy ethics or something?

I'd probably support MCF and Amnesty too actually. If I could do one single thing in this world, I'd dearly love to get rid of the death penalty everywhere.