Mega Millions

[Daniel]

The Mega Millions multi-state lottery has an estimated half-billion dollar payout on tomorrow's drawing.  If you won a huge boat-load of money, how would you spend/invest/disperse it?

[Rey Reynoso]

[Daniel]

I'll start.  I'd

• First, set up a trust to do all this:
• pay off some medical bills, 
• buy a single-story house that is wheel-chair friendly, 
• get some new vehicles for my wife and kids, 
• pay for my kids college tuition,
• share some with extended family (parents & siblings on both sides)
• support some ministries (like Michael Patton and Mike Licona)
• lots to other charities
• invest the rest

[E. A. Johnston]

You forgot, "Send E. A. whatever the Lord leads!" Lol. 

Daniel said:

I'll start.  I'd

• First, set up a trust to do all this:
• pay off some medical bills, 
• buy a single-story house that is wheel-chair friendly, 
• get some new vehicles for my wife and kids, 
• pay for my kids college tuition,
• share some with extended family (parents & siblings on both sides)
• support some ministries (like Michael Patton and Mike Licona)
• lots to other charities
• invest the rest

[Daniel]

E. A. Long said:

You forgot, "Send E. A. whatever the Lord leads!" Lol. 

You laugh, but something tells me that my number of friends would increase dramatically.  Wouldn't have to wait for the JW to stop by in order for a visit with someone. LOL  

But the bigger question is the "Lord leads" one.  How many of the folks that have been totally devastated in their personal lives after a lottery win initially thought it was a gift from God.

[Norrin Radd]

I'd fund a bounty on that noisy Black Panther fool in Florida.

[Michael Ballai]

Other than fulfilling my wishlist on Logos and getting a new Mac and maybe an iPad, I'm really not sure where to place all those investable dollars. I'd probably have to do some serious prayer time to discern where to put that money to use. I still spend too much time trying to find the dollars to keep the lights on and flipping a coin for groceries or medicine. But God still blesses me enough for the day. That doesn't cost anything. True riches have no monetary value.

[Jax Agnesson]

I can think about what I'd do with a million pounds, or maybe even two or three million. But half a billion just sems such a stupid amount, it can get no traction in my little brain.

I have a few favourite charities, like Water Aid, Oxfam and Amnesty International, who would be able to spend large chunks of it much more sensibly that I would. Interestingly, I can't decide whether I would then cancel my tiny monthly donations to them. On the one hand, it would seem a very mean and pointless thing to do, but on the other hand, if I've just given them a hundred million quid, a further five pounds a month seems silly.

I dunno.

I'd buy a decent boat, though!

[E. A. Johnston]

I am deplorably ignorant on some things, Jax. What is a "quid?"

Jax Agnesson said:

I can think about what I'd do with a million pounds, or maybe even two or three million. But half a billion just sems such a stupid amount, it can get no traction in my little brain.

I have a few favourite charities, like Water Aid, Oxfam and Amnesty International, who would be able to spend large chunks of it much more sensibly that I would. Interestingly, I can't decide whether I would then cancel my tiny monthly donations to them. On the one hand, it would seem a very mean and pointless thing to do, but on the other hand, if I've just given them a hundred million quid, a further five pounds a month seems silly.

I dunno.

I'd buy a decent boat, though!

[Jax Agnesson]

Sorry, EA.

A 'quid' is the British equivalent of a 'buck'. In other words, it's a slang pound.

E. A. Long said:

I am deplorably ignorant on some things, Jax. What is a "quid?"

[Daniel]

I find the "what's a Christian doing playing the Lottery?" question interesting and somewhat inevitable.  I posed the question on Parchment & Pen when Tim said that he wouldn't be playing (for a number of reasons) why one would NOT play, but would still accept donations from the winner.  Seems hypocritical.  

[Rey Reynoso]

My post may or may not be helpful on this. In one you're actively engaging in trying to get X; in the other someone decided to give you X. You don't even have to know where X came from to receive it. You just receive.

[Marv]

What would I do with the mega millions?

Let me assure you what I'd do would be perfectly biblical.

(Luke 15:13)