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I have money, now what!

Muscle Master

Muscle Master

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 15, 2010
581
113
Philadelphia
So I just learned that I'm going to be a millionaire due to an unfortunate accident (wish I can take it back) I had not to long ago that almost cost me my leg. I'll probably have to work for another year and then I can retire early

I'm still in awe cause... what the hell am I gonna do now. The amount I am to receive is between 2-6 million and I can't be more specific than that

I would like to maybe open a dealership, or a performance shop or something.. get into stocks maybe

things is.. it's a lot of money but then again it's not a lot of money, if I'm careless I could blow this money in 10 years. And I don't want to be the type that sits on my butt all day and do nothing
 
Muscle Master said:
I would like to maybe open a dealership, or a performance shop or something.. get into stocks maybe
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I would spend the next year or two learning about how to do any of these things before getting into it. The biggest way to lose a lot of money is not knowing what you're doing.

Furthermore, a dealership or performance shop sound like not the best place to start. Perhaps take some business classes and learn how a business operates.
 
GimmeSlack12 said:
I would spend the next year or two learning about how to do any of these things before getting into it. The biggest way to lose a lot of money is not knowing what you're doing.

Furthermore, a dealership or performance shop sound like not the best place to start. Perhaps take some business classes and learn how a business operates.
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I didn't think of that.. maybe I should just go back to school. I would have the means to pursue anything full-time
 
Muscle Master said:
I didn't think of that.. maybe I should just go back to school. I would have the means to pursue anything full-time
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Totally man, I'm not sure how old you are but "time" is a huge gift that your new money has provided you. Sure, go crazy and buy a few nice things, but you have living expenses paid for a long time.

If you set some modest expectations of what sort of lifestyle you want, you can start to put in place some really smart approaches to make this new money work for you in the long run.

Go back to school, travel a bit, perhaps try a few cooking classes, metal/wood working classes, I dunno. Experiment with some things that time allows for rather than just buying a bunch of ****.
 
Find something you enjoy doing and do it. You don't even have to be that successful at it because you don't have to worry about bills like the rest of us.
 
david shapiro said:
If you're careless, it'll take a lot less than 10 years.
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Things is.. I'm cheap when it comes to most things. I grew up dirt poor, shoot I'm lucky to have a mac and a iPhone, I only want 2 cars and a moderately nice sized house, I don't have a family of my own yet so I would only be blowing a small fraction of the money

I just want to be smart and know what to do with the rest of it
 
Muscle Master said:
I didn't think of that.. maybe I should just go back to school. I would have the means to pursue anything full-time
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I second that. As they say - knowledge is power!

Muscle Master said:
things is.. it's a lot of money but then again it's not a lot of money, if I'm careless I could blow this money in 10 years.
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While a couple mil may sound like a lot - you can blow through that INSANELY quick. My old boss hit it big a few years ago with some smart business moves, got 15 mil, and blew it all in a year. No joke. He simply spent too much on the business and got careless. There's a big difference between being a millionaire and getting a million dollars a year.

david shapiro said:
If you're careless, it'll take a lot less than 10 years.
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Agreed!

I also really hate to be a downer - but if you are the type of person who was bad with money before getting this cash, you WILL still be bad with money. This is why so many lottery winners blow their winnings in a matter of months. If this is the case, retain an accountant who will tell you "no" when you go on spending sprees.

Hopefully you've met with a tax professional to go over any possible tax implications! Part of the money may be taxable. This is a lesson a buddy of mine learned the hard way! His legal team assured him his settlement was all set tax-wise - then the IRS came-a-knocking 2 years later.

P.S. - Take a vacation!
 
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thekingofnerds said:
I second that. As they say - knowledge is power!

Hopefully you've met with a tax professional to go over any possible tax implications! Part of the money may be taxable. This is a lesson a buddy of mine learned the hard way! His legal team assured him his settlement was all set tax-wise - then the IRS came-a-knocking 2 years later.

P.S. - Take a vacation!
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Yes brother, you ain't never lied.. IRS is not to be played with. I would assume I might need an accountant
 
first off, would provide a "comfortable" retirement for someone 65, but would not be extravagant by any means. if you are much younger, you could easily burn through that before you die.

honestly, investing the majority of your money in a new business is risky period. if you're willing to accept that risk, so be it.

investing in stocks could be just as risky, especially if you're looking for income and/or growth.

for me personally, i would find a job that i would enjoy on a everyday basis. then i would invest my money in a moderate type income fund. if i could live off my income from both while not taking away from the original principle, and perhaps increasing it, i would be happy.
 
Muscle Master said:
Yes brother, you ain't never lied.. IRS is not to be played with. I would assume I might need an accountant
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Might?, my man... you Need an Accountant and a Financial Planner. Make sure the money and taxes and all the boring adult stuff is handled before you start pulling a Scrooge McDuck and swimming in your dough.
 
GimmeSlack12 said:
Might?, my man... you Need an Accountant and a Financial Planner. Make sure the money and taxes and all the boring adult stuff is handled before you start pulling a Scrooge McDuck and swimming in your dough.
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Heh.

scrooge-mcduck.jpg
 
take a deep breath.

truth is; you can't be a millionaire on 6 mill.

buy a flash car and a flash house and you're setting yourself up for massive long term costs.

pay off your mortgage
pay off your debts
have a nice car
go to college.
invest the rest of the money so when you have a family; you'll be able to devote your time to them and not have to worry about paying bills.
when you have kids; you'll know that giving them the best education and spending time with them are two of the most important things in most parent's lives... and then you'll have the luxury of knowing you can be the best parent to them ;-)
 
GimmeSlack12 said:
Might?, my man... you Need an Accountant and a Financial Planner. Make sure the money and taxes and all the boring adult stuff is handled before you start pulling a Scrooge McDuck and swimming in your dough.
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I totally agreed with you, being only 22, I have the slightest idea on what to invest in and crap like that.. But I do know what not to do and that's buying everything in sight because I can... And I don't want everything, I just wanna be able to take care of my mom and live comfortable for the rest of my life

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rascalmaster said:
take a deep breath.

pay off your mortgage
pay off your debts
have a nice car
go to college.
invest the rest of the money so when you have a family; you'll be able to devote your time to them and not have to worry about paying bills.
when you have kids; you'll know that giving them the best education and spending time with them are two of the most important things in most parent's lives... and then you'll have the luxury of knowing you can be the best parent to them ;-)
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That's the plan... that's definitely the plan!

All my life, I have been living on a budget and that's not likely to change.. I just want to continue to have a steady income as I age without going back to work
 
Get yourself a good financial planner. And an accountant. My wife received a substantial inheritance 10 years ago and we talked to a financial planner before we even received one nickel of the money. Best thing we did. We still have every dime we received and much more through wise investments. Nothing risky.

With the kind of money you are going to receive, if invested wisely, you should be able to live off the gains. I would not be to anxious to open a business right away. Unless you know how to properly run a business. Sit back for the first year and get your life in order. Have a plan in motion and follow that plan.
 
Well, live under your means, for a couple of years until you decide what to do, and don't be afraid to think outside the box.
Don't let people around you know you got that kind of money
Pay off your debt/mortgage.
Think thrice before buying anything.
At first, make a budget as if you were making a steady $50000 a year for the rest of your life (because that's what you got), and stick to it or you will lose your references and squander everything.
Don't do drugs!!!
Find something you like to do. You got a once in a lifetime chance to be able to live from something you love to do.
Remember everything gets obsolete very fast, today, so don't buy the latest and greatest just because you can.
Move to a place where your money can last a long time. $2M in Manhattan will take you nowhere and last less than five years. $400K in some places will buy you a very nice place that you could rent while you're away travelling the world.
Take your time to travel a lot around the world and decide what you want to do. Maybe you'll realize what you want is to live in New Zealand or Sweden. Nothing is more sad than people who live in a sh***y neighborhood, get rich, and buy a ferrari, and the largest home... in their ****** neighborhood.
Stay away from new "spontaneous" "friends".

Keep all this in mind, and enjoy your life. Ignore it, and you'll spend everything in two years, and live a sh***y life of guilt and remorse afterwards.
 
Find out what a safe withdrawal rate is if the money has to last nearly 70 years, adjusting for inflation. If its only 2%, 5 million will only yield $100k per year. Comfortable, but not wildly extravagant. You need a good accountant.
 
Pay off all debts and live off the interest. No risk of losing it and you'll be earning a fair bit simply on interest alone.
 
The wisest words have been written here already.

Get an Accountant
Get a Financial Planner
Pay the IRS whatever you owe


Now, you have time and no bills? School. I have a master's and I would give anything to have the means to go back to school for a PhD or a JD. I worked full time while pursing both degrees, I would like not to have to do that again. It wasn't easy and I did it in a decent amount of time (4.5 years for both degrees after I left community college).

If you don't want to go to school then fine. Just be sure you have at least a FP to steer you in the right direction. If you tell him or her you want that money to last a lifetime, they can help. They can't guarantee it (don't let them) but they can get you the best bang for your buck. At 22, you have a lot of time.

It is wonderful to come into that money, sad if it was the result of a bad accident, but a small blessing that you can really do something good with.

Oh and buy your mom something pretty and your daddy something nice. I don't know about you, but my proudest moments as a kid all the way to my current age, is being able to do something truly wonderful for my parents without needing their wallets.
 
Buy happiness ;)

But definitely see an accountant and don't start buying porsches and houses everywhere.

I think the ideal thing to do would be to find a way to invest the money in a way that you can collect $80-100k per year off of interest/dividends for a while so you can live comfortably, although that may not be possible with this amount of money
 
As a young single guy who grow up poor, I think your biggest problem is going to be the spongers. People you haven't seen for years, will suddenly be your best friend. Any girl you get with (especially if she seems way out of your league) could just be a gold digger.
My advice is keep the money a secret from anybody who you can't trust. Go to school, travel, volunteer. Your options are endless. Just don't blow this once in a lifetime opportunity. It doesn't matter if you have 6 Million or 6 thousand the principle is the same. Budget. Some to spend on a house etc, some to live off, and some for saving for the future.
Best of luck.
 
Between 2 and 6 million? Sounds like an attorney making big promises that have yet to be delivered...if receiving a settlement were set in stone, I would expect the settlement amount to be also set in stone, not be a wide range of values.

That said, don't blow it all at 22. Invest it, try to live off the dividends and gains; you should try to keep the entire received value in the bank at all times for your life, or the majority of it and let that principal work for you.
 
puma1552 said:
Between 2 and 6 million? Sounds like an attorney making big promises that have yet to be delivered...if receiving a settlement were set in stone, I would expect the settlement amount to be also set in stone, not be a wide range of values.
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I know the amount I am getting, I can't get into specifics until the case is closed
 
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