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Post by queenzod on Oct 9, 2021 11:37:07 GMT
This is one of my fav fantasies! I started decades ago with 50 million, than went up to 100 mil, and now I won’t consider anything less than 250 mil, lol. So, the govt takes half which would leave you with 350 million, not a bad sum.
After I paid off a few mortgages for some friends and gave each of my brothers, say 20 mil each, I’d buy the mobile home park where I live. I’d scale back rent to $100/month, upgrade all the homes so everybody would have good appliances and all repairs done, do the upkeep because I want all these families to have safe, pleasant homes. I’d open a little coffee shop/grocery store for residents to grab a cup/some snacks on their way to work and have a place to pick up some milk and pasta on the way home, set up a library, do a food bank, set up programs for language development, find lawyers if the residents need it for immigration stuff (lots of Spanish speaking green card holders here, as well as a number of families who are probably undocumented, job searches, entertainment/child care for kids and teens, community service programs, and install parks and gardens in the community. I’d plant trees and flowers and make it a pretty place to live. I could easily blow 300 million on all that.
Oh, and I’d fix up my house, too and buy a new car.
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Post by mllemass on Oct 9, 2021 15:00:39 GMT
Every now and then, there will be a story on the news about some guy who won big in a lottery - maybe even more than once - but lost it all and is now destitute. Those stories always get me wondering how I would handle a big lottery win. I think there are even people doing studies on this!
The people who lose all their millions are almost always gambling addicts who had almost nothing before their win. And soon enough, they’ve spent it or gambled all away again.
It always seemed silly to me that people want to keep their old jobs after becoming multi-millionaires - “I would really miss all friends at the factory assembly line!”. What nonsense! I would gladly give up my low-paying job so that someone who really needs it can have it. If you miss the companionship of having a job, then keep working - as a volunteer. Plenty of charities can use your help!
From what I’ve read, the people who truly live happy lives after a lottery win are the people who were already happy before. Nobody waits to become rich to do what they love! Nobody says, “One day, when I win a million dollars, I will learn to sail, move to a tropical island, and buy a yacht”. No, most people who dream of that lifestyle save up their money, and take Caribbean vacations or cruises. If you’re already doing what you enjoy, you’ll enjoy it even more when you can do it more often and in a bigger way.
Would I buy luxurious homes and vehicles for my immediate family? Yes, of course! Even now, without being rich, I am happy to help them in any way I can, and they do the same for me.
I live on a street with some very wealthy neighbours. When one neighbour’s husband died a few years ago, the newspaper wrote a big story about him. Years earlier, he and his brother were mixed up in a lawsuit where his brother accused him of cheating him out of his share of their family business. When it was all settled, the judge agreed with his brother and ordered my neighbour to pay him back the $7 million dollars he owed him. And the money couldn’t come from the business - it had to be his own personal money. As part of the news story, they went into his background, how he and his brother started and grew their business. They also talked about the many homes my neighbour owned, and why they decided to spend most of their time in such a modest neighbourhood (this is where they settled while their children were growing up and going to the school down the street). So they could live anywhere and send their children to any private school, but chose to stay here, across the street from me and sent their children to the same high school I went to.
Of course, my neighbour’s lifestyle is nothing like mine, I’m sure! She has always driven some Mercedes model. We see a cleaning lady coming by every Friday. She has a landscaping service come every week to do everything and anything outdoors. She has a pool (as most of my neighbours do), so she has a pool maintenance company come by regularly during the summer. And there is a pet grooming van we’ve seen parked outside her house to take care of her dog. So maybe I would live like she does if I suddenly had millions - keep doing what I do, but just do it more comfortably.
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Post by queenzod on Oct 10, 2021 3:21:41 GMT
Could I pay myself to babysit his 3 kids? I’d be up for that.
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Post by roverpup on Oct 13, 2021 17:09:44 GMT
Personal rules I live by -
Be HONEST in everything you do. I hate liars. I don't mean telling you aunt they look "lovely" if they look out of style or that the dish someone made for you is delicious (even if it isn't), I mean be HONEST as in don't steal or cheat. I don't understand theft or scam artists. They're horrible people IMO.
Be as POSITIVE about things as possible. Look for the good in life. I'm a glass half full type of person and I like to think the best of most people. I think taking a positive attitude towards life makes the journey more pleasant. Spread kindness and it will come back to you someday.
And lastly, stand by your beliefs but KEEP YOUR MIND OPEN to new ideas. Life is a learning experience that never ends. I take that attitude with me on all of my travels too. You can learn so much from others who aren't like ourselves. Not all of the things you learn have to become a part of yourself, (somethings you experience teaches you what to avoid), but at least be receptive to learning about different ways.
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Post by mllemass on Oct 14, 2021 4:32:03 GMT
The honesty thing matters so much because it’s just so much easier than lying! I do remember lying to my parents once to let me go to a concert in Toronto when I was in high school. After being told no over and over, I finally told my mother that my friend had already bought my ticket for me - which wasn’t true. She finally said I could go because I knew she couldn’t stand money being wasted. Other times, I didn’t actually lie to my parents but rather didn’t mention something so that they’d think something that wasn’t true.
But away from my immediate family, out in real life, I just couldn’t lie about stuff. It always comes back to haunt you! I also take 100% responsibility for the things I’ve done, even if others were involved or it was someone else’s idea. Growing up, I never once ratted out my sister when I got in trouble for something we both had done. She, on the other hand, constantly lied to get out of trouble (yes, lying is still something she does regularly). To this day, my parents still believe that she was the good, obedient daughter and I was the difficult rebel.
When I was little, I remember my mother telling elaborate lies that she rehearsed with me and my sister “If your father asks, tell him . . .”, and then gave us instructions on what to say. But every single time, he never asked and the lie wasn’t necessary. But she stressed out all the time, planning which lie to tell to avoid telling the truth - even though no one cared. I think her lies were meant to avoid a conflict or someone being upset with her, but you can’t lie your way out of a conflict. It’s going to find you eventually, and then you have to untangle the lies you’ve told.
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Post by mllemass on Oct 14, 2021 6:23:43 GMT
Once, a few years ago, I was venting to a secretary at work about a manager who was making things difficult for me. I told her that he had undermined something I had worked on, and she responded “That’s awful! It must have really hurt when he did that to you.” I thought about it for a second, and then said to her “Well, no. He’s not important enough to me to hurt me. I’m furious, though.”
That was a life-changing moment for me - putting into words something I had always kind of felt but had never thought about. Only people who are close to me, matter to me and care about me can hurt me. It’s an easy way to mentally block out all the awful people in our lives.
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Post by mllemass on Oct 26, 2021 18:35:59 GMT
Here is a 1982 photo of Stephen King in front of his house in Bangor, Maine. You can see why it was easy to spot! To be fair, all the houses on the street were similar, but without the bat/spider gate. That gate was closed when I was there. On the far right of the photo, you can make out some cars in the driveway, close to the building. That driveway has a gate, too, which was open that night. You can also see the covered side porch, where my friend and I encountered SK’s son.
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Post by roverpup on Oct 27, 2021 22:21:36 GMT
Well, probably the biggest change for us is the lack of travel, which has taken away a huge part of our self-identify.
Both Dan and myself LOVE traveling and as I have described in other posts we have a fair bit of travel under our belts, even before we retired.
We miss it terribly, but we won't take the risk until we are much more comfortable with the numbers (especially since Dan is diabetic).
It's not just the big exotic trips we miss either (although if I had ONE wish it is to get back our plans for the trip to New Zealand and Tahiti we had to cancel due to covid!). But today on our walk we talked about missing the "little" fun trips to small places that lasted a couple of days (to a little historic inn on Lake Huron or the Ontario wine country). When the leaves are turning and the autumn air is crisp! Sigh! 😥
Another big part of our life was being involved with the local junior B hockey team! They have the games back on but we still aren't ready yet to do games personally - maybe after January or in March if we make the playoffs and we get a booster shot... I don't know, if the numbers keep going down... sigh! I miss live hockey!
Dan and I already had a really, really close relationship and were hardly ever apart, so covid didn't really change that aspect. But , perhaps we do a bit more checking up on each other's feelings for boredom or depression than we did pre-covid. None of our parents are alive and we aren't big socialisers, so our circle of friends is extremely small. Now that my closest sister and husband are in our "safe bubble" (and our best friend and her partner as well) our social circle is 80% back to pre-covid days!
We do watch a lot more TV! I miss live theatre and going to the cinema!
I guess I miss the spontaneity and we used to have to just pick up a overnight bag and go somewhere...
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Post by queenzod on Nov 8, 2021 6:20:48 GMT
Congratulations! I’m sure you’ll be fine, and kudos for not taking crap any more. It really rankles when you see the way some people are treated, given preferential treatment because of some stupid reason. And it’s usually the ones carrying the load for the others who get shafted. All the best to you in this new chapter in your life! 👍🏼🤗
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Post by queenzod on Nov 8, 2021 7:00:33 GMT
He is such a inspiration!
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