Dear Friends and Family,
You've all done it. When Power Ball or Mega Millions is worth $200M and there's a pool in the office, you chip in $5 on the chance that you could win. If you did, what would you do?
I was thinking about this one day last week when the jackpots were at record highs and I did buy a couple of tickets just in case.
First, I wouldn't tell anyone. At least not right away. I'd get a small team of professionals to work with me - an accountant, a lawyer, my financial planner, and an estate planning lawyer. I'd set up a trust, because I wouldn't want the public to know or to harass me or anything. Then, I'd have the lawyer pick up the money and deposit it in my trust. I'd probably take the lump sum, but I'd need to do the math. Okay, step 1 accomplished. Money in hand.
Then, I'd set up my estate plan. I'd put aside a certain amount monthly for my parents and Mr. mouse's folks if they should outlive us. It wouldn't be a lot, I thought maybe equal to what we have in our retirement plan was a fair amount. It'd be monthly for as long as they were alive. Then, I started thinking about how you'd define alive. Then, I decided that was depressing and instead thought about the rest of the plan. I'd put a certain amount aside for Small (the fictional name we have in our financial plan as a place holder for a child). I'd put aside an amount that would be enough to raise her so that her guardians aren't put out by having to take her in. And, then enough for undergrad, but not for grad school. Then, I'd put aside a trust for her. Again, not a lot of money, but enough so that she could choose her career based upon what she wanted to do instead of what she needed to do. It'd be supplemental. She'd need to work. It wouldn't be that much. And, she wouldn't get it until sometime in her mid-thirties. Then, the rest, I'd put in a fund. I'd have to do research to find out what the fund would be used for. But, if Small wanted, she could always have a job at the fund. I thought it would be good for her to work on filtering through charities and causes to help pick which ones would get the money. Step 2 accomplished. It's all tidy once we're gone.
Now, the fun part. How about while we're here? I'd set up an allowance for us. It'd be monthly. So, we didn't have to work. But, I think we'd both work. I thought I would stay at my current job for now. But, if I ever decided I wanted to try something new and bold and risky, I could and I would. And, Mr. mouse likes his job. I think he'd stay at it as well at least for awhile. So, the monthly allowance might go towards satellite TV, or a nicer vacation, or more dinners out, or more weekend travel, or maybe a home remodel, but I didn't think it would change our day-to-day lives all that much. Unless inspiration on an entrepreneurial front struck. Then, maybe it would. I would entrust the day-to-day management of the money to professionals. They could advise me. I'd make the decisions, but I wouldn't want to get bogged down in the research.
So, what'd I learn from this reverie? I learned that $200M would, for us,
Based on our financial plan, I would have a safety net, in 10 years, to do a big career swap if I wanted to. Work hard for 10 more years or win the big one? I'll take my chances with the former. Although, I'll still chip in $5 the next time it's over $200M.
Cheers!
mouse
PS: You probably noticed Small has a gender in my mind. Mr. mouse says I'm biased. Maybe I am.
You've all done it. When Power Ball or Mega Millions is worth $200M and there's a pool in the office, you chip in $5 on the chance that you could win. If you did, what would you do?
I was thinking about this one day last week when the jackpots were at record highs and I did buy a couple of tickets just in case.
First, I wouldn't tell anyone. At least not right away. I'd get a small team of professionals to work with me - an accountant, a lawyer, my financial planner, and an estate planning lawyer. I'd set up a trust, because I wouldn't want the public to know or to harass me or anything. Then, I'd have the lawyer pick up the money and deposit it in my trust. I'd probably take the lump sum, but I'd need to do the math. Okay, step 1 accomplished. Money in hand.
Then, I'd set up my estate plan. I'd put aside a certain amount monthly for my parents and Mr. mouse's folks if they should outlive us. It wouldn't be a lot, I thought maybe equal to what we have in our retirement plan was a fair amount. It'd be monthly for as long as they were alive. Then, I started thinking about how you'd define alive. Then, I decided that was depressing and instead thought about the rest of the plan. I'd put a certain amount aside for Small (the fictional name we have in our financial plan as a place holder for a child). I'd put aside an amount that would be enough to raise her so that her guardians aren't put out by having to take her in. And, then enough for undergrad, but not for grad school. Then, I'd put aside a trust for her. Again, not a lot of money, but enough so that she could choose her career based upon what she wanted to do instead of what she needed to do. It'd be supplemental. She'd need to work. It wouldn't be that much. And, she wouldn't get it until sometime in her mid-thirties. Then, the rest, I'd put in a fund. I'd have to do research to find out what the fund would be used for. But, if Small wanted, she could always have a job at the fund. I thought it would be good for her to work on filtering through charities and causes to help pick which ones would get the money. Step 2 accomplished. It's all tidy once we're gone.
Now, the fun part. How about while we're here? I'd set up an allowance for us. It'd be monthly. So, we didn't have to work. But, I think we'd both work. I thought I would stay at my current job for now. But, if I ever decided I wanted to try something new and bold and risky, I could and I would. And, Mr. mouse likes his job. I think he'd stay at it as well at least for awhile. So, the monthly allowance might go towards satellite TV, or a nicer vacation, or more dinners out, or more weekend travel, or maybe a home remodel, but I didn't think it would change our day-to-day lives all that much. Unless inspiration on an entrepreneurial front struck. Then, maybe it would. I would entrust the day-to-day management of the money to professionals. They could advise me. I'd make the decisions, but I wouldn't want to get bogged down in the research.
So, what'd I learn from this reverie? I learned that $200M would, for us,
- be a safety net if I did something new career wise
- be used to make our daily lives marginally more plush
- ultimately be given to charity
Based on our financial plan, I would have a safety net, in 10 years, to do a big career swap if I wanted to. Work hard for 10 more years or win the big one? I'll take my chances with the former. Although, I'll still chip in $5 the next time it's over $200M.
Cheers!
mouse
PS: You probably noticed Small has a gender in my mind. Mr. mouse says I'm biased. Maybe I am.
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