One Million Dollars!

Back to the 52-week blogging challenge. The next prompt is "Your biggest pet peeve." Well, I already discussed that here: slow drivers. Or I guess I should say drivers going slower than conditions require.

So the next prompt is "Oh, to win a million dollars."

I hate to tell you, a million dollars doesn't go very far these days. Now $10 million, I'll get excited.

If you put $1 million in investments and earn 5% per year, that's only 50,000 a year. Now that's not bad but you won't be living like a millionaire by any means. Of course, that maintains your principle.

If you decided to use up your principle over 20 years (let's say), at 5% interest you'd still only get $76,421.51 per year. And then what do you do when the 20 years is up, because now you're broke?

Now $10 million, at 5% interest, is $500,000 a year. Now you'll have a very nice lifestyle. Maybe not yacht-buying lifestyle, but still pretty nice.

If you decide to use up the principle over 20 years (why would you?) that'd be $764,215.12 (I am rather surprised that's almost exactly 10 times the million dollar figure). Again, after 20 years you'd be broke.

What you ought to do with $10 million, is invest it and try to live off of $250,000 year, re-investing the other $250,000 a year. Then if there's a bad year in the stock and bond market, you have some built-up principle to get through it.

If I won a million dollars, I'd probably stick it in the bank (or, actually, the stock and bond market) and let it grow so I have more principle when I want to finally retire. I know, I'm boring.

Maybe I'd buy a 2018 Corvette ZR1 first.