Suddenly coming into a large amount of money

[Alpha]

Have you ever suddenly come into a large amount of money? Perhaps you've won the lottery, or a scratchie, earned a scholarship, or a relatvie passed away (leaving behind a lot of money for you).

If so (or if you ever did), what would you do?

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I have had this happen twice to me, once for NZ$4000, and yesterday for NZ$1500. Both were scholarships from my university. The first was a fee deduction, so it didn't really count (although it means I'll be $4000 better off at some indeterminate time in the future, when I get around for paying for my tuition). Yesterday I got a phone call saying I had won a prize worth $1500, cash.

I'm probably going to buy some really expensive headphones, and then save the rest. I suppose that's a little boring, but considering I only have $300 to my name (not including assets, which still only take me up to around $2000, probably), I'm going to be increasing my savings several times over in one hit. Which will be useful when I move out, probably next year.

So, have you ever come into a large amount of money suddenly? What did (or would) you do?

[Dodie16]

I don't have any stories of my own about acquiring some riches (you lucky bastard...), but I do have a story about a guy named Jed.

This guy, Jed... He was so poor he could barely keep his family fed. So, one day while hunting for some food, he fired his rifle and something black started bubbling up from the ground... It was oil. (Black gold. Texas tea.) Next thing ya know, ol' Jed's a millionaire, and then he and his family packed up and moved to Beverly Hills (Swimmin' pools. Movie stars)

I hear they're really happy now.

[sayian]

y does this sound so familiar ..... beats me
i won about 400 at the casino last week.. .. im tellin u guys i have come up with a strategy and im doin it again...
im very observant, especially when im walking somewhere. i find money on the ground alot.. i have found $100 in a basketball arena, $45in a gold money clip in a class room...<both of which i ended up finding the loser and giving it back but thats just to name a few. ooh i have even spotted like 5 one dollar bills floating in the wind and i chased every last one of'em nothing too spectacular though..

[latvis20]

My grandmother`s aunt passed away last year and left her a big amount of money. My grandmother didn`t know what to do with all the money, and the big house, and some other places her aunt owned. So, she decided to give all people that means something to her, a small amount of that money. I got 1000LVL (it`s about 1700$). I didn`t know what to do. I am still living with my family, i don`t go to university yet, and i didn`t want to completely waste that money. So.. I bought Playstation 3 (i know, it was waste ). Well, i am not really in all that stuff, like cool clothes, best new games or some cool stuff for my PS3 or PC, so i still have about 800LVL, and i still don`t know what to do with it.

^ Sorry about my grammar or spelling or just nonsense mistakes

[Sean]

I would..... pay off debts. Every time I come into some money from one way or another, I dump it into my debts. Credit card, student loans, car loan, whatever it is, the best investment is getting rid of my debts to lessen the overall interest. Even if it's one month off my entire car loan, that's 100 or so off the interest I paid.

If it was a substantial amount (i.e. hundreds of thousands to millions) I would pay off my folk's house and buy a structurally sound but shitty house and rebuild it myself (with contractors for more tricky things, or things that code requires done by professionals, such as electrical work), and possibly sell it off if I could make a good profit, or just live in it. I'd probably invest the rest in buying decently nice homes and renting them out.

I'd also hook up a few of my friends and help them start businesses, where we'd share ownership (and thus profits) since I know a few people who could do well in the restaurant biz if they had the capital to start.

[Michael Swayne]

Though coming upon a large amount has never happened to me, I have always dreamed about it happening one day. Here's what I would do:

1. Pay for my parents' home. They raised me in it, and so I feel the need to help them out. They won't want me too (pride, I guess), but I will do it anyway.

2. Buy everything I have ever wanted in life. This includes a Skip-It, Hula Hoop, Wii, a horse, and several other big ticket items. (EDIT: This includes a brand new copy of Final Fantasy VII, because people are mean on EBay!)

3. Go to every country where I can speak the language. Canada, Central America, South America, Australia and New Zealand, most of Europe, and parts of Asia. I would stay about two weeks in each place, but I want to spend at least 3 months in China.

4. Pay for and go to college. My parents would want me to. They say that going while in high school doesn't actually count. I tell them it does, because I have the credit from it. Anyway, definitely go to further my education. Probably become a licensed interpreter or foreign language teacher.

5. Help out those that have helped me. Repay debts and pay those I owe (thankfully, no one as of yet)

6. Start a scholarship fund for my high school.

7. Finally, put some of the rest in the bank, some in the mattress, and some buried in canning jars.

[Unknown Entity]

I come into money all the time. Just I have to work for it, which isn't bad considering I was on benefits for over six months.

What do I do with my money? I save most of it. I spend here and there on travel and luxuries like video games, food and novelty stuff (I bought myself an angry Sackboy keyring the other day). I actually do really well on saving money. Lately I've slacked, but eh... I need to enjoy myself when I'm not working or I'll go insane.

As for other types of "coming into money". Uh. When my nan died when I was four years old, she opened an account for me and my brother and left us both some money in them. I have no idea how much it is because I still don't have access to the account, but apparently it's quite a large amount plus whatever interest is on it. Wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't there or if some was taken though - didn't see my dad for over twelve years. ><

[Judge Magistrate]

I found 150 bucks on the floor of where I work once. I was closing up and I found it kicked under one of the racks. That's about as sudden any "riches" came to me.

[RagnaToad]

buy a ticket to Europe and start a band with me

Ont opic, some years ago I got access to some second bank account that had a couple of hundreds of Euros on it. I asked my parents wtf it was all about. They didn't know, probably some mistake from years ago or whatever.

I spend it in months. Turns out the second bank account was something my grandmother saved money on for me when I get my own house or whatever, and I accidentally got access to it.

I had to repay the money.

[Furore]

My work pays well, so that's kind of similar.
I spend a lot on entertainment be it booze, pub crawls or gaming, save a good deal and pay the bills. I love the feeling of being ahead, never having to worry about borrowing money.

[Pete]

Funny you should mention that. I've been in the process of running into a nice little sum of money.

I'm buying my new truck soon, selling my old van to cut the cost down a bit. The rest of the money is going into various types of savings. I'm gonna use my work income and open up a Roth IRA and really just keep on top of my shit. I really don't want to think that I even have the money, and eventually just make it work for me, so I can live comfortably and eventually buy myself a nice ranch house on the Island and retire when I'm done working.