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How will you spend your first million?

1. I would buy personal property in Thailand.
1
5%
2. I would travel extensively with my significant other.
3
14%
3. I would buy property in my home country.
1
5%
4. I would retire, or options 1, 2 & 3 or any combo thereof.
8
36%
5. I would donate to PGF, Heart2000, PSKP, or other charity.
1
5%
6. I would give money to my significant other & his family.
0
No votes
7. I would give money to my home country family.
1
5%
8. I would give money to options 5, 6, & 7 or any combo thereof.
2
9%
9. Other selfish (explain in post)
4
18%
10. Other unselfish (explain in post)
1
5%
 
Total votes: 22

thaiworthy

Welcome to Fantasy Thailand

Post by thaiworthy »

Smiles everyone, and welcome to Fantasy Thailand! I am your host for this poll.

Congratulations! You have just won twenty million dollars (US) in your home country by playing the lottery. You forgot to check the cash option though, so you will receive one million $ immediately and the other 19 million $ over the next 19 years.

The choices are constructed with the focus of your winnings to be spent entirely in either of two ways: a frivolous selfish fashion, or a completely unselfish fashion. If you choose selfishly, all the monies must be spent frivolously for you and/or your significant other by year's end. If you choose unselfishly, all monies must be spent unselfishly (with only a small portion of your donation for administrative costs) by year's end. After the first year, the remaining 19 million is for you do with as you wish in any way whatsoever, selfishly and/or unselfishly. It is only the first year in which you must adhere to the rules, or all the money is entirely forfeit. Also, all of the money is tax-free. You can assume for the purposes of the poll that you have at least 20 years of longevity to enjoy your new found fortune. These conditions apply:

• You cannot give money to the significant other when you choose selfishly, if he intends it for unselfish purposes.

• You cannot invest money if you choose selfishly, because you might lose it and have nothing to show for your first year. This is like wishing for more wishes. You can buy personal property, like cars, boats, planes, but not appreciable items like real estate.

• You cannot give the money unselfishly if you stand to profit in any way by the transaction.

• You cannot "borrow" from your future winnings to finance a selfish act, if you choose to give unselfishly. You can, however, spend a very minimal amount of savings you already have. This must not exceed amounts you have spent on yourself in prior years, otherwise you are still "borrowing."

I think you get the idea. It has to be one or the other in its entirety. Remember that these criteria apply for the first year only. Once you choose either way for the first year, you can do what you want in any way whatsoever with your second and subsequent millions.

Examples of situations where people might want to act selfishly are those with employment who would like to retire now, rather than wait a year later.

Examples of situations where people might want to act unselfishly are those with urgent family matters where money is the only solution to a life-threatening problem. Or, if you are happy as you are and more money will do nothing to improve your life initially, but would help others. There are also choices where you can vote either way in combinations.

The purpose of Fantasy Thailand is to assess from the forum members how many of us wish our winnings to be used primarily for ourselves initially, or for our less fortunate friends. We are, after all, in love with a country where wealth is mostly uncommon. Our circumstances are unique to each other and we may have good reasons for acting one way or another.

Have fun and enjoy the poll. Post something if you have chosen "Other," to explain why none of the options include a way you would like to spend the money. However, for the option to be valid, it must include a motive that is either entirely selfish or unselfish.

Sorry this is so complicated. But I wanted it to be thorough and complete with no loopholes. I hope I have accomplished that and won't receive too many complaints. I hope you find it fun and interesting, and least of all just another candidate for the poll dust bin. I have allowed users to change their vote.

Enjoy!
Khortose

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Post by Khortose »

I am already retired, as many of the posters here have, so I would travel with my BF. I want to explore the whole world, and with this money I could do it first class and take my sweet time. I think the best idea would be to buy a big motor yacht, with crew, and travel that way. Like take two or three years just for the med and then off to the Pacific islands for a couple more years, etc. I might even invite some friends along, so be nice to me :>)
jaafar

Re: Welcome to Fantasy Thailand

Post by jaafar »

I would break your rules, and put the entire sum into investments. A million is enough to retire on, and it should bring in an inflation-proof income of $60,000.

Anyone who lucks into a capital sum of that size and then throws it away is just asking for trouble down the road.

Now, if I have a new income source of $50,000 - $60,000 per year, I would seriously consider using that to make further investments with half of it, and spend the other $30,000 on trips to Europe, new cars, etc. It's more fun doing these things from a position of financial security.

I checked the "selfish" box, but I could just as well have checked the "unselfish" box. I hope I won't see my boyfriend die a pauper, or slaving away somewhere for 10,000 baht per month.
jaafar

Re: Welcome to Fantasy Thailand

Post by jaafar »

Whoops, my mistake. I just noticed that the prize is a million a year for the next twenty years.

But my answer wouldn't change. I've always had a fantasy about doing that "installment plan" the right way. If you sock it into investments, at the end of five years you should be making at least $250,000 in investment income. Spending half of that would be a treat, and at the end of twenty years, you'd wind up with a lot more than $20,000,000 ("the nominal prize"). In fact, you would be genuinely rich, with an investment income of $1,000,000 per year forever! Of course, since I am 64, I would have to arrange an elaborate funeral somewhere along the way. :lol:

But I'm absolutely convinced that's the way the smart money would do it, and I certainly would try to avoid doing a bunch of flashy spending, which would draw a lot of unwanted attention (thieves, kidnappers, etc.)
thaiworthy

Re: Welcome to Fantasy Thailand

Post by thaiworthy »

jaafar wrote:Whoops, my mistake. I just noticed that the prize is a million a year for the next twenty years.
Jafaar! Shame on you! Go to your room. You have broken every rule. You have cheated. Your money is now forfeited. Your age didn't matter either, for the purpose of the poll, you had 20 years of longevity. :evil:
jaafar

Re: Welcome to Fantasy Thailand

Post by jaafar »

I break a lot of rules, Khun Thaiworthy. :D (Note: not laws, but rules.) (Except any laws against gay men having sex.)

It started when I was 16, and fell in love with a boy. In 1963, that broke every rule in the book. Then I went to live in other countries, and had a rip-roaring good time. Good Americans are supposed to stay in God's Own Country. You know those yahoos with bumper stickers saying, "AMERICA --- LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT?" In fact, they're lying. If you decide to leave, they get even angrier. "ARE YOU SAYING SUMTHIN BAD BOUT MY COUNTRY?"

Well, yes, I am. America is a great place in many ways, but the still-rampant homophobia (not to mention liking younger guys) was all I needed to get the hell out. Arranging the money was a little more difficult. I've been working on this plan (to live abroad) since I was 24. :lol:

OK, I'll go to my room and stay there.
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Rogie
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Re: Welcome to Fantasy Thailand

Post by Rogie »

All righty, I've made life 'interesting' for myself and ticked the unselfish box.

Why do that? Because it'd be a real challenge to spend a million dollars in such fashion.

All right, I know after a year I can grab another million and do as I like, so a bit of discipline for a measly 12 months shouldn't be too hard. . .

If I had the million and didn't have to spend it all that'd be easy - I like money and can flash it around when the mood grabs me but I've lived my life (so far) almost totally un-ostentatiously! So getting through a year without spending it all would come naturally. Also I agree with a previous comment that if you go haywire straightaway you'll very likely find it a very unstable lifestyle over the long haul (you're gonna live for another 20 - T-W-E-N-T-Y - years).

How to spend it unselfishly then? I would not:
give to any relations of any of my Thai friends
give to any of the charities mentioned
give to my family at home (apart from a dire emergency)

As I live in the UK, and am already retired, I would increase my total time spent in Thailand to maybe half the year. I would rent a decent house for 12 months, maybe 15,000 baht a month (in Isarn) and live there when in Thailand with my Thai friends. I would upgrade from cattle class to business class (is that allowed?) and would be travelling back and forth fairly regularly. I would eat out more, and often invite friends to join me, but would make sure the house had a decent kitchen so entertaining at home was fun and maybe I would make use of an outside caterer from time to time such as birthdays and holiday times. I'd have a fulltime housekeeper and gardener (the house must have a big garden with hopefully a few mango and banana trees, etc - a lot of my veg would be from the garden too). I don't have a car in Thailand so I would probably buy a newish secondhand one. Any of my friends want driving lessons I'd pay for that, then they could drive me!

That might come to about 1,000,000 baht so leaves 29,000,000 baht (assuming 30 baht to the $) left to dispose of 'unselfishly'.

Quite frankly I don't know how I'm going to get rid of that from the comfort of my armchair - so I guess I'd have to get up off my bum and start looking around for some needy causes. Sorry to conclude with such limpish ideas but it's a hard life being rich and unselfish!
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Bob
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Post by Bob »

I didn't vote because I have no clue what I'd do. At my age, it probably wouldn't reallly make that much difference. But, if I had access to that kind of money when I was 18 or 20, I'd probably have gone totally nuts trying to have a rip-roaring time (and probably would have been broke and/or dead by the time I was 30).
lvdkeyes
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Re: Welcome to Fantasy Thailand

Post by lvdkeyes »

I didn't vote because there is only one choice available and I would do several of those things.
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