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Ask HN: What would you do with a million dollars today?

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Re: Ask HN: What would you do with a million dollars today?

#21

Post by refurb »

criddell wrote: post #12
claudiulodro wrote: post #7

I guess it depends on if this counts as computers (technically it does IMO!), but with a million bucks to start a business I would get like an excavator and a dump truck and start a contracting company or something similar. Or a bucket truck and industrial wood-chipper and start a tree company. Something along those lines. There's tons of demand, a high barrier to entry, and it's all real-world usefulness. The big ro…

I have no affiliation with them, it's just something I want to do one day: https://digthisvegas.com/

I did this years ago. Highly recommend. Got to operate 3 different machine for 10 minutes a piece with instruction over a headset.

And it’s not “drive in circles”, it’s “dig a 3ft hole, pile the dirt then drive backwards over it so you can see how hard it is flip the machine over”

Very cool experience.

Re: Ask HN: What would you do with a million dollars today?

#22

Post by duped »

I'd pay off some debt for myself and some family, set aside a chunk for a close family member to purchase a home, and set aside a fund to pay for health insurance for another who can't afford it.

A million dollars is not enough to guarantee you can improve the lives of many but it's certainly enough to do it for a few.

Re: Ask HN: What would you do with a million dollars today?

#23

Post by muzani »

forbiddenlake wrote: post #13
nayuki wrote: post #6

Retire, duh.

With only a million dollars? At what age, in what country/state, and at what withdrawal rate? "Experts" in the US often say about 20 years at a $40,000/yr withdrawal rate. Withdraw more, or enter a recession, or require more time, and a million dollars isn't enough.

In Malaysia, a million dollars will buy you a mansion, provided you don't spend it on anything else. A million dollars is far higher than the standard retirement savings.

Actually, just living off say, 3% interest, and withdrawing $2000/month, you'd get a luxurious lifestyle here. It'll cover health insurance, bills, rent, a mid range car, eating at restaurants every day, plus a little extra to buy some nice toys.

Re: Ask HN: What would you do with a million dollars today?

#25

Post by LandR »

forbiddenlake wrote: post #13
nayuki wrote: post #6

Retire, duh.

With only a million dollars? At what age, in what country/state, and at what withdrawal rate? "Experts" in the US often say about 20 years at a $40,000/yr withdrawal rate. Withdraw more, or enter a recession, or require more time, and a million dollars isn't enough.

I'm in the UK.

40 years old. A million pound would last me the rest of my life.

Assuming I earn ~£50k a year, lets say £35k a year after tax and deductions, for the next 20 years, that comes out at about £700,000 after tax income. I live comfortably right now off that.

That still leaves me £300k.

My outgoings are pretty small, and will be drastically smaller in 5 years or so when the mortgage is paid off.

If you give me a tax free million today, I would quit my job tomorrow, as that's more than I'll earn for the rest of my life.

That's not counting money I already have in savings too.

Re: Ask HN: What would you do with a million dollars today?

#26

Post by long_time_gone »

claudiulodro wrote: post #7

I guess it depends on if this counts as computers (technically it does IMO!), but with a million bucks to start a business I would get like an excavator and a dump truck and start a contracting company or something similar. Or a bucket truck and industrial wood-chipper and start a tree company. Something along those lines. There's tons of demand, a high barrier to entry, and it's all real-world usefulness. The big ro…

Maybe buy the equipment and rent it out to the contractors who can't afford their own? This has always seemed like a goldmine industry to me.

Re: Ask HN: What would you do with a million dollars today?

#27

Post by akeck »

$1 million free-and-clear to me alone? After taxes, I'd put it into index funds and then take some time off to spend time with family and to change to a certain career adjacent to my current one that I would love to do.

$1 million for investment, but otherwise free-and-clear? I'd form an LLC and then buy into local cash-flow businesses like laundromats, equipment rentals, and apartment rentals. Then I would use the cash flow from those business to pursue more exploratory business ideas.

Re: Ask HN: What would you do with a million dollars today?

#30

Post by more_corn »

The most impactful idea I’ve ever had is that the us government procurement system is broken. Use it or lose it creates waste, programs are planned and executed by people who don’t understand them, rules are not tied to outcomes.

A new system for procurement and allocation could save trillions of dollars of waste. A couple economists and game theory specialists might be able to crack it. It’d be worth a million to try.

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