If I had a million dollars....

[zlmmm]

Invest all in a balance of mutual funds, then live off the appreciation & dividends for the rest of your life (easily $80-100K annually).

"Never touch the principal" is the one investment philosophy that all the old-money families have in common and a big reason their fortunes are successfully carried from generation to generation. Many new money successes are so sure they can easily repeat their financial sucess they continue with their spending habits and more often fall from financial grace.

 

[BS Detector]

Invest all in a balance of mutual funds, then live off the appreciation & dividends for the rest of your life (easily $80-100K annually).

"Never touch the principal" is the one investment philosophy that all the old-money families have in common and a big reason their fortunes are successfully carried from generation to generation. Many new money successes are so sure they can easily repeat their financial sucess they continue with their spending habits and more often fall from financial grace.

HEY...WHO YOU CALLIN OLD LOL!!!!! I believe the same thing as you may have gathered from my post. The principal is like a job and you do not want to lose it. Depending on rates, may be good years and may be some bad ones but the source is always there.

 

[zlmmm]

By Old Money I mean wealthy elite family dynasties (Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Kennedy, etc.). While they obviously also had every advantage known to man ($, power & political clout), they also managed to thrive through depression era woes (Kennedy actually made his fortune running booze during the Prohibition but still held onto it through the 30s).

BS, your money is surely NEW compared to the old-money elite. We'll see where you're at in another 3 or 4 generations...

 

[Hennesy]

If you want to retire for life, you can't just keep the principle, you should add the inflation rate to it. These past 5 years you would need to have been a very wise investor to make 8-10% on you principle. And you will have some more conservative investments in your portfolio. I'm thinking long term you can make 8%. Minus 4% for inflation, that leaves 4% total to live on. Say $100K per year for a comfortable retirement. I keep coming up with about $2.5 million to retire for life, rather than $1 million. /* depressed sigh */

 

[zlmmm]

Good point Hennesy with inflation.

As for returns I agree you have to look specifically at long term. Short term as you said it was way low the last few years and we all know with tech it was way high through the 90s.


I would be way too bored after a year or so without work (I was with longer than that off to travel in 01/02). But I would be quite happy with the extra annual income from such principal and could easily sock away enough (tax free via an RRSP) to retire on in another 15 years vs. the 29 to my mandatory retirement age.

 

[specialty69]

I would f**K all the SPs on this perb site till my dick falls off.

 

[specialty69]

With a million bucks, probably get a new dick or just attached the old one back when it does fall off.

bwah hahaha

 

[SexyPilot]

I'd buy my pilots licence, an airplane (little diamond star!) and the rest i'd bury somewhere.

 

[walrus]

If you want to retire for life, you can't just keep the principle, you should add the inflation rate to it. These past 5 years you would need to have been a very wise investor to make 8-10% on you principle. And you will have some more conservative investments in your portfolio. I'm thinking long term you can make 8%. Minus 4% for inflation, that leaves 4% total to live on. Say $100K per year for a comfortable retirement. I keep coming up with about $2.5 million to retire for life, rather than $1 million. /* depressed sigh */

remember that if you structured it to be dividend income, then thetaxsavings might lower the amount you would need as income for a "comfortable retirement"

 

[OTR2]

Vancouverman gets his boat, we can all sail off to the west coast of Ireland with JackFrost and take our own SP's with us for the voyage!!

Last one onboard has to be the cabin boy!

 

[wolverine]

OK, time for the serious answer:

First, I buy myself a big luxurious abode, a state-of-the-art home theatre system and a bitchin' new car. Then, as others have stated, invest the rest of it - every year, withdraw the extra money earned from interest, donate a decent chunk to charity and spend the rest on booze and babes.

 

[Dogster]

I would buy a Victoria secrets Franchise

 

[wilde]

This may sound boring

but I will try to turn it into 2 million dollars or more..........

 

[OTR2]

Side trip to Amsterdam it is. Do we have a navigator yet? Any of the SP's want to sign on as cabinboy?

 

[OTR2]

Well, we've found our cabin boy I think