How To Survive On A Million Dollars

I often think about what I would do if I won or somehow came into a million dollars. I am sure that my first instinct would be to run out and go on a shopping spree. Of course, there is always the “pay my bills off” answer that I am sure everyone would say as well. Lately, I have been thinking about what I would do after the bills are paid off and about what would I have to do in order to survive on the rest of the million. After all, there would be quite a substantial amount leftover even once the bills are paid off.

I have decided that my first order of business would be to buy a new house, but not anything too opulent that would be too costly to keep it in good repair. I figure a house be no higher than $130,000 would be sufficient and would still allow it to have four bedrooms and two bathrooms with a decent square footage. Since I am moving in the next few months, the house would be in an area close to family and be in a high rated school district for my children. The new house would also be in an area that would have a good resale value if the need should arise for us to move again. Being able to make a profit after selling, would allow me to recoup some of the million dollars I am trying to survive on.

My next order of business would be to investigate a few investment options to put a portion of my million dollars into to increase my earnings. Since I am not very knowledgeable about investing, I would look into a financial planning agent to help me through the process. Of course this would cost me some of my money, but I figure it would eventually pay off in the long run. I would consider using a small percentage of my million dollars to use in a high risk investment such as stocks. I would set aside $50,000 or less aside for this type of investment. I would then use another $50,000 to $100,000 to put in low risk investments such as CD’s and bonds.

 Another investment option that I would choose, would be to increase the amount of my children’s life insurance plan which doubles once they turn eighteen. They would be able to use the life insurance money towards their college tuition. I would also check into a 529 plan which would be another way to save for their college funds. Between these two investment strategies, my children’s college funds should be a nice sum for them after eight years of interest accruing on the one account.

 These methods, should handle the majority of the way I would survive on the million dollars and to help my earnings grow over time. The money I earn from the investments should be enough to help take care of some of the incidentals such as health insurance, property taxes, and other general expenses that I would encounter such as the upkeep of my family home. I will go into other ways of how to survive on a million dollars at another time. Until then, what ways can you come up with on how to survive on a million dollars? Feel free to share your ideas with me.