How would you spend $5 Million dollars?

Sometimes, it is nice to plan for what one would do if they won the lotto or had a sudden windfall of money. The NY times talked to a few people who won/inherited or came into significant amounts of money. Here are some lessons from these folks.

> For a lot of people, the money is the end. But that’s just the beginning. You need to decide what your goal is and stick to it.

> For anyone with a net worth of $250,000 or less, a windfall can be a real shock. The article's financial expert advises clients to spend 5 to 10 percent at once, to have a little fun. The rest should be managed carefully using professional advice.

>Put your money somewhere not idiotic and leave it alone as much as possible.

> For people who did not grow up wealthy, suddenly having to figure out how to conserve and build on a seven- or even eight-figure windfall is not easy. Nor is it easy to find smart, solid advice for handling it.

So keeping these in mind, here is how I would spend $5 million if I got it tomorrow.

- Keep $500,000 aside as "fun money" to spend how and when I want it on myself and my wife and kid.

- Share $500,000 amongst my immediate family/relatives to help them with their debts and to buy some nice things

- Put $1 million into a high yield savings account. The interest from this would generate around $100,000 per annum risk free. This would be a nice source of passive income if I ever needed it.

- Put $1.5 million into the share market or property using a professional adviser/brokerage house.

- Invest anther $500,000 in the share market on my own.

- $500,000 towards buying a house and paying off any outstanding debts

- Setup a $500,000 trust which is to be used towards charity and other good causes. I would take an active role in managing this and not just donate it.

That was fun to plan - How would you spend it?

Now, back to reality.

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