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If I had a million dollars…

September 3rd, 2008 Leave a comment Go to comments

At what dollar amount does money not matter any more? I am convinced that it is around a billion (yes, billion with a “b” — a one with nine zeros after it). This obviously depends on your lifestyle, but a billion bucks would accomodate pretty much anything I can imagine — and I can imagine a lot. (This goes back to my brother Bob’s discussion of the Yahoo/Microsoft buyout debacle).

Yesterday I brought this up with some friends. Marion mentioned that even a million dollars could support someone indefinitely (ignoring inflation). If you stuck it in a CD or some other interest-bearing account that yields 5-6% you could pay yourself $50-60K per year without touching the original million. Where I live, this would be considered a decent middle class income. But when I suggested it to my wife, she just laughed.

So to anyone who has this as their sustainability plan, I dedicate this Bare Naked Ladies song to you.

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  • http://bobcaswell.com Bob Cawell

    Ah, one of my favorite subjects to talk about! I think what you and Marion are talking about are two different things. By your original definition of “money not mattering any more,” I agree that a billion is about right. But in Marion’s response lies the fact that even with one million (no “b”), money still matters quite a bit (i.e., you gotta watch it!).

    For me personally, it’s closer to $2 million before having free time all day becomes more valuable than accumulating wealth. But that’s just me and is a number that may change over the years (as a target, that is, I wish as a real sum!)…

  • http://robmba.blogspot.com Rob Barton

    Obviously something in the millions would be nice, but I’d actually be happy with something much smaller. Give me a couple hundred thousand. I’ll pay off my house and student loans. No debt. So that doesn’t answer the question, since money would still matter, but that’s a significant amount of extra money available each month that’s tied up now.

  • evelyn mcfarlane

    OK – so ” If You Had a Million Dollars…” is a song, and soon to be a book in December. Over 300 questions to argue about. Like – Is there such a thing as too much money? What is the miminum amount of money it would take to make a real change in your life? When has money made you happiest? On and on….. I can’t wait until it comes out. Everyone is talking about money these days. Imagine being debt free!