I will be receiving a lawsuit settlement to the tune of $3400. I have to remain a little hush-hush on the details, but a certain for-profit online school based in Arizona can go to hell.
The sensible thing to do would be to save the money, or invest it, but to be honest, I don’t really want to be sensible. I’m sensible in every aspect of my life. I have a good job, I have my bills under control, and I have a strong savings and 401k. I want to do something with this money that is NOT sensible.
Now, I’m not about to head to the casino, drop it all on black, and let come what may, but I did have the idea of taking my girlfriend, her two sisters, and their significant others, on a short cruise. My girlfriend said that that idea made her feel a little uncomfortable (we handle our finances very equitably and she doesn’t like feeling indebted). So, I’m here looking for ideas.
What not-overly-sensible but non-overly-ridiculous ideas does $3400 buy?
If you're not going to invest it, I would spend it traveling. There's got to be a trip you can take that $3,400 will go a long way toward.
Recently had a death in the family that reminded me that time is also commodity we have in limited supply, and unlike money, you can't replace what you've spent. So I would look into what you and your girlfriend would love to do together, and go do that.
I was jokingly going to suggest buy her a rock and make an honest woman of your girlfriend, then go travelling.
More seriously, if you can't travel with your girlfriend or do something that benefits you and your loved ones, just be sensible and save to something - a house, a car, or whatever you might want. Money comes and money goes, but you could always do with a little more rainy-day savings.
If you want to go the long term conservative route, kill off your debts, then invest in things that either save you money long term (eg: washing machine) or appreciate in value/generate revenue (eg: mutual fund). If you're going to splurge then some kind of experience you'll remember for the rest of your life is the best buy (weeklong vacation culminating in a GP would be awesome). Building modern/legacy/vintage decks and/or hoarding sealed Magic product is a good middle ground, since they're likely to go up in value and a tier 1 deck will earn you prizes on top of being fun to use. As a final aside on the sealed product I have no regrets about playing in an Ice Age/Cold Snap sealed event last new year, except missing a Binding Grasp upkeep trigger.
I think this is the most stumped I've been at a RLA question. My first reaction is 'PUT IT IN THE BANK' (I'm so lame), because I always find down the road I appreciated that extra money. For instance, money I put away over a year ago is paying for a vacation with my wife next week. It always feels good to be able to plan something naturally and not have to worry about money, rather than feel forced to plan something because of money.
If gambling is your thing, you can always go to Vegas, just only play card games against other players, everything else is heavily rigged against you.
But Vacation is the thing that screams the loudest to me, although when I came into my own windfall, I used part of it to buy myself a top of the line laptop (which I regret now, I wish I had bought a Desktop because the laptop was such a pain to lug around). You can also buy a big-ass TV and the latest consoles.
Go on a geocaching trip around America in your car. All you need is a GPS, time, things to replace what you take, and a willingness to sleep in a park at least part of the time. It's a cool way to find hidden places and explore and you get prizes. Sometimes it's just a stamp you can put in a notebook(my boss says this is common for urban locations) but sometimes you get messages or cool doodads. The hunt is the real attraction and you get to spend your money on a crazy adventure.
Spend about half on whatever fun stuff you feel like you can afford, save the other (about) half. As for what to do with the "fun stuff" side of the money... since you mentioned travel, go have an awesomely memorable experience somewhere. Go Google stuff that interests you & find a place to do that stuff. Hiking, swimming, rafting, canoeing, rollercoasters, scuba diving, surfing, ziplining, camping, rock climbing, waterparks, historical landmarks, generic touristy stuff, sitting on the beach in a resort for a week... there are a lot of possibilities. Pick one that interests you & go do it!
Spend about half on whatever fun stuff you feel like you can afford, save the other (about) half. As for what to do with the "fun stuff" side of the money... since you mentioned travel, go have an awesomely memorable experience somewhere. Go Google stuff that interests you & find a place to do that stuff. Hiking, swimming, rafting, canoeing, rollercoasters, scuba diving, surfing, ziplining, camping, rock climbing, waterparks, historical landmarks, generic touristy stuff, sitting on the beach in a resort for a week... there are a lot of possibilities. Pick one that interests you & go do it!
"Save half." This isn't a JRPG! There's no intended design lurking in the springs of Fate here, ready to reward you for following the intended balance. Just the same, it's not like you have a supernatural force to appease by doing something 'proper' with an appropriate quantity of your windfall. I mean, unless you do 'cause you tithe or something.
Why is there any action in particular a windfall demands? There are things you do with money - things you were doing and are doing right now. Do those things*, because what you have is more money. Psychologically the windfall seems like a thing in itself, and I get that, but if ever this Vulcan turn of phrase were valid, Logic dictates you take the money for what it is.
*Rather, this question becomes "To what end should money be put?" Which is a whole huge question. A balance of saving, investment, and recreation is the only answer I know.
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The sensible thing to do would be to save the money, or invest it, but to be honest, I don’t really want to be sensible. I’m sensible in every aspect of my life. I have a good job, I have my bills under control, and I have a strong savings and 401k. I want to do something with this money that is NOT sensible.
Now, I’m not about to head to the casino, drop it all on black, and let come what may, but I did have the idea of taking my girlfriend, her two sisters, and their significant others, on a short cruise. My girlfriend said that that idea made her feel a little uncomfortable (we handle our finances very equitably and she doesn’t like feeling indebted). So, I’m here looking for ideas.
What not-overly-sensible but non-overly-ridiculous ideas does $3400 buy?
Recently had a death in the family that reminded me that time is also commodity we have in limited supply, and unlike money, you can't replace what you've spent. So I would look into what you and your girlfriend would love to do together, and go do that.
EDIT: Woops, good catch there, 9909.
Dude, he only said girlfriend, not wife.
I was jokingly going to suggest buy her a rock and make an honest woman of your girlfriend, then go travelling.
More seriously, if you can't travel with your girlfriend or do something that benefits you and your loved ones, just be sensible and save to something - a house, a car, or whatever you might want. Money comes and money goes, but you could always do with a little more rainy-day savings.
Pauper: Burn
Modern: Burn
Legacy: Burn
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If gambling is your thing, you can always go to Vegas, just only play card games against other players, everything else is heavily rigged against you.
But Vacation is the thing that screams the loudest to me, although when I came into my own windfall, I used part of it to buy myself a top of the line laptop (which I regret now, I wish I had bought a Desktop because the laptop was such a pain to lug around). You can also buy a big-ass TV and the latest consoles.
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"Save half." This isn't a JRPG! There's no intended design lurking in the springs of Fate here, ready to reward you for following the intended balance. Just the same, it's not like you have a supernatural force to appease by doing something 'proper' with an appropriate quantity of your windfall. I mean, unless you do 'cause you tithe or something.
Why is there any action in particular a windfall demands? There are things you do with money - things you were doing and are doing right now. Do those things*, because what you have is more money. Psychologically the windfall seems like a thing in itself, and I get that, but if ever this Vulcan turn of phrase were valid, Logic dictates you take the money for what it is.
*Rather, this question becomes "To what end should money be put?" Which is a whole huge question. A balance of saving, investment, and recreation is the only answer I know.
Awesome avatar provided by Krashbot @ [Epic Graphics].
Forget about them. Every year on your birthday, you can spend the $100 dividend and buy WHATEVER YOU LIKE!! For the rest of your life.
Failing that, I would book a return ticket to England and see as much of Europe as you can before you starve to death