What Would You Do with Unlimited Funds?

[Borg]

My Bucket List just grew by one...

Ditto on that!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I was perhaps a job or two away from having the money for "MIGs over Moscow", just before the economy started to crash. That is one week of training, a five star hotel, a Russian security clearance, and your choice of any of about five different MIGs. I was still torn between the MIG-25 Foxbat dogfight, and the "Edge of Space" flight.

But, since then, a much less expensive alternative has come available - The US F-104 flight. It wouldn't be nearly as cool as the MIG flights, but it ain't bad! When I last checked it was less than 25% of the cost of the trip to Russia.
http://www.incredible-adventures.com/starfighter/index.html

EDIT: YIKES, that's not the right one. That is $30K. However, you can [or could] fly a fighter jet for about $5000. There were a couple of flights operating, including one that went out of Las Vegas. There was another in the Sacramento area, but I think that one quit operating a few years ago.

 

[Astronuc]

Literacy programs, humanitarian assistance and sustainable development of energy, clean water, agriculture, and silviculture (reforestation), in the underserved areas of the world.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Literacy programs, humanitarian assistance and sustainable development of energy, clean water, agriculture, and silviculture (reforestation), in the underserved areas of the world.

Yes, but how about after you save the world?

 

[Evo]

I would buy a haunted castle, or a farm.

I would have serfs, which are, in essence, slaves.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I would buy a haunted castle

Haunted castles are hard to find on the market? People are dying to get into them!

 

[Evo]

Haunted castles are hard to find on the market? People are dying to get into them!

 

[turbo]

I have an abandoned haunted Olds Rocket 88 in black-bear country. For all that excitement and quality lodging, you should expect to pay a premium for rent. Not here! $500 a month will get you a nice place. If you want, I will offer you clean water at a discounted rate and if you can offer payment-in-kind in the form of skinning and butchering critters, I might be persuaded to reduce the water fee.

If you will weed the garden, too, I will make sure that you have vegetables.

 

[Evo]

I have an abandoned haunted Olds Rocket 88 in black-bear country. For all that excitement and quality lodging, you should expect to pay a premium for rent. Not here! $500 a month will get you a nice place. If you want, I will offer you clean water at a discounted rate and if you can offer payment-in-kind in the form of skinning and butchering critters, I might be persuaded to reduce the water fee.

If you will weed the garden, too, I will make sure that you have vegetables.

me, me, me.

 

[Lancelot59]

I would buy a haunted castle, or a farm.

Why not get a haunted toaster?

 

[estro]

Want to go into space!

 

[blank.black]

If I had the money, I would take over the world and you would all be my slaves. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

 

[robertm]

For starters, I would open a 24-hour library/cafe. I don't know how many freakin times I've wished for a nice place to study late at night other than my own room.

I would also buy a motorcycle (I'm probably actually going to be able to do this soon).

And a large diameter (~15-20in) dobsonian telescope.

And a 16+ megapixel DSLR with a new shoulder bag, tripod with a decent mount, macro lens, telephoto lens, and the proper adapters for the above mentioned telescope.

And, of course, a big enough plot of land (in the Sierra's perhaps...) with a nice small house were I could live in solitude and play in the woods for the foreseeable future.

 

[Mu naught]

Start a new space program and visit Mars and titan and some other places in the solar system.

 

[Borg]

A https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=413351" - thanks, Astronuc!

http://www.terrafugia.com/index.html"

 

[Andre]

 

[Astronuc]

Yes, but how about after you save the world?

Go walkabout - then find a nice quiet corner of the world and garden, and watch clouds and stars.

 

[turbo]

And, of course, a big enough plot of land (in the Sierra's perhaps...) with a nice small house were I could live in solitude and play in the woods for the foreseeable future.

What? No mountain stream teeming with cut-throats or rainbows? You need to re-calibrate. Fishing is critical to happiness.

 

[chaoseverlasting]

A Gibson Sg, Lp Special, Fender Strat, Tele, Ibanez Jem, a couple of decent acoustics (Martins, Seagulls, etc), an analog effects pedal board, and 4x12 cab Jc120's...

 

[turbo]

Already owned (and sold) most all of them. When I was collecting guitars and amps, I'd buy the best, play them until my tastes or preferences changed, then sell them. Buy them used, refurbish them, and make money doing so. No need to be rich to pull that off. I got all my walking-around money in college by playing in bands on weekends and buying and selling instruments. College students are notoriously lazy and irresponsible with their parents' money and when they get short of cash, they'll dump music gear that they just HAD to have.

Often, I bought a guitar, performed a quick tune-up (set intonation, bridge tension, string-height) and sell it for almost double what I paid for it. Refrets take a bit longer, but are eminently do-able in a dorm room or apartment with minimal equipment.

If you work it right, trading in musical instruments is a way to make money, not blow it. At one time, I had over 20 acoustic guitars at home. When my company got bought out and I was out of work for a bit, I sold off guitars little by little and made money on them all. I had been doing this for years before I met my wife-to-be, so I never got any flak for buying guitar after guitar. They are portable investments.

 

[wolram]

I would buy me a tropical island and a sea plane so any mates could come visit, or a big house on the isle of man.

 

[turbo]

I would buy me a tropical island and a sea plane so any mates could come visit, or a big house on the isle of man.

Then you'd have to buy a Manx Norton for the road-course!

 

[wolram]

Then you'd have to buy a Manx Norton for the road-course!

I would get two so you could come and play. lol.

 

[turbo]

I would get two so you could come and play. lol.

Yay! If you hit the lottery think of me. The thought of once again riding one of those 500 cc thumpers at full chat is quite exciting. (Even if it needs to puke oil all over my right leg.)

 

[nucleargirl]

I'd buy my parents and family everything they wanted. I'd go study something else, medicine maybe, I'd fund my own research lab. I'd learn to fly planes, I'd open a cake shop :9 and of course buy a tropical island, but only a small one, and keep geese! and have mango trees... and a chef!

 

[DanP]

I'd buy my parents and family everything they wanted. I'd go study something else, medicine maybe, I'd fund my own research lab. I'd learn to fly planes, I'd open a cake shop :9 and of course buy a tropical island, but only a small one, and keep geese! and have mango trees... and a chef!

Id buy The One Ring :P In modern translation, a position of high political power and social influence.

 

[loseyourname]

I'd start a philanthropic foundation and a hedge fund but mostly have other people run them and spend most of my time writing and traveling to outdoor adventure locations.

 

[Lancelot59]

Would making a car fly with balloons be a worthwhile investment?

 

[turbo]

Would making a car fly with balloons be a worthwhile investment?

No, but it might be fun.

 

[Lancelot59]

Actually, why not release lots of cowbells into the sky attached to balloons? World's biggest bell concert!

 

[CRGreathouse]

I'd pay off my remaining debt, give a bit to charity, but my life wouldn't change much -- I'd still stay at the same place and work the same job. I'm sure I'd get some flashy things to help attract a mate (I'm currently single), and having accomplished that I'd just live the life. As time would pass I'd grow more comfortable with the money and move toward changing the world for the better. I'd quite my job to spend all my time promoting alternate energy, campaign for a dramatically higher fuel tax, promote literacy and equality (race, gender, etc.). Eventually the power would go to my head and my efforts, though still ostensibly for charitable ends, would be entirely self-serving. After exhausting my goodwill, people would see me for what I had become, and sooner or later I would be assassinated.

At least, that seems the likeliest outcome to me.

 

[Evo]

I'd pay off my remaining debt, give a bit to charity, but my life wouldn't change much -- I'd still stay at the same place and work the same job. I'm sure I'd get some flashy things to help attract a mate (I'm currently single), and having accomplished that I'd just live the life. As time would pass I'd grow more comfortable with the money and move toward changing the world for the better. I'd quite my job to spend all my time promoting alternate energy, campaign for a dramatically higher fuel tax, promote literacy and equality (race, gender, etc.). Eventually the power would go to my head and my efforts, though still ostensibly for charitable ends, would be entirely self-serving. After exhausting my goodwill, people would see me for what I had become, and sooner or later I would be assassinated.

In my effort to not spew all over my keyboard I choked instead.

 

[Lancelot59]

I can see baking a mole of doughnuts and giving them to everyone in the world being a worthwhile effort. Every gets to have a doughnut a day for...a while I guess.

 

[DaveC426913]

I wish I could remember what movie this came from:

"Haha, if I won a whole pile of money, I'd take half of it and I'd buy a hundred cases of beer, fifty kilos of pot and an awseome DJ, and throw a giant party for my all friends that would last 3 days.

And the rest of it I'd probably just fritter away..."

 

[lisab]

I can see baking a mole of doughnuts and giving them to everyone in the world being a worthwhile effort. Every gets to have a doughnut a day for...a while I guess.

Lol, a mole of doughnuts...sigh. Gotta love PF.