You would have to keep busy. I’ve heard of people (men mainly) who work their entire life, and then die a year or two after they retire because they don’t do anything. So you have to make sure to keep doing something.

Me personally, I’d start by buying a house, sharing some of my fortunes with my family (buying them houses), then maybe a really long overseas holiday. After that, not sure. But I would have plenty of time to think about it. :)

I’d pay off the house. I’d invest/bank the remainder. I’d live off a portion of the proceeds (say, approx $100k). I’d divert some of the proceeds to a fund for Lily. I’d divert another portion into worthwhile charities. I’d take one or two big holidays a year. I’d re-inject the remainder into the investment/bank account; after all, there’s inflation to consider.

Simple.

I think most people with adult responsibilities and a modicum of common sense would do something in a similar vein.

You can get some good hookers with 10 million dollars.

er… so I hear…..

In my downtime I’d do what I do now, but more of it and I’d enjoy it more. I’d spend time with Nerida. I’d spend time with Lily. I’d paint miniatures. I’d read books. I’d watch movies. I’d go for walks. I’d take up a martial art. I’d learn guitar. I’d write novels and short speculative fiction.

Basically, what I do now.

The only one you might not expect would be: I’d never *work* with computers again.

As for the rest, I’d pay off the mortgages for my QLD property, my mum & dad’s home & Lisa’s two QLD properties. That’d come to about $600-700k, leaving me with 1.3-1.4 mil to play with for the next year until the interest from the first stage of my investment comes in. I’d spend that year partying, buying geek toys and looking for a decent house in an area I am really happy with. I’d probably continue to rent in the place I am living now until I came to a decision & until my investment came back.

Not sure what I’d do from there. I know the nice thing to do would be to give a bunch of it to a charity/some charities, but I am not sure which (if any) I’d admire enough to give monies to. I would also not be sure how financially sound some of the choices they’d make would be, or if I would continue to agree with the choices they made about the money I gave them. As a result I’d see myself annually opting to give a certain amount of the interest earned to charities I approved of at that time.

On the “what would you do now that you didn’t have to work?” side of things I am pretty sure I’d do whatever I do when I am not working, only I’d also do it during the times I used to work. I am not the kind of person who needs to work, I very much enjoy being a man of leisure. I took three months off before starting at this current job and really enjoyed it. I’d wake up when I wanted. Walk up to the local coffee shop and have a cappucino. Chat with the barista. Maybe have something to eat for breakfast. Walk about in the sunshine. Go home and do whatever the hell I wanted to. It would be like that, only with a higher cache of cash to spend on shopping excursions, which I also enjoy.

I never get these “you’d have to find something else to do with your life” style questions. I already know what I want to do with my life: exactly whatever the hell I want.

Me, I’d probably do what I do in my spare time. Try and learn new crafty things and make them, read, play games, etc.