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The $1,000,000 Question

April 19, 2021 by Mr. 1500 Days 33 Comments

The 1500 house has been bustling with activity lately. Mindy and I have decided that we’re going to finish our current remodeling projects and then take a break. We’ll resume in the fall when the girls are back in school. Getting our place to a good stopping point has taken a considerable amount of effort.

Our home has 4 levels:

  • Level 1 (Basement) This is mostly done, but I still have a bathroom to finish.
  • Level 2 (Family room, office, and bathroom) I’ve already remodeled the office and bathroom. We’ve also put new flooring on the entire level.
  • Level 3 (Living room, dining room, and kitchen) We’ve painted and installed new flooring. The kitchen will be a fall project.
  • Level 4 (Bedrooms and bathrooms) 2022? 2023??

We spend most of our time on levels 2 and 3, so that’s what we’re focusing on. It will be nice not to live in a chaotic environment.

Level 2. Slowly getting rid of the brown… (Also note: High ceilings look great, but are a pain in the ass to work on)

I was supposed to publish a post about our March money performance today, but performance updates take a long time to write, so you’ll have to wait until next week. I’m going with something short and simple today.

The $1,000,000 Question

My friend DGI tweeted this morning:

If you received $1 million today, what would you do with it?

— Dividend Growth Investor (@DividendGrowth) April 19, 2021

This question fascinates me. I’ll tell you what I’d do, but I also want to hear your answers.

First, I wouldn’t:

  • Pay off the mortgage: Over the long-term, I’m more comfortable with having a mortgage and investing the money that’s not tied up in my house. I think that I’ll earn more than 3.5% (my mortgage rate) over a 3-decade time-period and having debt doesn’t bother me. It’s worked out well for us in the past.
  • Buy anything: I just can’t think of anything that I could buy that would make me happy. I’ll pick up an electric vehicle at some point, but I’m holding out for technological improvements.

I would:

  • Help someone: On a road trip last year, we drove through a Navajo reservation. The poverty was startling. And just to make life worse, the community was ravaged by COVID. Read more here.
  • Invest in VTI and maybe a little QQQ: VTI because that’s the wise and rational thing to do. QQQ because I’m still obsessed with big tech.
  • Invest the rest in Tesla and Dogecoin! Just kidding! We own too much Tesla already and owning Dogecoin would not allow me to sleep well at night.

How about you?

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Filed Under: Ask the readers Tagged With: one million dollars

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Robert - Stop Ironing Shirts says

    April 19, 2021 at 9:56 am

    It’s a good question, considering I wouldn’t step foot in my old office for a salary of $1,000,000….

    I’d go ahead and get my forever home and move on. It’d probably cost me just over $1,000,000 to get everything I wanted, where I wanted, and to compete in this insane housing market.

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      April 20, 2021 at 8:31 am

      The housing market is absolutely bonkers! We sold our last place at a record price for the street, Now, I’m wondering if we should have held on?

      Reply
  2. Dave V says

    April 19, 2021 at 10:03 am

    Your home renos are impressive. I have been working on a gutted bathroom as best I can. It is really tough squeezing that in around a job and a family. I guess I need to get rid of that pesky job thing…

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      April 20, 2021 at 8:46 am

      Hey Dave, been there, done that! It. Sucked. Even in my current state of retirement, I find it difficult to find the time to do everything that I want to do. Life is good!

      Reply
  3. Jena says

    April 19, 2021 at 11:20 am

    I love questions like these… And my answer seems to change every few months as circumstances in my life change…
    Right now, I’d say I’d spend the money to get the final pieces of our basement reno finished up, which includes some expensive electrical clean-up and making me a laundry room I’m not afraid of. Of course, that wouldn’t take all of it, so I’d probably invest some of it for retirement, and then gift some of it to my step-daughter for her education, and maybe fund my kid’s education fund too. My husband would probably want to pay off our mortgage, but I’m sort of on the same page as you, where I see the numbers of our current mortgage rate, and I’d prefer to invest it…

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      April 20, 2021 at 8:51 am

      Hi Jena! High-five for the mortgage decision! Haha, just kidding. Kindof. I find most would rather pay off the debt and it’s hard to fault them. Debt sucks no matter what.

      PS: I could eat peanut butter right out of the jar too! (Another high-five?)

      Maybe you’d be interested in doing my 10 Questions sometime? https://www.1500days.com/10-questions/

      Reply
      • Jena says

        April 26, 2021 at 10:29 am

        mmmm… peanut butter… hahaha!

        I will definitely consider doing your 10 questions some time… sounds like it’s a long line up right now, so I’ll put it on the to-do list… we will see when I get to it. 😉

        Reply
  4. Florin says

    April 19, 2021 at 11:40 am

    I would invest the majority in ETF stocks which are good for as, Europeans, like – and I write only the ticker- like EUNA, IUSN, IS3S, EUNL, IUSN, JPEE, all accumulated, and a small part in real estate: 2 rooms appartments for rent.

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      April 20, 2021 at 8:58 am

      Nice.

      Reply
  5. ChrisCD says

    April 19, 2021 at 12:30 pm

    FYI – this is only for entertainment purposes. I am not a Financial Advisor.

    I think a balanced portfolio of 25% VTI, 25% QQQ, 25% Tesla, and 25% Dogecoin would probably workout ok. I actually use Schwab so I might split the %25% VTI into SCHD and SCHB. Might be able to live off the dividends for a bit while Dogecoin 100X.

    Honestly, I would probably payoff the house and help kids a bit more with college. Invest the rest.

    cd :O)

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      April 20, 2021 at 9:02 am

      Dogecoin 100X, Ha! We livei n crazy times, so this wouldn’t shock me. Everything is inflated…

      Reply
  6. Paul Stansel says

    April 19, 2021 at 5:06 pm

    Thank you for linking the Navajo COVID article. I have a family member who did a 3 month tour as a travel nurse on the reservation at the height of COVID and it sounded horrific.

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      April 20, 2021 at 9:04 am

      It was surreal driving through the reservation. Our phones went off a couple times, warning us of severe COVID danger. And the poverty. I felt like I was driving through a Stephen King book.

      Reply
  7. David @ Filled With Money says

    April 19, 2021 at 5:13 pm

    Uhh… Carl, what’re you talking about? It’s all about DOGECOIN!!!!!!!

    Just kidding, I own none. If I had a million dollars…. Wow… I would buy a nice, professional, and expensive piece of paper with a very expensive pen to go along with it. Then I would hand write my letter of resignation and hand it to my boss!

    And spend the rest on VOO 🙂
    David @ Filled With Money recently posted…Delayed Gratification: The How To and WhyMy Profile

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      April 20, 2021 at 9:04 am

      Expensive pen and paper! That’s awesome! If you don’t like your boss, you could draw a naughty picture too! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Steveark says

    April 20, 2021 at 1:23 am

    Not at all hypothetical, I inherited one million dollars seven years ago. We spent a small amount to upgrade some toys and invested the rest with Personal Capital. It has done nicely. We already had plenty of money and I retired a couple of years later. It is nice having it as extra padding for the portfolio, but it wasn’t a life changing amount of money. Once you have enough no amount of extra money changes your life.

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      April 20, 2021 at 9:07 am

      Oooh, what toys? A waverunner pops into my mind immediately, but what do I know?!??

      This is great: “Once you have enough no amount of extra money changes your life.”
      Mr. 1500 Days recently posted…The $1,000,000 QuestionMy Profile

      Reply
  9. Wrktravler says

    April 20, 2021 at 7:42 am

    $1,000,000 would put us well over our FI number so I would pay off the mortgages on two rental properties $230k, invest the rest in index funds, Finish and sell our current HCOL live in flip house-hand in my notice at work and retire. Not that I will ever inherit a million dollars lol

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      April 20, 2021 at 9:13 am

      You may never inherit it, but earning it is probably a little better. Because I worked hard for my dollars, I appreciate the hell out of them!

      Reply
  10. Wade says

    April 21, 2021 at 11:52 am

    With an additional $1 million tax free today, I’d retire a few days short of 50.

    My goal is 52, but 55 is more likely with kids in college and such.

    Reply
  11. 307Gal says

    April 23, 2021 at 9:23 am

    So….we have that exact same model of house in south Denver (Centennial). I may need to get some renovation pictures from you to get ideas! Are you leaving the bannisters as-is or going to replace those – that is one of our current decisions.

    And the million dollar question — I would buy out some of the shareholders in my family’s ranch in Wyoming so my parents and sister/brother-in-law who work there are beholden to no one!

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      April 24, 2021 at 7:06 am

      It amazes me how many instances of this home I’ve seen now that we own it! There are 17 in our little neighborhood alone and we notice them all over Longmont.

      Oh, we are definitely getting rid of the banister! A friend just showed me an awesome way to do a stainless steel cable railing for cheap. This is pretty much what it will look like.

      In any case, I LOVE talking construction. If you’d like, make a trip north and we’ll show you what we’ve done so far and plan to do. Mindy and I are fully vaccinated.

      Reply
      • Keith Miller says

        April 24, 2021 at 5:44 pm

        That railing example is beautiful! I’m in the middle of trying to figure out how to do something like that myself, I’m doing a live in flip right now, and there are a few railings that need to be updated. Both for aesthetics, and my one and three year old. Do you have any resources you could point me to about doing something like that inexpensively?

        Reply
        • Mr. 1500 Days says

          April 25, 2021 at 4:56 pm

          So, do your own research, but after I’ve tested the cables for safety, this is what I’ll do: https://www.ikeahackers.net/2013/12/modernized-banister-with-dignitet.html

          Note that in the post, the railing isn’t up to code. The opening must be less than 4″. I’ll probably go with something like 3″ just to be on the super safe side.

          Reply
      • 307Gal says

        April 25, 2021 at 9:24 am

        Oh my gosh, I may just take you up on that. We are DIYers to a certain extent, but no way near as advanced as you guys. My husband is thinking about tackling his first bathroom this summer, so some inspiration and emotional support would be great!

        And…I might fan-girl a bit over Mindy – I love the BiggerPockets podcast 🙂

        Reply
        • Mr. 1500 Days says

          April 25, 2021 at 4:59 pm

          Oh, please take us up on the offer! We love to talk about this stuff and none of it’s that hard if you’ve studied what you’re doing and plan properly.

          I think we may have lunch/drinks with another couple next Saturday on our deck. Ping me over email if you’d like to join us: mr1500 @ 1500days.com

          Also, thank you for the nice comments about Mindy! I’m fortunate!

          Reply
  12. Chris@TTL says

    April 25, 2021 at 5:18 pm

    You know…I’m not too sure. I guess my answers would be pretty similar to yours.

    Hopefully, give a bunch away to needy causes, maybe pad our retirement a little more. But really, it’s already *really* padded. Seems like a waste to put more in there.

    It’s fun to think of a toy like a new Tesla as you mentioned. But it’s not like I couldn’t buy one of those now. And the reason I don’t would still be the same: the thing would just sit in the garage most of the time. We bike and walk. And it’s not like we really do that to save money. It’s just nicer.

    Sure, it’d be great once in a while to take the Tesla out for a spin. Fun. But then it’d sit most of the time, and that’d eat at me. I’d think about how it’s being wasted and depreciating. The batteries, dug up from the ground with the associated environmental costs, just sitting in the floor panels depleting themselves. The lifetime of charge cycles slowly dropping away. And for what?

    I feel like I struggle with this sort of idea, at this scale. And it feels kinda crappy to say a cool million wouldn’t really change anything. But I hope it’d change something for someone(s) else.

    Now, $100M? I can think of how to spend that for myself if forced to. 🙂 Now we’re talking silly money—private jets, boats, and private race tracks. Rent an island. 😀
    Chris@TTL recently posted…How “Cost of Working” Surprisingly Burdens Your Cost of LivingMy Profile

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      April 25, 2021 at 5:22 pm

      Rent an island? Can I come to the party?

      We’ll probably buy a Tesla because we take a lot of long road trips. Our current metal cages both have almost 200,000 miles on them, so I’m growing hesitant about taking them on very long trips. If Tesla could figure out autonomy, it would be worth it for that alone: “Hey car, take the kid to school and then come home!” I think we’re still a couple of years away from that though.

      Reply
  13. Dogecoin Paper Wallet says

    May 11, 2021 at 2:41 pm

    Dogecoin is going to Mars.

    Reply
  14. Bateaux says

    May 31, 2021 at 2:19 am

    One million tax free? I think I’d finally retire. I’d start drawing $13K a month using the 4% rule.

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      June 5, 2021 at 7:13 am

      13K/month! That’s a nice life.

      Reply
  15. Liz says

    May 31, 2021 at 9:10 am

    Invest 600k in passive index funds, that is more than enough to bring us to FI. Spend 2 years travelling the world then use the rest of the money to buy a house with an acre or two and plant trees, grow veggies and keep animals for the rest of our lives.

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      June 5, 2021 at 7:13 am

      Sounds like a pretty great plan!

      Reply

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Freedom!

My goal was to build a portfolio of $1,000,000 by February of 2017; 1500 days from the birth of this blog (January 1, 2013). And hey look, I’ve since retired!

Investments only (primary home excluded)
1/1/13 (The Start): $586,043
1/1/14 (1 Yr Later): $869,635
1/1/15 (2 Yrs Later): $987,351
1/1/16 (3 Yrs Later): $1,057,961
1/1/17 (4 Yrs Later): $1,257,128
1/1/18 (5 Yrs Later): $1,527,701
1/1/19 (6 Yrs Later): $1,549,440
1/1/20 (7 Yrs Later): $2,035,040*
1/1/21 (8 Yrs Later): $3,379,746**
1/1/22 (9 Yrs Later): $4,762,642
1/1/23 (10 Yrs Later): $3,112,821

2023: Investments only
1/1: $3,112,821

Overall
2023 investment gains: $0
Investment gains since 1/1/2013: $2,526,778
Net worth***: $3,342,821

* The big jump between 2019 and 2020 was partly because we bought another home, but kept the previous (much more expensive) one as a rental. We have since sold it.

** Tesla.

*** Includes our primary home equity in addition to our investment portfolio.

Finally, we still have about $290,000 in mortgage debt (which I love!). No regrets about the debts!

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Investing is risky business. The information contained on this site is for informational purposes only. As with all matters financial, proceed with caution. Do your research and seek professional advice.

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