by: Angel Hoy

That is an insane amount of money to have or even think about doing something with. There is no wrong answer on what someone would do with the money. It is something fun to think about for the average person. I got some similar answers and some different from the range of people I asked the question: What would you do if you won the Powerball?

Samantha Reynolds, a 28-year-old fiancé with a 3-year-old husky answered “Buy a huge house, get a new car, finally get married. Take care of family and friends by giving them something they need.”

Alaynah Hoy, a single 17-year-old high school senior said “I would find someone who is in money finance and knows how to manage a large sum of money, I would follow their advice. Pay off and remodel my childhood home, I would not quit my job, I would splurge and buy a new iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and new car. I would invest money into stocks and apply to dream college without financial worries. I would take all my close family on vacation.”

Brandon Hall, a married 41-year-old man with two children; 21 and 17, his answer to the question was “Set up a trust so I wouldn’t have to work anymore, help friends with gifts of gratitude, not money. Set up a youth sports complex so no one would have to pay for youth sports. As a guilty pleasure I would travel… A lot!”

Jennifer Arutunjan, a 38-year-old engaged homeowner; “Contact a financial advisor. I would make a list of important family and friends and pay off their debts and pay off my own as well. I would get together all the dog rescue organizations in WNY and try to create one big one. Start a nonprofit that helps people get jobs and get hired and keep those jobs. Put money in college funds for cousins then take a badass vacation with close family and friends and go to a villa for 2 weeks. Buy a big new house and invest.”

Faith Volpe, a 33-year-old wife and mom of two teenagers and a two-year-old says “Pay off bills, buy a vacation home or build one on a lake. Set up children for college and life. Donate a lot of the money for cancer research, Toys4Tots, that amount of money could keep myself and family happy and have millions left over. Take lots of vacations, and then create a non-profit.

Vincent Palmeri, a 40-year-old fiancé says “I honestly don’t know, backpack around the world. Buy a newspaper so I could proselytize my own political views. I would quit my job, move around the world, have a huge mobile home and travel.”

Jessica Smeal, a 37-year-old single mother of 4 and homeowner answered with “I would fix up my house, pay off bills, buy my children new vehicles, put money away for all my children. I will continue working, get a new phone. Relocate somewhere warm but keep my current house to have somewhere to stay when we visit. Would mostly want to keep it for my children to make sure they are set for life.”

Lastly, if I won the Powerball, I would finish school and then set up a trust for my sisters, around 5 million dollars. Then pay for their school and start their life with no worries. I would renovate my mom’s house and set her up for life. Buy my dad a house. Then I would move anywhere in the world and build a home and work for small business, like mom-and-pop shops for little to no money. Helping them with their social media presence and getting more customers. I would set up my future children and help a small group of family members by paying off debts and small gifts. I would invest and then not have to worry about money ever again.”

No one really knows what they would do with the money, there are all these hopes of what to do. With all that money comes a lot of responsibility too, so it is just fun to think about.