It depends on what you consider a windfall. A couple of weeks ago I had a young lady hand me $5 and said "You left this at the counter." I was dumbstruck and pocketed the money. I realized as I was driving off that it couldn't be mine since I always pay with the Starbuucks app. The next day when I came back, I left it in the tip jar. Here are what I consider the levels of windfall and whaI I would do with it:
$100 - Dinner at Ruth Chris Steak House. Been there once for a fantastic dinner.
$1,000 - Put in the bank and spend it on Christmas gifts for the family.
$10,000 - Buy my recently divorced daughter a new car.
$100,000 - Pay off my mortgage.
$1,000,000 - now we're talking windfall. Pay off all bills, buy a new house in a better neighborhood, gifts to kids ($100,000 apiece)
$10,000,000 - I'd do the above but increase the gifts to a $1MM each. The remainder would be set aside in a trust to provide future legacies for the kids and grandkids with $3MM to create a family foundation to give anonymous gifts to people in need.
$10,000,000+ - This is a point where the more money available doesn't impact my actions other than to proportionally increase the legacies and gifts.
The idea of a windfall causes each of us to focus inward on our own needs until we reach a point where we feel "satisfied" and begin to focus outward. I think is what most people would. There are certainly exceptions to the rule (e.g., the celebrity who doesn't tip), but I want to believe we are all basically philanthropists waiting for a "windfall".
