If you won the lottery....

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ajj70

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If you won the 1.3+ billion dollar Powerball, would you still go to dental school? Part of me says "heck no" but then..what would you do with all of that free time??? I would probably still go but then I would probably set up a practice for low income patients only, probably working limited hours though.
 
I would like to think I would still go to dental school and live with peace of mind knowing money would never be an issue. However, 1.3 billion is still 1.3 billion and if you handed me the lump sum I'm not entirely sure I wouldn't just stay home, post dank memes and drink expensive liquors.
 
Invest the money, live off the interest, and never, ever go to professional school. You can do more good for the world responsibly managing your money than you ever could as a dentist (our in my case, as a physician). Plus you'd open yourself up to massive liability cases- a billion dollar clinician is like a malpractice pinata waiting to burst.
 
Honestly, probably not. Going along with what you said though, I'd probably just hire some people to work a low-income clinic or 2 and pay they pretty well. Also I'd definitely save/invest lots of the money. And then after buying stuff for my family and friends, I'd force them to travel with me. In the free time, I'd manage the business, watch netflix, plan trips, work out, and basically do whatever off-duty movie stars do with their time.
Oh, and I'd leave $1000 tips for waiters who do a good job.
 
ajj70 said:
If you won the 1.3+ billion dollar Powerball, would you still go to dental school?
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100% Yes. I would go to dental school.

Just in case anyone is curious- if you elect to take a cash payout of the Powerball, then that plus the federal taxes reduces your award to just under $500 million.
 
"just under $500 million" lolololol

anyone who says they would go to dental school, I do not believe...sorry. I want to be a dentist so bad, but if I had that amount of money and did not have to worry about work, I would donate a good amount, yes....and travel the world and help others in countries on my own since I could. Invest a cool 150 mill in tax free bonds, no one in your family will ever have to work....for endless generations.
 
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Bucks783 said:
"just under $500 million" lolololol
.
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LOL- I just realized how that sounded. In the context of my original sentence, "just under $500 million" means slightly under $500 million i.e. around $475M. Same usage as "just under 80 degrees fahrenheit" or "We will be arriving in just under 3 hours."

It does not mean "only $500 million," which is how I think you're interpreting me.

Bucks783 said:
anyone who says they would go to dental school, I do not believe...sorry.
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Well, the thing is- I plan to do a lot of dental mission trips both during my career and in retirement...and having a DMD/DDS degree (going to dental school) is critical for that. If I don't have to work for a living, I'd do even more of those trips. So yes, I'd still go.

@ajj70 wrote that she would open a low-income clinic and work there, and @fogorvostan wrote that he'd enjoy being debt-free, but would still go. I don't see anything strange in their plans, and I believe them.

Mad Jack said:
Plus you'd open yourself up to massive liability cases- a billion dollar clinician is like a malpractice pinata waiting to burst.
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Mad Jack made a great point here. If you ever come into a lot of money, get an umbrella asset protection policy, and consider putting the money in a trust.
 
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Incis0r said:
In the context of my original sentence, "just under $500 million" means slightly under $500 million i.e. around $475M. Same usage as "just under 80 degrees fahrenheit" or "We will be arriving in just under 3 hours."

It does not mean "only $500 million," which is how I think you're interpreting me.



Well, the thing is- I plan to do a lot of dental mission trips both during my career and in retirement...and having a DMD/DDS degree (going to dental school) is critical for that. If I don't have to work for a living, I'd do even more of those trips. So yes, I'd still go.

@ajj70 wrote that she would open a low-income clinic and work there, and @fogorvostan wrote that he'd enjoy being debt-free, but would still go. I don't see anything strange in their plans, so I'm curious as to why you do not believe the three of us.
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Yep. Dentistry has been a dream to me, regardless of money (hence why I am going despite knowing that I need to take out $400k+ in loans). In order to practice dentistry, I need to go to dental school. Winning the lotto would not get rid of that requirement.
 
fogorvostan said:
Yep. Dentistry has been a dream to me, regardless of money (hence why I am going despite knowing that I need to take out $400k+ in loans). In order to practice dentistry, I need to go to dental school. Winning the lotto would not get rid of that requirement.
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Godspeed to you!
 
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Nope. I'll probably become a philanthropist though. Also, invest in cool ideas/start ups, like that they do on Shark Tank.
 
Yea right, you would be cleaning people's teeth with a billion in your bank account :smack:
 
I used to say that the only thing that I could imagine doing if I won the lottery would be to go to medical school. It used to be the only way that I could imagine affording it. Yeah, there are loans for school, but the run up to getting in, the pre-reqs and the application process and the interviews... that all used to be way out of my economic grasp way back when I was a traditional student with no family support.

Now that I'm in... my answer hasn't changed. If I won a million dollars, or 1.3 billion, the highest, best use of the time I have left in my life is to become a physician. Having more money would make that easier, but it wouldn't give me a reason not to do it. I could do a lot more good with more resources up to a point... beyond which I'd need to mostly give the rest of it away, so that I wouldn't have to bother with managing it. I'm certain that I could find 1.295 billion worth of charities and scholarships to endow, and still have much more than I would ever personally need.
 
Make good investments and get into some competitive physical activity. Just worry about traveling the world to humiliate others in competition. Thats what I would do.
 
First thing I would do
upload_2016-1-11_16-12-19.png
 
I'd learn all the basics of emergency medicine and dentistry. Is school required for that? Then I'd purchase a schooner and hire an HR genius to hold auditions for a compatible crew of captain, marine biologist, chef, divers, etc., with whom to explore the seas. That's all I've got so far...
 
I would totally still go to dental school. I would start up a cheap clinic and not pay myself and live off the interest on my investments. I've always wanted to a dentist and coming into a huge sum of money wouldn't change that. I actually like working also (I get bored otherwise). I'd probably travel a couple of months a year once I get out of school though!
 
plot twist: no one of you guys will ever win lottery because let's be honest, do you guys buy lottery tickets often? I guess not. because why? the odds stacked is off the roof. and assuming majority of you guys study science, 33% win to u guys will still be low. I don't think anyone will spend 10$ to have a 0.00000000000000001% to win the superball.

it's just me. so chances are i won't have a slump sum anytime soon and will indeed have carpal tunnel from doing dentistry and become a disabled old sad douche.
 
Yes, because I'm looking for education and learning not only money ! BUT honestly I'll take it for fun and not much wary bout passing / failing
 
Absolutely I would still be a dentist! no question about it. With the money, I now would have more opportunities to participate in or even start up international dental programs in third world countries.

All of you saying you wouldn't pursue dentistry should just leave the field right now. pathetic
 
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Its an interesting question. I wouldn't go, as I can think of more fulfilling things to do with my time if I didn't have to worry about the income component
 
When I buy a lottery ticket, I fill out my own numbers and when I turn in the playslip I tell the clerk I'm handing in a job application.
 
I was talking about this with my family the other day. Honestly, I think I'd still go. As others have mentioned, it would be great to begin practicing and not have to worry about finances at all. Most importantly though, I think it's important to have a goal in life and push yourself regardless of your financial standing. I wouldn't want to sit around day after day shopping and relaxing. It would be great at first but eventually, I think I'd want to find some other purpose to my life. For some, that would be investing or spending their winnings to help others. For me, it would be dentistry. 🙂
 
I would still go, but I wouldn't tell a soul about my winnings. I would always have new shoes, a wicked laptop, the best instruments (gold plated, custom laser engraved, carbon fiber, ivory tusk, moondust, bald eagle feather equipment) I would work for 10 years and take alot of breaks knowing happily my secret that I have a billion ready to go already invested to live off the interest. I would then retire in my 30's and travel like crazy while donating money and fixing teeth in third world countries while surfing.
 
Garett24 said:
I would still go, but I wouldn't tell a soul about my winnings. I would always have new shoes, a wicked laptop, the best instruments (gold plated, custom laser engraved, carbon fiber, ivory tusk, moondust, bald eagle feather equipment) I would work for 10 years and take alot of breaks knowing happily my secret that I have a billion ready to go already invested to live off the interest. I would then retire in my 30's and travel like crazy while donating money and fixing teeth in third world countries while surfing.
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Exactly what I wanna do!! Except I'll push my retirement to 40 🙂
 
allantois said:
Yea right, you would be cleaning people's teeth with a billion in your bank account :smack:
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I haven't had to "clean" someone's teeth since dental school.

From my perspective as a practicing dentist, I would still work part time. I LOVE what I do. I'd set up a dental practice with every toy imaginable. I'd hire a couple dentists to do a bulk of the patients and spend my time playing with the toys and enjoying the patient interaction. The rest of my time would be spent enjoying life: sky diving, skiing, kayaking, climbing, riding cycles, etc.

For those who haven't gone to school yet or really don't love being a dentist, I can see your hesitation of believing those of us who say we would still work. To me, being a dentist is fun. Just as some people could/would spend their time on a golf course, I would work on patients because it would no longer be a job. It would be a hobby.
 
We need shirts that say "Someone won the lottery and I all got was a dental school acceptance."
 
I would not claim the lottery personally because with that large sum your name is usually released to the public and you will have to deal with media, blackmail, golddiggers, and potential kidnapping threats(google if you don't believe). I'd rather live a modest middle class life and not deal with this at all.
 
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