I tend to think about stuff like this during idle moments. That would let me charter private planes for a while.
I hate airports!
I have also long wanted a personal assistant, someone to help me remember stuff, help out around the house.
Is that spelled "wife" or "husband?"
Except this would enable me to pursue opportunities elsewhere.
Maid?
Brothersitter?
Emperor Leo Atreides had a batman, so I would go with that.
How much would I need to pay someone to put up with my brother's eccentricities and my mother's lunacies?
The U.S. government determined this is worth $12.15--the going rate for various providers that would work with Mom and my brother, but my brother's provider doesn't do much besides talk crazy and watch television.
(The Arizona government actually pays $18.48 and agencies keep $6.33 for whatever they do)
I need to pay above the minimum wage to find good help nowadays?
Sure, I could probably find someone for $30,000 a year, but undoubtedly I would have an easier time finding--and keeping--a quality employee for $40,000--and an even easier time for $50,000.
Forbes says that benefits cost 47% on top of the salary. A $50,000 employee would actually cost $73,529.41.
If I account for a 3% annual cost-of-living allowance a million would run out in under 12 years--and this $50,000 employee would cost $100,000 in the end.
Which reminds me, are we considering before or after taxes?
I am sure there is some kind of deduction here, but probably not much.
At least I wouldn't need to worry about Mom and my brother as much for at least a decade.
The other thing that I want is to buy a nice 1,600-square-foot house, load my stuff into a 26-foot U-Haul, and tell Mom "You two can come and live with me as long as all of your stuff fits in the truck without making a second trip."
Maybe that would work.
Maybe.
With less stuff and a bigger house we would finally have a reasonable amount of clutter. Then I could fix all of the cracks in Mom's house, repaint the inside, replace the flooring, and repair anything else that is awry.
When I tried to find a house like that in Show Low I found this
3-bedroom, 2-bedroom, 1,473-square-foot house with a 2-car garage for $455,000.
That was more expensive than I was thinking, but the point is that here are 3 different good things that I want and I don't think that I could afford 2.
Again, is this a million before or after taxes?