The scale of my life wouldn't change a whole lot, I think, but wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to give to others.  Short of paying off housing debt and paying for education, I would travel and help others.  I don't think about this particular amount very often because it's so overwhelmingly foreign to my current income status, but I often wish I had more money to give.  A million dollars would certainly allow me to do that.

Immediately give half of it away to some good charities, then I'd put another quarter aside to take care of my parents.  With what's left, I would probably get rid of all my debts and invest a little bit for the future.  These are the things I think about, anyway, when I buy a lotto ticket for a buck - right up until the point I lose.

If I had a million dollars, I would invest in college funds for my three daughters. Then I would pay off the bills, so my husband and I could start saving for our retirement. As educators, we are fully involved with the public school retirement system, but costs beyond that such as health insurance are a concern.

In these troubled times, saving, saving comes first to mind.  If one banks a million dollars, one can enjoy using the interest and leave the principal alone as a safety-valve. (The voices of the Depression era people are calling) Such good fortune would also demand some of the money going to a worthy cause, as well, such as giving back to the local school where I was employed for years.  A scholarship fund would be appropriate, as well.

I, too, would use some of the money to pay off mortgage debt and other debts. I would use some to travel. I would donate some to various charities like the Wounded Warrior Foundation, and I would try to use some of it to improve conditions at my school--whether it be buying some new sets of novels/books or replenishing our seriously aging computers that are for student use.

The first two things would be to pay off the mortgage and all the bills associated with our education and then set up a fund to pay for my three daughters education. After that I think it would be great to own a cabin some place in the Smoky Mountains.

I am a reasonably contented person so I do not think my life would change that much.

For one thing, I am already without a job other than taking care of my children so it is not as if I could quit my job.  If I were teaching full time, I think I would not like to quit completely because I found teaching to be a pretty fulfilling line of work.  I think that I would try to cut down to part-time work.

Other than that, I have no big dreams.  I might like to spend a couple months in Japan trying to immerse myself in the language and finally get fluent (I get by but am not fluent and I would like to be).  But I couldn't do that until my kids are older anyway.

This is one way that I think I know I'm happy -- there are not a lot of changes I'd make if I had a lot of money.