Task 58 - Win the Lotto

While I might not have won the jackpot of $590.5 million I was pleased that three of the tickets I purchased as part of the office pool were winners. A net win of $18.00 wouldn't pay for the tickets but would at least fill the teddy bear cookie jar in the offfice for a month.



$7.00 Winner

I had speculated what I might have done had I won the jackpot.  If the office pool had won I would have grossed roughly 49 million. After taxes it would have resulted in about 30 million lump sum to each person. My math may be off but this is all hypothetical since I didn't win.
First I would have paid off all my debt (CC's, Mortgage, Etc) for myself and everyone in my family. Surprisingly this wouldn't have totalled very much since no of us carry any significant debt and we are well on our way to paying off our real estate mortgages.I wouldn't have just given my family cash at least not up front but I would have made sure that they didn't have to worry about their homes.  I would then have taken everyone on a once-in-a-lifetime trip all expenses paid. I figure all that would cost less then $1m

Next I would have set up a trust for each person in my family.  I wouldn't want the money to affect the way we live our lives but rather to just make it a little more comfortable.


$7.00 Winner

For my brother's family I would have set aside a portion of my winnings. The interest alone should have been more then covered their needs given that their mortgage was taken care of.  By setting it up to only allow them to live off the interest the principle should always be there and continue to provide for a lifetime of comfortable living. It should also have provided ample funds to send both my neice and nephew to college.

Next I would have done the same for my parents by taking an additional  portion and setting up a trust for them however I wouldn't have set any restrictions on how they chose to spend their share. My parents are more then capable of managing the money as they have deminstrated their financial savvy by raising both my brother and I to respect and understand the hard work it takes to earn it. They are also both now retired and I would want them to enjoy the money by doing things that they wouldn't otherwise have done. I would expect them to spend it all and encourage them to treat it as fun money since they are comfortable today.


$4.00 Winner

I would also set up another trust of $1million for my aunt and uncle and set it up to mimic that of the trust for my brother by allowing the interest to supliment their lives. $40,000 a year in interest should go a long way towards easing any worries they might have while also ensuring that the money wasn't wasted or squandered. It would be set up to do the same for their two children with $40k a year when they are gone.

That would leave me with roughly half of my winnings. I would take roughly $6m and buy to apartments. One in NYC and another in San Franciso. Nothing crazy. Just something modest but comfortable. I would set up a small trust for each with enough money to support the costs during my life time. I don't ever want to worry about where I would live or if I would have enough money to support those homes.

After all of that I would be left with more then enough to support a comfortable life style which would allow me to  travel the world and see as many countries as I could for as long as I can. I would take traveling as my full time profession.

When I died I would deiide the remaining principle between my family and charities that we feel strongly about. I would want my legacy not to die with me but to provide for many others for generations.

Sadly the $18.00 from the office pool isn't enough to do any of that and those dreams for now will remain just that Dreams. Again it is all hypothical and I would of course seek the advice of a finacial advisor and lawyers to tell me if what I would want to do would make sense.

Task 5 - Harpoon Brewery

(05) Visit a winery or brewery & take the tour

Activity: Harpoon Brewery
Location: 306 Northern Ave, Boston, MA 02210
Cost: $5.00 per person
When: May 11, 2013
Rating: 5-Stars

When you think Brewery in Boston immediately Sam Adam’s comes to mind but it isn’t the only brewery in town. Harpoon Brewery founded by two Harvard Alum’s whose passion for brewing got them started in 1986. While smaller in size they compete against the bigger breweries in both quality and appeal. Interestingly they have the distinction of being the first company to obtain a permit to manufacture and sell alcohol in Massachusetts. This distinction came from a reset in the licensing after the days of prohibition and the rebirth of the microbrewery system.

While best known for the Harpoon IPA they offer many other brews like my favorite UFO Hefeweizen. I am a huge fan of unfiltered beers and theirs is by far the best. Their brewery is located in Boston’s waterfront seaport district. It is best to arrive early as tickets are sold on a first come/first served basis. We arrived at 10:00 and were the 3rd group in line for the 11:00 opening. By 10:30 the line was a good 40-50 people deep. The cost is a minimal $5 per person.

Rather than get tickets and come back again later we opted to take the first tour and at about 11:20 our tour guide Mark was walking us through the packaging and distribution warehouse where we learned that they have at any given moment about 50,000 cases of beer ready to go. We also learned that their can’s are sprayed with a special coating/polymer to ensure the particular beer’s flavor is protected against any packaging materials/aluminum taste. We also learned that it takes them about 4 minutes to fill a keg. As we continued on we entered the actual brewery where they explained the detailed process of using hops, orange peel, coriander, their special yeast and other ingredients in the many varieties they offer. Mark did an excellent job explaining the process while his assistant served us a glass of green beer. Green beer is unfiltered and not yet finished IPA direct from their tanks. Once we finished the beer making lesson we moved to a temporary tasting hall. They are currently renovating their existing tasting room.

While in the temporary tasting hall Mark explained the differences and provided his own personal opinions of the many offerings they had on Tap. While he explained each one we had the opportunity to sample as many of the offerings as we liked as many times as we wanted. I will admit that I had many 2oz samples and by the time our tour ended I was feeling pretty good. Thankfully we had a designated driver already picked out. 

One of the recommendations from Mark was to try the beer pretzels in the Beer Hall. They are made with remnants of the beer making process and are baked on site. We all took up the challenge and enjoyed another beer before picking up a few souvenirs in the gift shop.

While I didn’t learn as much detail about the beer making process as I had during other tours I enjoyed the more personal touch and the greater opportunity to sample not just production beer but a variety of test brews such as the Blueberry IPA and the Mid Summer Brew. I would highly recommend this tour to any beer lovers for a few hours of fun and good company.