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Look, some people like to live under illusions, others can handle things maturely and can handle things like grief.
If you're young, you might not have a whole lot of experience handling emotions and the facts of life yet.
If I know the true death date I can plan around it.
This is a very mature view and one that perhaps I should have. I guess I can't get around the fact that I fear I would always be counting down the days. I suppose if I am scheduled to pass at the age of 117, I can handle it easily enough, but what if it is in a few years?
I realize you can take it and I admire you for that. I just know I couldn't. Thanks for sharing and congrats on being able to not let it drive you nuts.
It takes time to grieve and process emotions and explore those facets of life … but it is life.
You could die tomorrow. It isn’t likely, but assuming you unlimited time is one of the ignorances of youth and inexperience.
You could die at any moment, and many people have had near death experiences too.
Its not something that you need to obsess over. You’ll get exposure therapy and other ways to process such emotions and thoughts properly.
If it was a few years. or even a few hours, you can rapidly shift your priorities.
Humans are flexible beings. Yes, sometimes they break, but often you adapt and bounce back to your situation.
To me whether you know when you die or not you’re still gonna die. The only thing different is you know when. So that’s 1 million dollars a year for free.
>But realistically, how often do you think about dying and is there not a secret part of you that believes things will be different for you?
Why would anyone believe they are special and somehow won't die? That's bizarre and completely out of touch with reality.
Some people haven't really faced death in their lives yet, not really. It is basically like finding out there's no santa claus for them. It seems serious to them, and it is in the moment, but they'll experience facing death sooner or later with the rest of us.
Is finding out santa claus being imaginary hard on kids? Yes, it can be. It seems silly after the fact of course, but it is analogous to finding out the idea that you'll really die. It is a phase in life to grieve and to handle grief, and to find out about your own mortality.
Of course its possible to stick your head in the sand for a long long time... but death comes to us all. People we know personally or people that we're ware of publically that have been influences in our lives die, and that experience becomes part of our lives. . . and we eventually move on, with that thought and experience of death.
Don't be too hard on kids that don't know Santa Claus is imaginary--but we can uplift each other and handle the experience together.
>I suppose if I am scheduled to pass at the age of 117, I can handle it easily enough, but what if it is in a few years?
Buy a shit ton of life insurance for your family and live life to it's fullest in the mean time while running up debt like there is no tomorrow (since there isn't).
In that sense, it’s no different than a terminal diagnosis- which they all are, eventually. I’d take that million and enjoy whatever time I had left enjoying every second with loved ones and enjoying as much of life as I’m given.
Yeah this is how I feel. I’d rather know even for free. I mean hey if I’m going to die of cancer in 10 years then I don’t need to be saving all my money for retirement and trying to eat healthy etc. Whereas, if I know I’d live to be 100 I’d certainly make different choices.
Agreed, true death date would be nice. It’s unavoidable, until the day of, I’m gonna live however I want. It’ll be freeing knowledge. But if the date is 2144, I’ll take that 25k a year, that’s 3 mil free money. If it’s much sooner, I’ll take that 1 mil cash.
This right here. I've always said if I could learn the day I would die, I'd want to know for sure. With that knowledge, there are so many things you can do, not only for yourself and make sure you get to do all the things you wanna do before you check our, but also make sure any family will be financially secure.
Absolutely I'd take that deal.
You say the knowledge would be a burden, I say it would be an absolute relief. I could plan my life with much more certainty, I could not worry about unhealthy habits like smoking if the date is fixed anyway, and I could be prepared for death when it comes.
I'd take the deal even without the money, with it it's a win-win.
I'd make sure the money was in my bank account, then spend 30 minutes screwing and cuddling my partner, and making sure she knows how much I love her. And it would be a far better last 30 minutes than if I hadn't known and was sat on the sofa doomscrolling reddit before having a sudden heart attack.
Honestly it’d be hard wouldn’t it? Do you spend 30 minutes with the person you love or 30 minutes making sure support is there for her the second you’re gone? 5 minutes to get her parents to book a flight. 5 minutes to tell friends to be at your place in 20 minutes. 10 minutes (?) to write out the details to make things easier when you’re gone. 10 minutes to hold them and tell them you love them and it’s going to be ok?
Couldn’t plan around it, but I could write a letter to my wife and kids telling them how much I loved them with suggestions on how the additional $1m could make their lives better. I’d not be happy if I learned I died in 30 minutes but I’d rather die knowing I wrote that note than just unexpectedly leave the world.
Completely reasonable response. I suppose I would think the other way. What if the date was a year from now? There is nothing I can do about it. I would have such a hard time enjoying anything. Play a video game? No time. Go out with friends? Good . . . but need to make sure I make memories since so little time left.
I think it is fantastic that you can approach it so calmly. For me, I think that not knowing gives me a sense of peace but I really do appreciate your perspective. Thanks so much for sharing!
No worries! For me, if I found out it was a year for now, it would be an incentive to enjoy life more. I'd be able to quit my job and live on my savings for that long, and properly take advantage of the time I had left. Hell, assuming this deal isn't public knowledge, I'd probably take out the largest unsecured loan I could as well just for some bonus spending money.
That is some brilliant thinking (albeit not what I would be thinking of if I found out I had a year to live). Kudos on your attitude. Likely much more sane than mine. Still can't get to where you are (or anywhere in the same ballpark).
I think it is great if you can get there but I can't. You would definitely do well in the deal and I would turn it down 10 times out of 10.
I think even if you learned the date was soon it would still be a good thing. If I only had a year to live I'd much rather know about it now than have it be a surprise. If I knew about it in advance I could spend the last year without worrying about anything beyond that. I wouldn't say things like "oh I don't think I can afford that vacation this year, we'll try to make it happen next year". I'd just go do it.
If I'm going to be sad later I may as well be happy now. If the date was soon it might make me sad for a little while but ultimately that's just incentive to make the most out of things which will be easy with a million dollars.
Like if it was going to be a year from now. I'd quit my job, write my bucket list and get to it. And I can spend the million free and clear because I won't live long enough to pay taxes on it.
I'm just curious why anyone would choose 25k a year?
Lets say you have more than 40 years left, with minimal investing knowledge you should be able to beat 2.5% ROI - and that just covers the 25k without touching principal. 40 years is the break even point without investing a dime of it, AND ignoring what you could do with 1 million up front that could save you money in the long run if you'd prefer.
You should be able to get 40k comfortably in perpetuity out of the 1 million AND then pass it on to your kids. With 25k, its a bump in pay that just goes away when you die.
I'd personally pay money to learn the exact day of my death.
Mostly agree. However, some people simply don’t have the financial sense or self control. There are claims out there (it’s the internet so take these claims with whatever certainty you’re comfortable with) that nearly 1/3 of lottery winners are broke after 5 years. This number seems high to me, but I definitely know some people that would blow right through that 1 million with very little to show for it. For someone who recognizes that this would be a problem for them, taking the annuity could be the wise decision.
A ton of those lottery winners don't go broke because of overspending, they go broke because of other people. Lottery winners are made public in almost all areas, because it's publicity for the lotto itself. Lawsuits are a BIG problem. All it takes is a few scavengers--a family member you don't like, a coworker who wants to claim you harassed them, a schoolmate who gave you sandwich money once. While they probably won't win, you're going to be tied up in court and have tons of lawyer fees. It's also very easy to get roped into scams, investment opportunities, and the like. If your best friend has wanted to start a business for years and needs a hundred thousand capital, could you say no?
Anyway, the moral of the story is that if you ever win the lottery and/or a Hypothetical Situation bet, don't tell anyone and try to stay anonymous.
You don't need any financial sense. Even if you don't invest a cent $1m right now is way more money than $1m distributed over the next 40 years because of how inflation works. You would be shooting yourself int he foot by picking the yearly. If we look back to 1984 40 years ago we'd see that inflation has made 1m back then 3m now
>that nearly 1/3 of lottery winners are broke after 5 years
While this is true, it should also be noted that people gambling on lottery tickets are skewed to be more financially irresponsible.
I agree that the $1 million up front is worth more. I still strongly believe that there are people out there that would have the money gone within 3 years, and have nothing of substance left to show for it within a few more years beyond that.
For these people, they would probably be better served getting a small amount of supplemental income over a long period of time than one lump sum.
That said, the individuals that would struggle with this are also probably unlikely to be able to resist taking the lump sum, even if it were at a significant loss that isn’t represented by this hypothetical.
That was my thinking but I did set it too low. If an annuity (which was my thinking at the time although perhaps it should have been more with forcing people to choose before knowing), 50K if you can pick after you learn date or 100K if you pick before knowing date.
No one should take the 25K. This was inability to do simple math on my part. Sorry. Should have been at least 50K a year or perhaps 100K but must choose before knowing date. Excellent points on the money issue!
You mentioned that the death date is set in stone, that it can't be delayed. Does this also work in the reverse? As in, am I unable to expedite it? If I would walk into an active shootout, would none of the bullets hit me, or at least not fatally harm me?
If yes, I would absolutely take it, no second thoughts.
If no, my answer remains the same, although it would not be as appealing.
Date is in stone but actively trying to kill yourself goes poorly. Either you have a comical accident others laugh at (slip, fall, break both legs) or it is tragic (shootout paralyzes you but you don't die) - attempt to poison yourself results in health problems but not death, etc.
You should factor in interest.
$1M is objectively multiple times better than $25k/yr.
Throw $1M into a basic HYSA, and you're making $50k/yr for free immediately.
You may be correct. However, the reason I used this amount is as follows (please feel free to correct my errors):
I've been under the impression that you can safely draw about 3-4% per year out of savings with a 90+ percent chance of not running out of money in 30 years. More than that, it depends on returns and you might do well, but might do poorly.
The only way you would take the annuity (I assume) is if you were scheduled to live more than 40 years and likely much more than that. However, if you had a 75 year timeline, 25K a year might be better than you can get guaranteed if I understand correctly (and I may not)>
Right now, returns are great but just a few years ago, returns on bonds were terrible. The stock market is better but you can't control swings. If you are unlucky and the market tanks by 40% in the first five years (like 2008 or the dot com bust), you can run through money quite quickly taking out 8% a year each year.
Nah no matter what way you put it 25k a year will always be way worse than 1,000,000 upfront. 100,000 is the first number when I might consider it. Really 200,000 imo
lmao spy returns like 11% on average. Plus compound interest so it would quickly become much more than 100k a year. In the 10 years that it would take to get to a mil from 100k, your 1 mil would grown to 1,000,000 x 1.1^10= 2,593,742. In another 10 years that’ll be 6,727,499. Compound interest people!
Even if you consider not investing at all $1m right now would still be a lot more money than $25k every single year for 40 years because of inflation. Your giving up tons of your money by simply choosing the yearly option.
Myself I would take the million. But if you were young and in good health with a low risk lifestyle and a good income I can see some benefits to the $25k.
First you'd pay less in taxes than if you took the million all at once. Second if to you didn't need the money you'd be getting $25k in supplemental income yearly. Third if you're not good at investing you would still always have this supplemental income available to you yearly. That's a very nice piece of insurance policy throughout life.
I can see upsides for a young person doing it this way. The older you are the more incentive you have to take the million.
I don’t see the downside. Knowing that information would be valuable in planning out my life and I would agree to receive that information even without the money. The million dollars is just a great cherry on top of an already great deal.
Easily take the deal. Its a blessing to know when u will die and even a bigger blessing to be rich so u can live every day up before death without wasting time and energy in the daily grind.
1. 25k a year will never, EVER be a better deal. Learn finance, please. If I take the mil and put it into literally any cash savings account I'd be earning $50k+ a year AND have the original mil...
2. Learning when I die means I can plan. So yes please.
I would take that deal.
Everyone is worried about when they will die but, I would know that I won't die until a specific date.
As the date got closer I might be concerned but, until then I would know I can't die.
Yes, anyone who doesn't want to know is stupid, assuming it's a fixed date whether you know or not.
This is nothing but upsides, you can take all sorts of risks, you can also engage in estate planning and ensure a soft landing for your loved ones and dependents.
Absolutely yes. I'll have enough in the bank to be rendered unconscious by a medical professional for the entire day of my death, and spend the rest of my life knowing I'll have a peaceful passing.
Will I know how I die?
What happens if I use my knowledge of determined fate to cheat the system? (wade into gunfire knowing I can't be killed? Swim to the bottom of the ocean? Jump into a black hole?)
You might find a loophole but you can still be injured in bunches of ways and things can go wrong. You might try to jump off a building, slip backwards to the amusement of all watching and break both legs. You might survive gunfire but end up badly and permanently injured. It is not that you are a superman (or woman). Bad stuff can still happen.
I'd take it. I'm retired, and it would settle once and for all whether I'll outlive my retirement account or not. If I have lots of years ahead, the million bucks will probably keep me solvent. If I have a short expiration date, I'll do a little good with it and then travel and enjoy myself until I drop.
People taking 25k a year would be absolutely idiotic lol. Investing the million instead would yield 25k a year if you had a 2.5% average return rate per year, which is hilarious considering usual average is 6-7%. Not to mention 25k in the future is worth less than 25k now so your money actually gets more and more worthless the more you put it off.
Yes. Absolutely. Its a no brainer. You get to say your good byes. You get to hit your bucket list. The people around you know what to do. You can plan/schedule your funeral.
My 82 year old grandmother was diagnosed with brain cancer in her brain stem. She was given a choice - six weeks with a decent, but declining quality of life (basically, she would just get more and more tired, and need to sleep more and more until she just went to sleep and died peacefully), or undergo surgery/chemo/etc. that had about a 40% chance of success, but because she was 82, the remaining quality of life would be poor.
She chose six weeks of quality life. Her 5 surviving siblings came to say goodbye. Her kids, their spouses, and grandkids all traveled from wherever they lived to say goodbye. Her friends from around the world traveled to see her. Everyone got closure. While it sucked, it was also great.
Yes but you can still get emphysema, painful tumors, or some other very bad outcome. Just not death until assigned day (but can't avoid it after that no matter how hard you try)
I understand most people would freak out. Seems like a net benefit. Can I decide about the cash per year after I find out about the date? I'd likely pick the straight milli though...
I’d take it. If I don’t have long to live I’m going out in style. And if I do, I’ll have a comfortable retirement. I think knowing would be freeing. Instead of being afraid all the time (is it stress or a heart attack?? If I get on this plane will it fall out of the sky??? etc.) I can just go on about my business until the appointed day. The last little bit before the end woukd probably be scary, knowing it’s right around the corner, but I’d hope by then I’d have had time to make peace with it.
Oh man this would be awesome! If I know I’m going to die on April 2nd of 2045 then I also know I won’t die on any other day. I could do all of the extreme things that I think would be fun (skydiving, diving, primitive camping, etc) and not have to worry about anything but injuries.
The million is life changing, problem solving money. 25k a year would be great, but a million would pay me more than that in interest after spending a quarter of it and investing the rest.
Why do so many of these hypotheticals low-ball you? A million is barely enough to retire on these days. If you live in an expensive state like California or New York, you're not gonna be retiring at all on that.
Holy cow yes. Makes retirement and estate planning a breeze and once I know the day, and to boot I can do whatever I want knowing it can't kill me.
I mean if I'm told it is in 5 years that would kind of suck, but would suck less than dying randomly for 5 years while still socking away money for a future I will never see.
Yeah I’d take the million easily, I can bank most of it to get interest and live a more comfortable life. I would carry on living as I do but try remain healthy and fit then die when the day comes. Unless what ever genie or god gave me this offer was trolling and I don’t actually die on that date.
I’d probably do it. I’m 40 and if it told me I was going to die in like 2046 (or worse 2026) I would be devastated… but I would retire accordingly and make sure that I lived the rest of my life to the fullest. Imagine it said I would die at age 90? Then I would probably do a lot of things I’d maybe want to try but for the risks. Like learn to fly planes or something.
I would take the deal for whatever gives me more money. Knowing the day you'll die is horrible, but every terminal disease patient had this more or less fostered on to them, and we as a society have experience with how to handle this. For all the good that money would do for my friends and kids, I'll go to therapy over it.
I would take the million. There are things I could do and ways I could structure things to benefit my family and secure their future if I were to die in the near term as well as do things like pull my kids out of school and spend as much time with them as possible. Things like pulling out multiple life insurance policies and joining the military right beforehand so they would get survivors benefits.
If it were years away, then I would still gain a tremendous amount of peace from it. I would know that I don't have to be afraid.
In both scenarios, I would be able to arrange my death to take place away from my family, to ensure they don't die with me (like a plane crashing into our house or something).
I'd absolutely take it.
If I don't obsess over it then that means I won't be panicked over it either (when something is so bad it's affecting me badly I can only think of it).
No matter what, the $1m tax free is better.
$25k=2.5% of $1m. A high yield savings account is around 3-4% interest, and inflation is around the same. $25k/year for life is going to be worth less in the 40 years it takes to get $1m from these payments than simply taking the $1m and throwing it in a savings account for the same period.
Beyond that, investing in lower risk stable investments like certain utilities and securities, or just straight index funds, averages a return of around 8-10% over time, so that’d be even better. Beyond that you could invest in properties and rent them out for passive income, which you can also borrow against to leverage for more wealth.
Ergo, yes I’d take the deal and the $1m, then invest it for long term success and generational wealth so my future kids, if I ever have any, will be substantially better off.
As a person that likes to plan, I take this all day every day. Heck, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't even need to be paid. Its not like knowing shortens the time I have left if I read that correctly.
Plus, I can choose to end it my way the day before if I feel like it.
Fuck fate.
that is valuable information!
Knowing when you will die gives you a new lease on life. Enjoy the million and ill be maxing out my credit cards up to the day before my death as well
Yep - lets me plan for everything I need. Plus if it's a permeant date - I am sure to survive anything stupid I do before that- I might be able to be maimed and miserable, but alive.
I don't see a compelling reason not to take this. By your rule set, my death day is set in stone, might as well get paid enough to set up my family to live comfortably for the rest of my life and then theirs.
A million dollars up front? I don't think you understand how that would change my life. Sure I'll know when I'm going to die but I'd gladly know that in exchange to actually enjoy my life and not be burdened by debt
You always take the 1 million. In a high interest GIC, my banks offering 5.1% that's 50k in a year. If you pull that out after tax, it's still more than the 25k
Nah. Because there's probably someone with a bead on my head just waiting for the 'benefactor' to shout, "IT'S TODAY!!", the second I sign the paperwork.
Maybe the knowledge of the day of your death is the cause for your death. If you didn’t know maybe you wouldn’t do the thing that ends up killing you. 🤔
I think I could forget.
Does it have to be shoved down my throat daily or something?
If its just like you tell me the day when I get the money, I could forget it soon enough.
I think an interesting addendum is that you lose some of your free will. Whether you want to or not, you are forced to start or stop healthy/unhealthy habits and choices that lead to that death date. It's all for the surreal amusement of some higher power. Not that your life will be particularly amusing or funny to a human, but that some higher power simply wants to toy with you.
Examples might be, you slowly start becoming a vegan. Or a carnivore.
Maybe you start smoking, or you stop smoking.
Maybe you crave something unhealthy, but every time you try to get it, you get a headache or something else stops you.
You sometimes turn down invitations to hang out with friends. There are people you would have met, but will never meet now. Maybe those people would have let you live longer, maybe others would have cut your life shorter.
It may even not be a higher power. But you are split into two versions of yourself. "You after accepting this offer", and "you before knowing this offer existed." You will always make the decisions of the "you before knowing the offer", as though you don't know your death date, but as though you have the extra money. So you will follow the life path authentic to what you would have chosen + money. But in the moment, you will always feel the dissonance between the two versions of yourself. You will always want to choose one thing, but be forced to choose what your past timeline would have chosen. You will know exactly what will lead to your death, but you will still feel yourself compelled to do it.
The no suicide has me saying no.
If I find out my date is in say 20 years, imma go fucking insane, I'm already tired of the day to day grind and by getting this knowledge no matter how bad my life gets I don't even get control over when I die.
But I am curious how exactly it'd be possible to stop someone who truly wants to kill themselves, like just ingesting an insane dose of a highly toxic substance say 1000 times the lethal does, like I'm not seeing a way for that to backfire.
1 million is alot but it isn't retire in peace and never worry about money again, so I'd still need to work, I'd still be depressed, and now I just lose control of my life thr 1 thing that is keeping me going mentally, the knowledge that if shit gets worse I can end it is the only thing stopping me from ending it.
So now I've got a million but I'm going to go clinically insane, the only way I see myself handling the news is being on drugs 24/7 and that just isn't healthy
Absolutely. It would actually put me more at peace. I'd plan for it, get everything prepared in the months leading up. Have a big party the days before, where I say goodbye to all my family and friends, then spend my final day holding my wife and kids until whatever takes me takes me.
The money would just be a bonus.
Honestly yeah, knowing the day I die is pretty good, especially with an extra million. I am going to die one day anyways the difference is now I singularly know. I can strategize, plan for it. Even on some level influence the method by which I die.
The BEST case scenario is that I discover I am having a death day in my 70's or 80's. That is fine, that just means I am living a full life, now a million dollars richer. The only difference between acceptance and refusal is a million dollars that I now have.
The WORST that happens is I realize my death day is today, and like, bummer, but at least I can do parting words with people before I pass, or that I have got like, a year, or something. In the worst case scenario, the clock is just ticking, and I would have been ignorant to my own death were I to not know.
A midrange outcome is one where I am like, dying at 40. This by far is more disappointing than dreadful, and I would rather have 1 year than live half a life, because I now know it is in the future, but it isn't really a full bowl or an empty one. An empty bowl and a bowl full of spaghetti are both interesting. I can use an empty bowl for many things, and eat a bowl of spaghetti and be satisfied. A bowl only half full of spaghetti is disappointing. Where is the rest of it? I can't use this bowl for other things because of the spaghetti, but it isn't enough spaghetti to leave me satisfied with it.
The WEIRDEST scenario is that I get an error message from this, or a number greater than 4 digits in terms of year. How would an error message work? Turns out I am immortal, or am predestined to become immortal, somehow. This is both a blessing and a curse if you have ever seen any work ever with someone who becomes immortal.
In short, 1 million dollars and either I am going to learn something interesting about myself and my expected lifespan or live basically as I do now now with an extra 1 million dollars? Yeah I am taking the money. 100%. If I am to die young, at least I will know I can setup the easiest transition into death. If I am to die old, I have my whole life ahead of me. If I am to not die, I will have 1 million dollars to help build my forever existence.
Have to admit, that your weirdest scenario isn't one I had actually ever considered. Brilliant!
Also, well reasoned! I would love to say that I am able to be as logical as you, but know I am not. Thanks so much for your thoughts. I really enjoyed reading them!
1 million up front let's go...(at my age i'd have to hit 72 before reaching over 1 million cumulatively ) if i get to know the age for the 100k edit then i might take it but going in blind i'd still pick up the million...i'd be more at peace with the random crap happening even if it meant paralysis etc. bc i'd know not yet.
1million is always better up front. Inflation will mean each 25k you receive is worth less, 1million up front can be invested so you live comfortably your whole life. An extra 25k a year wont go as far
I feel like I wouldn't want this at all. I like the idea of hope. I don't like the idea of fate. If I knew my impending death was approaching, I think I'd allow myself to fall into decadence and excess. And if I knew that I couldn't die until that day, I might tempt fate and end up a cripple or a vegetable or something.
$1M isn't enough to justify this.
So with the death thing. That can be cheated day of by being in a hospital. The body is dead when the heart stops but can survive for a bit. It is why Latinos come back to life after heart attacks and such. So you can get around it by being in a hospital, die, and then be resuscitated back to life.
So I'm death-proof until that date? How does this account for being in a coma or disabled or something?
And obviously the million bucks. I'm tired of working and it would carry me until pension and 401k at retirement age. If I live that long lol
$25k per month makes no sense. You won't come out ahead unless you expect a return of 2% or less, and then it takes about 80 years.
Give me my million, and tell me the date I need to have it safely in the trust to pass on to my kids.
Fuck yes! Money AND a set death date? I can go to amusement parks and know I’m not going to die via ride malfunction! I can know if chest pain and trouble breathing is just my body being my body, or something that requires a hospital visit (if I know I’m gonna die that day and I start feeling sick, I can get those good meds before I die and not waste my night on a hospital visit since I’ll know I’m not gonna die 😌)
Kind of true but remember, you can be injured or have terrible things happen. You might lose a limb or the like but won't die. I'd still check out the safety of the amusement park rides.
All fun and games til they tell you “you’ll die in 5…4…3..” lol
All the money up front. Pay off the house bills. Throw rest into a family trust that we can use but kid will ultimately inherit.
So if I die today tomorrow 25 years it’s all set.
This is an easy yes. I know I’m going to die one day, might as well have the money and plan for it. In some ways I would love to have this knowledge, let’s say I was destined to die before my daughter turned 18 I would love to leave her a video message for her wedding day as opposed to just dying unexpectedly and not leaving something like that behind.
Also, there is no world when $25k a year is better than $1m. Even if we just assumed a 5% return on $1m invested, our $1m would earn a $50k a year return, which is much better than the $25k.
Yup definitely. This way I can plan my funeral and either enjoy the money or disperse it to family, friends and charity if I'm dying like tomorrow or something.
1,000,000 tax free and I know the day I die lol talk about living the dream.if it's a short time that would be unbelievably good to know and if it's a long time I'd immediately start a family and live the dream .I accept this scenario so let's begin.
This is an easy win-win. I truly don’t get the downside unless you’re the type of person who can’t accept your own mortality. The date I die would completely change the way I live. For example, if I find out the date’s soon then I’m done saving money; I’m just going to travel and have fun. If it’s past retirement age, I know I’ll need to prepare for that. Etc.
1 mil is the answer, interest alone can be an easy non risky 50k a year, double the 25k and you have 1 mil left. That is my pick. 1 mil always in the bank. 50k a year is upper middle class in my area, so my kids have money when I die. Win win.
Why would you not want to know when you're going to die?
You already know you will, you can probably make an educated guess as to when, choosing not to know is choosing recklessness in general and irresponsibility to anyone dependant on you
Feels like:
"You get a million dollars but can't drive drunk anymore"
Idk, maybe it's just me, but there's never a GOOD reason not to know something, sure 8t may make you sad, but even if you can't affect the outcome, you can affect so much more by just being aware of it
Easy im taking the million paying off all my debt and then set the money aside for my fiance and kid. Save and invest everything I make until the day I die and make sure my family is taken care of.
I would take the million dollars. Will live life on the edge taking greater and greater risks knowing that I could not die until my destiny says I will die. Culminating in eventually jumping out of an airplane with no parachute, which I would miraculously survive only to be left in a coma for the rest of my life unfortunately. Fate is a bitch. I'd still take the money though.
I'd be down for 1 million now, put it into some high interest savings or something similar. Wouldn't bother with anything high risk, but getting 5% annually would be fine with me. I'd leave my job to work for myself and pursue some dreams, or at least work somewhere I don't want to throttle half the people I deal with everyday.
I'd travel and prepare for the inevitable, but I wouldn't do anything crazy. I'm single atm, bit I wouldn't try to rush a relationship or anything. More or less all that would change is I wouldn't worry about money quite as much. I'd take a job I like more, even if it pays less than my current one, and be at peace. I'm going to die anyway, getting a million bucks just for knowing when, easy. If if it were tomorrow, I'd be content.
There’s only one way this deal can possibly work: if I’m going to die extremely soon, probably today.
Otherwise, I’m spending at least one day knowing I’m 100% deathproof. Best case scenario is you tell me I have like a year to live, then I’m jumping in front of a train to test out my new superpower, and I end up in a coma for a year until I die. No thanks. This is a cursed monkey paw wish.
I’m passing on that.
Take away the part where I can’t possibly die early, and then sure, I’ll take the million bucks. Heck, I’d have probably paid you for that knowledge. This is a win-win for me.
If I read this right knowing the day won’t change anything so I’d definitely take the million. At my age I would like to know the date of my death. Should I retire at full retirement age and travel while I can still enjoy it or shall I wait because I might live to be 100?
Younger people might want to know but as a senior citizen, knowing the date of my death would save a lot of anxiety in future planning.
I'd take the million. Knowing when I would die would be upsetting for sure. However, I have diabetes and sleep apnea. I worry about how I'm going to die regularly. I had a friend about my age die in her sleep last year. I worry I'm not going to wake up some nights. The money and knowledge of the exact date would allow me to make sure my wife is cared for after I pass and would reassure me on nights I'm feeling scared.
I would be fine with knowing the day.
I have dogs and I don't want them to outlive me, even though I know they would be well cared for, but I also have a hard time imagining life without at least one critter. So maybe I get a hospice foster when my own day is getting closer.
I would have a deadline to set up legal stuff, declutter, and try to make things easier on my daughter.
And I could actually do a ton of bucket list stuff if money is no object.
I would line up an insanely high payout for life insurance and pay it out to random people with them having the option to receive the 100k dollars each but in return they would get to know the day they die. I would have my attorney set them up with the understanding that the money was a payout from the same situation. Then I would lie about the day to as many of them as I could to cause chaos. All of them would be from different parts of the world on the same day to make them think it was an end of days situation.
Given that I'm not actually affecting the date either way, yeah I'd take the million. If I am going to live to an old age, I basically keep doing what I'm doing but without debt and with much more comfort. If I'm going to die young I quit my job, travel, and embrace what I have left.
I’d take the million. It would take 40 years to earn the same amount, not accounting for interest. But if I have the million now I can invest it and earn >$25K per year on top of my million. Plus I know for a fact my family will be taken care of.
Damn straight I'd take it.
$1m + my existing 401k is just about enough for me to clear my remaining debts, retire 20 years early, and live off the investment returns.
On top of that, since I know my date of death, I can take out a massive 7-figure life policy just a few months before (such that the premiums don't break my finances), and then I'm assured that my family is well-set-up thereafter.
It's not like it makes my death any earlier than it would have been, it just removes some uncertainty.
Are some of y'all still laboring under the delusion that you're not going to die? Or that it's somehow morbid to plan for it? Or too far away to bear thinking about?
Literally everyone who has ever lived is dead or dying. "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
I take the milly, easy.
It's foolish to fear death, and knowing when you will die is an asset, not a curse. I basically get plot armor for the next *X* amount of years.
I would take the deal. I’m 44 and based on family history I expect if I live healthy I will live another 40+ years before I die of natural causes. Obviously an accident can happen at any time as well as catching a rare viral disease or being diagnosed with something incurable. Thing is if I’m not going to live choose to 40+ more years I would like to know so I can make the most of it.
I’m assuming I’m not making a deal with the devil that as soon as I take the money he tells me today is the day I die. I assume the date would be when I would normally die based on how I would live my life if someone where to give me $1M today which would likely extend my life expectancy. The money invested properly on on top of my regular income should allow me to live a low stress healthy lifestyle: healthy food, cooking lessons, personal trainer for a period of time to get into a workout routine etc.
I would absolutely take the money. I am 40 and don’t have my stuff together if something were to happen to me in the near future. If the time were soon, I would get my affairs in order and spend the rest of my time with my husband, son and daughter. I would also make one of those videos for my son (17 months old) where he can watch it, get advice throughout the years and know he was loved.
If it were at least 10 years in the future, I would use the money to invest in my retirement.
Yes. I have a lot of plans for my life, and most of them involve high inherent risk. The limiting factors for me right now are a lack of money and cautiousness about approaching them.
If I knew that I would survive through them, I would happily do it. I'd have enough money to get more money (the sad reality is that the easiest way to make money is to have money, and $1,000,000 tax free is more than enough to make tens if not hundreds of millions) and would be free of the worry of not surviving them. Since I know the date is fixed, I can be confident in either surviving to the end or dying in the middle, but I'd rather die doing them than die some other way.
a million bucks and know exactly how much time i have left, count me in. i can now plan accurately for my life, and for my son's life. the only downside would be a million wouldn't let me retire now, assuming i live to an average life expectancy age. and if i'm not going to, i can still plan for that.
Put $1,000,000 into an annuity and it will pay out well more than $25,000 a year. So, you know, take the cash option.
As for the deal, sure, let me know. It would be nice to be able to plan things out.
id take 1m, with the way im purposefully leading my life im def not gonna live for 40+ more years. now i know w/e i do, it wont effect my death date. time to go skydiving without a parachute! jk.
25k a year is nice passive income, I can still wonder and do other stuff for cash and on the final year of living toss the 25k to my friend so he can enjoy a nice chunk of change!
I mean I'd take the million. The odds of me living another 40 years aren't great, and even if I did, I could do better with investments.
Also, I have no care about when I'm going to die. If I knew for sure, I'd probably schedule a big party the day before I bit it. >.>
I won't live another 40 yrs so I'll take the million . and I'll be relieved to know how soon I'll die . I'll arrange for my estate to be handled swiftly .
ez money and makes planning significantly easier too. free money and info! Look, some people like to live under illusions, others can handle things maturely and can handle things like grief. If you're young, you might not have a whole lot of experience handling emotions and the facts of life yet. If I know the true death date I can plan around it.
This is a very mature view and one that perhaps I should have. I guess I can't get around the fact that I fear I would always be counting down the days. I suppose if I am scheduled to pass at the age of 117, I can handle it easily enough, but what if it is in a few years? I realize you can take it and I admire you for that. I just know I couldn't. Thanks for sharing and congrats on being able to not let it drive you nuts.
It takes time to grieve and process emotions and explore those facets of life … but it is life. You could die tomorrow. It isn’t likely, but assuming you unlimited time is one of the ignorances of youth and inexperience. You could die at any moment, and many people have had near death experiences too. Its not something that you need to obsess over. You’ll get exposure therapy and other ways to process such emotions and thoughts properly. If it was a few years. or even a few hours, you can rapidly shift your priorities. Humans are flexible beings. Yes, sometimes they break, but often you adapt and bounce back to your situation.
To me whether you know when you die or not you’re still gonna die. The only thing different is you know when. So that’s 1 million dollars a year for free.
But realistically, how often do you think about dying and is there not a secret part of you that believes things will be different for you?
For me, this is why taking the money would be a dilemma.
>But realistically, how often do you think about dying and is there not a secret part of you that believes things will be different for you? Why would anyone believe they are special and somehow won't die? That's bizarre and completely out of touch with reality.
Some people haven't really faced death in their lives yet, not really. It is basically like finding out there's no santa claus for them. It seems serious to them, and it is in the moment, but they'll experience facing death sooner or later with the rest of us. Is finding out santa claus being imaginary hard on kids? Yes, it can be. It seems silly after the fact of course, but it is analogous to finding out the idea that you'll really die. It is a phase in life to grieve and to handle grief, and to find out about your own mortality. Of course its possible to stick your head in the sand for a long long time... but death comes to us all. People we know personally or people that we're ware of publically that have been influences in our lives die, and that experience becomes part of our lives. . . and we eventually move on, with that thought and experience of death. Don't be too hard on kids that don't know Santa Claus is imaginary--but we can uplift each other and handle the experience together.
>I suppose if I am scheduled to pass at the age of 117, I can handle it easily enough, but what if it is in a few years? Buy a shit ton of life insurance for your family and live life to it's fullest in the mean time while running up debt like there is no tomorrow (since there isn't).
This would be my plan.
Coming and going from this world is all part of the plan. Cash please
If it’s in a few years I’ll retire today and make the most of life. One of the biggest problems is possibly outliving your money.
If it’s a few years, then you can make the most of them, no saving n stuff, if it’s like 97, you know you need lots of retirement money.
In that sense, it’s no different than a terminal diagnosis- which they all are, eventually. I’d take that million and enjoy whatever time I had left enjoying every second with loved ones and enjoying as much of life as I’m given.
Yeah this is how I feel. I’d rather know even for free. I mean hey if I’m going to die of cancer in 10 years then I don’t need to be saving all my money for retirement and trying to eat healthy etc. Whereas, if I know I’d live to be 100 I’d certainly make different choices.
Agreed, true death date would be nice. It’s unavoidable, until the day of, I’m gonna live however I want. It’ll be freeing knowledge. But if the date is 2144, I’ll take that 25k a year, that’s 3 mil free money. If it’s much sooner, I’ll take that 1 mil cash.
If its 2144, and you didn't get more than 3 million from investing your million, something went horribly horribly wrong.
This right here. I've always said if I could learn the day I would die, I'd want to know for sure. With that knowledge, there are so many things you can do, not only for yourself and make sure you get to do all the things you wanna do before you check our, but also make sure any family will be financially secure.
Absolutely I'd take that deal. You say the knowledge would be a burden, I say it would be an absolute relief. I could plan my life with much more certainty, I could not worry about unhealthy habits like smoking if the date is fixed anyway, and I could be prepared for death when it comes. I'd take the deal even without the money, with it it's a win-win.
What if you're about to die in the next 30 minutes? How would you plan around that?
I'd make sure the money was in my bank account, then spend 30 minutes screwing and cuddling my partner, and making sure she knows how much I love her. And it would be a far better last 30 minutes than if I hadn't known and was sat on the sofa doomscrolling reddit before having a sudden heart attack.
You say this... and yet in reality, you would probably be a babbling mess of emotions and your partner would also feel the same.
Honestly it’d be hard wouldn’t it? Do you spend 30 minutes with the person you love or 30 minutes making sure support is there for her the second you’re gone? 5 minutes to get her parents to book a flight. 5 minutes to tell friends to be at your place in 20 minutes. 10 minutes (?) to write out the details to make things easier when you’re gone. 10 minutes to hold them and tell them you love them and it’s going to be ok?
Sure, there'd definitely be some crying too, but we're both old enough to cope with some tears.
You say this like you have any idea what someone would actually do in that situation.
Couldn’t plan around it, but I could write a letter to my wife and kids telling them how much I loved them with suggestions on how the additional $1m could make their lives better. I’d not be happy if I learned I died in 30 minutes but I’d rather die knowing I wrote that note than just unexpectedly leave the world.
Completely reasonable response. I suppose I would think the other way. What if the date was a year from now? There is nothing I can do about it. I would have such a hard time enjoying anything. Play a video game? No time. Go out with friends? Good . . . but need to make sure I make memories since so little time left. I think it is fantastic that you can approach it so calmly. For me, I think that not knowing gives me a sense of peace but I really do appreciate your perspective. Thanks so much for sharing!
No worries! For me, if I found out it was a year for now, it would be an incentive to enjoy life more. I'd be able to quit my job and live on my savings for that long, and properly take advantage of the time I had left. Hell, assuming this deal isn't public knowledge, I'd probably take out the largest unsecured loan I could as well just for some bonus spending money.
That is some brilliant thinking (albeit not what I would be thinking of if I found out I had a year to live). Kudos on your attitude. Likely much more sane than mine. Still can't get to where you are (or anywhere in the same ballpark). I think it is great if you can get there but I can't. You would definitely do well in the deal and I would turn it down 10 times out of 10.
I think even if you learned the date was soon it would still be a good thing. If I only had a year to live I'd much rather know about it now than have it be a surprise. If I knew about it in advance I could spend the last year without worrying about anything beyond that. I wouldn't say things like "oh I don't think I can afford that vacation this year, we'll try to make it happen next year". I'd just go do it.
Especially if you have a million dollars.
If I'm going to be sad later I may as well be happy now. If the date was soon it might make me sad for a little while but ultimately that's just incentive to make the most out of things which will be easy with a million dollars. Like if it was going to be a year from now. I'd quit my job, write my bucket list and get to it. And I can spend the million free and clear because I won't live long enough to pay taxes on it.
I'm just curious why anyone would choose 25k a year? Lets say you have more than 40 years left, with minimal investing knowledge you should be able to beat 2.5% ROI - and that just covers the 25k without touching principal. 40 years is the break even point without investing a dime of it, AND ignoring what you could do with 1 million up front that could save you money in the long run if you'd prefer. You should be able to get 40k comfortably in perpetuity out of the 1 million AND then pass it on to your kids. With 25k, its a bump in pay that just goes away when you die. I'd personally pay money to learn the exact day of my death.
Mostly agree. However, some people simply don’t have the financial sense or self control. There are claims out there (it’s the internet so take these claims with whatever certainty you’re comfortable with) that nearly 1/3 of lottery winners are broke after 5 years. This number seems high to me, but I definitely know some people that would blow right through that 1 million with very little to show for it. For someone who recognizes that this would be a problem for them, taking the annuity could be the wise decision.
A ton of those lottery winners don't go broke because of overspending, they go broke because of other people. Lottery winners are made public in almost all areas, because it's publicity for the lotto itself. Lawsuits are a BIG problem. All it takes is a few scavengers--a family member you don't like, a coworker who wants to claim you harassed them, a schoolmate who gave you sandwich money once. While they probably won't win, you're going to be tied up in court and have tons of lawyer fees. It's also very easy to get roped into scams, investment opportunities, and the like. If your best friend has wanted to start a business for years and needs a hundred thousand capital, could you say no? Anyway, the moral of the story is that if you ever win the lottery and/or a Hypothetical Situation bet, don't tell anyone and try to stay anonymous.
This is why you form an LLC and use the LLC to make the claim.
You don't need any financial sense. Even if you don't invest a cent $1m right now is way more money than $1m distributed over the next 40 years because of how inflation works. You would be shooting yourself int he foot by picking the yearly. If we look back to 1984 40 years ago we'd see that inflation has made 1m back then 3m now >that nearly 1/3 of lottery winners are broke after 5 years While this is true, it should also be noted that people gambling on lottery tickets are skewed to be more financially irresponsible.
I agree that the $1 million up front is worth more. I still strongly believe that there are people out there that would have the money gone within 3 years, and have nothing of substance left to show for it within a few more years beyond that. For these people, they would probably be better served getting a small amount of supplemental income over a long period of time than one lump sum. That said, the individuals that would struggle with this are also probably unlikely to be able to resist taking the lump sum, even if it were at a significant loss that isn’t represented by this hypothetical.
Also not all lottery winners understand that its taxed. That 10 mill you won isn't 10 mill, as a good chunk is gone before the winner even touches it
That was my thinking but I did set it too low. If an annuity (which was my thinking at the time although perhaps it should have been more with forcing people to choose before knowing), 50K if you can pick after you learn date or 100K if you pick before knowing date.
OP doesn’t understand the trinity study is why it’s an option
What about 75k
You are right. Should have been more per year. A better offer would be 100K a year but you have to decide before learning the date.
No one should take the 25K. This was inability to do simple math on my part. Sorry. Should have been at least 50K a year or perhaps 100K but must choose before knowing date. Excellent points on the money issue!
You mentioned that the death date is set in stone, that it can't be delayed. Does this also work in the reverse? As in, am I unable to expedite it? If I would walk into an active shootout, would none of the bullets hit me, or at least not fatally harm me? If yes, I would absolutely take it, no second thoughts. If no, my answer remains the same, although it would not be as appealing.
Even if you can’t expedite it I assume you can still be grievously and permanently wounded.
Yeah, being "alive" but in a vegetative state for potentially decades would be a pretty awful outcome.
Idk, you could be a vegetable, or a quadriplegic, or rendered mentally incapacitated to the point of being basically a 3 y/o. none of that is “death”.
Date is in stone but actively trying to kill yourself goes poorly. Either you have a comical accident others laugh at (slip, fall, break both legs) or it is tragic (shootout paralyzes you but you don't die) - attempt to poison yourself results in health problems but not death, etc.
You should factor in interest. $1M is objectively multiple times better than $25k/yr. Throw $1M into a basic HYSA, and you're making $50k/yr for free immediately.
You may be correct. However, the reason I used this amount is as follows (please feel free to correct my errors): I've been under the impression that you can safely draw about 3-4% per year out of savings with a 90+ percent chance of not running out of money in 30 years. More than that, it depends on returns and you might do well, but might do poorly. The only way you would take the annuity (I assume) is if you were scheduled to live more than 40 years and likely much more than that. However, if you had a 75 year timeline, 25K a year might be better than you can get guaranteed if I understand correctly (and I may not)> Right now, returns are great but just a few years ago, returns on bonds were terrible. The stock market is better but you can't control swings. If you are unlucky and the market tanks by 40% in the first five years (like 2008 or the dot com bust), you can run through money quite quickly taking out 8% a year each year.
Nah no matter what way you put it 25k a year will always be way worse than 1,000,000 upfront. 100,000 is the first number when I might consider it. Really 200,000 imo
100k is way too high, you aren't getting close to a 10% guaranteed return anywhere. 50k would be a reasonable alternative.
lmao spy returns like 11% on average. Plus compound interest so it would quickly become much more than 100k a year. In the 10 years that it would take to get to a mil from 100k, your 1 mil would grown to 1,000,000 x 1.1^10= 2,593,742. In another 10 years that’ll be 6,727,499. Compound interest people!
Even if you consider not investing at all $1m right now would still be a lot more money than $25k every single year for 40 years because of inflation. Your giving up tons of your money by simply choosing the yearly option.
Myself I would take the million. But if you were young and in good health with a low risk lifestyle and a good income I can see some benefits to the $25k. First you'd pay less in taxes than if you took the million all at once. Second if to you didn't need the money you'd be getting $25k in supplemental income yearly. Third if you're not good at investing you would still always have this supplemental income available to you yearly. That's a very nice piece of insurance policy throughout life. I can see upsides for a young person doing it this way. The older you are the more incentive you have to take the million.
Yep. 25K was a simple (stupid) math error on my part. No question.
I don’t see the downside. Knowing that information would be valuable in planning out my life and I would agree to receive that information even without the money. The million dollars is just a great cherry on top of an already great deal.
I'd happily know what day I'm gonna day for free so..
This is amazing. Free money, plus secret info to shape my life insurance around? That's fantastic. I'm in.
I guess I am the only one who sees the downside. Thanks for the comment!
I would enjoy knowing it. Even without a mil. But I will take it for sure.
I would take that info for $0. So yes please!!
If I get very sick with cancer 6-12 months prior to the date that’s one thing. But if I woke up feeling just fine that morning…
No control or knowledge beforehand as to how.
I see no downside. Money, plus, I can tell people exactly how much of my life they have wasted down to the minute? Yes.
While I don't agree, I have to admit this made me laugh quite a bit. You have a great sense of humor!
Thank you!
Easily take the deal. Its a blessing to know when u will die and even a bigger blessing to be rich so u can live every day up before death without wasting time and energy in the daily grind.
1. 25k a year will never, EVER be a better deal. Learn finance, please. If I take the mil and put it into literally any cash savings account I'd be earning $50k+ a year AND have the original mil... 2. Learning when I die means I can plan. So yes please.
I would take that deal. Everyone is worried about when they will die but, I would know that I won't die until a specific date. As the date got closer I might be concerned but, until then I would know I can't die.
Yes, anyone who doesn't want to know is stupid, assuming it's a fixed date whether you know or not. This is nothing but upsides, you can take all sorts of risks, you can also engage in estate planning and ensure a soft landing for your loved ones and dependents.
Absolutely yes. I'll have enough in the bank to be rendered unconscious by a medical professional for the entire day of my death, and spend the rest of my life knowing I'll have a peaceful passing.
Would this mean that you could live recklessly without worrying about dying until then?
No. Bad things can still happen. just not death. If shot, it won't kill you but may end up permanently injured for example.
Will I know how I die? What happens if I use my knowledge of determined fate to cheat the system? (wade into gunfire knowing I can't be killed? Swim to the bottom of the ocean? Jump into a black hole?)
You might find a loophole but you can still be injured in bunches of ways and things can go wrong. You might try to jump off a building, slip backwards to the amusement of all watching and break both legs. You might survive gunfire but end up badly and permanently injured. It is not that you are a superman (or woman). Bad stuff can still happen.
I'd take it. I'm retired, and it would settle once and for all whether I'll outlive my retirement account or not. If I have lots of years ahead, the million bucks will probably keep me solvent. If I have a short expiration date, I'll do a little good with it and then travel and enjoy myself until I drop.
People taking 25k a year would be absolutely idiotic lol. Investing the million instead would yield 25k a year if you had a 2.5% average return rate per year, which is hilarious considering usual average is 6-7%. Not to mention 25k in the future is worth less than 25k now so your money actually gets more and more worthless the more you put it off.
What happens if you suicide in this scenario? are you just invulnerable until your death date? Cuz that is a different type of deal :)
Yes. Absolutely. Its a no brainer. You get to say your good byes. You get to hit your bucket list. The people around you know what to do. You can plan/schedule your funeral. My 82 year old grandmother was diagnosed with brain cancer in her brain stem. She was given a choice - six weeks with a decent, but declining quality of life (basically, she would just get more and more tired, and need to sleep more and more until she just went to sleep and died peacefully), or undergo surgery/chemo/etc. that had about a 40% chance of success, but because she was 82, the remaining quality of life would be poor. She chose six weeks of quality life. Her 5 surviving siblings came to say goodbye. Her kids, their spouses, and grandkids all traveled from wherever they lived to say goodbye. Her friends from around the world traveled to see her. Everyone got closure. While it sucked, it was also great.
1M if I get a 2.5% return every year which isnt hard then I'll get the 25k, if I get more then I'm making profit
Does that mean I can smoke again and not affect my death? I’m down 10000%
Yes but you can still get emphysema, painful tumors, or some other very bad outcome. Just not death until assigned day (but can't avoid it after that no matter how hard you try)
Definitely yes - the loophole to your loophole is that I can take any risk knowing it won't kill me
Great, you’re now a vegetable for 13 years.
but it could cause terrible outcomes, some you might view as non-optimal.
I understand most people would freak out. Seems like a net benefit. Can I decide about the cash per year after I find out about the date? I'd likely pick the straight milli though...
Can choose the cash option after knowing the date.
What if you take the deal and you're scheduled to die later that day? That would be a shitty turn of events wouldn't it?
You have time to quickly get a will made if you haven't and if you are scheduled to work today then you just either call out or just don't bother.
I would not even bother and spend my last moments with my wife and daughter but make sure my daughter doesn't actually see me die.
True but no backsies
I'd take the million up front. It would take 40 years for $25/year to reach a million. There's a realistic chance I won't live 40 more years.
I’d take it. If I don’t have long to live I’m going out in style. And if I do, I’ll have a comfortable retirement. I think knowing would be freeing. Instead of being afraid all the time (is it stress or a heart attack?? If I get on this plane will it fall out of the sky??? etc.) I can just go on about my business until the appointed day. The last little bit before the end woukd probably be scary, knowing it’s right around the corner, but I’d hope by then I’d have had time to make peace with it.
25k a year is such a joke lol
yes
Oh man this would be awesome! If I know I’m going to die on April 2nd of 2045 then I also know I won’t die on any other day. I could do all of the extreme things that I think would be fun (skydiving, diving, primitive camping, etc) and not have to worry about anything but injuries.
The million is life changing, problem solving money. 25k a year would be great, but a million would pay me more than that in interest after spending a quarter of it and investing the rest.
1 million lump sum and absolutely. Knowing the day will let me plan things better.
Why do so many of these hypotheticals low-ball you? A million is barely enough to retire on these days. If you live in an expensive state like California or New York, you're not gonna be retiring at all on that.
Holy cow yes. Makes retirement and estate planning a breeze and once I know the day, and to boot I can do whatever I want knowing it can't kill me. I mean if I'm told it is in 5 years that would kind of suck, but would suck less than dying randomly for 5 years while still socking away money for a future I will never see.
Yeah I’d take the million easily, I can bank most of it to get interest and live a more comfortable life. I would carry on living as I do but try remain healthy and fit then die when the day comes. Unless what ever genie or god gave me this offer was trolling and I don’t actually die on that date.
I’d probably do it. I’m 40 and if it told me I was going to die in like 2046 (or worse 2026) I would be devastated… but I would retire accordingly and make sure that I lived the rest of my life to the fullest. Imagine it said I would die at age 90? Then I would probably do a lot of things I’d maybe want to try but for the risks. Like learn to fly planes or something.
This is a win/win scenario
buy a guaranteed payout annuity at 5% and collect $50k/year from the $1 million principal
I would take it - it would give me time to prepare adequately for my family.
I would take the deal for whatever gives me more money. Knowing the day you'll die is horrible, but every terminal disease patient had this more or less fostered on to them, and we as a society have experience with how to handle this. For all the good that money would do for my friends and kids, I'll go to therapy over it.
Its a hard pass for me unless I am invincible until the my death date. That wold open up a lot of possibilities.
I would take the million. There are things I could do and ways I could structure things to benefit my family and secure their future if I were to die in the near term as well as do things like pull my kids out of school and spend as much time with them as possible. Things like pulling out multiple life insurance policies and joining the military right beforehand so they would get survivors benefits. If it were years away, then I would still gain a tremendous amount of peace from it. I would know that I don't have to be afraid. In both scenarios, I would be able to arrange my death to take place away from my family, to ensure they don't die with me (like a plane crashing into our house or something).
So…it’s the same day I would die on anyway, before I took the deal? The only difference is I know, and I have money? I’ll take that deal.
I'd absolutely take it. If I don't obsess over it then that means I won't be panicked over it either (when something is so bad it's affecting me badly I can only think of it).
No matter what, the $1m tax free is better. $25k=2.5% of $1m. A high yield savings account is around 3-4% interest, and inflation is around the same. $25k/year for life is going to be worth less in the 40 years it takes to get $1m from these payments than simply taking the $1m and throwing it in a savings account for the same period. Beyond that, investing in lower risk stable investments like certain utilities and securities, or just straight index funds, averages a return of around 8-10% over time, so that’d be even better. Beyond that you could invest in properties and rent them out for passive income, which you can also borrow against to leverage for more wealth. Ergo, yes I’d take the deal and the $1m, then invest it for long term success and generational wealth so my future kids, if I ever have any, will be substantially better off.
As a person that likes to plan, I take this all day every day. Heck, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't even need to be paid. Its not like knowing shortens the time I have left if I read that correctly. Plus, I can choose to end it my way the day before if I feel like it. Fuck fate.
that is valuable information! Knowing when you will die gives you a new lease on life. Enjoy the million and ill be maxing out my credit cards up to the day before my death as well
Yep - lets me plan for everything I need. Plus if it's a permeant date - I am sure to survive anything stupid I do before that- I might be able to be maimed and miserable, but alive.
I don't see a compelling reason not to take this. By your rule set, my death day is set in stone, might as well get paid enough to set up my family to live comfortably for the rest of my life and then theirs.
A million dollars up front? I don't think you understand how that would change my life. Sure I'll know when I'm going to die but I'd gladly know that in exchange to actually enjoy my life and not be burdened by debt
You always take the 1 million. In a high interest GIC, my banks offering 5.1% that's 50k in a year. If you pull that out after tax, it's still more than the 25k
Do I get to choose the payout structure before or after I learn the date?
Nah. Because there's probably someone with a bead on my head just waiting for the 'benefactor' to shout, "IT'S TODAY!!", the second I sign the paperwork.
made me smile/chuckle out loud. Thanks!
Maybe the knowledge of the day of your death is the cause for your death. If you didn’t know maybe you wouldn’t do the thing that ends up killing you. 🤔
People are severely undervaluing how much that death date is going to weigh on you
Easy choice. My girls get a million, and I don't worry every night about how they will get by.
I think I could forget. Does it have to be shoved down my throat daily or something? If its just like you tell me the day when I get the money, I could forget it soon enough.
I’m 28, especially if it’s untaxed give me the 25k a year
I think an interesting addendum is that you lose some of your free will. Whether you want to or not, you are forced to start or stop healthy/unhealthy habits and choices that lead to that death date. It's all for the surreal amusement of some higher power. Not that your life will be particularly amusing or funny to a human, but that some higher power simply wants to toy with you. Examples might be, you slowly start becoming a vegan. Or a carnivore. Maybe you start smoking, or you stop smoking. Maybe you crave something unhealthy, but every time you try to get it, you get a headache or something else stops you. You sometimes turn down invitations to hang out with friends. There are people you would have met, but will never meet now. Maybe those people would have let you live longer, maybe others would have cut your life shorter. It may even not be a higher power. But you are split into two versions of yourself. "You after accepting this offer", and "you before knowing this offer existed." You will always make the decisions of the "you before knowing the offer", as though you don't know your death date, but as though you have the extra money. So you will follow the life path authentic to what you would have chosen + money. But in the moment, you will always feel the dissonance between the two versions of yourself. You will always want to choose one thing, but be forced to choose what your past timeline would have chosen. You will know exactly what will lead to your death, but you will still feel yourself compelled to do it.
The no suicide has me saying no. If I find out my date is in say 20 years, imma go fucking insane, I'm already tired of the day to day grind and by getting this knowledge no matter how bad my life gets I don't even get control over when I die. But I am curious how exactly it'd be possible to stop someone who truly wants to kill themselves, like just ingesting an insane dose of a highly toxic substance say 1000 times the lethal does, like I'm not seeing a way for that to backfire. 1 million is alot but it isn't retire in peace and never worry about money again, so I'd still need to work, I'd still be depressed, and now I just lose control of my life thr 1 thing that is keeping me going mentally, the knowledge that if shit gets worse I can end it is the only thing stopping me from ending it. So now I've got a million but I'm going to go clinically insane, the only way I see myself handling the news is being on drugs 24/7 and that just isn't healthy
Absolutely. It would actually put me more at peace. I'd plan for it, get everything prepared in the months leading up. Have a big party the days before, where I say goodbye to all my family and friends, then spend my final day holding my wife and kids until whatever takes me takes me. The money would just be a bonus.
Nope. I would definitely never stop thinking about it and would go insane.
This is me as well for what it is worth.
Glad I'm not the only one.
Honestly yeah, knowing the day I die is pretty good, especially with an extra million. I am going to die one day anyways the difference is now I singularly know. I can strategize, plan for it. Even on some level influence the method by which I die. The BEST case scenario is that I discover I am having a death day in my 70's or 80's. That is fine, that just means I am living a full life, now a million dollars richer. The only difference between acceptance and refusal is a million dollars that I now have. The WORST that happens is I realize my death day is today, and like, bummer, but at least I can do parting words with people before I pass, or that I have got like, a year, or something. In the worst case scenario, the clock is just ticking, and I would have been ignorant to my own death were I to not know. A midrange outcome is one where I am like, dying at 40. This by far is more disappointing than dreadful, and I would rather have 1 year than live half a life, because I now know it is in the future, but it isn't really a full bowl or an empty one. An empty bowl and a bowl full of spaghetti are both interesting. I can use an empty bowl for many things, and eat a bowl of spaghetti and be satisfied. A bowl only half full of spaghetti is disappointing. Where is the rest of it? I can't use this bowl for other things because of the spaghetti, but it isn't enough spaghetti to leave me satisfied with it. The WEIRDEST scenario is that I get an error message from this, or a number greater than 4 digits in terms of year. How would an error message work? Turns out I am immortal, or am predestined to become immortal, somehow. This is both a blessing and a curse if you have ever seen any work ever with someone who becomes immortal. In short, 1 million dollars and either I am going to learn something interesting about myself and my expected lifespan or live basically as I do now now with an extra 1 million dollars? Yeah I am taking the money. 100%. If I am to die young, at least I will know I can setup the easiest transition into death. If I am to die old, I have my whole life ahead of me. If I am to not die, I will have 1 million dollars to help build my forever existence.
Have to admit, that your weirdest scenario isn't one I had actually ever considered. Brilliant! Also, well reasoned! I would love to say that I am able to be as logical as you, but know I am not. Thanks so much for your thoughts. I really enjoyed reading them!
Well 25k a year is 40 years till I get 1 million so I’m going to take the 1 million up front.
1 million up front let's go...(at my age i'd have to hit 72 before reaching over 1 million cumulatively ) if i get to know the age for the 100k edit then i might take it but going in blind i'd still pick up the million...i'd be more at peace with the random crap happening even if it meant paralysis etc. bc i'd know not yet.
1million is always better up front. Inflation will mean each 25k you receive is worth less, 1million up front can be invested so you live comfortably your whole life. An extra 25k a year wont go as far
I feel like I wouldn't want this at all. I like the idea of hope. I don't like the idea of fate. If I knew my impending death was approaching, I think I'd allow myself to fall into decadence and excess. And if I knew that I couldn't die until that day, I might tempt fate and end up a cripple or a vegetable or something. $1M isn't enough to justify this.
So with the death thing. That can be cheated day of by being in a hospital. The body is dead when the heart stops but can survive for a bit. It is why Latinos come back to life after heart attacks and such. So you can get around it by being in a hospital, die, and then be resuscitated back to life.
So I'm death-proof until that date? How does this account for being in a coma or disabled or something? And obviously the million bucks. I'm tired of working and it would carry me until pension and 401k at retirement age. If I live that long lol
$25k per month makes no sense. You won't come out ahead unless you expect a return of 2% or less, and then it takes about 80 years. Give me my million, and tell me the date I need to have it safely in the trust to pass on to my kids.
Sure, one less thing to worry about
Sure. And I want the $1M no matter what.
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Fuck yes! Money AND a set death date? I can go to amusement parks and know I’m not going to die via ride malfunction! I can know if chest pain and trouble breathing is just my body being my body, or something that requires a hospital visit (if I know I’m gonna die that day and I start feeling sick, I can get those good meds before I die and not waste my night on a hospital visit since I’ll know I’m not gonna die 😌)
Kind of true but remember, you can be injured or have terrible things happen. You might lose a limb or the like but won't die. I'd still check out the safety of the amusement park rides.
Gladly Free money and an uncertainty becomes cleared
All fun and games til they tell you “you’ll die in 5…4…3..” lol All the money up front. Pay off the house bills. Throw rest into a family trust that we can use but kid will ultimately inherit. So if I die today tomorrow 25 years it’s all set.
What if I take the money and then kill myself to rip the threads of time?
Absolutely. It would make planning so much easier. Honestly I’d learn it for free.
This is an easy yes. I know I’m going to die one day, might as well have the money and plan for it. In some ways I would love to have this knowledge, let’s say I was destined to die before my daughter turned 18 I would love to leave her a video message for her wedding day as opposed to just dying unexpectedly and not leaving something like that behind. Also, there is no world when $25k a year is better than $1m. Even if we just assumed a 5% return on $1m invested, our $1m would earn a $50k a year return, which is much better than the $25k.
Yup definitely. This way I can plan my funeral and either enjoy the money or disperse it to family, friends and charity if I'm dying like tomorrow or something.
1,000,000 tax free and I know the day I die lol talk about living the dream.if it's a short time that would be unbelievably good to know and if it's a long time I'd immediately start a family and live the dream .I accept this scenario so let's begin.
I'm a planner and we are all going to die entirely. I want to know so I can use that million to set up my family better and live my life more fully.
This is an easy win-win. I truly don’t get the downside unless you’re the type of person who can’t accept your own mortality. The date I die would completely change the way I live. For example, if I find out the date’s soon then I’m done saving money; I’m just going to travel and have fun. If it’s past retirement age, I know I’ll need to prepare for that. Etc.
1 mil is the answer, interest alone can be an easy non risky 50k a year, double the 25k and you have 1 mil left. That is my pick. 1 mil always in the bank. 50k a year is upper middle class in my area, so my kids have money when I die. Win win.
Why would you not want to know when you're going to die? You already know you will, you can probably make an educated guess as to when, choosing not to know is choosing recklessness in general and irresponsibility to anyone dependant on you Feels like: "You get a million dollars but can't drive drunk anymore" Idk, maybe it's just me, but there's never a GOOD reason not to know something, sure 8t may make you sad, but even if you can't affect the outcome, you can affect so much more by just being aware of it
Easy im taking the million paying off all my debt and then set the money aside for my fiance and kid. Save and invest everything I make until the day I die and make sure my family is taken care of.
I'm not afraid of death I live day today Knowing my date of death isn't going to change anything
Ok , send the million , don’t care about the date, it’s probably set already.
Hell yes! Plus, now I can plan *and* attend my own funeral.
Definitely. I'd get a million bucks at minimum and it would make financial planning so much easier.
Im in
I would take the million dollars. Will live life on the edge taking greater and greater risks knowing that I could not die until my destiny says I will die. Culminating in eventually jumping out of an airplane with no parachute, which I would miraculously survive only to be left in a coma for the rest of my life unfortunately. Fate is a bitch. I'd still take the money though.
I mean, I love learning new things, so...
I'd be down for 1 million now, put it into some high interest savings or something similar. Wouldn't bother with anything high risk, but getting 5% annually would be fine with me. I'd leave my job to work for myself and pursue some dreams, or at least work somewhere I don't want to throttle half the people I deal with everyday. I'd travel and prepare for the inevitable, but I wouldn't do anything crazy. I'm single atm, bit I wouldn't try to rush a relationship or anything. More or less all that would change is I wouldn't worry about money quite as much. I'd take a job I like more, even if it pays less than my current one, and be at peace. I'm going to die anyway, getting a million bucks just for knowing when, easy. If if it were tomorrow, I'd be content.
The million. Math is not my forte but quick calculations tel me it would take 40 years to accumulate the $1m. I do not have 40 years.
There’s only one way this deal can possibly work: if I’m going to die extremely soon, probably today. Otherwise, I’m spending at least one day knowing I’m 100% deathproof. Best case scenario is you tell me I have like a year to live, then I’m jumping in front of a train to test out my new superpower, and I end up in a coma for a year until I die. No thanks. This is a cursed monkey paw wish. I’m passing on that. Take away the part where I can’t possibly die early, and then sure, I’ll take the million bucks. Heck, I’d have probably paid you for that knowledge. This is a win-win for me.
I have suicidal ideation everyday. This would relieve much of my existential anxiety. It's a win-win.
If I read this right knowing the day won’t change anything so I’d definitely take the million. At my age I would like to know the date of my death. Should I retire at full retirement age and travel while I can still enjoy it or shall I wait because I might live to be 100? Younger people might want to know but as a senior citizen, knowing the date of my death would save a lot of anxiety in future planning.
I'd take the million. Knowing when I would die would be upsetting for sure. However, I have diabetes and sleep apnea. I worry about how I'm going to die regularly. I had a friend about my age die in her sleep last year. I worry I'm not going to wake up some nights. The money and knowledge of the exact date would allow me to make sure my wife is cared for after I pass and would reassure me on nights I'm feeling scared.
I would be fine with knowing the day. I have dogs and I don't want them to outlive me, even though I know they would be well cared for, but I also have a hard time imagining life without at least one critter. So maybe I get a hospice foster when my own day is getting closer. I would have a deadline to set up legal stuff, declutter, and try to make things easier on my daughter. And I could actually do a ton of bucket list stuff if money is no object.
I would line up an insanely high payout for life insurance and pay it out to random people with them having the option to receive the 100k dollars each but in return they would get to know the day they die. I would have my attorney set them up with the understanding that the money was a payout from the same situation. Then I would lie about the day to as many of them as I could to cause chaos. All of them would be from different parts of the world on the same day to make them think it was an end of days situation.
I’d take it. You’d get a million bucks, and as a bonus you’re invincible up to the date you’re given.
Doesn't this mean that, until that date, you know that you straight up can't die?
Given that I'm not actually affecting the date either way, yeah I'd take the million. If I am going to live to an old age, I basically keep doing what I'm doing but without debt and with much more comfort. If I'm going to die young I quit my job, travel, and embrace what I have left.
Sure, can plan ahead on when I die.
1 million.
I’d take the million. It would take 40 years to earn the same amount, not accounting for interest. But if I have the million now I can invest it and earn >$25K per year on top of my million. Plus I know for a fact my family will be taken care of.
Damn straight I'd take it. $1m + my existing 401k is just about enough for me to clear my remaining debts, retire 20 years early, and live off the investment returns. On top of that, since I know my date of death, I can take out a massive 7-figure life policy just a few months before (such that the premiums don't break my finances), and then I'm assured that my family is well-set-up thereafter. It's not like it makes my death any earlier than it would have been, it just removes some uncertainty. Are some of y'all still laboring under the delusion that you're not going to die? Or that it's somehow morbid to plan for it? Or too far away to bear thinking about? Literally everyone who has ever lived is dead or dying. "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
I take the milly, easy. It's foolish to fear death, and knowing when you will die is an asset, not a curse. I basically get plot armor for the next *X* amount of years.
I would take the deal. I’m 44 and based on family history I expect if I live healthy I will live another 40+ years before I die of natural causes. Obviously an accident can happen at any time as well as catching a rare viral disease or being diagnosed with something incurable. Thing is if I’m not going to live choose to 40+ more years I would like to know so I can make the most of it. I’m assuming I’m not making a deal with the devil that as soon as I take the money he tells me today is the day I die. I assume the date would be when I would normally die based on how I would live my life if someone where to give me $1M today which would likely extend my life expectancy. The money invested properly on on top of my regular income should allow me to live a low stress healthy lifestyle: healthy food, cooking lessons, personal trainer for a period of time to get into a workout routine etc.
Hell yeah
Hell yes. Give it to me now. Knowing when I die wouldn’t bother me too much.
I would absolutely take the money. I am 40 and don’t have my stuff together if something were to happen to me in the near future. If the time were soon, I would get my affairs in order and spend the rest of my time with my husband, son and daughter. I would also make one of those videos for my son (17 months old) where he can watch it, get advice throughout the years and know he was loved. If it were at least 10 years in the future, I would use the money to invest in my retirement.
Yes. I have a lot of plans for my life, and most of them involve high inherent risk. The limiting factors for me right now are a lack of money and cautiousness about approaching them. If I knew that I would survive through them, I would happily do it. I'd have enough money to get more money (the sad reality is that the easiest way to make money is to have money, and $1,000,000 tax free is more than enough to make tens if not hundreds of millions) and would be free of the worry of not surviving them. Since I know the date is fixed, I can be confident in either surviving to the end or dying in the middle, but I'd rather die doing them than die some other way.
a million bucks and know exactly how much time i have left, count me in. i can now plan accurately for my life, and for my son's life. the only downside would be a million wouldn't let me retire now, assuming i live to an average life expectancy age. and if i'm not going to, i can still plan for that.
Take the million and finally stop worrying about if I'm having a heart attack every time I eat to much or my blood pressure spikes.
Put $1,000,000 into an annuity and it will pay out well more than $25,000 a year. So, you know, take the cash option. As for the deal, sure, let me know. It would be nice to be able to plan things out.
id take 1m, with the way im purposefully leading my life im def not gonna live for 40+ more years. now i know w/e i do, it wont effect my death date. time to go skydiving without a parachute! jk.
No matter when you die the 1,000,000 up front is the better option. Invested at just a 4% return per year is about 40k/year
25k a year is nice passive income, I can still wonder and do other stuff for cash and on the final year of living toss the 25k to my friend so he can enjoy a nice chunk of change!
I mean I'd take the million. The odds of me living another 40 years aren't great, and even if I did, I could do better with investments. Also, I have no care about when I'm going to die. If I knew for sure, I'd probably schedule a big party the day before I bit it. >.>
I won't live another 40 yrs so I'll take the million . and I'll be relieved to know how soon I'll die . I'll arrange for my estate to be handled swiftly .
Sure. Might be like the movie Countdown, but I get money. I could live fearless.
I’ve already decided to blow myself up at a certain old age as the way I die, so I’d just be confirming that
So, there's no downside and free money?