What can you buy with a quarter million? Shop right and get a lot.

 

 

 

A couple miles later we passed through downtown, with a few "For Rent" signs, but not as many as we've seen in other places around Puget Sound. We even accidentally walked an alley, and didn't notice because it was clean, didn't smell, and was unoccupied. An alley in Seattle would have a community of homeless, and at least one smelly, leaky dumpster.

 

We turned around at the marina, almost five miles from our start. The marina had a choice of restaurants. Good beer, good food, a good view is one reason urban hikes are worth doing.

 

Marinas are good places for dream shopping. New yachts, devoid of sea gull guano, are definitely attractive, but so were the classic hulls that have been well tended for decades. And there our price comparisons began.

 

Old or new, the quarter million dollar yachts are sweet, but we joked about them anyway. Boats look great but they cost a lot to keep and operate, and they can sink. Despite that, it can be nice to have an aquatic RV home, especially on the Salish Sea.

 

Ah, but we knew that a quarter million would also get acreage. Shop in the right part of Washington State and that could get you 40 acres with a house, or 200 acres of land. Is Eastern Washington too inconvenient? How about a condo in Seattle? I've seen art and cars that go for the same amount. How about just being able to pay off a mortgage, or a business debt, or a terrible medical bill?

 

For a very few, a quarter million is enough; enough as in enough cash to retire. For most of us though, $250,000 makes a nice nest egg, a portfolio that can grow into enough, and then more than enough. There is no guarantee, but a 10% return, which would beat the historical market, on $250,000 would generate $25,000. Good enough for very frugal folk, a nice start for the rest.

 

Boats are fun and mobile. Land is stable, and only moves in slides or quakes. Both can provide housing. Art and cars can be found for tens of thousands. A healthy portfolio and a frugal lifestyle, can provide the essence of those things: fun, mobility, stability, beauty, utility.

 

It was fun to day dream aloud about owning this yacht or that one, but we both knew that with a windfall of a quarter million we'd pay off some debt, take care of some bills, buy a few small toys, maybe take a vacation, probably gift some and share some, but use the majority for investing. Investing is like farming. There is no guarantee that it will grow, but the likelihood is that eventually more will be produced than went into it. They can both sustain life. They can also be asked to do too much. (A farm that sustains its owner may not be a profitable business, but that's another issue.)

 

I haven't seen the recent census numbers, but as I recall, a net worth of a quarter million puts a person into the upper half of wealth in the United States, and therefore into even more rarified territory when compared to the rest of the world's population. It's a lot, not necessarily enough, but a good start, as long as it is well tended and respectfully utilized. Spending it all at once is probably not prudent, unless there is a bigger pile of cash behind it. Putting it all in a savings account may sound safe, but that's almost like leaving seed corn in the silo instead of planting it.

 

Money is a resource. Life is to be lived. In today's society, the trick for each of us is to balance its use between needs, wants and the future; how much to use now, share now, and invest for what comes. No one knows you better than you. What would you do with a quarter million?