Theater of the Absurd: Things and Prices

[Chronopolitano]

It's all about the theater: the venue, the setting, the ambience, who's around wearing what, etc.

Watches are not immune either, to put it mildly.

This is one of the many reasons why I don't like to spend beyond a certain point for watches.

[geoffbot]

So if someone gave you £10m you wouldn't buy an expensive watch?

[Chronopolitano]

So if someone gave you £10m you wouldn't buy an expensive watch?

No, I really wouldn't. But I'd buy you whatever watch YOU want, Geoff.

Me? I'd probably top off at around 3,000 USD. Max.
I have no desire for those $20,000 Pateks, let alone $200,000 rare Rolexes. etc.

£10m isn't much, you know. So many other things to do.

[geoffbot]

£10m is quite a lot of money. And to be honest I don't crave watches over £8k (Royal Oak) either as it happens.

[Chronopolitano]

£10m is quite a lot of money. And to be honest I don't crave watches over £8k (Royal Oak) either as it happens.

Well, to me, "a lot of money" = Need professional help in looking after it.

£10m = "I just don't have to THINK ABOUT" money

Royal Oak? ??

Pffft.


Alright, if that's what you want. I'll get it for ya. G Zuss.

[BlackNomad]

So if someone gave you £10m you wouldn't buy an expensive watch?

I'd buy all 14 watch items on my wish list the most expensive being $760 Tissot, the rest - Seikos, Orients, Casios/G's - each of them have some design or technical features that i like. No Rolexes for me either.
Is it strange?

[Der Amf]

I've got desires at 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 thousand. Give me the money and I promise I'll spend it.

[M. Montaigne]

£10M isn't a small amount of money, but it certainly isn't a large amount of money.

Savings account yields in the U.S. are less than 1%, and average 0.06%. So, that's ~£6000/year.

In 2014, the S&P 500 returned 11.74%. Assuming you reinvested dividends, you would have gotten 14.04%. That's £1.4M. But in 2008, S&P was down -38.05%, not including dividends, so you may not want to invest all of your money there.

So let's look at bonds. The U.S. treasury yield curve was ~3% in 2014. That's £300,000. If you went the route of inflation protected securities (e.g., TIPS), you'd be looking at ~2.5%, which is £250,000.

As a reasonable investor, let's say you split amongst all four categories evenly. You're looking at a return of £490,000 a year. And that's assuming a generous bull-market return. If the market was down, you're looking at a loss of ~£800K.

If you want to do cost averaging for 3 years of bear markets and 7 years of bull markets, you are looking at ~£1M over 10 years. Which is ~£100K/year. Throw in taxes and you're looking at a good life, but nothing great. Certainly not enough to go splurging on expensive new watches and mansions without touching the capital.

[Chronopolitano]

£10M isn't a small amount of money, but it certainly isn't a large amount of money.

Savings account yields in the U.S. are less than 1%, and average 0.06%. So, that's ~£6000/year.... If the market was down, you're looking at a loss of ~£800K. ....

OK, I spoke too soon.
I might give M a call.

On the other hand,...
He'd probably take advantage of my ignorance and take half for himself right off, and then quadruple that in a year, then call me collect from a yacht in the Mediterranean to tell me the market is experiencing a downturn, so could I fork over the rest.

[Der Amf]

$10m = £6.6m

£1.6m buys the nicest house in my neighbourhood.

£5m buys 15 two bed flats in my neighbourhood, each producing an income of mimum £1,200 / month

1,200 x 12 x 15 = £216,000 a year without having to get on a bus. Spending £15k on a watch is then just a question of priorities*



*and will necessitate getting the 185 into town