14 Savvy Ways to Spend Leftover Megaprojects Budget

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14 Ways to Spend $1 Trillion

Think last year produced a tsunami of red ink for the federal government? Well, a $1.3 trillion deficit is nothing to sneeze at. But the Congressional Budget Office has just come up with an estimate of how much we’ll add to the national debt in Fiscal 2011: $1.5 trillion. That means an extra $1.5 trillion will be piled atop a mountain of national debt that already exceeds $14 trillion. It’s tough for most of us to get our heads around such a colossal number.

But, seriously, how much is $1 trillion? To help you wrap your head around that mind-boggling number, and to try to put deficit spending into perspective, we did some mental shopping:

See our Slide Show WHAT $1 TRILLIONWOULD BUY

$1 Trillion Would Buy:41,999,160 NEW CARS

The 2011 Toyota Prius II wins Kiplinger’s Best in Class honors for cars in the $20,000-to-$25,000 price range. At a sticker price of $23,810 each, $1 trillion would let you buy a Prius for about 40% of all American families.

$1 Trillion Would Buy:5.6 TYPICAL AMERICAN HOMES

According to the latest figures from the National Association of Realtors, the national median price for existing single-family homes in the third quarter of 2010 was $177,900. There are about 80 million detached, single-family homes in the U.S., according to the NAR and the Census Bureau.

$1 Trillion Would Buy:140 BILLION HOURS OF LABOR

That’s calculated at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Still hard to get your mind around? How about this: One trillion dollars is enough to hire all 2.8 million residents of the state of Kansas -- men, women and children -- in full-time, minimum-wage jobs for the next 23 years.

$1 Trillion Would Pay:A YEAR’S SALARY FOR 18 MILLION TEACHERS

According to the National Education Association, the average elementary school teacher salary in the U.S. is about $55,300. NEA estimates that there are about 2 million elementary school teachers, so $1 trillion would cover their salaries for about 9 years.

$1 Trillion Would Pay:CONGRESS FOR THE NEXT 10,742 YEARS

The current salary for rank-and-file members of the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate is $174,000. That's 535 lawmakers -- not counting their staffs or the extras paid to congressional leaders..

$1 Trillion Would Buy:THE STAR POWER OF LEBRON JAMES FOR THE NEXT 50,000 YEARS

A lot of numbers are being thrown around about just how much the basketball superstar will be paid for playing for the Miami Heat. But let’s say it’s just $20 million a year. At that rate, $1 trillion would cover the tab for King James for the next 50 millennia. Heck, King Tut was born less than four millennia ago.

$1 Trillion Would Buy:1.33 TRILLION CHOCOLATE BARS

Got a hankering for something sweet? A sweet $1 trillion will buy you that many 1.55-ounce Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars at 75 cents apiece. That’s 64 million tons of chocolate, equivalent to the weight of more than 150,000 Boeing 747-400s.

$1 Trillion Would Buy:4,000 CELEBRITY DIVORCE SETTLEMENTS

It’s been widely reported that Tiger Woods paid anywhere from $100 million to $750 million to settle the divorce from his wife, Elin Nordegren. Let’s assume it cost Tiger $250 million. At that rate, a trillion dollars would cover plenty more tabloid breakups.

$1 Trillion Would Generate:$6.2 BILLION A MONTH GUARANTEED FOR LIFE

With the demise of the company pension plan -- and its wonderful promise of regular checks in retirement -- immediate-payout annuities are garnering more attention. These investments let you trade a lump sum for a guaranteed stream of income for the rest of your life. For example, a 65-year-old man with a sweet quarter of a million nest egg to invest could buy an annuity that will pay him $1,549 a month.Even at today’s record-low interest rates (the lower the interest rate, the more expensive it is to buy future income), $1 trillion earns its way -- and then some. The $6.2 billion monthly income figure is for men; because women live longer, on average, $1 trillion would buy a 65-year-old woman a little less. But having $5.8 billion a month to fall back on should help cover some bills.

$1 Trillion Would Earn:$12.9 BILLION OF INTERESTON A ONE-YEAR CD

Everyone knows that interest rates on bank accounts, money-market funds and certificates of deposit are ludicrously low. But even at just 1.29% -- the best rate we could find recently -- $1 trillion socked away in a one-year CD would still yield a handsome return.

$1 Trillion Would PAY:56.8 MILLION U.S. ARMY PRIVATES

Annual basic pay for an active-duty U.S. Army private with less than two years of experience is $17,611 a year. So $1 trillion goes a mighty long way, even by military spending standards. To put that in perspective, 56.8 million is more than 100 times the total number of active-duty soldiers in the Army today.

$1 Trillion Would Cover:19.2 MILLION AMERICAN FAMILIES

Median household income in the U.S. (half the families earn more, half earn less) was $52,029 in 2008, according to the Bureau of the Census. There are about 100 million families in the country, so $1 trillion is enough to cover the income of about one-in-five families.

$1 Trillion Would Pay:ESTATE TAXES FOR2,871 BILLIONAIRES

Congress has reinstated the federal estate tax – at least for the next couple of years – with a 35% flat rate after a $5 million exemption. Still, $1 trillion would cover the taxes due on 2,871 taxable estates of $1 billion each.

$1 Trillion Would Buy:$1 MILLION SPENDING A DAY FOR NEARLY 3,000 YEARS

Thanks to the visitor who pointed this out in a comment on an earlier version of this story. What’s $1 trillion mean to you? Let us and your fellow Kiplinger.com visitors know by commenting below.

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5 Easy Ways Tech Start-ups can Spend Leftover Performance Marketing Budget

Written By: Ajoke Emekene

The end of the year is always a great time to take stock of what worked well and what didn’t go so well. It’s also a good time for start-ups to plan for the new year and craft the marketing strategy for their product. One way to gather some last-minute data and insights ahead of the new year is to do some campaign testing with the budget that’s left after running the major marketing campaigns.

These ideas are quick and easy to implement. The whole point with these suggestions is that they are things you can implement using what you already have, rather than creating new ideas from scratch. You have run campaigns throughout the year and you can simply take the copy, creatives and other relevant assets created in the course of the year and repurpose them for this.

Audience Experiments – Testing new audiences is one of the easiest things to do in performance marketing as most channels like Facebook and Google allow you to see numerous options for interest groups that you can target. On most platforms you can also try targeting custom audiences, meaning people that have interacted in some way shape or form with your product or start-up.

Channel Experiments – Channel Experiments are a little more challenging and may require a learning curve especially if one has been primarily dependent on one channel. Despite the challenges, once the marketer has gotten the hang of it, it’s pretty easy to set-up, made even easier by the availability of the creatives (Old creatives will be used).

Placement Experiments – Placement Experiments focus on where the individual sees the Ad while using the channel. Many times startup marketers only want to bid on already established placement options. For example, Facebook has placements like the news feed, stories, off-platform placement called audience network and many more. It’s typical for tech marketers to insist only on the most popular placements like the news feed, but exploring other less popular placements can be a good way to see what other placements have great potential or yield cheaper cost per acquisition.

Format Experiments – When trying out different platforms or placements, it’s important to adapt the creative to fit the recommended format. For example, convert pictures to videos and vice versa to see how this impacts on conversions.

Mixed Experiments: The final easy way that I suggest you spend your leftover budget is to create new combinations with existing assets from past campaigns. For example, taking a losing Ad copy and combining it with a winning creative or switching up the call to action and other similar changes.

These experiments might seem like small actions but they often drive big discoveries and/or last-minute victories that help you close the year on a great note and chart the course for the new year.

This article was written by Ajoke Emekene, a Performance Marketing Expert passionate about helping tech startups leverage performance marketing for growth. You can contact her via LinkedIn (Ajoke Emekene) or Instagram(@ajokee).

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The Best Ways to Spend (or Invest) That $10,000

Photo: Brian A Jackson (Shutterstock)

Ever since the White House announced a student loan forgiveness plan to cancel up to $10,000 in debt for most borrowers (and $20,000 for others), I’ve had the idea of $10,000 on the brain.

Most of us don’t have $10,000 burning a hole in our pockets. Naturally, if you have this sum laying around, your first response should be to pay off any outstanding debt. It’s the most risk-free, straightforward use of your funds. It’s also a good idea to pad out your emergency “rainy day” fund. Then there’s the generous option of donating it all to charity. For right now, though, let’s imagine this is $10,000 exclusively for investing in yourself. Here are some thought-starters for where $10,000 can take you in 2022.

If you want to go on a spending spree

So you’ve got an extra $10,000. You could split the money several ways, designating some funds for investing in your future, and other chunks for a spending spree right now. We go into the practical side of investing your money below, but first, let’s kick off with the fun stuff.

Start a business. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, most micro-businesses cost around $3,000 to start, while most home-based franchises cost $2,000 to $5,000. Here are questions to ask yourself before embarking on your entrepreneurial adventure.

Travel. Some quick browsing: Economy roundtrip plane tickets from New York City to Rome are a little over $1,500. Reykjavík (that’s the capital of Iceland) is around the same price. To Tokyo, $2,500. For brainstorming and budgeting your dream trip, here’s how to build out the ultimate travel spreadsheet.

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2 for $60

Crocs: 2 for $60

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Remodel your garage. With today’s real estate market, $10,000 won’t take you very far when it comes to buying property—but you could renovate what you already have. According to Rocket Mortgage, a complete garage remodel will cost around $7,000—$15,000, and even small upgrades (like a garage door replacement) can add significant value to your home.

Take online courses. While $10,000 is only a fraction of most university tuition costs, you can opt to enroll in one or two individual online classes at a time. According to U.S. News and World Report, online classes cost $282 per credit hour, on average (most schools require 120 credits to graduate, but you may not be looking for a degree here). This means a full course load of 12 credit hours costs around $3,400 per online semester.

Collect a classic car. Peruse Autotrader Classics to acquire a sick ride in your budget. For instance, a 1981 Chevrolet Corvette was recently listed at $9,750.

Go for an experience. Investing in memories will always mean more than material possessions. Think of all the concerts, shows, and fancy dinners you can afford with an extra 10,000 smackeroonies.

If you want to invest

Now for the practical advice. Like we mentioned at the top, it makes sense to tackle any high-interest debt and then build your rainy day fund. After budgeting that out, it would be wise to use at least some of your $10,000 and learn how to start investing (if you haven’t already). Here are some of the basics of investing in your future.

Prep for retirement: Open an IRA

If you don’t have a 401(k) plan through your employer, you should open an IRA. You have some options to consider, but we typically recommend going for a Roth IRA in order to take full advantage of compound interest while minimizing your tax exposure. (We recently covered the merits of a spousal IRA, too.) In 2022, you can contribute up to $6,000 per year into an IRA, or $7,000 per year if you are 50 or older.

Prep for healthcare costs: Open an HSA

A health savings account (HSA) is the wise choice for setting aside your funds tax-free in order to pay for approved medical expenses.

Note: You can only open and fund an HSA if you have a high-deductible healthcare plan. You can contribute up to $3,650 to an HSA in 2022.

Typically, the option to open an HSA will be offered by your employer. But if you don’t have employer insurance, you still have options. Here’s our guide to opening and funding an HSA.

Invest in mutual funds and ETFs

If you’re new to investing, mutual funds and ETFs are considerably less risky than other forms of investing, like building a stock portfolio, buying bonds, or getting into crypto. Instead, mutual funds and ETFs are both types of collections (or “baskets”) of individual stocks or bonds which are professionally managed by a provider like Vanguard. Here’s our guide to building an easy “set and forget” investment portfolio.

According to Forbes, if you were to earn a 10% return on your investment every year for 30 years, your $10,000 could grow to $174,000. Next article coming up: How to creatively spend your $174,000.