Sole Survivor Vee Heads Back to Work

I guess a million dollars doesn’t go very far anymore. When was the last time you heard a millionaire say, “I am Elmer Fudd, millionaire. I own a mansion an a yacht.”?

In the case of Vecepia Towry, winner of Survivor 4, a million dollars (or slightly over half after taxes) doesn’t even mean she can quit her job – the latest Survivor winner has gone back to work!

In today’s (June 5, 2002) New York Post, Vee states she is back to work for her company, Think Business Networks, in California. The Post reports that the reality-show winner said, “A million dollars does not go very far in this day and age and I have things that I need to do."

"I'm a very frugal type of individual," she says. "I don't see this as life-changing, I just see it as something that can help us pay our bills, get them all out of the way and then go on.”

According to the Post, Vee and her newlywed husband, Leander (she got married to him at the beginning of May), are using her winnings to help remodel their house. The rest of the money will go to her niece’s and nephew’s college funds, charity, investments, and her family’s future.

"C'mon let's be realistic here,” Vee told the Post. “After taxes and bills - we want to pay our house off and we're also working on starting a family - when you look at all of that, there's pretty much nothing left over," she said. "My husband and I have both decided that we'll continue to work until our bosses fire us," she added.

Once again, Vee proves that she is a very grounded woman, with a firm grasp of the world, and a good head on her shoulders. I know she and her husband will make good parents.

I guess a million just doesn’t last very long anymore. Maybe Elmer should be adjusted for inflation to say, “I am Elmer Fudd, Billionaire, I own a mansion and a yacht.” Or maybe for Survivor: Thailand, Mark Burnett needs to raise the prize money to two million? Then again, if there are still thousands of people who are willing to do it for a cool million, why pay them more? A million bucks gives people a lot of options. Sure, it might be hard to live solely off of that prize for the rest of your life, depending on your age, but it also opens up doors to do things that you couldn’t afford before. However, if you’re in a job you enjoy, why leave? Sock the money away and use it when you need it. That’s what Vee is doing, and she’ll be better off for it later in life.

You can reach Susan at sschechter@earthlink.net.

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