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   "Gas for Life"

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Topic: "Gas for Life" (Read 748 times)

Mr. Spooky
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"Gas for Life"
« on: Oct 28^th, 2005, 8:01pm »

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An Amazing Prize
Is "gas for life" too good to be true?

With gasoline currently hovering around $3 a gallon, the Bransen family must've ben pumped when they found out their reward for winning The Amazing Race's third leg was gas for life at any BP or Arco station. (The chains are sponsors of this seasons Race.) But it turns out the free supply of unleaded isn't unlimited. The Chicago-area foursome's prize is actually $1,200 a year each on gas cards-for 50 years. For the three sisters and their dad, that adds up to $240,000. If you ask us, that's pretty Amazing.

-Ileane Rudolph

-TVGuide Oct. 31-Nov. 6, 2005

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$240,000? that's almost 1/4 of the grand prize! :faint:

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Kendra
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Re: "Gas for Life"
« Reply #1 on: Oct 28^th, 2005, 8:49pm »

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wow lol

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sneezemachine
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Re: "Gas for Life"
« Reply #2 on: Oct 29^th, 2005, 8:10am »

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when i first read the post, i thought "they were cheated!". the gas is not 'for life' and it isn't 'unlimited'.

but i read it again. $240,000!!! it's like, they won one-fourth of the prize for winning the amazing race! Shocked

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AmberJ
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Re: "Gas for Life"
« Reply #3 on: Oct 29^th, 2005, 8:29am »

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It's actually probably closer to 1/3-1/2 because the Million is taxed and I think when Amber won Survivor she only took home 650,000 or around that (I believe it was less than 700,000), where as the gas wouldn't be taxed on I don't imagine since it isn't direct cash.

Not to mention they won that Orlando trip.. they definetly did well on the race thus far

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sneezemachine
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Re: "Gas for Life"
« Reply #4 on: Oct 29^th, 2005, 8:41am »

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yup-yup. it'll be all worth it for them even if they don't win the million.

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Genius
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Re: "Gas for Life"
« Reply #5 on: Oct 29^th, 2005, 10:31am »

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In an interview with Reichen and Chip, they said they only got to take home $620,000.

As impressive as it sounds, this prize would only encourage them to use their car more often, creating even more problems to our environment. Cry

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TAR14: Tammy and Victor
S18: Brendan, Taj, Spencer

Mr. Spooky
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Re: "Gas for Life"
« Reply #6 on: Oct 29^th, 2005, 11:56am »

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well, actually, it would be $100 a month, so they would actually probably try to drive less, so they wouldn't have to pay much for gas with their money. (not the prize money)

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AmberJ
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Re: "Gas for Life"
« Reply #7 on: Oct 29^th, 2005, 12:09pm »

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thats what i was thinking. 100$ isn't that much right now so I would think they would drive less so as to not have to spend money on gas

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Deekeryu
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Re: "Gas for Life"
« Reply #8 on: Oct 29^th, 2005, 5:38pm »

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You forgot to add tax to the winnings, so they would probably tax the prize at 30%.

also they don't get $240 000 right away. That is in future amounts. So the present value of the prize at a 5% discount rate puts it at about $108 000 total.

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AmberJ
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Re: "Gas for Life"
« Reply #9 on: Oct 30^th, 2005, 8:28am »

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i dont understand what you mean about the 5% stuff

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sneezemachine
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Re: "Gas for Life"
« Reply #10 on: Oct 30^th, 2005, 8:35am »

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hmm... are we sure non-cash prizes are taxed? i mean, the bransens wouldn't even be receiving money (for the gas) and they have to pay the government?

also, how would vacation trips be taxed?

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AmberJ
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Re: "Gas for Life"
« Reply #11 on: Oct 30^th, 2005, 9:02am »

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I was thinking about the trips... How do you tax a vacation that you win, cars, or the entertainment thing that Amber and Rob won?

I know cash is taxed but how would non-cash prices be taxed?

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Deekeryu
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Re: "Gas for Life"
« Reply #12 on: Oct 30^th, 2005, 3:54pm »

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on Oct 30^th, 2005, 8:28am, purplepeopleeater wrote:

i dont understand what you mean about the 5% stuff

This is just like the amount of interest you would earn if you put the value of the prize in the bank. You would earn 5% interest, a conservative amount.

To break it down:

The total prize amount is $240 000.
The gas cards are $1200 a person per year for 50 years, or $4800 total per year for 50 years.

However, you do not get $240 000 upfront.
If you put $108 000 in the bank invested at 5%. You can withdraw $4800 per year for 50 years.

So the present value of the prize is only worth $108 000. Hope that makes sense.

Also, any prize is taxed as income. I read a story that Oprah had given away free cars to the audience a couple years back. Depending on their income bracket, even though they got a free car, they still had to pay tax; some as much as $7000.

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