Whats modestly? With that amount of money you can afford payments on everything and would never have to own a thing. And you dont have to live modestly. All of which can be made through CCs and cashiers checks. You only run into problems when you try to buy outright or deposit money into a bank. You lump sum youre toast. You make small, regular deposits you get flagged for structuring. You keep cash on hand and/or spread out in safety deposit boxes. I can live more than modestly on cash and CCs. And I can still grow the money off the books.