Winning the Lottery!

[Maister]

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...rMillions.aspx

Has anyone else ever heard statistics about how half the people who win seven or eight figure lotteries are broke within five years (or something like that)? I heard once about a guy who literally drank himself to death when he won the lottery - he couldn't do it until he won the lottery I guess.

Practically every forum on the internet has a thread in its' general discussion area concerning 'what would you do if you won the lottery'. Some responses deal with how folks would manage their money in order to make even more money and the other half deal with how they would spend their fortunes on fantasies involving yachts and million dollar homes on isolated islands. I'm not sure which option represents greater personal development - someone who wins a fortune, goes the reinvestment rout and essentially says It's not enough! I want more do you hear me MORE!!! Bwahahaha! or the spendthrift who drives slowly down mainstreet in a convertable with the top down throwing handfuls of cash to random passers-by.
Is there perhaps a middle road position on this issue of suddenly acquiring great fortunes? I imagine alot of folks would want to give family members huge chunks of change.....I wonder if doing so is really doing them a favor?

Describe your ideal existence after winning a 14 million dollar lottery. Will your days be spent feeding your senses (like sipping margaritas poolside all day every day)....seeking emotional thrills (like going into space or hiring VanHalen to play at your 18th birthday party) or spending your days doing charitable work like Mother Theresa and ministering to the poor (which incidently begs the question why does one need to win the lottery to pursue this lifestyle)?

[Joe Iliff]

A wise man said that getting more money just makes you more of what you are. So, if you're generous, you'll become more generous . . . if you're good at managing it, you'll become better . . . if you're bad at managing it, you'll become worse.

I think a lot of these stories just demonstrate this, that these people had bad money skills that grew worse with their growth in income and wealth.

[luckless pedestrian]

I'd like to pay off the mortgage, beef up my retirement savings and set up trust funds for my kids so they don't have to be so broke like we are...

but there would be a couple of luxury items - like a boat for my hubby and I get to go to a spa in the Berkshires with my friends...

I'd like to think that we would be moderate about it, but Joe's comment makes me wonder since we are so broke and barely scrape by now!

[Suburb Repairman]

I'm assuming the $14 million is after taxes for ease...

Of course I'd actually have to play to lottery in order to win it!


$8 million goes into mutual funds, which should easily create an interest income of about $1,000,000 after taxes. (doesn't this sound so Dave Ramsey-ish )I plan on giving away at least 75% of that income every year to various charities. Charities most likely are our church, local humane society, Habitat for Humanity and a local land trust. One place it would not go is the APA China project!

$3,000,000 toward starting a local community development corporation (I don't know how much it costs to get one of the going, but I figure that would be a good start).

$2,000,000 just to blow on random stuff, like my vehicle fetish and my dream home in a local historic district.

$500,000 toward post-high school education savings plans for each of my five nieces & nephews, plus any kids we may have.

$100,000 to send my brother and his family to Australia to see medical experts in epilepsy (his daughter has severe epilepsy that has led to retardation). Australia is supposed to be the cutting edge for this kind of research.

$250,000 to pay off the home mortgages of my two brothers and $150,000 for the brother-in-law that is in college to purchase a home once he graduates.



I know, I know... not the most exciting thing ever, but I refuse to become a bankrupt lottery winner statistic.

I'm a big believer in the "with great wealth comes great responsibility" idea, hence the CDC and large amounts of interest income going toward charities. I doubt I would really blow $2,000,000 on random stuff like cars and a fancy house.

[zman]

If I won 14 million, I'd buy Dave Ramsey and have him mow my lawn.

Actually, I would probably pay off all my debts and then send a million or two to the Geography program at my alma mater so that they can "beef up" some of their reputation and educational capabilities.

Maybe a lake house, but I would like to spend a good chuck of my time building it myself (I think that having millions would allow me the time away from a job to build a house).

Nothing like yachts, million dollar homes, or bling for me...only minor investing for me... but also giving my money away to anyone and everyone is not something I( would do either.

Just make sure that myself, my loved ones, and my future generations are taken care of.

[Joe Iliff]

I'd like to think that we would be moderate about it, but Joe's comment makes me wonder since we are so broke and barely scrape by now!

I don't mean to say that all lottery winners with bad habits are destined to failure. There are stories on both ends of the spectrum, persons who go seriously broke, change their habits, and become very wealthy, . . . and people who become wealthy from hard work, change their habits, and lose it all. I do think people can learn from "hitting bottom" or "their ship coming in", but the action itself doesn't teach you anything.

Maybe the lottery people should give you a book with the check, "How not to lose it all" or make you go through a class or something. But, I guess they don't care if you lose it all.

[mendelman]

At least 60% of the money would be given away (family, college funds, family mortgages, cars for family [if needed], the arts, etc.)

The rest would allow me not have to work, and let me buy as much contiguous rural farm/wooded/pasture/waterfront land as I could in Northeastern Lower Michigan (where I grewup)...




...so that when the end of civilization occurs I've got my feudal estate ready for the introduction of serfs.

[Duke Of Dystopia]

I am going to invest it in various things.

I will need employees, they will get good insurance and benifits. They will then work thier buts off to earn more money on the investment.

I will make independent investments in multiple town infrustructures, so many of you will have to deal with me!

[Lee Nellis]

As someone else who is always broke, who actually feels like he had more money when he was a student making $600 a month than ever since, I share LP's question about how well I would manage. BUT

I therefore propose to immediately give $10 million to good causes (mostly defeating Bush, the rest to buying land and easements in various places around the country). That way I can only blow so much. I think I would then put the other $4 million in an annuity that just pays an annual "salary" and Karen, Henry, and I would go on a very long trip to see the world.

[otterpop]

I would spend it on good booze, good pot and bad women. Probably squander the rest.

But seriously, I would take the annuity option, because I couldn't trust myself with the lump sum. $14 million after taxes would be about $9 million, so the annual payout would be about $313,800.

I like Helena, so I would probably stay. I like my lot but am not thrilled with the house, so I would probably knock it down and build something a little bigger and nicer. Build a nice fence in the backyard.

I would look for some recreational property for weekends - a few acres and creek frontage.

Send my wife to Colombia to visit her family.

I would plan a trip to New Zealand. Always wanted to go. Probably plan it for the second year after winning.

I would invest conservatively.

Establish a trust fund for my son, so when he got out of school, he would have a good start in life.

Visit my parents at least once a year.

Recreate, recreate, recreate.

Of course I would quit my job. Do some wiriting, even if no one buys it.

Donate to charity, 10 to fifteen percent a year sounds right.

Call up all those women who thought I wasn't good enough for them and gloat.

[Budgie]

YEAH, the "What if this monopoly money was real" thread. WOOHOO

and I figured we collectively were above this line of discussion.

Simple.... an endowment in my local community foundation and a kegerator.

Done.

[Zoning Goddess]

I'd split it with my brother. Partly because I'd like to help him and his kids but mostly so I wouldn't have to listen to his wife whine about me having money and them not having it.

Then I'd buy a small condo over at the beach for the weekends. Travel more.

Invest the rest.

[jaws]

I think a much better thought exercise is to ask what you would do if someone gave you 15 million dollars. Then you have the moral obligation to do something constructive.

[Bear Up North]

This Bear would buy a small lakefront home (inland lake) in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Trade in my 16-foot bass boat for a tad bigger.....maybe a 20-footer.

Friends and family would get some dough. Charity funs would go to those fighting cancer and children's hospital(s). Libertarian Party would get a little something.

I would also contact map-maker DeLorme (or somebody similar) and get my fake city published. (Vanity attack.....vanity attack....paging Carly Simon.....)

That's about all. Invest the remaining (and substantial) balance.
_____

Great conversational lines about lotto winners:

"Would you quit your job if you won the big lotto?"
"No."
"Really? You would stay?"
"Oh, I would be fired in about 20 minutes."

Bear

[otterpop]

I think a much better thought exercise is to ask what you would do if someone gave you 15 million dollars. Then you have the moral obligation to do something constructive.

Why would you have a moral obligation to do something constructive because someone gave you $15 million dollars? If so, what the hell is Paris and Nikki Hilton doing with theirs?

If you give money away out of moral obligation, then it really isn't giving in the sense that gets you karma points. The end result of giving freely or giving out of obligation is the same, but for the giver.

I feed and care for my son both out of obligation and because I love him. The obligation keeps me out of court. The love for my son (which causes me to look out for him) is what sustains me and betters my soul.

[illinoisplanner]

Well, the first thing I would do is pay off all current and future college debt. Then I would pay off someone at the university so I could get my B.S. without taking any more math classes!

So, what's that...about $100,000 or so?...given that I would want to live in a flashy townhome close to campus.

$2,000,000 to my family and friends, with a predominant majority going to my immediate family
$1,000,000 to me! You know, getting backstage at Aerosmith shows, front row White Sox tickets, skybox suites, several vacations, a new car, and all the latest gadgets one could need.
$5,000,000 to charities and causes I believe in. Everything from animal adoption agencies, to Toys for Tots, to homeless shelters, to wildlife preservation, to conservative organizations, to disease research.
$3,000,000 towards savings for a future home, vehicles, furniture, college tuition for my future kids, vacations, and so on and so forth.

the remaining $3,000,000 or whatever to general savings, which I would probably invest to make even more.

[Maister]

and I figured we collectively were above this line of discussion.

If it's just another carrot-waxing-fantasy-fest about how one plans to invest X number of dollars into this or that invesment scheme to make more money or how one is going to buy the World's Most Awesome Toy, that'd be an already well-worn groove to be sure. However, I think there are a number of Cyburbians who are capable of more thoughtful responses. It's my hope that they will provide their insights into the nature of money/wealth. Examining the scenario of what one would do if additional money was no longer needed in our lives (i.e. if one won the lottery), provides insight into what money's actual value is to us, apart from a unit of exchange. There is only a short list of general types of responses possible to the question of what a huge amount of money can actually buy:
1. make our own lives more easy/convenient/secure/comfortable
2. use the wealth to create more wealth (an end unto itself?)
3. make other peoples lives more easy/convenient/secure/comfortable
4. use money to enrich ourselves or others in some other way than comfort

IMO the various #4 answers will be the interesting responses.

[michaelskis]

If I won 14 million, I'd buy Dave Ramsey and have him mow my lawn.

Dave would kick your A$$ for buying a ticket in the first place!

If I were to ‘receive’ 14 million, (Note that while most everyone else plays the lottery, I say no thanks, I am saving for retirement), I would do the following.

Pay off all the debts of the GF and I, including the condo.
Pay off the mortgages of my parents, the GF’s parents, and my sister.
Load up on mutual funds
Give some money to my church and the Catholic School in Grand Rapids. (The GF and I will send our kids there someday)
Load up on more mutual funds.
Donate to various charities and organizations whose beliefs are similar to my own.
Beyond that, I don’t know if much of anything else would change in my life. I like the place that I work, (for the next year or so), like the car that I drive, the place that I live, and the people that I associate with.

I look at it as wealth is only a magnifying glass of ones true personality and ideas in life. If a jerk wins 14 million dollars, he/she is just a bigger jerk. While I like nice things, I feel that I have a wonderful life right now, and I don’t really desire anything that I don’t already have.

[Maister]

If a jerk wins 14 million dollars, he/she is just a bigger jerk.

A Significant Issue that other great minds have also contemplated

[jaws]

Why would you have a moral obligation to do something constructive because someone gave you $15 million dollars? If so, what the hell is Paris and Nikki Hilton doing with theirs?

That reflects poorly on their moral character.

I feed and care for my son both out of obligation and because I love him. The obligation keeps me out of court. The love for my son (which causes me to look out for him) is what sustains me and betters my soul.

That's not the point. Does your son have a moral obligation to do something constructive with this gift?

[Tranplanner]

That's not the point. Does your son have a moral obligation to do something constructive with this gift?

Now that the thread's been killed, I present for your reading pleasure:

FATHER: One day, lad, all this will be yours!
PRINCE HERBERT: What, the curtains?
FATHER: No. Not the curtains, lad. All that you can see, stretched out over
the hills and valleys of this land! This'll be your kingdom, lad.
HERBERT: But Mother--
FATHER: Father, lad. Father.
HERBERT: B-- b-- but Father, I don't want any of that.
FATHER: Listen, lad. I built this kingdom up from nothing. When I started
here, all there was was swamp. Other kings said I was daft to build a
castle on a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show 'em. It sank
into the swamp. So, I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So
I built a third one. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the
swamp. But the fourth one... stayed up! And that's what you're gonna get,
lad: the strongest castle in these islands.

[Downtown]

We'd probably invest the after tax amount, and live off the interest - about $360,000 annually, if you earned a conservative 4%.

For my family and me:

- I can't imagine we'd buy a bigger house, but we would put an addition on so that I could have my own bathroom where i didn't have to trip over tub toys, and could keep the toilet paper roll on the wall, because i wouldn't have to deal with the twins constantly unrolling it.

- make all the improvements to my grandma's house (new roof/water heater/hire an on call handyman to mow her lawn/plow her driveway) so she can stay there instead of selling and moving to a senior apt.

- take three really great trips with the kids every year - Yellowstone, Europe, The Grand Canyon, India, etc.

- Send my mom on a Quilting Cruise

For charity:
- TNC, NARAL, The Sierra Club would all do well.
- Geneseo Geography majors would never have to pay for AAG/APA registration/air fare/hotels ever again
- Start a local chapter of Girls on the Run or some equivalent

[cch]

I'd build a new house (nothing too extravagent, just like 1800 sq ft on a couple acres)
I'd buy a new car (probably a hybrid toyota hilander, or something like that)
I'd buy or build a few cabins in the wisconsin north woods... one for my family and the others to rent out as an investment.
I'd buy a boat and other recreational vehicles to enjoy at our northwoods cabin.
I'd take a few extravagent vacations.

The big thing, though, that I've always wanted to do... create and operate a garden wedding venue out in the country. I'd plan all the landscaping, with vine-draped trellises and all that, to create a beautiful outdoor garden chapel. Of course, I'd hire people to do all the work, and maybe an on-site hortaculturalist. I'd also have a prairie-style reception building on the premises, for indoor weddings and receptions/gatherings of various types. I wouldn't want to get involved with catering or any of that.. just provide the venue and some decorations. As you can probably tell, I've given this a lot of thought, but I'd never pursue it unless I came into an unexpected windfall. If the place proved successful, then I'd quit my job.

I would donate a lot to various charities, like Make-a-Wish Foundation, Adult Literacy Programs and stuff. All the left over money would be invested, pay for my kids to go to college, etc. but nothing too outrageous.

[SkeLeton]

Well if I ever win the lottery I'd probably travel around the world, and save the rest up in different banks for later...

I don't think I'd buy useless things like luxury cars or anything like that... it's just a waste of money...

[imaplanner]

I would do what I always wanted. Buy a solid gold house and a solid gold car.