hit (and lose) the jackpot

[Floridays]

(AP) The woman who won millions in the Virginia lottery 11 years ago is now deep in debt to a Florida company that lent her money using the winnings as collateral.

lotto lady

This raises a question: How well do you handle your own finances/budget? (Do I see a poll???)

Although I try, I am not the best money person. Paying bills is my least favorite thing to do so I tend to put it off til the last minute. I'm guilty of not writing down debit card transactions and not balancing my checkbook. As a planner, I've managed departmental budgets and developed project budgets -- as for my own, well, 'nuf said! :-$

 

[SGB]

Reminds me of the classic idiom "A fool and his/her money are easily parted."

As for managing my own personal finances, I hold my own. Yet - somehow - doing municipal budgeting and capital planning seems easier by comparison. :-$

 

[PlannerGirl]

It seems those that win big turn out to have horrible luck. I dont play the "poor mans tax" game and happy to not have that "good" luck happen to me.

 

[Cardinal]

I'm with the others here. At work, I handle about $6.5 million without any problem. At home, I have less than half that amount, and seem to always be dealing with financial issues at the last minute. Things have gotten much better since I began setting up automatic payments and internet bill paying.

 

[Maister]

I heard a statistic somewhere that nearly one third of the people that win lotteries have spent their entire winnings within eight years. I don't know if that number is true or not, but I guess the idea is that statistically most people that play or win the lottery are low income and have no real experience managing money having subsisted from paycheck to paycheck for so long that when they win they have no real concept of how much, say, ten million dollars is....so they erroneously assume that that's more money than they could spend in a lifetime and proceed to buy trips to Europe, eating out every meal at five star restaurants and purchasing large quantities of luxury consumer goods, doing nothing meanwhile to invest or provide for income. Kinda tragic in a way.

 

[Downtown]

Rob and I are both very OCD about our money and bill paying. We have 2 checking accounts and 6 savings accounts into which we deposit out of every paycheck for things like our emergency fund, house repair fund, taxes, insurance payments, vacation, etc. We also each have an IRA, 401K and our own brokerage accounts and have set up a trust for Jack. It isn't that we make or have a lot of money, we are just both very compulsive about saving and having enough money to pay bills when they pop up. I won't even get into the various spreadsheets i've made in excel for our student loans and mortgage. sigh.

 

[Seabishop]

I'm not a money person. I feel like another person could take my earnings and manage my family to success. At work I don't deal with budgets too much but when I do I run every little financial thing by the director.

My wife is better at paying bills but also better at spending.

I think it primarily comes from your background. My parents never had money to manage and still don't even have checking accounts so managing money is still kind of a mystery.

 

[SGB]

I think it primarily comes from your background. My parents never had money to manage and still don't even have checking accounts so managing money is still kind of a mystery.

Part of my struggle is that my parents never talked about personal finances with us kids, so when I got out on my own I had to learn it by trial and error. I think there is a lesson here, but I haven't a clue as to what it is.

 

[Maister]

I'm with the others here. At work, I handle about $6.5 million without any problem. At home, I have less than half that amount

LOL - I like that. From now on when referring to my personal finances i'll say my net worth is somewhat less than 90% that of Bill Gates or the Sultan of Brunei. It's the gospel truth after all.

 

[giff57]

Like Cardinal, I handle an over 2 mil budget and do great, at home I suck. It would have helped if I had married someone who could handle things better than me, but alas, the Mrs isn't that great either. Thank God for real time internet banking, I can see if we have screwed up before the end of the banking day. I have made a habit out of checking the accounts first thing in the morning.

 

[Tranplanner]

I was always good at managing my money when I was single - I didn't even bother "balancing" the chequebook. I just knew how much money I had and where it was. Getting married and setting up the joint bank account seems to have caused me a few problems. Thank god for overdraft protection!

I had an excel system like downtown, but I haven't keep it up lately. I should really start that up again - it really helped track where everything was going. And I'm such a competitive person every month I'd try to spend less money than the month before - since I stopped the system, money has been pouring out of my wallet or so it seems.

 

[boiker]

I had an excel system like downtown, but I haven't keep it up lately. I should really start that up again - it really helped track where everything was going. And I'm such a competitive person every month I'd try to spend less money than the month before - since I stopped the system, money has been pouring out of my wallet or so it seems.

I'll agree with that! I used to balance the checkbook very frequently using money, excel or some other program.


I heard that people who move tend to spend much more (than expected or intended) in the year they move. I've moved once in 2001, once in 2002, once in 2003 and again...once in 2004. I can't wait for a "no-move" 2005. I'll be rich. ;-)

 

[Planderella]

I suck at money management.

 

[Richmond Jake]

I suck at money management.

What she said.

 

[biscuit]

I heard that people who move tend to spend much more (than expected or intended) in the year they move.

I'd believe it. I just spent the weekend writing one check after another. Signing on a new, and more expensive, apartment; buying bedding; buying new living room furniture; and generally purchasing some of those things that I somehow lived without as a bachelor. I don't think I have ever spent more (of my own money) in the period of a couple of days. I imagine this is even worse for home buyers.

I'm actually pretty good about managing my money - after learning some hard lessons early during college. I stil spend to much on needless things like eating out and bar tabs, but I generally stick to my budget and know where every dime is going.

 

[mendelman]

If I won a lotto jackpot:

I would buy 16 tons of luncheon meats (assorted varieties), 8 tons of sliced bread, 70 barrels of kosher dill pickles, 140 bushels of white onions, and 17 gallons of dijon mustard and real mayo.


mmmmmmm...........that'll make one hell'va sandwich. :-D





or i would make some smart tech and healthcare investments, buy a nice house, buy major acres of lake michigan frontage in the u-p, and live where I don't have to drive.

 

[boiker]

If I won a lotto jackpot:
<<sandwich talk>>

That would be the Eleventy Billion Dollar jackpot, right? ;-)

 

[BKM]

I am a perfect example of addictive behavior. A combination of spending and absent mindedness. :-#

I did convert my mortgage to a 15 year loan, which was smart, and I do participate in a 401K/457 plan, so I am not totally hopeless.

 

[otterpop]

I've always said that if I won the lottery I would spend it on good pot, good liqour and bad women, then probably squander the rest!

I pretty much really suck at money management. Living from paycheck to paycheck until I pay off my student loans and other debts. I hope one day to have enough left over from my paycheck to save some and put aside some for the three-year old's college fund, but at this rate I don't think he will have enough to pay for a second-rate trade school. I don't know. He is a good looking kid with a lot of personality. Maybe he can marry a rich woman.

 

[biscuit]

[ot]Sort of speaking of jackpots... did anyone catch Saturdays Powerball numbers? I bought my first ever lottery ticket on Friday and then didn't bother to watch the drawing. I'm suppose I'm a sorry excuse for a gambler. [/ot]

 

[JNA]

I lived for many years on just a barely existence income, so
I had to handle money wisely.
did not have a credit card until after grad school and then when I was employed
proud to have no balanced carried on them
do not use ATM's.

 

[Maister]

If I won a lotto jackpot:

I would buy 16 tons of lucheon meats (assorted varieties), 8 tons of sliced bread, 70 barrels of kosher dill pickles, 140 bushels of white onions, and 17 gallons of dijon mustard and real mayo.
mmmmmmm...........that'll make one hell'va sandwich. :-D

Yes, I would do that too. If I won the Lotto I would also buy 500 of those hawaiian shirts 500 pairs of sweat pants and wear those all the time and I would buy a really good harmonica and buy one of those really big dumptrucks with the 10 ft. tall tires (you know the ones they use for stripmining) and drive that everytime I went to the store...and I would buy everybody in the city season tickets to the Lions games and I would buy a 1000 gallons of ice cream and coat the hill by my house with mint chocolate chip and we all could go sledding during the summer and if you wiped out you would eat ice cream and I would pay the Buzzcocks to get back together and they would give live performances at all my sledding parties. And then I would buy the country of Andorra.
Oh yeah, and then I would become a captain of industry.

 

[Richmond Jake]

Yes, I would do that too. If I won the Lotto I would also buy 500 of those hawaiian shirts 500 pairs of sweat pants and wear those all the time and I would buy a really good harmonica and buy one of those really big dumptrucks with the 10 ft. tall tires (you know the ones they use for stripmining) and drive that everytime I went to the store...and I would buy everybody in the city season tickets to the Lions games and I would buy a 1000 gallons of ice cream and coat the hill by my house with mint chocolate chip and we all could go sledding during the summer and if you wiped out you would eat ice cream and I would pay the Buzzcocks to get back together and they would give live performances at all my sledding parties. And then I would buy the country of Andorra.
Oh yeah, and then I would become a captain of industry.

How do you guys think this stuff up?? :-b

 

[mendelman]

How do you guys think this stuff up?? :-b

It's all built up, because we can't say it in staff memos.

Professionalism......Bah!

;-) :-D

 

[Maister]

How do you guys think this stuff up?? :-b

Easy. We both got sent to the principal's office alot and never got to go to recess. 8-!

 

[mendelman]

That would be the Eleventy Billion Dollar jackpot, right? ;-)

Damn, straight!!

Who could afford such culinary extravagances without eleventy billions dolllars?????

 

[Big Easy King]

I manage funds well. I balance my checkbook and keep a record of all my transactions.

I need to win the lottery, damnit!

 

[michaelskis]

I think that I would start by finding a financial advisor who does not need to work. If he is good with his money, he should be good at recommending how I treat mine. I would start by paying off my College Loan. Then, well, I would start my own development company and hire people who are smarter than I am. I would go and get my MBA. Oh and I would buy this bar that the guy’s in the office go to, and give it to Maister. (He drinks more than we do when we are there… it will save him money so he can achieve his hopes, dreams, and sledding hill)

I would also invest a lot more… BUT I think not that much in my life would change. I like the place that I live in, and it is where I want to be at this point in my life, and I like the car I drive, so that is ok too. I might have a friend of mine who is a shopaholic go out, and pick out a whole new wardrobe for me, then have it tailored to fight just right. OH and I would buy a few nightclubs in the area. I see how much money people spend at them, and being young, I know what people my age are looking for.

Oh, and I would set up a fund that the interest would also always cover the cost of Cyburbia operations.

Until then, I am working at paying off my College Loan, and my car loan. (The car will be payed off before I buy a house, college loan will be payed off before my great grandkids go to college!)

 

[Repo Man]

I am ok at money management, but not great. I need to watch spending on small stuff (bar tabs, eating out, shopping at gourmet grocery stores, CDs, etc). It is amazing how many 10-20 dollar transactions I have on my debit card.

If I won the lottery I would pay off my credit cards, car loan, and student loans as well as any loans that my family has. Then I would quit my job on the spot (2-week notice be damned) and buy a nice old fixer-upper and spend my time doing that for a while. Then I would maybe buy a bar, restaurant or record store.

 

[Downtown]

I think it primarily comes from your background.

I can agree with this - my folks never had money, until rob and i put our money together, i had deplorable money habits - never balanced my checkbook, didn't save much, but then I was introduced to the joys of Quicken and the fun of having money in the bank when the car needs repairs, and I was literally transformed. I don't think rob has balanced the checkbook in 5 years.

 

[BKM]

Oops. I didn't notice we were talking about lottery fantasies here, too.

I would pay off my sister's mortgage, help my brother buy a condo, and buy a small but nice house (I don't need a gigantic mansion). Because I fantaisze materialistically too much, I even have my neighborhoods picked out:

Downtown Benicia-overlooking the Carquinez Straights
San Francisco-Glen Park, Corona Heights, Ashbury Heights-all leafy, dog-friendly neighborhoods. Of course, if it was a big prize, I would look at Russian Hill or Telegraph Hill
Berkeley-Northbrae/Thousand Oaks or Elmwood. Rockridge in Oakland.

Half Moon Bay-Miramar neighborhood (fantastic coastal neighborhood with weird houses, narrow streets, sandy, shrubby creative landscaping and a great bike path along the beach)

Oh, and an M3-because I would not be living in a place that requires driving to get everywhere (I just don't understand the isolated country estate fantasy), I can rationalize a gas guzzling sports car.

 

[Mud Princess]

I don't think rob has balanced the checkbook in 5 years.

I don't know what my husband would do if something happened to me. I'm the one who handles the checkbook, pays our bills, knows all our finances, etc., etc. He agrees that I'm better at it than he would be. I hate those stereotypes about women being big spenders, because in my household, it's totally the opposite. (Except that I love going out to eat -- that's where I splurge -- but he enjoys that too.) My grandmother, and the Consumer Economics course I took in high school, taught me everything I know. We're far from rich, but we manage well.

 

[ludes98]

If I hit the jackpot, I'd keep my job and be more comfortable. I have been saving and investing my whole life. High school friends thought I was crazy for having an IRA, but I plan on retiring and being able to afford the same lifestyle I retire at.