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Home > A few thoughts about winning a lottery. Sorry, very long winded.

A few thoughts about winning a lottery. Sorry, very long winded.

August 12th, 2009 at 05:57 am

I bought a Mega Millions (Lottery) ticket the other day and of course it starts one to dreaming. I realize that the odds of winning a lottery are pretty bad. But I don't see anything wrong with playing once in a while responsibly. And eventually someone does win.
So FOREVER I've had a basic plan in my head of how I would deal with a huge windfall such as winning the Mega Millions. For the most part my plan is pretty dull and has not changed much over the years. Its actually gotton more conservative as I've gotton older and strive more for the simple life.
My "plan" is mostly how I would save and invest most of the money. I would do some repairs on my modest home but don't see the need for a new one. Right at the moment I would not buy a new car. But it sure would be nice having the money available to go buy one anytime that I did need to. The 2 big things for me are that I would definately quit my job soon, and I would definately travel a lot more.
As things are right now I wouldn't even be in a big hurry to quit my job. It would have to happen, but no big rush. Since I work in a store selling toys I think I'd happilly stay there through Christmas. I mean i'd have the rest of my life after that to never have to work on a holiday again. I'd also book the terribly expensive trip that I drool over to Antarctica. I know most of you would choose other places, but I'd get to those too. But I really would not spend all that much money on material objects. I've had enough of those in my life.
A friend of mine constantly comments that he wants to win the lottery but that he would only be happy if it were something like 100 million dollars. He talks about all the silly things he would blow his money on. I think if he really won 100 mil, it would be gone within a year or so. He even insists that if he won such a prize that he would have my house torn down and re-built for me. I don't want that even if someone else is paying.

I would love to win a huge amount of money. But all I really want is to be able to pay my bills, live in a comfortable enough way, and be able to travel more. I can do a lot of that on my own without winning a lottery. Its just winning would make it a whole lot easier of course. Just wanted to share some of my thoughts on the subject and wondering what any of you would do if you won a large sum of money? And what amount of money would really make you happy?

10 Responses to “A few thoughts about winning a lottery. Sorry, very long winded.”

  1. whitestripe Says:
    1250063246

    i have always dreamt of travelling to see antarctica - such a beautiful place that really may eventually be not as beautiful.

    i could never say 'i would only be happy with $100 m'. what if you won 99 million? i think that is just putting a negative vibe on the whole thing. and i dont even believe in 'vibes' and all that Big Grin so basically i would be happy with any amount of money won.

    what would i do with it? of course, cost permitting:
    first of all, figure out how much i'd need to (safely) invest so that i could comfortably live off the interest. or atleast, live off part of the interest. probably purchase another property to rent out. or rent out our house and build our own house.
    and if there was any money remaining, buy a car (or three) and do some travelling, and give some of the money to our parents. possibly pursue study interests as well, for the fun of it.

  2. disneysteve Says:
    1250082020

    I always love the "what if" conversations. I have to agree that the answer has changed as I've gotten older. I used to say I'd quit work right away. Now, I'm not so sure. I would definitely modify my work schedule. I would reduce my hours. I would see fewer patients per hour. And I would eliminate certain types of patients from my practice, narrowing the scope of my practice to the work that I actually enjoy doing. Ultimately, though, I'm sure I'd retire completely a lot sooner than currently planned.

    Of course, I would also take a lot more vacation time. Instead of 4 weeks, I'd want to take 8 or 10. My wife could stop working entirely which would make her quite happy.

    I would get a new car since mine is 12 years old now. We'd also do a bunch of work on our house.

  3. MomEsq Says:
    1250083845

    Great post! I have a lottery plan too! I'd buy a small house for my mother, who struggles a bit with life, and I'd pay off our debt. Depending on how much we were to win, I'd absolutely quit my job and stay home with the little ones until they go to school. (I'd ultimately go back to work - but doing something different!) I'd hire a landscaper to design a garden, and I'd put the rest in a conservative investment portfolio. As far as travel -I'm a history buff, so we'd have to see the great European cities!

  4. monkeymama Says:
    1250085793

    My dream is to pay off my mortgage - how boring! $500k tax-free wouldn't be half bad though. It would afford a very early retirement. Or I could immediately switch to working part-time, etc. Which is really my only goal. Not that we wouldn't splurge on something, but I could see splurging $10k or $20k and saving the rest.

    They always say winning the lottery magnifies your strengths and faults. A majority of lottery winners end up declaring bankruptcy. Also, it creates a lot of stress with people asking for money, etc. Overall, winning the lottery sounds a lot better than it would be. Though, no doubt your plan would not put you in the bankruptcy category. Unless you have a weakness for people begging for money...

  5. Broken Arrow Says:
    1250088271

    Well, I don't play, so I don't really have a detailed plan or anything. More like ruminations with friends when sitting down at a dinner table.

    But assuming a sum massive enough that I effectively don't have to worry about it, well ok, I'd "retire", buy a house, and get a new car.

    By "retire", I don't mean I'm going to stop working, but rather, I would work in an area that I am interested in, even if it ends up in non-profit or charity.

    By "house", I don't mean anything fancy. In my area, $300k can pretty much get you whatever you are looking for. I also can't imagine needing anything over 1500 sq. ft.

    And by "new car", I really mean a newer used car. My current car is 12 years old and having problems.

    Is that really conservative for mega millions? Probably. But then, I'm retiring at a fairly early age, and much can still happen (including my kids) so, that's how I look at it.

    By the way, for fun, I looked up the odds of winning for the Ohio mega lottery, and at 1 out of 197,000,000, it's well it's better than my state's odds if that um helps any.

  6. Patrick (Toyguy 1963) Says:
    1250094808

    I loved all of your answers. I wasn't sure what kind of responses I would get but they were all great. I did leave out on my post that I would share some of the money with people I care about. It would depend on how much I actually received and it would also be a fairly modest amount. Probably most of them would be a bit angry that they didn't get more out of me. Thats a little sad thought.

    BA - You gave me great hope (and a laugh) with your
    statement about the Ohio lottery odds. Hey I thought you were going to write that you would "trick out" your closet. J/K.

    Thanks again everyone.

  7. Broken Arrow Says:
    1250102449

    Uh yeah, hope.... But I'd definitely have the most tricked out closet in the neighborhood! Because that's how I roll!

  8. whitestripe Says:
    1250106683

    i forgot to say also - one of my main goals (lottery or no lottery!) would be to have children and for either DF or I (who ever earns the least) be able to stay home with them until they went to school. i guess a lottery-variation would be that BOTH DF and I would be able to stay home, that would be lovely.

  9. Patrick (Toyguy 1963) Says:
    1250139353

    I bet you would have the best tricked out closet in the United States BA.

    Whitestripe - You have some good plans.

  10. Jerry Says:
    1250280795

    I would pay off student loans and mortgage, and also lead some of the money into a fund for my kid(s) and family to pay for their college, as well. I would get excellent health insurance, which is obscenely expensive now... and I might get a second passport in another country in Europe. Then (after I finish school) I would open a bunch of clinics in places where people need them, and provide medical care for whatever they can honestly afford (money, chickens, eggs, pigs, whatever).
    Oh, and on the selfish side, I would get a completely restored Land Rover Defender with a new 300TDi diesel engine, rust-and-bomb-proofed, and convert it with a second fuel tank to run on waste vegetable oil whenever feasible. And I would splurge on some nice suits as well as some custom shoes made by Tim Little in London, just for fancy occasions. Oh, and I would take my daughter to some of my alma mater's football games, and some Red Sox games each year. OK, enough selfish. =)
    Jerry

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