I have no desire to win the lottery. None. Sure, a little more money would be nice, but a lot more? No.
I think it would change my life, and not for the better. I think I would become paranoid about losing it. I think my relationships would change. I think I would become a layabout with no goals and no purpose. The lottery has zero appeal for me, in addition to my indifference to gambling in general.
I know (slightly) two lottery winners. Neither of them are happier than they were before they won. Both have spent the majority of their winnings. I know one had his marriage dissolve shortly after winning. The other got hit up by every down-on-his-luck friend or friend of a friend in a three county radius. There’s nothing to envy there.
So, am I alone in finding the lottery is something I Do Not Want?
I’ve always been of the mindset that I would be “different” if I won the lottery. I received a small inheritance ($11,000) when I was 18 that seemed like huge money to me at the time, and I blew through it. It was an interesting lesson to learn, and one that I don’t think I’d forget. And secondly, I have always assumed that we just hear more horror stories about lottery winners than we do the happy stories about people who manage their money well and live out their lives quietly without any unnecessary drama. So I don’t think the winning is the curse some would make it out to be.
That being said, I do tend to be fairly free with my money around friends and family when I have money to spend, and the one aspect of winning the lottery that concerns me is folks coming out of the woodworks with their hands out. I wish there was some way to remain an anonymous winner. During my lottery-winning fantasies (yes, I have them), I always imagine that I can hire a trustworthy law firm to cash in my ticket on my behalf so I can avoid the publicity.
I don’t know if the fear of being a target for money-grubbers (of both the legal and illegal variety) is enough for me to say I *don’t *want to win, but I think I’d be prone to quite a bit of paranoia if I did hit a huge jackpot.
The problem in winning the lottery or otherwise acquiring a windfall is that there’s a tendency to immediately adjust your lifestyle to an unsustainable one. If you start spending $3 million a year when you’ve only won $10 million after taxes, you’re boned.
I’ve been thinking about it an awful lot lately, mostly because my current situation is a little stagnant. If you give yourself a limited salary, like $100,000/year, and invest the rest or donate to charity, you can live a long, comfortable life without working.
And, personally? Right now as a working stiff I am something of a layabout with no goals and no purpose. With the economy as it is I have little hope of moving up in the world for another year at least, debt’s choking off my ability to save and do things, and work leaves me little energy or time even if I could go and do things. If I won the lottery, suddenly I’ve got a deep well of resources to draw on, and there would be so many things I could suddenly do and see in the world without a day-to-day job tying me down. I don’t think I’d ever stop moving if I won the lottery.
I don’t want to win the lottery enough to actually, well, buy a ticket, but if someone offered me $10 million, I wouldn’t turn it down. I don’t have fantasies about quitting my job–I love my job–but I do daydream about quitting my life: I’d love to have an accountant and a housekeeper and a gardener. They’d be a little out of place in my 50 year old, 1700 sq ft ranch house in a slightly run down suburb, but I’d be ok with that.
Yes. I want to win the lottery. And I’d try to be as decadent as possible with my windfall. Eating caviar straight out of the can with a plastic spork decadent.
hire a reputable financial management firm to deal with the ins and outs of instant wealth
pay all applicable taxes
pay off all debts for myself and my immediate family
set aside enough money to buy/build a house, take everyone on a way cool vacation, and have a moderate spree
set up a trust fund to deal with relatives/friends asking for money - all requests must be submitted in the form of a persuasive essay with impeccable grammar and spelling, works cited page, and original thesis. Requests will be judged by a panel of bitter, retired, middle school English teachers.
set up a trust fund for myself to handle charitable donations and living expenses
become a hermit. With Internet and cable tv.
Seriously, though, there have been multiple studies showing that lottery winners have a significantly higher death rate in the five years after their win, have a greater chance of death by violence and death by misadventure, and overall are far less happy than they were. I have met one lottery winner, and he defied all these expectations. He bought a Rolls Royce he’d always admired and ran for (and won) mayor of the college town he lived in.
I rarely buy lottery tickets, but when I daydream about winning, it’s not about buying fancy things. I think more along the lines of investing it and living off the fat; enjoying a middle-class lifestyle without having to work for it.
I’ve always been good with money, and have never spent stupidly even when I was richer than I am now. I think I’d be a good candidate to handle a large windfall intelligently.
I once sat next to a lottery winner on a plane. She showed me her installment check and we talked about it a little. Then it occurred to me that she was sitting in the coach section and I asked her why. “Habit,” she said.
Exactly. Screw solid-gold toilets; just give me enough for a comfortable life. About the only excess I’ve considered is buying mid-range homes in different strategic places around the US, and even that can be done with about $2 million if you don’t go overboard.
If you win the lottery, I’ll gladly take on the burdens if you sign the prize over to me. The lottery represents the ultimate means of suddenly acquiring “Kiss My Ass Money”. Anything over 2 million is plenty to have me set for life. I’d probably not resign from my job immediately–I’ve got a case pending in my State’s Supreme Court–but I won’t be taking on anything new. When the appellate decision comes down, I’m outta here.
My lifestyle won’t really change all that much, other than not working, and maybe making casino runs slightly more often. I’ll retire to my home, and so long as folks leave me the hell alone, like Chief Joseph, I shall fight no more forever. Maybe finish a couple of novels I’ve started writing over the years. Maybe just not hit a lick at a snake. Maybe hook up a bourbon IV let the world tend to itself.
People often resent success (look at the number of people who want to tax the hell out of people who have the audacity to make a lot of money), but especially if they feel it hasn’t been earned.
So if I won, I’d first create an organization that I could claim it under anonymously. Then my plan would be to spend 1/4, share 1/4, save 1/4, and give away 1/4.
When I give money to people now, I do it anonymously. Usually I give gift cards to people who I know need help at Christmas, along with a card from Santa. It relieves them of the burden of feeling beholden to me and the awkwardness that exists when there’s an imbalance in a relationship. So that’s how I’d handle a huge windfall – I’d just be able to help out more people.
That being said, you’d never see me in coach if I won the lottery. That’s the one frivolity I’d allow myself.
Meh, I know a family that won one of the biggest lotto payouts ever, and they are as nice and down to earth as they ever were.
They created a charitable foundation and give generously to a wide variety of deserving organizations, don’t live in a mansion, and still take public transportation when possible.
It’s possible that there’s been a dark underbelly to the experience that I just haven’t seen, but they seem happy and well adjusted.
I’d like to win the lottery and have no one else know about it unless I tell them in confidence. I don’t see any downside there (not that I think any lotteries are conducted with such anonymity).
I’d love to win the lottery. The national lottery jackpot isn’t that much - a mere £2M on Weds, enough to retire in comfort. I’m only 43 so have to budget for another 45-50 years of life, so that’s £40K per year. But the Euromillions jackpot would allow me to grow old disgracefully. Bring on the Me-262! Bring on the Nissan GTR! Bring on the vineyard in New Zealand.
Of course, I’d actually have to buy a ticket first.
I’d have no problems with the money. We underspend our income as it is, so I’m not worried about a lavish lifestyle. Our house at the moment is too big for us anyhow, so there is no reason to go through the hassle of moving. What I’m short of is time, and being able to retire early would give me that. I don’t need more things, I need time to enjoy what I have already.
I have no debts, my kids have no college debts (though we could pay off our son-in-law’s law school loan) so that’s not a problem.
The only other change would be to travel a bit more and to be able to go first class.
A dollar or two a week isn’t too bad; I buy it primarily for the entertainment and the possibility. Sure, it’s 1 in 14 billion, but without buying a ticket it’s a straight 0% chance.
When I was but a young moonling someone in my tiny town won a huge (for the time, and you know, Canada) jackpot of $14 million dollars. Our assignment in my social studies class that week was to determine how we would spend it. Many of my classmates ended the exercise with cars, houses, parties and no cash. My scenario blew through about $4million, between splurges and gifts to family/friends. The remaining was invested to provide me with an income sufficient to keep me in the style I would like to be accustomed to.
Over the years I’ve reworked the proposal many times, determining who would get money and how much I would need invested to earn enough income that I would stop working and spend my time indulging my favorite hobbies - travel and photography. I tend to buy tickets only when the jackpot is large and then spend the week dreaming about how I would live after I won.
I also have a life long habit of drawing and redrawing my dream house. It’s crazy how much it’s changed over my lifetime.
Well, I don’t buy lottery tickets because of the negligible odds of winning, but I’m not overly concerned about my life falling apart if I did win a huge sum of money.
I’m sure everyone thinks they are “different” and they personally would be fine. I also feel this way, but am pretty sure that I am correct (I’m sure everyone says that too :)).
My wife and I earn good middle class salaries. We spend a lot less then we take in - if we wanted to we could be driving around in BMWs and Audis without taking on any additional debt. But we don’t feel any real pressure to do that. I don’t think that would change if we won the lottery. I’d view it more of a safety net - I’d feel additional freedom to pursue interesting ideas without worrying about financial consequence: maybe I’d try out law school to see if I enjoyed it, or some other advanced degree. But I just don’t see us blowing it on good times and extravagant living. If we were those sort of people we probably would have screwed up our lives already based on our current income.
That said I’d probably treat myself to first class on long distance flights. Coach really is the only truly uncomfortable time I spend that can be fixed with money!
Bring on the Me-262! Bring on the Nissan GTR! Bring on the vineyard in New Zealand.