The question really is what CAN’T you buy. With a $5 gift card, I’d get a brisket breakfast burrito. They’re amazing.
There are other ways to get a larger deposit insured. But honestly, it seems really unlikely for one of the largest banks (Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank) to fail and to do so without the government backing all deposits.
Oooo, that sounds yummy.
Don’t say anything to anyone yet. Give yourself enough time to get used to the idea of being rich and investigate and follow up on:
- Becoming officially homeless by using one of those “moving” post office cards to have all your mail sent to a P.O. box.
- Sell your house. Even if you don’t move. Put up a For Sale sign and sell it to yourself or an organization that will quietly sell it back to you if you wish. And, if you don’t move, invest in some home security, stat!
- Investigate changing your looks if only temporarily (hair color, beard, fake cheek pads, fat suit) so that the opportunists don’t go looking for someone who looks like you. Your picture will be all over the news for a week or so once you make your claim. You can go back to looking like yourself later if you wish.
- Look for that sane, reasonable lawyer & accountant. I’m told they exist. I haven’t a clue how to find them.
- Figure out if/how to tell your family. My friend won $5000. Her sister immediately asked for a loan. My friend used the money to pay down two debts and go out to a nice, but not extravagant dinner and then explained to sis that there was no money left. Sis thought she was lying. (Insert roll eyes here.)
- I don’t live near a Buc’ees. Would you please send me a gift card to Costco for gas?
Good luck.
I’m way ahead of ya.
mmm
Excellent!
If you are old or have huge plans (like wanting to film a blockbuster movie,) you should take the lump sum.
If you’re young and have no particular plans in life, then the annuity is a wiser option.
I’d honest to God rather win $10 million or even $5 million than $1.4 billion (pre-tax, yadda, yadda). $1.4 billion and you’re just another rich z-list celebrity living behind a wall of security for the rest of your life. Same with your family, who are going to look like walking leverage to every addlepated kidnapper in the Western hemisphere. Sure you can afford it, but I don’t want to live like that for the tradeoff of being massively wealthy.
At my age even $5 million (even after taxes, really) qualifies as life changing money. I’m not poor, but combined with my current assets that would be enough for me to live a comfortably (slightly upper) middle-class lifestyle until I kick the bucket. I really don’t desire more than that. I don’t want a mansion so large I need to hire domestic staff and I don’t need my own executive jet.
No powerball for me. I’ll wait until someone wins the big prize, then buy a ticket, win a few million, fade into the media background and retire a year early 
.
For whatever portion you wanted in liquid risk-free cash, you wouldn’t put it on deposit at a bank, you’d buy Treasury Bills. They don’t need to be protected by FDIC because they are a direct obligation of the federal gubmint. You can buy a billion dollars instantly without moving the market.
Anything that puts me over $48,000 within a year would be life changing to me. That’s the upper limit on annual income to live where I do. But yes, I agree with you. I don’t want the kind of insecurity that level of financial security might bring.
Re:FDIC insurance, there are products that act like a single account that automatically spread across multiple accounts, each under the limit.
See CDARS. That might still max out though. Maybe $50M.
If just a bank account is what you’re looking for (it shouldn’t be), I’m sure any major bank is going to have wealth managers that have easy solutions for spreading that kind of money around.
You can send me a note and I’ll help you out for free. I am an excellent bookkeeper and I even know what GAAP means.
I’ve always said that if I ever won big, I’d gift a few of my favorite dopers a very healthy sum.
You’ve always been a favorite Mr.Mustard. :blinks flirtatiously:
I’ve got your back. I’m a sucker for a good blink.
mmm
I wish that worked at the grocery store.
Oh good, an opportunity to tell one of my favorite jokes.
A guy comes home and tells his wife “Pack your bags honey! I just won the lottery!”
The wife says “Oh that’s great! Where are we going? London? Paris?”
The guy says “I don’t care where you go. Just get the hell out!”
Ope! Not so fast bub, hand it over!
I’d like to think I’d keep my job until my contract ends and quietly make plans without spilling the beans to family and friends. I can keep a secret but good however I’d be unable to keep my feet on the ground and the gig would be up in a matter of days.
If you win a billion dollars, finding these folks will not be a problem. Figuring out who to hire from among the hundreds who are calling you will be the problem.
And that’s how you got a lifetime ban from the condiment aisle.
Walk into the biggest law firm in town and say you need a lawyer with estate and financial expertise.
A big law firm is likely to be well insured and reputable.
Do not use any lawyer or financial advisor who wants a percentage of the action. Do not use any lawyer or financial advisor who contacted YOU, even from your bank.
Don’t tell anyone except the very closest and most trusted family. News will leak out but keep it quiet for as long as possible.
Change your phone number and get a new email address for family to know about.
And a year’s supply of Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat!