# If you win the Powerball, where do you (temporarily) put the money? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 26, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747 "2017-08-26T17:53:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/61 "2017-08-28T03:42:58Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Put it in 55 gallon barrels and bury it in the desert. And buy a lottery ticket with the GPS coordinates and put it on the fridge where no one will throw it out even when the ticket didn’t win. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/62 "2017-08-28T03:45:58Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > For you, perhaps. But what if you had a charity you were interested in? Generating additional personal wealth by investing wisely lets you give more effectively. Give the money to the charity and let them invest it if they want. ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/63 "2017-08-28T19:17:46Z")
I heard an interview with this lady from the [Sudden Money Institute](http://www.suddenmoney.com/). She had some interesting advice. Don’t tell anyone. Sign the ticket and put it in a safe deposit box for a couple of weeks just to get used to the idea of it. Move to a gated community or someplace with security. Mostly things that people who were raised with money learned along the way. ---
**Author:** ![Ornery\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@Ornery\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ornery_Bob)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/64 "2017-08-28T20:51:20Z")
First of all, there is no rush to cash in your ticket. You have 180 days (basically six months). Plenty of time to hire a financial advisor and lawyer and set up a corporation to claim the prize in a way that keeps you anonymous. The woman who won has already proved that she has no clue. Going public is just asking for trouble and from what I’ve read, she’s already having trouble with people showing up at her house. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/65 "2017-08-28T20:53:53Z")
As much as it may be good advice to not turn in the winning ticket immediately, I could never have any peace of mind knowing that that ticket could be stolen, destroyed, lost, etc. as long as it is in my possession. Knowing me, I wouldn’t have a minute of peace in my head until I had \*officially \*been certified as the winner by lottery officials, etc. So I’d take it to them ASAP, probably the very following day… And then, of course, it would be time for another worry, the time for scammers, criminals and stalkers to hound me. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/66 "2017-08-28T22:48:11Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > > [@silenus](#): > > > > Depends on whether or not you are in a “disclosure” state. Some states allow you to collect winning anonymously. In that case your way is fine. California isn’t one of those states, so before I let the lottery commission know who I was I’d take serious steps to deal with the money and vanish from sight for a few months, minimum. > > “Disappearing” seems a bit much. It’s not as if bounty hunters and brigands are going to set off and track me down, or the commission is going to publish my address and the make and model of my car. At the very least, I expect you’re going to be asked for money by many people (family, friends and strangers). Some of these people will even be telling true stories of desperation and need, while others will just be lying. And I would not be surprised if a lottery winner, particularly someone who won a lot of money, is approached by con artists and people who attempt to intimidate you into giving them money. So I really think one of the first things to do would be to change your phone numbers to unpublished ones and then to quietly move out of your house. My parents, for instance, have had the same phone number for almost fifty years and the number is known by people all over the world. So it would be a shame to have to give up that number, but it might be necessary. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/67 "2017-08-28T23:28:22Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > Quintana is worried about deposit insurance because he doesn’t want to take any risk. Why invest it in a single bank paying near zero interest rates? You’re not “investing” you are parking for long enough for your advisors to figure out where to put in. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/68 "2017-08-29T00:05:46Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > At the very least, I expect you’re going to be asked for money by many people (family, friends and strangers). Some of these people will even be telling true stories of desperation and need, while others will just be lying. And I would not be surprised if a lottery winner, particularly someone who won a lot of money, is approached by con artists and people who attempt to intimidate you into giving them money. > > So I really think one of the first things to do would be to change your phone numbers to unpublished ones and then to quietly move out of your house. My parents, for instance, have had the same phone number for almost fifty years and the number is known by people all over the world. So it would be a shame to have to give up that number, but it might be necessary. Exactly. Drop out of sight, make all the necessary arrangements with financial advisors, then hire some people whose sole job is to tell people to FOAD. It would of course require moving to a much more secure domicile, as **Kelevra** noted above. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/69 "2017-08-29T01:38:19Z")
If i win 300 million AFTER taxes, i dont want any interest. Here is your share IRS, mkay?thanks,GaBye. What will i do with interest except pay more taxes? I dont need the damned interest, i wont be able to get rid of the base funds fast enough Why do i want more? Take ticket, drive immediately to main state lotto office, turn in ticket, do all happy paperwork, sign for the IRS to get their half off the top, and direct deposit the lump sum into this simple NON INTEREST BEARING checking account. only 250k FDIC? Well if BOA or similar goes under, the deposit insurance is way way the least of anyone’s worries. Now i have the money, i can move it to what ever places i deem necessary and the IRS does not get any more. 300 million? I sure as hell dont need any more I sure as hell dont want to pay any more taxes than the 300m i just gave the IRS ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/70 "2017-08-29T01:59:45Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Have the lottery commission defer paying you until you have a long term place ready to put the money. Let the government hold your money for you; they’re not likely to go out of business. And I’m sure they’re not going to pressure you to accept the money. I am among those who are concerned about lost interest. I have a lot of charities that I’d love to endow, and even small amounts can be a windfall to them. $300,000,000 in a measly 1% savings account is $3,000,000 per year, or almost $10,000 _per day!_ No way am I gonna let that go to waste. > [@Ornery\_Bob](#): > > First of all, there is no rush to cash in your ticket. You have 180 days (basically six months). :eek: :eek: six months! :eek: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/71 "2017-08-29T02:27:21Z")
So the consensus from the ignorance-fighting crowd in this thread seems to be: (1) Put all the money on deposit at a bank. Because, although a depost account will not pay me anything to take the bank’s credit risk, there’s not _much_ chance a big bank will go bust. And I’ll probably get 70c on the dollar back a few years later even if it does, no harm done! And, most important, never having handled more than a few thousand dollars, that’s the only thing that I know how to do, and I’m _determined_ not to learn anything new here. (2) Be extremely careful never to earn any interest on the money. Taxes are complicated, and since I don’t understand them, it seems highly unlikely that anyone else does either. The IRS sends people to jail! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/72 "2017-08-29T02:50:03Z")
I insist on filling a Scrooge McDuckian swimming-pool with it first. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/73 "2017-08-29T02:55:57Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I insist on filling a Scrooge McDuckian swimming-pool with it first. In large stacked bills, it wouldn’t fill a swimming pool, more like a jacuzzi. I guess it would work pretty well if you scrunched them up one by one, then you could “swim” in them. > **[pagetutor.com - pagetutor Resources and Information.](http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/index.html)** > > pagetutor.com is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, pagetutor.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for! ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/74 "2017-08-29T02:57:21Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Give the money to the charity and let them invest it if they want. You might be wiser than the charity. Or the charity may change in your rank of spending preferences in the future. The point is that even with a trillion dollars you can find uses for more therefore taking the effort to learn how to grow that money can help you achieve what you want to achieve. Now, people are willing to work 30-60 hrs a week for a thousand dollars? Spending 100 or so hours of study to earn a few extra percents on 100s of millions is an excellent ROI. ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/75 "2017-08-29T03:00:13Z")
> [@Corry\_El](#): > > It means what you said, the fund has gained 7.4% pa for the last 10 yrs. There’s no way to say what it will earn the next 10 yrs, which could be negative. Between the sentiment expressed in some posts that the person shouldn’t care what return $300mil made since it’s so large, and putting it 100% in stocks there’s probably a middle ground most people would prefer. > > Or at least I would. I can’t see such importance in aiming to grow $300mil into $600mil in just 10 yrs (approx what the total stock market fund would deliver _if_, big if, it duplicated the last 10 yrs) so much as to not put anything into safer investments. I’d certainly put at least as much into safe investments as I could possibly imagine spending and wanting to leave to my heirs. But that still wouldn’t be the whole $300. I couldn’t see putting the whole $300mil in safe investments either. Exactly, with that much money there is no need to leverage is to get more money out of it. Because whatever safe investment it is put in, you will more than be able to live off the interest alone. 1% a year is still $3M. The biggest peace of mind from a huge winnings like that is to not be concerned about the stock market and the economy. ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/76 "2017-08-29T03:02:16Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > For you, perhaps. But what if you had a charity you were interested in? Generating additional personal wealth by investing wisely lets you give more effectively. You donate money to the charity now and let them manage how they invest the money. They have investing experts who did that for charities and other non-profits. No reason to take on a burden yourself that you aren’t up to handling unless you are already in the business. It is arrogant to assume you can do better than the experts that manage the funds for the charities. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/77 "2017-08-29T03:04:38Z")
I would just put the check under my mattress and forget about it for a while. [The problem solves itself!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=834690)😉 P.S.- no offense to the other OP – we all do this sort of thing on occasion! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/78 "2017-08-29T03:07:29Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > As much as it may be good advice to not turn in the winning ticket immediately, I could never have any peace of mind knowing that that ticket could be stolen, destroyed, lost, etc. as long as it is in my possession. Knowing me, I wouldn’t have a minute of peace in my head until I had \*officially \*been certified as the winner by lottery officials, etc. So I’d take it to them ASAP, probably the very following day… > > And then, of course, it would be time for another worry, the time for scammers, criminals and stalkers to hound me. There is no reason for the delay. You make a phone call to your accountant and attorney, and have them accompany you to claim the winnings. If you won $300M, if your regular accountant and attorney aren’t available on short-notice (very unlikely) then you can quickly find good ones that are or someone else from their firm. Sitting on the ticket for weeks is bad planning and just stupid, because you didn’t win anything until they certify it. For all you know, it could be a mistake, so no sense wasting weeks on it. ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/79 "2017-08-29T03:09:10Z")
> [@Weisshund](#): > > If i win 300 million AFTER taxes, i dont want any interest. > Here is your share IRS, mkay?thanks,GaBye. > > What will i do with interest except pay more taxes? > I dont need the damned interest, i wont be able to get rid of the base funds fast enough > Why do i want more? > > Take ticket, drive immediately to main state lotto office, turn in ticket, do all happy paperwork, sign for the IRS to get their half off the top, and direct deposit the lump sum into this simple NON INTEREST BEARING checking account. > > only 250k FDIC? > Well if BOA or similar goes under, the deposit insurance is way way the least of anyone’s worries. > > Now i have the money, i can move it to what ever places i deem necessary and the IRS does not get any more. > > 300 million? > I sure as hell dont need any more > I sure as hell dont want to pay any more taxes than the 300m i just gave the IRS Then maybe you can afford to get you caps key fixed too.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747/80 "2017-08-29T03:12:37Z")
> [@edwardcoast](#): > > Then maybe you can afford to get you caps key fixed too.😃 Can you take a tax deduction for the repair fee? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-win-the-powerball-where-do-you-temporarily-put-the-money/794747.md?page=5)