What if you won the lotto? How to survive?

Diomedes Industries

Diomedes Industries

Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
7,443
I know most of us don't play - but I was talking about this with a friend of mine yesterday and I decided if I won the lotto (let's set the amount - you just won (net) 10 million dollars) I would either have to give it all away (start a foundation or simply give it to charity) or never tell a soul.

I am pretty sure I could not keep this secret. So - I wonder if my life would be ruined by the money.

You would not know who your real friends were, it would drive a wedge into your family (their car breaks down and I am sure they would feel like calling me) and I fear I would loose what I love most.

So - here is my plan. Pay off my debt. Invest two million (I could easily reap about 60,000 annually on the dividends - and the original two million would not diminish). Buy a slightly larger house (I am talking like 2000 square feet or so) on a good chunk of land (so that I had room to do what I like) and get two indestructible cars that would last me a good long while. Put some away for my kids education and perhaps some seed money for them down the road.

Then make the rest go away. Give some to family (say pay off the house of each family member in my immediate family and then be done with it) and then give the rest to some foundation or charity.

What do you think? Would this amount of money ruin you? I am convinced now that you cannot be happy with this amount of money - because you need close family and friends and this money would come in between you.

Thoughts?

TF
 
Talfuchre said:
I know most of us don't play - but I was talking about this with a friend of mine yesterday and I decided if I won the lotto (let's set the amount - you just won (net) 10 million dollars) I would either have to give it all away (start a foundation or simply give it to charity) or never tell a soul.

I am pretty sure I could not keep this secret. So - I wonder if my life would be ruined by the money.

You would not know who your real friends were, it would drive a wedge into your family (their car breaks down and I am sure they would feel like calling me) and I fear I would loose what I love most.

So - here is my plan. Pay off my debt. Invest two million (I could easily reap about 60,000 annually on the dividends - and the original two million would not diminish). Buy a slightly larger house (I am talking like 2000 square feet or so) on a good chunk of land (so that I had room to do what I like) and get two indestructible cars that would last me a good long while. Put some away for my kids education and perhaps some seed money for them down the road.

Then make the rest go away. Give some to family (say pay off the house of each family member in my immediate family and then be done with it) and then give the rest to some foundation or charity.

What do you think? Would this amount of money ruin you? I am convinced now that you cannot be happy with this amount of money - because you need close family and friends and this money would come in between you.

Thoughts?

TF
Click to expand...

If you kept 2 million, you'd still be pretty rich (by my standards, anyways). So, you might as well keep more than that. People are still going to think of you as the rich guy, and your problems would still be there. But, that's a pretty good plan.

ETA: Here's my plan. I'd buy a island (apparently, that's something people do) and I'd invite any of you guys who wanted to come down and we'd have us one hell of a survival gathering!
 
Equal shares for all 3 of my boys, put in trust for after college.

Buy a house on a nice stretch of beach in central Cali, and buy some toys.

Pay off mom and dads house, and give em a nice chunk of $$.

Give the rest to charity, and keep working doin what I do.
 
I would simply tell no one except for my wife and (eventually) my kids. And, yes, I think we could keep it a secret. Beyond that, I'd probably buy a larger house and then invest the money so that I could be sure that my wife and I would never have to work another day of our lives.

And then I'd go fishing.

:)
 
Rich people are not happy. They just think they're happy, but they're not really happy.

Moe from the Simpsons stated something like that.
 
Last edited:
Happiness is in part genetic. It seems humans carry their own individual default level of happiness regardless of what happens to them. Bingo winners that win big soon enough get over the elation and return to about the same level of happiness as they had. Similarly, look at research with amputees. The vast majority, once they over the nadir, return to about the same level of happiness as they had before. Transient things are just that.

I'm on the wrong forum to expand but there's loads of reading out there.
 
EMT_Lee said:
If you kept 2 million, you'd still be pretty rich (by my standards, anyways). So, you might as well keep more than that. People are still going to think of you as the rich guy, and your problems would still be there. But, that's a pretty good plan.

ETA: Here's my plan. I'd buy a island (apparently, that's something people do) and I'd invite any of you guys who wanted to come down and we'd have us one hell of a survival gathering!
Click to expand...

Good point ETA. How about this - I put the two million in a trust where it cannot be dissolved unless all memebers of my family agree to - and then I only have access to the dividends.

TF
 
I would call ActionMobil and have them buld me one of their nice RV's based on a MAN 8x8 truck, and then go on a trip around the world for 6-8 years. While the truck gets shipped to the next continent I could fly home and visit friends and family. I've been dreamig about this for years... but still don't play the lottery.
ilten
 
With 10 mil I would be charitable but would not give it all away to charity. It would set my family up to live a very comfortable life style here in NY.

I too would probably buy a nice farm in upstate New York. Maybe 100-200 acres and spend my time doing what is really rewarding. Spending quality time with my family.

I think you can be happy when you have that much money. We all have to deal with dilemas in our lives. Filthy rich people just have a different dilemas to deal with.
 
Talfruche,

I'm with Rockywolf in thinking like you! I'd keep a little more than 2 mill, but I'd give over half of a large jackpot away (not just to the govt).

The happiest moments of our lives are the same for the rich as they are the poor.

Oh, I'd do one hell of a WSS give away!

Brandon
 
Talfuchre said:
So - here is my plan. Pay off my debt. Invest two million (I could easily reap about 60,000 annually on the dividends - and the original two million would not diminish). Buy a slightly larger house (I am talking like 2000 square feet or so) on a good chunk of land (so that I had room to do what I like) and get two indestructible cars that would last me a good long while. Put some away for my kids education and perhaps some seed money for them down the road.

Then make the rest go away. Give some to family (say pay off the house of each family member in my immediate family and then be done with it) and then give the rest to some foundation or charity.

TF
Click to expand...

I've often thought about this myself. I'm lucky enough that my family members and friends would not be looking for anything. (I choose my friends, the few I have, wisely) Money certainly can make life easier but true happiness is found within.
I'm with you 100% on how to set yourself and family up and then give the rest to a foundation or charity. I'd be very selective on who the recipients would be as far as foundations and charities go.
 
I have never played the lottery.

But if I did play and somehow managed to luck out, I would first ensure that my family was taken care of. Then I would put a comfortable chunk of change in the bank. Then I would (without explaining why or how) hold the mother of all giveaways on W&SS, just because I could (as in, winner gets a new custom trio and a trip with me to the mountains to test it out. Runners-up just get custom trios :D ).

Then I would use the rest to set up an academic endowment at my university, with the money going towards annual graduate student scholarships and research funding in my field, with funds set aside for a respectable selection of draft beers in the lounge.

All the best,

- Mike
 
udtjim said:
Gone fishing.
Click to expand...

Me too...

From the deck of my winter home in SC :p

oceanalexander56-1.jpg
 
bulgron said:
I would simply tell no one except for my wife and (eventually) my kids. And, yes, I think we could keep it a secret. Beyond that, I'd probably buy a larger house and then invest the money so that I could be sure that my wife and I would never have to work another day of our lives.

And then I'd go fishing.

:)
Click to expand...

Keeping it a secret is impossible, as lottery winnings are a matter of public record. Unless you claim the winnings and then drop out of "society".:D
 
Pay of my bills, my parents' bills, and the g-parents' bills. Send my bro in the USMC a check for his service and set up a trust for my 11-yr-old brother. Buy a house on some land and a few toys. Save up for that whole "family" thing, hey...I might find the girl of my dreams one day...right...hello?...anybody? :o, and invest enough that I could live comfortably off of the interest/dividends and work as I wanted doing something more entertaining than my dead-end security job. I would invest a large chunk into my youth camp idea (there's a thread somewhere) and then spend the rest on some sort of charitable venture.
 
Pay off my debt, my parents debt, my sisters' debts, set up college funds for each niece and nephew.
Give certain amounts to certain charity's.
Move out of province for a year and/or travel for a year.
Been wanting to move for a while anyway so this would be a good opportunity.
After the year find a nice large piece of land and build a modest but self-sustaining 'off the grid' type home right in the middle of it.
Set up a non-profit charity at my alma mater that wipes out student loan debt for a set number of graduates each year.

Basically a lottery type system whereby by all recent arts graduates with a certain student loan debt can enter.
Just arts students though as most doctors and engineers will be able to pay off their own debts, lol.

-----

Oh yeah also learn how to sail then buy a sail-boat and sail around the world.
 
Give 10% to charity. Pay off debts. Give each of my four family members 10 % Buy a cabin in the mountains (Rockies) and one on a Lake. Put the rest in the bank and live on the interest.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top