Be carefil what you wish for

[pwd72s]

The posts wishing for wealth prompted me to look this up...sad lottery winners stories.

Of course, we know everybody here would handle vast wealth better.

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/tragic-stories-lottery-winners-article-1.2492941

[GH85Carrera]

I guess almost everyone has dreamed of what they would do with a lottery win.

I suspect I would get a new 911 Turbos S and have a basement with an elevator dug under my current garage to keep the Turbo and some other toys safe.

The rest would just go into retirement funding and whatever my wife could think up. And lots of careful charity giving.

Maybe expand the business with a state of the art digital camera and few employees to do the work.

Most lottery winners are like the pro sports players that make a ton of money and just waste it in no time.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I guess almost everyone has dreamed of what they would do with a lottery win.

I suspect I would get a new 911 Turbos S and have a basement with an elevator dug under my current garage to keep the Turbo and some other toys safe.

The rest would just go into retirement funding and whatever my wife could think up. And lots of careful charity giving.

Maybe expand the business with a state of the art digital camera and few employees to do the work.

Most lottery winners are like the pro sports players that make a ton of money and just waste it in no time.

Have relatives? Even if not, you'd have some you never heard of.

Probably the safest path would be to change your name, and move. Sort of a self imposed witness protection program.

[Baz]

Stupidity and tragedy always seem to go hand in hand....

[KFC911]

I think I've purchased about 3 lottery tix in my life...change back from a beer purchase. But only when the prize was eleventy hundred billion....

A few dozen million just doesn't get me stooooopid.

I'd give all of it away....well almost all of it...

I'm not THAT stoooopid

[sammyg2]

Partial re-post, but relevant:

One of my favorite lectures is about money, and what money is really for.

I start by asking someone what they would do with the money if they won $10 million in the lottery.
With only a few exceptions so far, the person has started giving me examples of how to GET RID of that money.
Buy this, give some away, spend it on trips, spend spend spend. Only after they run out of ideas to get rid of it do they mention saving.

I've heard you can make a rich man poor and he'll end up rich again, and if you make a poor man rich he'll end up losing it all. (i.e. the individuals who can't handle wealth as mentioned in the OP)
That is why.
The value of money is not what you can get with it.
Money gives you independence, security, freedom but only if you keep it. Money is to be kept and invested, it only becomes truly valuable when you don't spend it. When you get a big pile of it.

If I won the lottery I would not go out of my way to get rid of the money. I wouldn't look for crap to spend money on and I wouldn't rush to give it all away.
I'd invest it and make it work for me and use a majority of the proceeds to ensure financial independence for those I care for the smart way.
I'd also give a portion of the investment returns to my church but leave the principle alone.

I know, I'm no fun.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

Partial re-post, but relevant:


If I won the lottery I would not go out of my way to get rid of the money. I wouldn't look for crap to spend money on and I wouldn't rush to give it all away.
I'd invest it and make it work for me and use a majority of the proceeds to ensure financial independence for those I care for the smart way.
I'd also give a portion of the investment returns to my church but leave the principle alone.

I know, I'm no fun.

I agree, BUT......

I am assuming you are not what you call rich, but comfortable. If you suddenly had 10 million bucks MORE, how much more security do you need? That will last your lifetime of comfortable living and leave plenty to yer kids.

Would you not want some sort of toy just cause ya can? I too would no change my life a lot, but I would have to have some really cool toy that I will never buy in the real world of working for my money.

[Mike80911]

It seems for the most part those that win the lottery are usually from the poorest group of people and have never been good with handling money in the past. So it stands to reason that winning all of that money would not change their spending and saving habits.
I saw a quote once that made a lot of sense to me
A stupid man wins $100 he spends it all
A smart man wins $100 he spends $50 and invests $50
A rich man wins $100 he spends $25 invests $25 and saves $50

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I agree, BUT......

I am assuming you are not what you call rich, but comfortable. If you suddenly had 10 million bucks MORE, how much more security do you need? That will last your lifetime of comfortable living and leave plenty to yer kids.

Would you not want some sort of toy just cause ya can? I too would no change my life a lot, but I would have to have some really cool toy that I will never buy in the real world of working for my money.

Toys? Probably not.

Double-edged sword, spent most of my life trying to build up the savings. I could buy toys now but don't, and that prolly wouldn't change. I like the money more than I like the things.
I suppose I'd finally visit Hawaii to see what that's like and I'd get the heck out of kalifornia, as long as that didn't mean a tax hit.


It'd be kool to have my own private lagoon on the Colorado river .......

[sammyg2]

I'm reminded of a story:

A while back, a rich guy had a habit of chartering business jets to fly him wherever he wanted to go.
One day, the charter pilot mentioned to him that as often as he flies, he could lease his own private jet and hire someone to fly it and charter it when not in use, and the plane would pay for itself and he could fly for free.

So he went out and leased 4 planes, and hired someone to run his own charter service. Why break even when you can be profitable?

That is how rich people think and why most people are not rich.

[71T Targa]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

The posts wishing for wealth prompted me to look this up...sad lottery winners stories.

You have to admit, it's a very nice SC in my post.

And truth be told, while I enjoy looking at 'toys' I am very content with my minivan and the 8 kids at home.

[sammyg2]

Eight kids? I'd need a really big garage for sanctuary

[porsche930dude]

Thats why I think the maximum winnings should be 1 million. Then many more can win and people are less likely to blow it all.

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

I'd invest it and make it work for me and use a majority of the proceeds to ensure financial independence for those I care for the smart way. Why break even when you can be profitable?

Why would you need to be profitable if you suddenly came into a huge lottery windfall...say around $20-30M? Without investing a penny, that amount of money would allow you & your family to live comfortably for the rest of your lives, as well as leave a sizeable chunk to your heirs, your church, and whoever else you choose. How much more do you really need?

Originally Posted by porsche930dude

That's why I think the maximum winnings should be 1 million. Then many more can win and people are less likely to blow it all.

I often think that too. But the fact is, nobody seems to care about winning only $1M. People only start getting pumped up when the jackpot swells into the multi-millions. That's when the excitement really starts building and ticket sales take off like a rocket.

[pwd72s]

Oh golly gee, if I won a lottery, I'd spend it on a collection of Rolex's and other high end watches, so I could post pics of them here.

Additional thought edit: Actually, I learned long ago that the more stuff you have, the more stuff you have to take care of, so I choose my stuff carefully.
Cars and image stuff like Rolexes are just mugger bait...

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Actually, I learned long ago that the more stuff you have, the more stuff you have to take care of, so I choose my stuff carefully.

Have a pal who is well heeled - and he earned it. I'll spare you the details but way too much cool stuff and he tends to it himself save his cup car and other deep technical stuff.

When I visit him and his wife in NC we (not her) do maintenance projects together on his stuff. It's worth it for the craft beer and dinners out but damn, I wish he would retire. He's 60 and his mountain of shiet stresses me out.

[varmint]

1st, I’d buy a couple congressmen. I’m told they’re not as expensive as you’d think.

2nd, fund a dog sanctuary.

3rd, the red haired girl from myth busters.

4th, a couple exotic motorcycles. Britten V1000.


After that I’m probably just going to hoard gold and guns.

[KFC911]

If I won 100 million $.....I'd buy 100 million lottery tickets....how else can ya get rich ?

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Robot sex brothels- THAT's where the $$$ is.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by varmint

3rd, the red haired girl from myth busters.

Plausible......