[masraum]

I suppose it would depend upon how "stupid" the money was. Lets say it's one of those BILLION dollar power balls that come up from time to time.

from ~ a year ago
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/powerball-jackpot-hits-1-billion-what-would-you-take-home-in-texas-after-taxes/3299284/

f a sole player picks all five numbers plus the Powerball number drawn, they have the option of taking the $1 billion prize in yearly increments or a $516.8 million one-time lump sum payment.

A sole winner in Texas who took the cash option would take home $392,768,000 after paying $124,032,000 in federal taxes -- or 24%. There is no additional state tax on lottery winnings in Texas.

If the player took the annuity, they would receive 30 payments over 29 years with the disbursement increasing at a rate of 5% per year. With a $1 billion prize, the first payment would be about $15 million, of which about $5.5 would go toward taxes. Because Powerball annuity payments increase every year, the final payment would be about $62 million with about $23 million owed in taxes.

Over the term, the player who took the annuity would receive about $632 million after taxes -- or about $239 million more than the player who took the cash option.

My thought has always been "take the lump sum". I guess the theory is that you get less, but if you are able to take a bunch of it and get it to a GOOD investment person that is actually looking out for your interest, then that's still the way to go.

I'd probably invest the bulk of my $392 million. I'd retire. Pay off all debts probably for myself and the kids. My mom and grandmother would be set and as comfy as possible. I may even gift some to a little of the extended family. I've got several hard working cousins that I would be happy to help out.

The missus and I would probably get another house. We'd probably get a couple of different cars.

Then I suspect we'd do A LOT of travelling. And yes, it'd be first class.