Would winning a lottery change your life?

[jasonnoguchi]

In almost all the lives of lottery winners are screwed in some ways after attaining such a tremendous amount of wealth all of a sudden. Most people have no plans for big money and when they really get it, they find themselves desperate to spend it and end up either getting into more debt or squandering it all within a couple of years.

For myself, I have a full investment plan written up and locked up in my drawer for in case I win the lottery. It basically involves investment in bonds in order to release residual income from the winnings and let the money last forever.

[zhuwh]

To tell the truth , i really don't know how to handle the money , but i think only by working hard , then we can earn lots money

[elessar78]

So say you win/inherit a substantial amount of money... say at least $25M (after taxes).

Can you go to a bank and say "I'll deposit this $25M here but you need to give me 5% return on it annually."

Would a bank ever agree to do that? Or do you have to settle for their paltry savings account rate?

[Broken Arrow]

I'm sorry I don't have the link handy, but I remember reading about certain private banks that cater only to the super rich. Some of these require a $10 million dollar minimum balance, and you don't get their "VIP services" without at least $20 million or so.

I don't know precisely what they offer in terms of rates, but clients of these private banks are generally very well pampered. On your birthday, they may get tickets to your favorite sports venue, and Christmas time, they will generally send you exotic champagne and cheese. That sort of thing.

They may also have exclusive access to certain types of hedge funds, but I don't really think that's a huge, huge deal. Suffice to say though, those with the means don't use the same services that the rest of us does.

Edit: Oh, and yeah, I think some banks will work with you. I know our ImaSaver has gotten an exclusive deal with a small bank once because she once threatened to pull out her $100k CD.

[wincrasher]

I watched this show on cable last weekend about lottery winners. Of course they had a bunch of sob stories about bad fortunes befalling them. Most of these were hard-headed fools that didn't get professional investement or money management advice. Their lives were generally a mess before they were "saved" by the lottery win. The happy stories were about already grounded, responsible people for who winning was a happy blessing.

If I won big money, I'd walk down to Merrill Lynch and get an investment/trust adviser and set up a truly diversified investment portfolio. I'd reserve plenty to pay off family debts, buy some toys and take vacations. I'd set up income for myself and family members.

[livegreeneasy]

I don't know how much winning the lottery would change my life. I always think of that. Then you remember the statistics...and what are they chances. I think if we can find contentment is what we have we will be blessed.

[snshijuptr]

We just lost the lotto My parents like to play so they gave us ticket while we were on vacation with them.

EDIT: BTW I looked it up, and you have a 1/40 chance of winning something (even $1) in the MegaMillions lotto here in California.

[bjl584]

Was this the guy in West Virginia? His life went to he**. There are several stories out there about the "curse of the lottery". A lot of people end up with failed marriages and bankruptcy as a direct result of winning the lottery. What a waste of good lotto money...

Yep. He lived somewhere in the area. He used to live real close to me, but I don't know what became of him.

[bjl584]

So say you win/inherit a substantial amount of money... say at least $25M (after taxes).

Can you go to a bank and say "I'll deposit this $25M here but you need to give me 5% return on it annually."

Would a bank ever agree to do that? Or do you have to settle for their paltry savings account rate?

It would open up some new opportunities for sure. You could probably dictate terms with a bank if the deposit check was large enough. Also, if you had enough money you would have access to banks and brokerage firms that cater exclusively to high net worth individuals.

[TheStreetCeo]

Yes. I would quit work and blog until I'm dead, but only after I invested it correctly!

[ThriftoRama]

Yeah, it would. I would have fully-funded college tuition for both of my sons, and we would invest the rest and live off of the interest. No trailer for me, thank you! Oh yeah, and we would still work!

[anonymous_saver]

If I got $1,000,000 after taxes had already been taken out I would do the following:

**Put $250,000 towards a retirement account.

**Buy about a $400,000 home (a decent, but not ridicluous home in my area) outright.

**Put $50,000 in energy efficient upgrades into the home.

**Put $10,000 into new "green" furniture.

**Set $100,000 for my niece for college (don't have kids, may as well help someone!).

**Put $20,000 into an emergency fund.

**I would force my dad, even though it wouldn't be easy for him to accept about $15,000 from me to pay off his house so he could retire today.


Wow, that would still leave me with $155,000!

I guess I would either put that into my retirement accounts as well, or start a no-kill animal shelter near where I live. And then I would retire as soon as financially possible, and take care of the animals!

I always love this question!

[SnoopyCool]

Repeating what others have said - I don't play the lottery. Call me crazy, but I feel I'm accomplishing something by working toward my financial goals, and I'm proud of my family for doing so.

However, if I did come into a windfall of money of some sort, I'd want to be very careful to make it last as long as possible. I'd have to speak to someone with more knowledge than I have about investing wisely. My first stop? This forum, of course!

[thekid]

Invest in safe fixed return assets for the most part and live on the interest (hopefully having enough interest left over to at least compensate taxes and inflation so that the next generation can profit/build on it). Young enough, I'd still work and/or have business interests. So, my lifestyle (as in spending) would not change very much. Work flexibility would.

It's not just about *my* lifestyle either. Very impotant to me would also be grooming my children to be good money managers and build on what they'll get.

I'm sorry I don't have the link handy, but I remember reading about certain private banks that cater only to the super rich. Some of these require a $10 million dollar minimum balance, and you don't get their "VIP services" without at least $20 million or so.

I don't know precisely what they offer in terms of rates, but clients of these private banks are generally very well pampered. On your birthday, they may get tickets to your favorite sports venue, and Christmas time, they will generally send you exotic champagne and cheese. That sort of thing.

They may also have exclusive access to certain types of hedge funds, but I don't really think that's a huge, huge deal. Suffice to say though, those with the means don't use the same services that the rest of us does.

Edit: Oh, and yeah, I think some banks will work with you. I know our ImaSaver has gotten an exclusive deal with a small bank once because she once threatened to pull out her $100k CD.

You don't need a "special" bank. You will definately be taken care of at most banks and have appreciable negociating power. You'll get special rates (not that fantastic, but notably better) and tons of freebies (free finacial services and invites/tickets). Key is to shop and threaten to leave when necessary. Bank managers are not all made equal. Most do more to attract new clients than to keep old ones (especially after a few years) and an eager/business development oriented manager at a smaller branch could do much more for you than your typical "high net worth" places.