I think most of us have done this. We buy a lottery ticket and then spend the next few hours or days thinking about what our life might be like if we were to hit that big jackpot. We’d go from scraping up our pennies for gas money to multi-millionaires overnight. I’ve thought about it. The only thing I’ve ever won with the lottery was getting my $2 back, which promptly went back into another ticket. I will admit, that was rather fun. It was a very low-pressure win. Like millions of us who buy that ticket, I’m just donating money to the eventual winner – who is never me.
But what would winning millions and millions of dollars do to my life it I were to actually be that person? As part of my ongoing internal evaluation about who I am, I’ve given this some serious thought and asked myself to answer honestly. Here’s what I’ve came up with.
First, there’s claiming the money. This seems like the biggest pain in the ass I can possibly think of. When I say “lottery”, I’m referring to those games which are played across the country in most (but not all) states. There are only a couple of states on the books who have created laws allowing lottery winners to claim their prize anonymously. If I don’t live in one of those states, then my name becomes part of the public record as a winner. This means that every distant relative or desperate person will begin hunting me down in an effort to part me from my winnings. My privacy would be lost forever and I believe I would feel a constant lack of safety since money can make all kinds of people desperate enough to harm other human beings.
I’ve read a little about this and news channels usually run a story on it when the pot grows to something close (or beyond) one billion dollars. I’ve never won the lottery and am not any expert, so if you just hit the jackpot and are looking for advice, please move along, this is only my opinion. That disclaimer out of the way, I’ve learned there are ways to get past the claim situation. I believe the first step is to contact those people who have been down this road before, namely, specialty lawyers who can help set up the right entities and deal with the taxes. I think there is a way to set up a foundation or trust in which a lawyer/firm can act as the named entity on behalf of the foundation or trust and therefore become an intermediary, perhaps allowing some semblance of a normal life to continue without stalkers.
Let’s pretend that’s possible and I’ve managed to make it past the money-claiming stage relatively unscathed and with my safety intact. Now I’m sitting in a situation with millions of dollars at my immediate disposal. Sure, I can eat out at the fanciest restaurants now and not have to worry about taking leftovers home for another two (or three) meals, but I also now have millions of dollars I have to manage. This seems like a full or part-time job. I can’t just put it into my bank’s savings or checking account. Well, I guess I could, but what happens if anything were to go wrong with that bank? I guess the old saying…easy come, easy go….would apply. If a bank is FDIC insured, then only $250,000 of my newly acquired millions would be left. Yeah, that’s still a lot of money, but a far step from 40, 50 or 90 million dollars. Therefore, I now must engage with the right people to help me invest and diversify my winnings. I would imagine this to be a process where I’m never able to trust another person in my life. While not common, we do hear stories about people in trusted monetary positions who have managed to steal millions from clients. The bonus here is that I would have millions at my disposal to be able to pay the fees of a team of experts whose full-time job it is to manage my money and the inevitable taxes. Once my team was in place and there was a modicum of trust established, maybe this part wouldn’t be difficult.
Now I’ve claimed my money and have it in the right spot…what’s next?
Well, I’ve heard a lot of people say many different things. Seems like several would quit their job. Some might even do so in a dramatic, Johnny Lee-fashion and tell their overbearing supervisor to take this job and shove it. I don’t think I would be in this category. I don’t think I would quit my job. I’ve recently altered my hours to something that’s working well for me and having a job gives me another outlet for my mind. I have something scheduled which I need to go do and it allows me a way to connect with co-workers and my community. Plus, I think maintaining a “normal-looking” life would avert any suspicion about my newly gained monetary status, thus throwing stalkers off the scent of the trail. So money wouldn’t change my work status…at least not for several years.
I think I would do what so many would do (and the reason we play the lottery), that is I would pay off debts. Home mortgages and equity lines, car loans, student loans, credit cards, and pay back that money I borrowed from my Uncle Milton last year to buy a new lawn mower. I’d get myself back to zero. That’s really what so many of us would like, to just be at a point where we can start from solid footing instead of having one leg mired in quicksand.
Given that the national lotteries start fresh at 20 million dollars, and let’s assume my debts are not anywhere near that amount, there’s a good chance I have millions now free to use. Maybe I had to pay off a car loan on a vehicle that was barely bumbling along? So perhaps I treat myself to a brand new car or truck, maybe I buy two because I’ve claimed this jackpot as part of a couple (via my disguised paperwork trail). So now my spouse and I are both in reliable vehicles. This does fly in the face of staying incognito though. Some of the richest people in our communities drive eight year old Hondas, not brand new Corvettes. But I may need the upgrade in transportation because my old Honda has already broke down on the highway three times this year.
Now I’m debt free with a stable ride, which I park in my garage at my house. Do I buy a new house? Is this where I’m supposed to get that fancy house with the pool and a gardener? Perhaps, but not for me. Do you know how long it took us to find and buy the house we currently have? OK – maybe I’d love to buy one of those country estates in England and live there for half the year enjoying the life of leisure, but again, that would mean quitting my job and changing my life and adding the stress of not one, but TWO properties I must maintain. Yes, I could hire a team of people to help out. This sounds relatively easy but I would still be responsible for HIRING that team of people. I’ve been searching for contractors of various types for over two years and it sucks up a lot of time and energy, I don’t want to do that multiple times again! Maybe I’ll just take a three-week vacation and stay in an English country house, then leave without any further responsibilities. That sounds better.
As part of the ongoing charade of being an average middle-classer, I would not want to go buy a fancy, expensive new house. Mine is already a little too much for me to deal with at the moment and certainly too big to keep up with the housecleaning when I want to focus on other stuff. Maybe I’d hire a weekly cleaning service…that sounds like a nice treat as long as I don’t mind someone digging into the most personal part of my life…my bathroom. And speaking of bathrooms…
I’d renovate and fix the bathroom, it’s rather rickety as it is. However, that’s already in the long-term plans, so winning a lottery won’t change that plan or the budget that I’ve established because putting really expensive items into an average dwelling doesn’t make much financial sense. So winning the lottery doesn’t change much at home.
After thinking through the physical stuff associated with money, I stopped and thought about who I am and who I want to be. I’m leaning toward a thought that just having the money so I can do whatever I want without worrying about income would be nice. However, there is still most of me that wants that to happen based on my talents and work. In short, I want to earn it. I’d love to be a millionaire, but I want it to come as a reward for being able to contribute positively to others. I think it’s possible that I could feel a sense of disappointment in having this handed to me rather than feeling that sense of success.
Then again, having a large amount of money at my disposal could allow me that jump start on so many dreams which require money to start. I could develop businesses with my own start up capital and run them as I would like to.
Then there’s always the idea of being able to give money away. I could establish scholarship funds for years, extending help to others through educational opportunities. I could assist with community rebuilding efforts after disasters like floods, hurricanes, tornadoes or wildfires. I could pay the medical bill of a random stranger who had a bit of bad luck when they fell off a ladder while cleaning a neighbor’s gutter. I could buy a new roof for a random stranger who’s been patching up their leaking one for years. I’m a big believer that we all need to find a way to help ourselves, but I’m equally a believer that we’re a network of people who are designed to help one another. And some of us are doing just fine until that one accident or just general bad luck.
I could also donate to the community parks or bandstand repair. Fund free mental health programs for so many who aren’t able to afford private care. I could single-handedly keep every youth baseball and softball team equipped with gear for years. Money can do a lot of good for others.
When people struggle with having enough money to pay the rent, electric bill and buy milk, then money is an issue. Can it buy happiness? Studies have shown that there is a correlation between money and happiness up to a point when our basic needs are covered. For example, if we reach a point where we can easily pay our housing costs, utilities and general expenses (high school graduation photos for example), money can ease our stress and provide us with a sense of calm, peace and security. Those same studies show that more money than that doesn’t really add more happiness to our lives. Our happiness levels out even if more money is coming into our accounts.
I’ll keep buying the occasional lottery ticket and hope that one day again I’ll win back my $2. Overall, I’m not sure that becoming an instant multi-millionaire would really change my lifestyle or who I want to become. For those who have won those jackpots and have achieved positive changes within their lives because of it, I congratulate you on your good fortune and wish you peace.
