Just because the game of lotto is random doesn’t mean you should just rush into it without a plan. And if you’re in it for the big bucks, then you should definitely have an idea of how you intend to spend all that lottery loot.
A Whole ‘Lotto’ Money Lost
If reports are to be believed, the most popular way to use money won from the lottery is to waste it. There are many examples, including those of Keith Bryce (who gave it away to his family and invested in a failed business venture) and Michael Carroll (who used it on a new ‘party’ lifestyle that included multiple homes, luxury cars and cocaine). For them, the money wasn’t much help.
Although it’s very tempting to splurge your lotto money away, financial experts advise to hold on to it for as long as possible. This is true particularly if you’re going to choose the annuity payment option. If you spend from the perspective of someone who already has the millions but are actually getting only the thousands-worth annuity check, it’s going to be very easy for you to fall into debt.
Jackpot Savvy
More and more lottery winners are realizing that the jackpot prize is a great opportunity for them to invest and make the sum grow even larger. Brad Duke, a fitness instructor from Idaho, took home an $85 million lump sum after winning a Powerball jackpot in 2005. After establishing a $1.3 million family foundation, he hired several financial advisors because he’s planning to invest almost $80 million in bonds, oil and real estate.
A lotto jackpot would give you quite a bit of money – just what you need to buy into investments like real estate and premium stocks. They require a lot of capital, but they also give high yields in the medium- to long-term. If you’ve got the cash (and you definitely will if you win the lottery) for it, re-investing the loot is a wise way to go.
A Good Cause
Many lotto winners who are interviewed see their prize as a blessing, sometimes even a responsibility. That’s why many, especially the elderly and the religiously inclined, prefer to give a part of their lottery winnings to society through charitable donations and tithes to religious organizations. That’s probably what Ihsan Khan was thinking, too.
Khan, a Pakistani-American dual citizen, bagged $18 million dollars in Powerball jackpot money from the D.C. Lotto. After buying himself a few personal luxuries, he went back to Batagram, the Pakistani village of his youth, and ran for Nazir, similar to a mayor. 48 hours after he was elected to the position, the Magnitude 7.6 Kashmir Earthquake struck.
Aside from handling all his job-related expenses out-of-pocket (he wasn’t getting a salary from the government), Khan decided to rebuild the impoverished, devastated village. He personally spent hundreds of thousands of dollars from his own bank account to buy food, medicines and building materials from the hard-hit village. How’s that for social responsibility?
Suddenly having an extra couple of million dollars is always an interesting experience because you’re suddenly free to do so much. But with the recent spate of nouveau riche lottery winners who find themselves back in the poorhouse, everyone’s finding out that winning that lotto jackpot might just be as hard as using it wisely.
Addison Johnson is an expert author. He loves to write upon topics related to gambling, online lottery etc. To know more please visit the website.