There's a lottery frenzy going on right now; the
Mega Millions jackpot is $170 million and the
Powerball is up to $350 million. I bought a QP (quick pick) ticket for each earlier this evening. I don't expect to win either, but it sure would be nice.
I sometimes visit a lottery forum and *sometimes* enjoy reading the comments. I was surprised at the level of contention over how people should invest their money or even spend it. I did enjoy one obviously young man's recent post with pics of all the things he would buy; a few sports cars and a house that looked larger than many hotels I've seen. It had a game room with a dozen arcade games, pinball machines, 2-lane bowling alley, a huge gym, a man cave with a gigantic video screen and bar. There were so many photos of things he would buy it took a minute or so to load even w/ my fairly fast connection. Some castigated him over his conspicuous consumption dreams but others laughed and said more power to him. (my thoughts)
Other people said they'd live in swanky places such as Beverly Hills or Malibu while others said they wouldn't want to live in those type places. I agree with the latter. Some said they would want to have multiple houses and live in Hawaii or Florida during the winter and in the north in summer. (Me? I'd be worrying about the one house while living in the other) One woman wants to live in Paris, something I would never, ever do. I don't really have any desire to visit France except for the Normandy D-Day beaches.
The investment advice varies greatly, too. "Buy gold and silver!" declare some. "Diamonds!" say others. Some say they'd play the stock market. (and I expect the stock market *might* play THEM) A few take the survivalist route, say they'd buy a place in the mountains with plenty of guns, freeze dried foods, etc. I guess that's OK, but it certainly wouldn't be enjoying your new-found wealth, at least not to me. (
as I've mentioned before)
One guy distrusted the stock market and other investments so much he said he'd just as soon stuff it all into a mattress. That's a little TOO cautious for me, but I have always thought I might make a pillow full of cash. I don't know if that would make me sleep easy or not sleep at all worrying about it, but....
Some of the best arguments are over taking the lump sum or the annuity. When purchasing my lottery tickets, I always opt for the lump sum for several reasons. One, the highest tax bracket just increased this year from 35% to 39.6%. Taxes very seldom go down. Secondly, the annuity would give you a guaranteed income for its length (26 yrs on Mega Millions, 30 on Powerball) but I'm getting to the age where I most likely wouldn't see the last checks and even if I did, I might not have the mental facilities to endorse them.
Maybe a good investment would be a nice retirement home and pay the employees very well and also stipulate that, on the day after I died, they were all fired. I imagine I'd get some great care.
As I said, I doubt I'll ever win the lottery,but if I do, I plan to give all my winnings away.
Yes, all of it; to charity, friends and family, but also to current land owners, building contractors, auto dealerships, airlines, resorts, cruise ships, restaurants, clothing stores, etc. Of course, I'll have to give the govt. 39.6% plus what they'll take after I die, plus taxes on my earnings from investments.(that mattress idea looks better all the time)
I don't think I could ever be obscenely extravagant, but who knows? I once read Justin Timberlake wears brand new underwear every day. I never found out what he did with the old ones, but he could probably make a pretty good amt. by selling them on Ebay. I might do something like that, only with socks, although I doubt anyone would want my "old" socks, even with only one wearing. I guess I could donate them to charity. (after washing, of course) OTOH, I could probably hire someone to come in and sort and match them, that would be the main reason I'd wear a new pair every day. I really hate having to try to match up nearly identical white socks.
