Winning the Lottery how would you spend your money ?

The million dollar question, it used to be $64,000 but with inflation I’ve raised it up a bit.  What would you do if you won the lottery? We’re talking a big lottery here, not just a measly million. Heck, most of us would probably pay off our mortgage and get a new car and after taxes we’d be broke again, with just a million. No, we’re talking like the 21 million dollar lottery. Or even bigger 1.2 mil or so per year for life! Yeah, if we’re gonna think big we might as well go all the way.

So what would you do with your winnings? Have you planned it out yet? I’ve kind of went a bit wishy-washy when it comes to the idea of winning. Then again I’ve watched the horror stories on TV the ‘curse of the lottery winners’ or something like that. That scares the snot out of me! Who wants to have all their dreams finally come true only to have their life go down the toilet? Go broke or worse yet, have family members end up dead.

So with careful thought out plans I will spend my money thusly. (Ok, so it’s virtual right now, but I can dream right?)

1. I will first go to a lawyer, have him run a credit check. I have heard horror stories of someone having their winnings held because of unpaid debts. I want to get checked out first before even declaring that I’m a winner. Make sure there is no one sitting in the background waiting for that fat check.

2. Next I will got to the lottery office to collect my winning check. I haven’t decided if I’m going to smile for the camera or decline having my name announced. Or even if that is an option! I still haven’t decided if I want the cash option or a yearly payout, with my bad luck, the bank would catch on fire and all my money would burn! Ok, I know it doesn’t work like that anymore but you get the drift!

3. I will open several bank accounts, Momma always said "Don’t keep all your eggs in one basket".

4. Pay off my mortgage first, get that taken care of. Then bulldoze my house and have a new home built. Pay the new house off of course, no need for a new mortgage payment. Nothing too extravagant, just comfortable and sturdy, with a touch of elegance. I have animals, why make it extremely elegant? Maybe even have a sewing room built with cubbyholes all over the walls to store fabric in. With an extra large table for laying out and cutting fabric. I would have a wood shop built for my husband, with all the cool tools he always wanted. Lathes, grinders, sanders, saws and the tools we’ve ooh’d and ahhh’d over in the stores.

5. While my house is being built I will take a month long cruise with my kids and grand kids. I might jump ship in the middle of the cruise and go in the opposite direction after a couple of weeks. Love them kids, but they can be a pain in the butt at times!

6 .My husband and I will have our 1st and 2nd honeymoon all at once. It will be fun, right? He has been a truck driver for the last 20 years so we haven’t seen a lot of each other, what if we don’t even like each other? We’ll have to find out.

7. When I get back I will buy me a new car, and a new car for each of my kids. All the same kind but different colors. Yep, they’re gonna hate it, but it’s my money, take it or leave it! My car is going to be a Buick, maybe one of them new Lacrosse’s in black, cause I look good in black. I’ll buy my husband a new pick up too, because he’s always wanted one but with all of our kids we could never afford to get him one.

8. I’d get him one of those fancy riding lawnmowers with the zero turning radius so he can spend his time mowing our yard. He really likes doing that, it’s his ‘quiet’ time.

9. Next I’d probably fence in my yard, the whole thing. I have about 4 acres, and my dogs like to run, the neighbors don’t much care for that, so I’d make everyone happy. There are only 4 houses on my street, I might just offer to buy the other 3 and fence off the whole area. Give my kids a house, we’d be neighbors but they’d be able to go home.

10. I might take a business course at our local college, so I know what NOT to do with my winnings. Maybe hire an accountant, but I’d have to learn a few things, to keep tabs on my money so I don’t get in trouble for tax evasion. Too many stories of accountants taking the money and moving to Aruba or some such place. We have to think of Nicolas Cage you know!

11. I wouldn’t hand money over to my kids, that is where people seem to get into trouble. Kids are just that, kids. They do stupid things. When faced with a fistful of cash their bound to get into trouble. Maybe I’d see if they wanted to open their own business, look into it, have them take a course at the local college as well. The money may be there, but if you’re not earning it, it means nothing. My son has his CDL, I might see if he wanted his own ‘big truck’ to earn a living with.

12. I might start a trust for my grand kids, so they have something left of me when I go. There will be money if they choose to go to college as well. I might also start trusts for my kids, that way the money is not all blown.

13. I’d give a lot to charity. But I would pick and choose my charity carefully. There are a lot of scammers out there who claim to have great charities but are not real. I might choose something to help abused women to get on their feet, or maybe some of the local animal shelters. I might even want to set up a scholarship program for people who have animals but need help paying for spaying and neutering.

14. I might even set up a scholarship program at our local school for those who want to be writers. There are never enough writers, particularly young people. It's hard enough to get them to read, let alone write! If there is a scholarship, maybe they will consider it an option.

Above all I think I would like to take time to enjoy life, spend as much time as I can with my family.  We only have so long on this earth, we might as well have a good time while we’re here.

I guess you could say I’ve done a bit of thinking on this subject.  It’s fun to have dreams even if they are wild, it doesn’t hurt, as long as you realize it is just a dream.  Have you already started spending your virtual lottery winnings?  I guess I should remember that ‘other’ thing Momma said…  ‘Don’t count your chickens before their hatched’.