What if you won millions of dollars in a lottery?

[lizzy16]

I'm still trying to figure what you are talking about and what that has to do with this thread?

In the article it referred to Facebook. I looked her up on FB and she has this page where people requested money and such.

Thats how the comments connected.

Sorry for the confusion.

[Saldrin]

Go bankrupt because most people who wind the lottery end up spending it

[Wingnut]

This was actually the winnings from the National "Mega Millions" Lottery. Not the Powerball Lottery.

So?

Well just on a side note the church discourages gambling and they request that you don't include a percentage of your income from gambling in your tithing to the church.

The Church, in fact, won't accept tithing from lottery "earnings." It's not just discouraged, but they won't accept it.

[Backroads]

Tis true that many lottery winners blow it. If I were the woman, I'd divorce the loser and slap one heck of a restraining order on him.

If I won...I wouldn't tell anyone, including family. I would just fill up their bank accounts, pay off their mortgages, then quietly move to Bear Lake County because that is what I've always said I would do if I hd tons of money.

[Suzie]

If I won...I wouldn't tell anyone, including family. I would just fill up their bank accounts, pay off their mortgages, then quietly move to Bear Lake County because that is what I've always said I would do if I hd tons of money.

Hmmmm so if I see a black cat in Bear Lake County sometime soon I would ensure to say it's my pet.

[Backroads]

Hmmmm so if I see a black cat in Bear Lake County sometime soon I would ensure to say it's my pet.

I would be most obliged.

[Bini]

I would payoff a few things, donate a generous portion to animal rescue and then save the rest for future planning.

[pam]

I would take everyone from lds.net out to dinner. Who's in? :) But seeing how I will never win..you all have to fend for yourself.

[Dravin]

I would take everyone from lds.net out to dinner. Who's in? :) But seeing how I will never win..you all have to fend for yourself.

Dangerous thing for a baked good to say. At least around me.

[Wingnut]

I would take everyone from lds.net out to dinner. Who's in? :) But seeing how I will never win..you all have to fend for yourself.

I'm in. As long as you're also providing transportation...

[bcguy]

Did not know it would generate so much interest :)

If I won that kind of money, obviously the first thing is pay off debts. Buy a property that would generate me a income.

I have had thosaunds of dollars sitting in my checking around after months of saving in my life. Never bragged to anyone about it, never told anyone, I was always carefull about how to spend it. What I did not do and should have, was invest it. And did in the stock market and pulled out a year after the .com crash. Investing long term is the way to go imho :)

[Nathan6329]

If I won that kind of money I would get out of this dumb old town of Charleston and move to a house on the beach in either Santa Monica or Long Beach and spend my time that I wouldn't be working trying to get into movies and film shootings in LA and not these dumb old community theater plays.

[talisyn]

I'm thinking the sheriff released the picture in order to get sympathy for the woman. Kind've a 'Sorry we couldn't help you more at the time'. But it really shouldn't have been released.

If I had a million dollars...I'd buy some mac and cheese for my baybeees. Yeah even on the internet I can't sing lol.

[Guest]

Supposedly a true story - I never did bother to look for the real article - I heard it over the radio...

The very first winner of the Georgia Lottery won a LOT of millions of dollars (the lotto prize supposedly rolled over for several weeks because there were no matching numbers the first few weeks). So, when they finally announced the winner, the news people asked him, "What do you plan to do with the money?". And his reply was, "I'm gonna buy me a double-wide and move to Alabama."

[Dravin]

If I won that kind of money I would get out of this dumb old town of Charleston and move to a house on the beach in either Santa Monica or Long Beach and spend my time that I wouldn't be working trying to get into movies and film shootings in LA and not these dumb old community theater plays.

Such radical changes in lifestyle are often why you hear about lottery winners who are worse off finacially a decade later. If someone makes say, 40 thousand dollars a year, 15 million seems like it is more than you can spend in a life time. So they start giving away large chunks of money, move to the 1 million dollar home, buy the Masserati and a Hummer and a Yatch and try to live the high life. But then taxes come due on the winnings (though you'd have to pay that quarter IIRC so if you forget penalties are also involved), and insurance for the house and the toys has to be paid, and then property taxes on your nice home. Of course you also got all the cell phone and the cable options, plus the furnishings for your new home. People pop out of the wood work asking for money (and hey, you have 15 Million why can't you spare a couple thousand?). Then of course you also have the arm chair investors trying to get you into start-ups and you listen to them instead of qualified professionals or doing your own research, after a while you find the bank account empty and you end up in a hole.

Not saying you personally would do such, I don't know you, but the idea that 15 million (or some other amounts of millions) is more than you could ever burn through ends up biting more than a few lottery winners in the butt.

[talisyn]

I could go through a couple million dollars within a few years. That's why if we win something my husband is in charge of the money lol. I think it's the investment schemes that get the winners. Or they open their own business without doing proper planning. Now that's how to get rich, try to get rich people to invest in your ideas. Your ideas don't have to work, you just have to make them sound good and then "Well, it looks like the economy wasn't ready for this, sorry but that happens."

[Guest Alana]

I think there'd have to be a nice chunk for my husband to do whatever he wanted with (well nothing immoral lol). If I saw him buying a super expensive car and other things I think I'd be like 'what about the savings!!!' So, right off the bat, here ya go honey, do whatever you want and I won't say anything.... but after that, I'm in charge of how the money is spent for the family.

I think first thing we'd do is get a nice RV and travel cross country. I don't know if I want to settle down forever where I live now. I'd want to see the country and see if there's somewhere else I'd like to live.

If it was like 10 million after taxes I'd spend about a million on family with houses and retirement funds for our parents and then probably about 10k per kid for a college fund.

SO, family, our house, nice cars, a vacation abroad, adopt a kid or two more, heck maybe even three more, who knows. Then, the rest is all invested in moderate to low risk ventures. I think if we invested 5 million (having spent 5 million) we'd be able to comfortably live off the interest. I'd love to have my husband set up a business that'd he'd enjoy, something that he could do and like so he's not at home all the time or tempted to just play video games when not helping with the kids. Oh and I'd hire someone to help with cooking, who also is great with giving massages and taking cars in to get oil changes.

[kolpaquelds]

Interesting..

I hope those millions won't harm her even more :) But who knows.

As far as i know - a lot of money out of nowhere is not good for you. But again, there might be exception, so who knows...

Interesting article however. Already generated numerous replies, i am obviously behind.

[MichaelCraig]

I agree along the lines of what Dravin is saying. I don't buy lotto tics and one of the bigest reasons I don't is it would be my luck that I'd win. People should think more about what this much money would do to thier lives. No matter what everything they know and have right now would change forever. Things may be rough but aren't working together through those hard times, praying, putting our faith in Heavenly Father and coming out the other side still broke but closer to our loved ones and friends and to Heavenly Father worth much more? If He is strongest when we are week wouldn't having that much give many people a false feeling of security which I feel has a huge opportunity to make one slide farther and farther away from Him? I was born broke. I will die broke money wise but I am the richest man I know because of the many hard times I've made it through in my life side by side with my loved ones and with Heavenly Father right in the center of it all. Those lessons and blessings are the things we can take with us when we croak. He provides all that my family and I need to survive on in this world and the next and I thank Him every day and night. I think people need to really watch what they wish for.....because they just might get it! :)

[Nathan6329]

We are really only talking about winning the jackpot though, which only happens like once in every 100+ million tickets that are bought.

However what if you were to win like 10 thousand dollars or even 250 thousand dollars? That really isn't going to change your lifestyle too much because that money only lasts so long if you try to use it to change your life. If you are trying to make it stretch you are just using it to buy some nice things and to pay a bill here and there.

I'm not encouraging people to play the lottery but there have been many improvements to the economy and many educational scholarships awarded from lottery sales. The lottery isn't the cause of gambling problems. If someone is addicted to gambling they are going to gamble whether or not we have the lottery.

Here I just stay away from the scratch off tickets because those are the most addicting because they are instant games.

In Utah people don't have to worry about it because if I am correct Utah only sells multi-state lottery tickets.

The point is there is very litttle chance I have of corrupting myself with lottery winnings because the odds of winning the jackpot are like 1 in 175k for the Mega Millions and 1 in 195k in the Powerball.

If I win the grand jackpot then I will enjoy the money but I'm not going to act like I earned it or anything. I could use the money for investments or starting new businesses.

[robynjeanne]

I think the legal battles involved here is because Idaho is considered a community property state. Therefore, if they are not divorced or even legally separated, he would technically be entitled to half of the winnings even if they haven't lived together for years and years, which I don't think is right; especially if he abused her.

However, the justice system sometimes is ridiculous! I know of a case out here in Washington state where a burgular broke a window to get into someone's house. While crawling through the broken window, which he broke, he got cut up pretty badly. He actually sued the guy who lived in the house because he got cut up pretty bad and, believe it or not, the bugular won his case!!!!!

Go figure!!!!

[mordorbund]

I'm still not certain what I would do with a lottery ticket worth several million. Will you send me one so I can find out?

[Guest]

I haven't read the article - sorry... but from what I understand from your posts, this is a woman who was abused by her husband and now they're estranged but not divorced. Right?

If this is the case, I wouldn't have any problem giving my estranged husband half the money. It is his by law. Not giving it to him would accomplish nothing else beyond revenge and greed.

[Blackmarch]

I have been following this woman who has a single kid and how she was 1/2 the winner of the national power ball lottery. She went into hiding after she found out she won 190 million dollars. Seems on her face book page, people are already asking for loans. That just bothers me to no end.

Mystery surrounds Idaho winner of $190 million in Mega Millions jackpot - Yahoo! News

I wonder if she will split some of it with her ex husband who abused her? Seems that she was the victim and that the sheriff did the Infuriating thing of releasing her mug shot that was over a decade old..when she was the victim.

Anyway, what would you do if you were in her shoes?

stick whats left over from medical expenses charity donations into multiple savings accounts between 2 or more banking organizations.