Lottery Winners?

Everyone always talks about winning the lottery and I've bought a few lotto tickets myself.

But what would you do if you actually won?

Would you take a lump sum or would you take it in payments?

What's the first thing you would buy or pay off?

How would you make sure that you didn't end up like so many winners who are broke within 5 years?

Personally I would take payments because that would ensure me an income for the rest of my life. That way even if I never become a bestselling author, I can still afford to do what I love.

The first thing I would buy is a new computer...laptop with lots of memory and speed....

Jane Carroll,
First thing I would do with my money Lottery that is , pay off my house for which we don't owe that much and give some to charity and help a poor family and don't tell your friends or relatives and invest with Farris Baker Watts .
investment firm .

I would take the lump some of money . We are going to a new church and would give some to the church .

Take a trip to the Grand Canyon and maybe to Paris and Italy and England . Can't think of anything else .

Renee

I imagine I would pass out, since I have never actually purchased a lottery ticket.
How unique does that make me?

Anno,You might just win a prize for that!

Renee, I agree you couldn't tell or everyone would be after just a little bit...

My life would pretty much stay the same. I LOVE my work and would be able to do even more and write more and thats heaven to me. I would however buy a big home on a lake surrounded by trees, flowers and wild life etc. I would move my mom and brother in and my son and his family if they wanted to be there. My son would never has to work again. I would give a couple million to St. Judes Childrens Hospital and several of my favorite animal charities....Then I would get such a kick out of sending $10.000.00 cash, FedX, to friends and people who never would expect it. I love surprises, so I would sponsor a seven day Boomer Babes Cruise, all expenses paid for everyone. including air fare. Wolfgang Puck as our chef, plus the best spa team available for pampering. WOW, what a party that would be....BUT first I would go straight to my church and thank God on my knees and then fill up the collection boxes with thousand dollar bills. All that done and there would still be enough left to live comfortably off the interest alone forever....dream on, dream on!!!

Chatty,

That sounds wonderful...I hope you win!

My life would not change either, except for more
traveling, and I would do something special for all
the ladies here : )

I see a trend here of generosity and helping others! That's wonderfully refreshing!

I would give a big chunk of money to The National Domestic Violence Hotline. Buy all of my children homes and pay off our mortgage. I would set aside a trust fund for my grandchildren's college tuition. And then...I'd go shoe shopping!

I would put it on my bills as far as it would go..........................what?

Okay, okay. I can guarantee you one thing, MY LIFE would change. I would be dressing better, eating better, and staying in the best spas...

I would have a cabin in the woods where I would go to be alone and write...the best computer in every place I stayed (Mom's, my home, the woods, etc.) and my children would have a trust fund.

St. Judes would be where I volunteered and I would learn to be a clown and to juggle.

I would donate money to individual families, anon, of course...and have the best accountant in the world.

I would be paying for all of us to have a BOOMER WOMEN CONVENTION somewhere where there wasn't sharks.

I would be dating AND he would love me for me, not my money, even if I had to pay him to do it.

I would have a descent hair cut.

I would take my Momma to the Biltmore Castle.

I would take a few of my closest friends somewhere nice, expensive, and luxurious.

I would be driving an old car that had been restored. A '57 Chevy...complete with my own vanity tag that said, JAWJAW.

I would have a personal trainer.

Am I out of money yet?

JJ

JJ

I think you have enough left for us to go shoe shopping with Diane! I'm in...oh, we haven't won yet?!

Not to worry...they have that stuff in Ireland. AND...pots of gold, I'm told.

Yeah, and little men in green suits who try to steal your gold...watch out!

I think I bought only one lottery ticket in my life, which is why I'm continually surprised by all my lottery winnings in Spain, England, Nigeria, you-name-it in my spam box.

Whenever I thought about this in the past, I always said "get a house cleaner" as my very first item -- which is why last summer I finally broke down and got one. I figured that if you want something that badly, heck, there's always a way.

If I won the lottery, I'd hire someone to finish all those household projects my husband started. Or should have started. Or I started. Maybe I'd just have an on-call handy person. A paper-filer and mess-eradicator, too.

I'd donate lots of money to medical research, and people whose homes were wiped out in natural disasters.

And buy a summer home in Canada. I love Canada. And sponsor some children on Make-A-Wish.

First, I would go directly to Parisian and purchase a really cool pair of heels I saw the other day. They were $225.00, way over my shoe budget.

I would give an amount to some people, at least enough to pay off their houses + some.

I would sponsor single mothers to get an education, provide child care, a place to live, tuition, etc, but 1 at a time.

I would travel more.

I would have a lake house.

I would have a pool..........and a pool boy.

You go Daisy! Me too. I'd have a pool boy, a kitchen boy, and a dance instructor boy...Dang, I need to go buy some lottery tickets!

Pick me up a couple while you're there...wait how would I know which one was really mine...you'll be dancing with a pool boy in the kitchen and I'll be high and dry...move over, I'll drive and we'll both get one!

Seriously, I think the freedom to make choices without first considering the cost is what I long for. I'm not talking about spending a million dollars without blinking an eye, I'm talking about not comparing cans of green beans at the grocery store to see which one is ten cents cheaper...now that would be nice!

Oh Jane, that would be so wonderful. Not to even have to think before ordering something from a catalog to send to a friend. Thats for me...never having to look at the checkbook or in my wallet before going out somewhere with someone....I think thats called, security!

Another thing. I would definitely have a cleaning lady and a professional organizer. I'm not a messy person, but just don't have the time or money to do things the right way all the time.

Wow, such wonderful ideas! I would:

1. Ensure members of my immediate family homes are paid for;

2. Set aside funds for my nieces and nephews education;

3. Arrange a luxary vacation for the entire family;

4. Donate to a local animal shelter and/or adoption agencies (or build a new shelter for the county b/c there are so many homeless and abused animals; and, donate money to a veterinary clinic to assist w/ spaying/neutering -- animal population is another problem b/c so many people are either to cheap or uneducated);

5. Look for my "dream home," perhaps near government land with hiking and horseback riding trails and boating!

6. I would continue to work, preferrably a low maintenance, stress-free job (i.e., hotel desk clerk so I could read my favorite books!), allowing me too:

7. Dedicate more time with my nieces/nephews;

8. Travel (I'd love to see more of America and travel to Europe again);

9. Dedicate time towards assisting animals and rescues to include equines.

10. Invest in retirement fund;

11. Invest in CD's;

12. Live off the interest!

Oh, I forgot, a new Ford Mustang Convertable and a horse!