Have you ever thought, "what would I do if I won the lottery?" I think everyone who plays, at one time or another, has thought about this. The lotteries are now larger than they’ve ever been. As recent as last week, the mega millions was up to $500 million dollars; that’s half a billion dollars. What would you do with that kind of money?

Some people are impulsive and they would run around trying to figure out what to buy first. Coming from no money to having an abundance of money makes some people do some strange things. Some people would not want to leave their jobs. I don’t know if it’s because they think that somehow they will spend all the money and then need to go back to work, but believe me, if you win a substantial amount of money, no employer is going to keep you on. They can’t afford the liability. Suppose, for instance, you work at a job where you interact with people on a daily basis. One of those people might get it into their head that they can get some of your money if they kidnap you. Not only is that a problem for you, but it also becomes a problem for the employer because they are liable for you getting kidnapped while working.

There are also some people who win the lottery and think, "I know how to spend my money, I don’t need help." That is very faulty thinking; there are so many people who won big amounts in the lottery and within a couple years, all the money was gone. It makes you wonder, how in the world someone can spend millions of dollars in such a short amount of time? People tend to be concerned with their lives only in the present. They figure no matter how much they spend, there will still be more, but there are those who spend all their winnings. They buy high-end things like planes; planes need fuel, a pilot, and a place to be kept. All of these are continuous expenses can drain a bank account very quickly. They want to buy cars, boats, houses, without thinking that this money needs to last them the rest of their lives. Now, no one is going to say, "don’t buy those things that you’ve always thought about having, even if it’s a plane." The point is, buy smart; you’ve never had this amount of money before. Check with people who are used to dealing with large amounts of money. For goodness's sake, don’t take financial advice from friends or family either. They have never had that much money either, so they probably know less that you.

Some people end up wishing they had not even won the money because they usually end up getting bombarded by people, family, and friends, even strangers who want things. It’s probably hard to deal with all the people that want things. I think before I even claimed the money, I would have to formulate a plan; some states require you to come to the lottery office and take pictures and all that. If I wasn’t required to do this, I wouldn’t. I would want to remain anonymous if I could. Even if you try to remain anonymous, the nuts find some way to locate you. As far as family and friends, I think I would have a big party and give each family member and friend something and hope they don’t bother me again after that, but that might be too much to ask. I think the nicer you are, the more people would think they could keep asking you. Then, there are the people who think they should’ve gotten something and they didn’t. I hear a lot of lottery winners saying that have to deal with lots of lawsuits. It could be from people who don’t even know the winners, but they feel that maybe the winner wouldn’t want to go through a trial so they would give these people money to get rid of them. There are people that spend their time trying to prey on these lottery winners to see if they can get any amount of money. This is where a lawyer or retainer would come in good so that they can take care of the riffraff.

I, just like anyone else, would love to win the lottery. It would be so nice to ask my children what extravagant thing they want and then get it for them, just to see the look on their face when they get what they want is worth it all. Not having to worry about struggling to pay another bill would be heaven. I would never have to talk to the student loan people because I would give them payment in full… priceless. There are so many good things about winning the lottery, but there are also things that give me, and I suppose a lot of people, pause. In the grand scheme of things, though, who cares?! If you’re lucky enough to win the lottery, hire a good financial planner and a lawyer and let them take care of the rest. You just spend money.

Word of The Week: Make others jealous, live your life extra large and in vivid color.