Task 58 - Win the Lotto

While I might not have won the jackpot of $590.5 million I was pleased that three of the tickets I purchased as part of the office pool were winners. A net win of $18.00 wouldn't pay for the tickets but would at least fill the teddy bear cookie jar in the offfice for a month.



$7.00 Winner

I had speculated what I might have done had I won the jackpot.  If the office pool had won I would have grossed roughly 49 million. After taxes it would have resulted in about 30 million lump sum to each person. My math may be off but this is all hypothetical since I didn't win.
First I would have paid off all my debt (CC's, Mortgage, Etc) for myself and everyone in my family. Surprisingly this wouldn't have totalled very much since no of us carry any significant debt and we are well on our way to paying off our real estate mortgages.I wouldn't have just given my family cash at least not up front but I would have made sure that they didn't have to worry about their homes.  I would then have taken everyone on a once-in-a-lifetime trip all expenses paid. I figure all that would cost less then $1m

Next I would have set up a trust for each person in my family.  I wouldn't want the money to affect the way we live our lives but rather to just make it a little more comfortable.


$7.00 Winner

For my brother's family I would have set aside a portion of my winnings. The interest alone should have been more then covered their needs given that their mortgage was taken care of.  By setting it up to only allow them to live off the interest the principle should always be there and continue to provide for a lifetime of comfortable living. It should also have provided ample funds to send both my neice and nephew to college.

Next I would have done the same for my parents by taking an additional  portion and setting up a trust for them however I wouldn't have set any restrictions on how they chose to spend their share. My parents are more then capable of managing the money as they have deminstrated their financial savvy by raising both my brother and I to respect and understand the hard work it takes to earn it. They are also both now retired and I would want them to enjoy the money by doing things that they wouldn't otherwise have done. I would expect them to spend it all and encourage them to treat it as fun money since they are comfortable today.


$4.00 Winner

I would also set up another trust of $1million for my aunt and uncle and set it up to mimic that of the trust for my brother by allowing the interest to supliment their lives. $40,000 a year in interest should go a long way towards easing any worries they might have while also ensuring that the money wasn't wasted or squandered. It would be set up to do the same for their two children with $40k a year when they are gone.

That would leave me with roughly half of my winnings. I would take roughly $6m and buy to apartments. One in NYC and another in San Franciso. Nothing crazy. Just something modest but comfortable. I would set up a small trust for each with enough money to support the costs during my life time. I don't ever want to worry about where I would live or if I would have enough money to support those homes.

After all of that I would be left with more then enough to support a comfortable life style which would allow me to  travel the world and see as many countries as I could for as long as I can. I would take traveling as my full time profession.

When I died I would deiide the remaining principle between my family and charities that we feel strongly about. I would want my legacy not to die with me but to provide for many others for generations.

Sadly the $18.00 from the office pool isn't enough to do any of that and those dreams for now will remain just that Dreams. Again it is all hypothical and I would of course seek the advice of a finacial advisor and lawyers to tell me if what I would want to do would make sense.