Some people buy lottery tickets every week with the dream of one day winning the big one. They are sure that all they need to ensure a life of happiness is the winning number and new found wealth.
No longer will they have to work for someone else. The alarm clock will cease to be their master as they answer the call to another day of the work routine. Most of all they will no longer have to worry about making the month end bill payments on time. In short, winning the lottery is an end to all their problems. At least it seems that would be the case.
Little do they realize the drastic changes that come with the sudden infusion of wealth. Changes that are not always a good thing.
It brings to mind the story of one of the first million dollar winners I ever heard about in my country. It was in the mid seventies. The million dollar winner was an ordinary working man who had been with the same company for over twenty years. He was not wealthy, but managed to live a comfortable life. All that was to change.
Immediately upon winning he left his job. Weeks of partying with new found friends became the focus of his life. Inside of a year he had drank and partied through his small fortune. All his hanger-on friends disappeared about the same time his money did. Ultimately, he ended up with less than he had on the day he became a winner. He was destitute and no longer had a job. The security of having steady income was gone. Being a winner had in effect, destroyed his life.
Just a few weeks ago I read a statement by a winner of over 7 million dollars. He said more than anything, he wished he could have his life back. His big win had changed his life forever and he just wasn't equipped to handle all that comes with the sudden wealth.
Of course this does not happen to every winner. There are great success stories. There are those who have gone on to open their own business and done very well. There are also those who were wise enough to not let their big win change the way they live their lives. Such was the case with a woman I worked with.
She was a winner of just over one million dollars a few years ago. She gave half to her two children to give them a good start in life and payed off her own mortgage and all her bills. That left some to put away for retirement down the road. She has continued to work as if nothing had happened and very little about her or her life has changed. Except perhaps that she no longer has to worry about paying the everyday bills. Actually what it did more than anything was make coming to work more enjoyable for her. She formulated a plan and carried it out and is in mind a real lottery success story.
I believe that anyone who purchases lottery tickets should have a plan in place in the event that they do win. A well thought out plan. A plan that will cause as few ripples as possible in their lives.
Buying a few new vehicles, a house and going on a years worth of vacations will soon lose its lustre. There has to be more to life once the initial thrill of winning wears off.
It would probably be wise to not even cash in a winning ticket for several months. That time could be well spent formulating a sensible course of action that will ensure your big win is indeed a win and not the beginning of a life of regret and unhappiness.
However, your concern is a pretty good one. What would you do if you won? There are many stories out there, and some of the things people do I couldn't imagine ever wanting to waste money on, but money does that, doesn't it?