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Old 11-28-2012, 11:50 AM
 
Location: Syracuse IS Central New York.
8,514 posts, read 4,487,070 times
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First, I would not publicly come forward for a considerable amount of time, if ever, and only if required to by lottery officials.

I would contact a good attorney experienced in these matters and establish a trust that I had control of.

All of my debts would be immediately paid off.

I would buy myself a new house and car. Both are needed. Maybe a small vacation home in one of my favorite places down the road.

I would help very few people that I know. My relatives basically ignore me. Some didn't even have the common courtesy to extend their condolences when my mother passed away. So nothing for them, ever.

I have a couple of close friends who would like to start businesses. They would be helped but only after I consulted with my legal team. Solid business plans would be required. (I used to work in banking, and have some idea how commercial lending works.)

I would anonymously help my favorite charities.

I would basically take the first year off to determine what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Travel whenever/wherever I wanted without fear of expense. It wouldn't really be all that elaborate honestly.

Ahh...such a nice fantasy....
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Old 11-28-2012, 12:24 PM
miu
 
Location: MA/NH
17,765 posts, read 40,091,372 times
Reputation: 18071
Quote:
f you win the 545 Million Dollar PowerBall Lottery, who do you help financially?
First, I would try to keep my winnings secret. The state of Delaware doesn't reveal the names of their lottery winners... I think that more states should do the same. Having the public know the names of lottery winners only make them targets for scams and harassment.

I would create a trust and start off by helping some of the charities I care about. After that, I would help out family and friends on a limited basis. Mostly by supporting the causes they like. And in terms of direct gifts of cash or whatever, a lot would depend on them as people and their lifestyles. I find that easy money or too much money destroys peoples work ethic, and I think that a self sufficient productive person is a happy person. People with free money tend to fritter it away and end up unhappy.

Personally, I would buy some interesting real estate. At least one small Caribbean island, a defunct airfield and an abandoned missile base. I would start racing cars, and having race cars and a support team are expensive. I would start designing fine jewelry. I would also learn how to paint. I know that I can be a very happy wealthy person.

And of course, I would have good accountants and set up a budget so that my money lasts for my lifetime. Anyway, most of that money would stay with me. I won it, so I get to enjoy it the most.

However... I never bother playing the lottery.
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Old 11-28-2012, 12:29 PM
 
676 posts, read 1,258,865 times
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I would help my stepmom by paying off her home and giving her money to enjoy retirement and take care of her needs. And if my stepbrother or stepsister needed anything, I would help them. My step-nephew and my niece wouldn't have to worry about tuition, I'd set up college funds. Even though I'm no contact with my mother because of the way she's treated me, the woman has worked hard most of her life, so I would give her a lump sum to enjoy retirement, ensure her needs. I wouldn't expect any change in behavior, she'd probably just make snide remarks about how I should give her more or I'm wasting my money with whatever I decided to do, so I wouldn't bother resuming contact. My brother & SIL would get nothing from me, though if they needed anything for my niece, I'd be willing to pay the source directly for what she might need/want.

And there are extended family and friends I'd help. The good thing about all of the family drama I went through is I know who I can count on and trust. I've already been trash talked unfairly by some family members so I wouldn't bother worrying about what they thought.

And I'd help out some charitable causes. Literacy and organizations which help feed/house the homeless. And I'd give more to hurricane relief.

Last edited by exscapegoat; 11-28-2012 at 01:06 PM..
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Old 11-28-2012, 12:31 PM
 
17,189 posts, read 16,333,812 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpg35223 View Post
My approach?

1) Get an unlisted number.
2) Hire a crack attorney.
3) Move to a discreet location, preferably out of town.
4) Give every head of household in my family and my wife's family a check for $500,000.
^This. And I'd have fun planning and taking several vacations. I would buy a decent sized house overlooking a lake or river with a pretty view (mountains would be great), many acres to play on with guest houses and a town or small city close by.

I'd also invest in my kids educations as well as their schools.
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Old 11-28-2012, 12:34 PM
 
Location: where people are either too stupid to leave or too stuck to move
3,982 posts, read 6,675,828 times
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Help the relative I trust and not the crazy ones. I have no friends so that makes the transition kinda easy. I'd probably secretly donate to this church I don't go to but I hear they need a roof, donate to some charities , buy a couple of people's lay ways so they can have a happy Christmas and that's it.
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Old 11-28-2012, 01:06 PM
 
1,481 posts, read 2,217,921 times
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Some very close friends and my very close family. I would donate as I see fit, and I would make it clear as day that any person or charity that contacts me asking for money will get absolutely $0.
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Old 11-28-2012, 01:07 PM
 
16,579 posts, read 20,658,614 times
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After consulting with attorneys/accountants, etc. to set up a trust and minimize tax burdens, I'd pay off debts for both brothers, give them each a chunk of change to play with make sure their retirement was funded.

I'd offer to pay debts for my soon-to-be-ex SIL and give her some cash, too. She hates me, but I'd enjoy being magnanimous. I'd do the same for my other SIL, who doesn't hate me, but is bat-sh$t crazy and might decline the money.

I'd pay for college for my nieces and nephew and set up college funds for my great-nephews.

I would move my mom into my home and have 24-hour skilled nursing care for her.

I have several good friends for whom I'd be delighted to pay off debts and fund college educations.

I'd set up a charitable trust and a scholarship fund and direct all other inquiries to those entities.
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Old 11-28-2012, 02:10 PM
 
6,066 posts, read 15,019,038 times
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If I won, I wouldn't tell anybody aside from my husband. Not even our kids.

We actually know a family who won 7 million dollars with our state's lottery. It's the family of one of our oldest son's friends. We saw what happened to them, and it isn't pretty. They ended up moving to a new state to get away from certain elements. I think their biggest mistake was allowing the local media to do a news story about their "good luck". Their son - my son's friend - started getting teased and bullied at school. He started having a hard time, and even kids that were not bullying him would often joke around like "Hey you can pay, you're rich..." and "can I borrow some money?" and stuff. He - a 6th grader at the time who was a good, smart kid who had never had any behavior or grade troubles - starting getting into all kinds of fights at and after school. The parents ended up pulling him out of school and homeschooling him and his two younger siblings.

One time their house was TP'd, and their cars egg'd. They installed these high-walled metal fences around their house with security stuff... I don't know what all they had to go through, but it must have been bad since they decided to move. All their family was here, their parents had farmed in the area for several generations.

Anyway - so having seen all that with that family, if I won, I'd tell my husband and then not tell another living soul! No talking to the kids or media or anyone. I'd just tuck that money into investments and live a good happy life.

And then when I died, the kids would totally freak out learning that they had inherited all kinds of money that they didn't know that we had. Now that would be fun!
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Old 11-28-2012, 02:26 PM
 
4,097 posts, read 11,450,052 times
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I would set up trust accounts for elderly father and mother in law to ensure protection of the money and availability in case of need. Money to be donated if they dont use it.

I would pay off each brother's mortgage. This one thing would free them up to do other things with their lives.

I would endow a new spay/neuter building and funds for ongoing maintenance. This one is for me.

I would endow a fund for Habitat for Humanity to build more houses in our area. This one is for husband.

For myself, I would move from my downtown house to a downtown condo apartment and set up a fund for maintenance. I think I would hire a personal cook and a housekeeper and give two people jobs.

I dont want anything else and 500 million is way too much. I would love for 100 people to win 5 million each.
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Old 11-28-2012, 02:31 PM
 
Location: New Jersey
12,322 posts, read 17,089,650 times
Reputation: 19556
Default Well....

I might buy 1 ticket. No more though-I have a better chance at getting struck by lightning while discovering the body of Jimmy Hoffa. I once spent $10 and did not get one number and spent the rest of the evening telling myself I am an idiot.
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