INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — There haven't been many happy stories involving Indiana auto workers lately, but one family is an exception.
A mother and her two daughters, one retired from General Motors and two who work for Delphi in Kokomo, cashed in Monday, claiming an $11 million Hoosier Lottery prize.
It was the biggest check Jill Carver, of Kokomo, and daughters Brenda Carver and Ronette Kelley had ever received.
While Delphi has struggled, along with all of the American auto industry, Carver and Kelley have claimed their own personal stimulus check.
"You had to look at it four or five times to make sure you were seeing the right numbers," Jill Carver said.
"She told me, 'Are you sitting down?' and I said, 'Why, did you win the lottery?'" Brenda Carver said. "She's like, 'Well, yeah.'"
The winning ticket was purchased at a convenience store on U.S. 31 in Kokomo, where customers reacted to rare positive economic news.
"It got me excited just knowing somebody from Kokomo won," one woman said.
The mother-daughter millionaires said they don't plan to change much. In fact, they laughed when they revealed their plans for the evening — a trip to Walmart. The Delphi workers don't plan to quit their jobs, either.
Having defied the odds of 1 in 12 million, the family plans to enjoy a life lottery officials said dreams are made of.
Each of them took their first installment Monday — $128,000 annually for the next 30 years.
"This is good for us," Jill Carver said. "I wish everybody else in Kokomo could have something like this happen to them."
The family said a financial advisor told them going for the installment plan is the best move in the current economy. Many lottery winners choose a lump sum payment, invest poorly and lose it all.
First thing I would have done is look for another financial adviser and compared their advice before committing to a 30 year annuity.
And of course there's the very old "don't plan to change much" line that I loathe but at least in this case they don't really have much of an opening to radically change their lives. The writer of this story mentions the mother is retired from Delphi but then says they don't plan on quitting even though only one is working there currently. Plus, they're not millionaires another thing the press loves to say when it isn't the case. I would certainly hope she doesn't plan on quitting her job because while $100,000+ is nice and you could certainly live of it easily, how much of that is going to be left 30 years from now? How much is $100,000 going to be worth 30 years from now? By the time 2039 comes around you probably won't even be able to live on that. Not to mention who knows where we and this country will be by then. It's more or less a supplemental income, a large supplemental income but not something you should stop working over. They probably should keep shopping at Wal-Mart anyway.
They really should have gotten a second opinion from another adviser though.... Because even really low risk investments would give a much better return than what the annuity will. I'm not sure what the cash option is but I'm sure you could beat out the annuity with the cash option with a measly 5% return over the same number of years. But eh, whatever if it works for them then good. They just better know exactly where they stand and not get the idea that they are millionaires, like that doorman in New York from last year.
Well God Bless them, the auto industry is not what it use to be
hopefully this will give Jill a little edge, in down times. I like to see
everday people win something good, we all deserve a piece of the
pie.
What a time to hit the jack pot. Oh I know I'd plan an extended vacation to atleast get to see the world. A 60 day vacation in Africa or Asia would be very inviting right now. Lately I seem to have run out of luck :(
I hear yah Maringoman.
Congrats to all and Good luck to all
Why limit it to a 60 day vacation? When the days comes that I win a multi-million USD lottery jackpot, I already have a worldwide vacation schedule that will have me visiting different countries ranging in time from 90 days to just over 180 days. My goal would be to play golf in every country I visit, see some of the off track attractions as well as the well known tourist attractions, scuba dive in those areas where there are interesting diving venues, and eat local cuisine in every country (of course, I will pack an ample supply of Immodium AD and antibiotics). All of this will largely be land tours as I am not a fan of cruise ships (been there, done that in a work capacity so I know I am not missing a thing).
I would fly mostly first/business class everywhere, but I wouldn't necessarily stay in first class, 5 star digs all the time (at a minimum, just on arrival for first night and last night before departure), but I wouldn't stay in any accommodations less than 3 stars. I would roll everywhere in a rental SUV (I love the environment, but my safety in many of the places I want to go trumps economizing and getting around like most people in a compact car---which is no match in a collision with the big trucks). And with the exception of my golf wear and golf gear, I would only pack essential undergarments and just a day or two change of outerwear. Otherwise, I would make one of my first things to do once over in the first country a trip to shopping malls and retail shops to purchase one to two weeks worth of outer clothing and help boost the local economy in that manner. And I would take tons of pictures and video of my adventures. I would make the Amazing Race seem so ordinary.
I would hope to win a $50+ million (cash value) lottery jackpot so I would have some flexibility in investing for the future while preserving the capital of a portion to fund my annual expenditures from interest payments. That way, I can be away on my trips with the peace of mind of knowing my cash for the trips is intact while still being focused on growing the pot of $$.
Now, all the Powerball needs to do is just keep rolling over for another two weeks...but I won't complain if my ticket matches all numbers for tonight's or if it rolls over, Saturday's drawing!