Cash Vs Annuity PaymentsPrevious TopicNext Topic

I personally (before cunsulting a tax attorney or cpa aka accountant) would take the payments. i know i am pretty bad with money so to have it regulated i would feel more secure.

The way the economy is right now were a lot states are struggling to pay the most necessary service like police, firefighters etc

who is to say you will get your payment for the next 30 years

I would rather take the cash payout and invest my money the way I want

I am 36 so I would take the annuity and get a will in case I died before the payments paid out.  I would will my payments to my niece she is level headed and young only 17 so she could enjoy the money if I am gone.-weshar75

i dont think you can will the payments if you can awesome!!

i feel ya it would be nice to be 50 and have everything you want and still get millions in the mail

For me it would be the cash option.   I would rather pay the taxes upfront and then only pay on the interest or profits made of the rest.  Taxes seem to go up every year!

This has been discussed quite a bit here, but since you say you are bad with money what would you do if you won a jackpot, took thre annuity and then one of those you-need-it-now companies stared waving cash at you (which would be pennies on the dollar)?

Someone here at LP has or had a signature line, "You can always buy a better annuity".

Don't forget, what sounds like a major score on an annual basis may not be that big of a deal years down the road.

And as has been mentioned already by mrcoco5 and zinniagirl, desperate state governments and rising taxes could come into play, too.

no matter how bad you think you are with money,the government is FAR FAR WORSE.

take the cash and run

Take the cash, invest some wisely and buy property.  Gerald O'Hara taught me that when I was a little girl.

"Why, land is the only thing in the world worth workin' for, worth fightin' for, worth dyin' for, because it's the only thing that lasts."

haha no if i did take the annuity i would never go to bj bluntwerth. you all make good points. and yes land would be a good investment

i would probably do the warren buffet start up technique.....buy some pin ball machines!!!

i searched the last time a cash vs annuity topic started it was late 2004 and it was a 1 page thread....we might beat em!!!!!

good luck to all tonight i hope you all give my jackpot more money

No, more than just one since 2004.

Just type annuity in the Search feature.

http://www.lotterypost.com/search?q=annuity

No one over the age of 30 should take the annuity. If you are bad with money, set up a trust with a trusted manager(s).  Even for under 30's, I'd not choose annutity. At my age, annuity is not an option. I'm within 20 years of retiring and it would sure be nice to retire or semi-retire early and have more years to spend with my future grandchildren in complete financial security.

                       A lotta property, away from big cities.

Well, if you consider yourself "bad with money," why not start doing something about it?  Start by making a budget and keeping track of your expenses by category. At the end of each month look at your monthly totals and see if you are happy with how you did.  You'll most likely get much better with money quite fast that way. In a year, you'll probably conclude that taking a lump sum is better.

With a large jackpot  it should be no trick to give yourself a huge chunk (like maybe a million dollars for the current powerball jackpot) for buying a new house, car, travel, toys etc. the first year.  With smaller wins, limit your first year "allowance" to no more than ten percent of your windfall and invest the rest.  Thereafter allow yourself to spend no more than the income you earn on the investments and keep the principal invested.  Simple.  It just takes a little self control.

Self control is good.  No better time to start than the present with whatever you now have. 

No way would I ever consider "annuity!"  It wouldn't make sense at my age, but I wouldn't have considered it even in my 20s.  I can manage my money much better (and with greater flexibility) than whoever holds the annuity contract.

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