Julie Nolan urges on the 1993 Chevrolet Cavalier toward her Kellogg, Minn., home, the speedometer needle struggling to hit 60 miles per hour. The aging car's odometer registers another mile with a click n 220,646 and counting n as she heads home from a shift at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
She bought the car with only seven miles on it. The vehicle still has a certain sentimental value, even though rust has eaten through sections of the passenger side floorboard.
"Besides, if somebody hits me, I can just leave it by the side of the road," she said, with a laugh.
Friends and family told her for years to replace the Chevy. But they became more insistent in January 2008 when Nolan won a $1 milllion prize from the Minnesota State Lottery.
Most people assume that such a prize would dramatically alter a person's life — visions of a new car, new job, new lifestyle. State lottery systems are predicated on these very hopes. But one year after collecting her big check, Nolan said her life hasn't changed too much. Many things in her life are just like her car, and why trade in something that still runs well?
Disbelief. It's the best word to describe Julie's reaction last year when she realized the numbers on her lottery ticket matched the winning digits. She discovered her good fortune on a Wednesday, but she could not get the ticket validated at the state lottery office until Friday. The time in between became a nerve-racking whirlwind as she scrambled to get time off from work while not letting on that she had likely snagged the $1 million prize.
Life seemed even more hectic right after it was confirmed. Nolan met with the media, grinning and posing for pictures while holding a giant check with her name on it. She called her bank, on the advice of lottery officials, to notify the staff that a large addition would soon join the $32 in her checking account. Shortly thereafter, the lottery wired $677,500 into the account, Nolan's take-home total after taxes immediately sliced 32.25 percent of her $1 million.
The pace slowed in the coming weeks, and she did something with her money that many people might think strange — not a whole lot.
Sure, she bought plenty of presents for her two kids, 7-year-old Nolan and 4-year-old Kendall. "I think they're spoiled a little bit," she joked.
She poured money into the house she bought at a foreclosure sale in November 2006, buying new siding, upgrading the landscaping and turning her "10-year project" into a few-month overhaul.
And she treated her family to a memorable vacation. Nolan, her children, her mom, her sister and two nieces spent a week in May at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
But many other aspects of her life didn't change at all.
She still drives the beat-up Cavalier. The one toy she bought was a six-passenger Polaris Ranger that she can legally drive on the streets of Kellogg.
She still commutes to the job she's held for the last 13 years. The money allowed her to enroll in online classes at Rochester Community and Technical College to work toward an associate's degree in health information technology. The degree may allow her to eventually move to another Mayo campus in a warmer climate, she said. She has her eye on Jacksonville, Fla.
Julie still shuttles her son off to wrestling practices, and she spent a recent weekend morning manning the concession stand during one of his tournaments.
And she still plays the lottery, buying a ticket now and then to see if lightning can strike twice.
"You can't win again if you don't play," she said.
Julie Nolan, right, of Kellogg, Minn., and her mother Diane Wendt, hold Nolan's cardboard check in January of 2008 after she won a million dollars in the Minnesota State Lottery.
Sounds like she has her head on straight.But she really should replace the 16 year old car...before one of her kids falls through the floor board or they all get gassed out from carbon monoxide.
Why drive a potentially dangerous car ??????????????????
Not very smart !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Another modest car would be very wise !!!!!!!!!!!!!
If she loves the car that much, she should get the damages repaired at least.
Ah, lady after my own heart!
The amount she won wasn't all that much. Even if I won the Mega Millions I would be in no hurry to replace my 1992 vehicle. As I see it, a vehicle is simply a means of transportation and if it gets a person from one place to another it is doing its job. There are much more interesting, as well as more important, things on which to spend one's money IMO.
To each his own.
The lady sound like she on the right track, I'd put it in the garage, and
slowly restore it, that would keep me grounded, but i would buy me a
certified use car.
I would probably be a lot like this lady, keep a lot of stuff the same...just upgrade my quality of life by spending my time how I want rather than using my money to buy more stuff because people/society think I should have it. My truck has over 450 thousand miles on it and it still keeps on going. Dealerships call me once a month to see if its still moving. I figure it's cheaper to replace parts than pay a note on a new one plus the insurance. I figure I'll replace it one day but I'd like to hit the half million mark first. People need to look at cars as more of a mode of transportation rather than a status symbol....and most cars nowadays will get a good 200K out of them no problem (if you let them)...as long as she keeps up with the maintinence, I would be more concerned about the actual age of the car rather than the mileage. Carcus cancer sucks.
Winning one million dollars won't change the life that significantly. After tax and everything, it's not much. You really can't do a lot of things with less than half a million.
It will be definitely life-changing if the prize is 20 or 30 millions after tax.
I only suggested she get a newer vehicle because hers is a rolling death trap.Cars that have holes in the floorboard tend to have exhaust leaks which can be deadly.Carbon monoxide is a silent killer.If a person has the money,which she obviously does,they should either repair the car or replace it.Most states have inspections to take dangerous junk cars off of the roads.Its one thing to risk your own life,but to risk the lives of your children by driving an unsafe car is criminal.
paying off her house and fixing it up was a very smart idea.... she owes the house now with great repair work... in today's slow economy i bet people were lining up to get the work... you know the quality was more than lilkely the best the repair company has ever done, b/c they need the money for their business.. and in a few years that work will double in value.. going back to school was a dream come true.. i am glad to hear she did this..
the new car will come soon.. she probably will wait till the best deal comes around
money well spent
Dangerous leaks in the floorboards don't work for anybodys needs.
She could kill herself or someone else.