If you could win any lotto game.Prev TopicNext Topic

• Coin Toss

  

  Zeta Reticuli Star System
  United States
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  January 17, 2006
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  Mar 4, 2006, 2:00 am

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  A nice state lottery, maybe Missouri, of 2-10 million on a day when Mega Millions or Powerball was way up there and got hit and that got all the attention. I think Mizzou lets you stay anonymous.
  

  I say this because I was listening to one of those financial programs on AM radio one Saturday and a caller was someone who had hit the Missouri lottery. The host asked him a few questions and he said he had won about 2.3 million and was set for life. As they talked, the host wound up saying that he should be asking the lottery winner for financial advice!  
• Chewie

  

  Sparta, NJ
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  July 9, 2005
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  Mar 4, 2006, 7:35 am

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  I  prefer anything $1,000,000 and up so that I am able to live off of the interest comfortably.

  Spoken like some one with few responsibilities or debts.  Me, I'd be overjoyed with a million, I'm 64!  Most people have a couple of children to put through high school, then college, two or three cars owing payments, insurance preiums, a couple of grand in debt, and a house they've just began payments on.  Probably in their late twenty's - early thirty's.  Consider all that, and a life span of around 70-80 years.  Will a million dollars really last fifty years!  Will it allow any one to live comfortabely up until 2056!  Considering how it would impact your lifestyle, probably not. Think of the tax impact on spending, saving, and iinvesting that amount!  In New Jersey, if you have over $100K you pay a rich mans tax (10% more) - thanks to mind-dead elderly voters!  How many people would be mature enough to wisely invest the whole thing?  How many people have made a profit on every aspect of their 401K?  This is not the 60's - a million dollars isn't that much. I know a few spoiled teen-ager brats who could spend a million in a single day, on cars, clothes, and jewlery - not having enough to buy a house!  People make that much in five or six years and manage to be be heavily in debt right now!

  

  |||::> *'`*:-.,_,.-:*''*:--->>> Chewie  <<<---.*''*:-.,_,.-:*''* <:::|||

  I only trust myself - and that's a questionable choice
• Just6ntlc

  United States
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  June 2, 2005
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  Mar 6, 2006, 5:20 pm

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  My vote is for my in state lotto game in California particularly CA SLP. If I win a CA SLP jackpot, I would take lump sum. We don't know about my future or my family's future. If we win, I can finish school easily. Also, we would buy a house and car for sure.
  
• sirbrad

  

  PA
  United States
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  October 6, 2005
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  Mar 6, 2006, 5:55 pm

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  Quote: Originally posted by Chewie on March 4, 2006

  I  prefer anything $1,000,000 and up so that I am able to live off of the interest comfortably.

  Spoken like some one with few responsibilities or debts.  Me, I'd be overjoyed with a million, I'm 64!  Most people have a couple of children to put through high school, then college, two or three cars owing payments, insurance preiums, a couple of grand in debt, and a house they've just began payments on.  Probably in their late twenty's - early thirty's.  Consider all that, and a life span of around 70-80 years.  Will a million dollars really last fifty years!  Will it allow any one to live comfortabely up until 2056!  Considering how it would impact your lifestyle, probably not. Think of the tax impact on spending, saving, and iinvesting that amount!  In New Jersey, if you have over $100K you pay a rich mans tax (10% more) - thanks to mind-dead elderly voters!  How many people would be mature enough to wisely invest the whole thing?  How many people have made a profit on every aspect of their 401K?  This is not the 60's - a million dollars isn't that much. I know a few spoiled teen-ager brats who could spend a million in a single day, on cars, clothes, and jewlery - not having enough to buy a house!  People make that much in five or six years and manage to be be heavily in debt right now!

  I do have responsibilities, but you are right about few debts. Was not always that way, but I changed my lifestyle around drastically so that I could enjoy what I had more, as opposed to giving it all to creditors each month. I would also be overjoyed with a million, and I am only almost 32! But I have the wisdom of those much older, and sometimes even more wisdom and maturity than they possess.

  I was always used to just getting by, so a million would be luxurious for me. I am very happy to be completely debt free after years of nagging credit card debts. So that interest would go a LONG way for me. No children, no marriage by CHOICE. Like I said, I am tailor-made for a jackpot win. Although I did have a few close calls, I was smart enough to stop and take a look at the whole picture, and not just act upon whims.

  When I was 16 I made it mandatory that I would not get married until at least 30. When I turned 30 it went up to 35. After all I been through, and all the skimping I have done, I could easily invest a million and only use the interest. In fact that has been my plan since day one, and it will only grow. No way would I ever allow my finacial situation to go back to what it once was.
• justxploring

  

  Wandering Aimlessly
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  November 5, 2005
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  Mar 7, 2006, 1:37 am

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  "Spoken like some one with few responsibilities or debts. "

  If you're talking about a million dollars cash after taxes (not the jackpot) that's still quite a bit of money for a family. I agree that it would be better to have $10M with a family, so each child can go to any college, have a nice wedding, etc., but most people today can't even afford to put money away in a retirement fund.  It would be a nice nestegg. Even an extra $250,000 would make a big difference in many lives. Like Sirbrad, I could live off of the interest of a million, but I'd also work to get good group health benefits until 65.  I just would have many more choices and do something I enjoy because I'd have something to fall back on. Everything depends on what you start out with in the first place. If you don't own a home and have a lot of debt, that million will disappear quickly if that's your only source of money. However, what's wrong with continuing to work? Most people talk about winning a large jackpot and living a life of leisure. That's a nice dream and I wouldn't expect someone 60 to feel any different. But if a 30 or 40 year old couple with a few children continue to work and invest their money wisely, they'll double it in 10 years or less and that will help their kids even more. Then they can also enjoy a nice retirement.