When I win the lottery....

[geezer]

Re: When I win the lottery....

Remember the cautionary story of Jack Whittaker. Part 1 and Part 2 (and this is the guy that's willing to talk about everything).

[burd]

Re: When I win the lottery....

The very first thing anybody should do with a winning ticket, even one of the minor prizes of a few thousand dollars, is to sign the back of the winning ticket, perhaps even video record it with my phone to show that it's truly my ticket. After that, I'd call in to the office, tell them that I have a severe case of hemorrhoids, or something, and head straight into the state lottery offices to get my ticket verified. If it was the jackpot, then I'd contact the tax and estate lawyers. I'd like to say that I could remain calm, work for a few days or weeks before going in to claim my prize, but I've never been much of a poker player.

Don"t tell us you wouldn't rush out and buy a bunch of game-worn Sioux jerseys.

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: When I win the lottery....

$800 million!

Do I hear $900?

I just came on here to post that. It's now at $800 million, and they are predicting it will reach $900 million.

Man, if I win, I better not have to share it with anyone...

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: When I win the lottery....

Some incomprehensible math ... until you do it ... and then it's still incomprehensible.

$675 million.
But if you take the cash you get the cash value, roughly 2/3: $450 million.
Then you pay the tax (about 1/2) on the cash: $225 million

Say you are hyper-conservative and invest the $225 million at a 1% RoR but that's tax free (see: tax free municipal bonds).
That's $2.25 million yearly (after taxes, because there are no taxes on that income).

365.25 days per year, 24 hours per day = 8766 hours in a year

$2.25 million / 8876 hours = $253.49

Basically, unless you spend $253.49 per hour you made money by simply maintaining a pulse.

Oh, and that's at 1% RoR. I'd hope you could get more like 4%.

I'd invest in the safest FDIC insured thing I could and live off the interest. After I gave some bulk sums to charity.

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: When I win the lottery....

Remember the cautionary story of Jack Whittaker. Part 1 and Part 2 (and this is the guy that's willing to talk about everything).

I remember when that story played out. The strangest thing I found about it is that he was a successful businessman who built up a business from scratch. One would think if anyone was capable of handling a lot money, it would be someone like him.

Yet, a guy worth $17 million before he won the lottery, decides to carry half a million in a briefcase and leave it in a car at a strip club. Not to mention, he used to frequent said strip club nearly every single day. He could have afforded to do all that before he won the lottery. What changed him just because he won the lottery?

I remember someone once telling me, "Money doesn't change a person. Money brings out the real person." Food for thought.

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: When I win the lottery....

I'd invest in the safest FDIC insured thing I could and live off the interest. After I gave some bulk sums to charity.

You would have to spread your money around to many, many different accounts, because FDIC insurance is limited per account.

[The Sicatoka]

Re: When I win the lottery....

I'd invest in the safest FDIC insured thing I could and live off the interest. After I gave some bulk sums to charity.

FDIC only insures you to $250,000 per institution.

With $225 million you'd need to spread it over 900 banks. I recommend online statements or your postman will have a hernia. Then again, you could probably heat your house with all those monthly bank statements.

[Hammer]

Re: When I win the lottery....

If my math is right, a jackpot of $800 mil will yield a $300 mil nut after tax, taking the lump sum, plus or minus. $300 mil at 4% interest will net you $1,000,000 per month, before tax.

[St. Clown]

Re: When I win the lottery....

you would have to spread your money around to many, many different accounts, because fdic insurance is limited per account.

$200k.

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: When I win the lottery....

FDIC only insures you to $250,000 per institution.

With $225 million you'd need to spread it over 900 banks. I recommend online statements or your postman will have a hernia. Then again, you could probably heat your house with all those monthly bank statements.

Not to mention all the 1099s in January. It will be like the Sears catalog delivery day for the postman...

Not to mention the nightmare of doing your taxes with all those 1099s. You better not miss one, or the IRS will fine you!

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: When I win the lottery....

I feel dumb now. I should have known that. Skip the FDIC thing then.

[Twitch Boy]

Re: When I win the lottery....

The Swiss Franc is presently at a negative interest rate; you would have to pay to hold those bonds.

That can probably go then. Really, if US T-bills ever go bust we're probably already cracking open each other's skulls and feasting on the goo inside.

[St. Clown]

Re: When I win the lottery....

I feel dumb now. I should have known that. Skip the FDIC thing then.

Just purchase T-bills/t-bonds and let them sit. You'll sit, earn the interest tax free, and have as close to 0% risk as is possible.

[Twitch Boy]

Re: When I win the lottery....

What I'd do after I invest and vanish:

Go somewhere they'll need Rockapella to find me. Lay low on the beach with a mai tai in my hand for a couple years. Don't buy anything too extravagant right away.

Once the world has forgotten about me, buy a customized van or an RV or something and cruise the country (or even the world) living out of it. Home is wherever I feel like making it that night. Feel like checking into the Bellagio for a couple weeks? Done. Want to go camping in the Keweenaw? On it. Coachella? Off I drive and it's happening. Ferry over to Europe and tool around there? No sweat.

[Kepler]

Re: When I win the lottery....

Just purchase T-bills/t-bonds and let them sit. You'll sit, earn the interest tax free, and have as close to 0% risk as is possible.

As a friend of mine says, if T-bills fail you'll have bigger problems than your money.