Winning a jackpot can be a life-changing experience in both a positive way and negative way. You may be surprised by the changes that can make you wish that you’d never won that lottery. Sad but true, many lottery winners feel this way. Let’s use the experience of previous lottery winners to prevent a winning lottery ticket from destroying your life!
High chances of going bankrupt
When you win millions of dollars, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Quitting your job? Doing something have always wanted to do? Touring the world? Collecting expensive cars or handbags? The question is: how long can you keep this up? If you are living off your winnings, you will eventually run out of money and go bankrupt. Then you are back to the same boring job as before (or worse).
To make sure you never run out of money, first hire a financial advisor to invest your money and advise you on how much you can afford to spend. Second, invest in your own financial illiteracy. Take some classes on financial management so you can understand what your advisor is doing and whether he is doing a good job. Finally, realize that choosing the right advisor can be difficult. Interview more than one and consider dividing your resources between several advisors to avoid being cheated by one.
Personal life and relationship
When you win a lottery, people are going to consider you lucky; not hard-working or clever. Some people will simply think that you don’t deserve the winnings. After all, they played the same lottery you did. Why shouldn’t they be the winner? You may start to lose your friends simply due to jealousy. Also, the money woes of your friends and family have the potential to strain your relationships. Winners often experience the devastation of relationships that can even cause their families to fall apart. The main reason behind this is that people are not mentally prepared for the responsibilities and challenges which come along with
winning a lottery. Needless to say, the role of responsibility and the level of expectations never remains the same.
Main target of charities and scams
You are going to become the focus of many different people and organizations hoping to take a chunk out of your fortune. Legitimate organizations such as investors, charities, and developers will approach you with compelling situations. At the same time, you are going to be the target of bogus lawsuits, schemes, and other scams that attempt to blend into the legitimate organizations. You will hear from these people constantly asking for your fortune and pressuring you to give it to them.
If your lottery’s laws allow it, collect your winnings anonymously. If you cannot remain anonymous, reduce the amount of publicity that you allow. Within your personal life, limit the number of people who know that you won. It might be hard to keep it from your co-workers, but there is no reason to share your good luck with everyone you meet. These steps will save you from unnecessary trouble and help you to live happily ever after with your prize money.
High expectations of long-lost family
One group of people who you will not be able to hide from is your family; particularly your extended family. Previous winners say that their “long-lost relatives” behave as if they won the lottery too. They come knocking on your door asking for favors simply because you had a tremendous win and can purchase anything they want. What is worse, these people often believe that they don’t have to pay you back, because “we’re family”. A good rule of thumb to use for these people is to maintain your “lost family” just the way they were before you won the lottery!
I hope this knowledge can save you from trouble and help you enjoy your winnings in peace!
