Investing

Powerball & Mega Millions Now $968 Million in Total: 12 Things Not to Do If You Ever Win the Lottery

Jon C. Ogg

Published: January 4, 2018 11:15 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 4:51 am

If there is one event that can enthrall the entire nation at once, it is winning a major lottery drawing. After all, winning the lottery is the new version of the American Dream. It means that no one has to endure a life of hard work, saving and planning to become very wealthy. This year has started with a rather unusual circumstance in lottery history, with two major lottery drawings up for grabs with obscene amounts of money. The Powerball lottery jackpot has risen to a massive $550 million and the Mega Millions lottery jackpot has risen to $418 million.

One thing driving the interest in the lottery is not just that it is vast wealth — it is instant wealth! You have to have zero qualifications to win, other than paying for a ticket, and this vast wealth will have required no planning, no saving, no responsibility and not even an advanced degree. And, as a reminder of how tough the world can be, you have the media and politicians telling the public almost every day that it’s just too hard to get rich the old-fashioned way with hard work and years of planning.

The odds of winning are quite low. Still, winning either the Powerball or the Mega Millions lottery would easily make for the best new year gift anyone could imagine. Add these up and there is a whopping $968 million up for grabs. The long and short of the matter is that it doesn’t matter which lottery gets won, and it doesn’t matter which payout option the winners choose. This money is so vast that it will instantly create multi-generational empire-building wealth.

The Powerball’s annuity value of $550 million for Saturday’s drawing has a lump sum cash payment option of $347.9 million. The Mega Millions jackpot of $418 million is the annuity value for Friday’s drawing, but the cash lump sum payout is $261 million.

While getting this vast wealth comes with endless opportunities and endless imagination, there is a dark side to winning the lottery. Many lottery winners somehow manage to go broke. Some of them even go broke in just a few years. It is for this reason that 24/7 Wall St. has created a self-help guide for lottery winners: 12 Things Not Do If You Ever Win the Lottery.

It probably seems impossible to blow through $100 million, $200 million, $300 million or even $500 million. In today’s world it is quite easy to blow through that vast fortune. Lottery winners who do not make immediate plans and do not put safeguards in place are on the path of going broke. It’s already hard to get rich once, so take it to heart that no one should ever have to get rich twice.

These tools for what not to do can easily be applied to anyone who comes into fast and unexpected wealth. That could be wealth from a business sale, an unexpected inheritance, a legal judgment, selling a family asset or becoming a stock-options millionaire.

There are almost an unlimited number of things that lottery winners can buy, and there are endless numbers of events that can drain your money rapidly. There are also many bad people out there who will prey on lottery winners or anyone who comes into instant wealth.

Lottery winners need to know going in that some of those pitfalls may come directly from their friends and family. Others may come from acquaintances, and some may come from those who intend to do harm. It is important to understand that some people who fall into instant wealth even lose their lives. Does it seem right that bragging about getting filthy rich could even get you killed? That’s no joking matter.

Most lottery winners choose to take the lump sum cash option to have instant and vast wealth. After all, it’s all now and all at once rather than having to wait for paydays again.

Family relationships and friendships will be tested, immediately or over time, after winning the lottery. Getting a financial plan, setting up a budget and understanding taxes and finances will be imperative. Again, it’s just too easy to blow through a vast fortune.

Add up the costs of buying mega-mansions and yachts, and throw in private jets and luxury cars. And why not have lavish vacations, fine art and the best jewelry money can buy? What about owning a private island, taking everyone you know on a luxury cruise, having the top music performers conduct a private concert? These and the endless number of other temptations can literally bleed you dry. Paying for these things is one thing, but think about the ongoing costs of insurance, personnel costs, security and taxes that have to be paid over time too.

There is one thing you better take to heart here if you come into vast wealth and ignore these warnings: If it sounds silly that you need to set up a strict plan and put up safeguards to protect your new empire-money, then you are already at severe risk of going broke if you ever become filthy rich.

On top of it being hard enough to get rich as is, it’s even harder keep all that newfound wealth. Again, no one should ever have to get rich twice.

Here are the 12 things not to do if you win the lottery.

1. Do not forget to sign that winning ticket and to report it immediately.

It may seem ridiculous that some people might fail to sign a winning lottery ticket. Or that a winner would forget to report the winning ticket to the state? It has happened. Now imagine if you have the winning ticket and it is stolen. Or think about if it burns up in a house fire. Endless millions of lottery dollars have gone unclaimed. Some people somehow manage to not report to the state that they won.

Now imagine how you would feel if you lost a winning lottery ticket. Or what about if someone else takes your winning ticket and then shows up to collect the prize? Fighting over a winning lottery ticket is no simple task, and disputes have arisen over who was the real owner of winning lottery tickets.

In more ways than not, a winning lottery ticket is like the last form of bearer bonds. Whoever shows up with the right paper gets paid. You have to sign and secure that ticket, and you then have to report to the state.

2. Do not brag about winning the lottery to anyone.

Who upon winning tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars wouldn’t want to share the news with everyone they know? How could you not? Do not dare do this! Keep quiet for as you can. Your friends or family members cannot be trusted to keep your secret a secret.

Telling everyone you know before you collect your winnings can put you in danger. That is danger in more ways than just one. Everyone who has ever done anything for you now may come with their hands out asking for something. You may even become a target. You may have heard of kidnap and ransom insurance before.

It is sad to report that some lottery winners became murder victims, and for far less than the massive empire-building jackpots. If you can manage it, and if your state allows it, try to remain anonymous for as long as possible. How you became vastly wealthy will be found out in time anyway. Do not rush out and hurry that process along and jeopardize yourself.

3. Do not decide to take the lump sum cash option without considering the big picture.

Whether it is $50 million, $200 million or $500 million, most people elect to receive a lump sum today rather than getting money sent out over a lifetime. A figure that has been cited in the media is that around 70% of lottery winners end up broke again. Some manage to go broke within a few years. Let’s say that you can choose to get over $200 million in a lump sum payment; do you know for sure without consideration that is a better choice than receiving a payout of $375 million slowly over the course of a lifetime?

Again most people choose the lump sum rather than taking the annuity payment. After all, it is instant empire-making money.

Go see a reputable and visible tax professional and a reputable investment advisor at a top money management firm with a widely recognized company name and a long corporate history. This theme of “reputable and visible” will echo throughout. Do this before you automatically make the decision about a lump sum or annuity option.

4. Do not start thinking that you are now the smartest person about finance.

Winning millions of dollars instantly does not make you any smarter about money than you were right before you found out you hit it rich. In fact, it might prove to make you realize that you knew very little about money. Lottery winners, and those who come into unexpected vast sums of cash, need to immediately get outside financial advice. If you are living paycheck to paycheck before the lottery, does it seem logical that you suddenly know the best things to invest in? How likely is it that you will immediately know the best tax and asset protection strategies?

There are many ways to invest and to protect that new fortune. Strategies of the extremely wealthy often go way beyond just buying stocks and bonds and letting those investments ride. As far as who to use, or who not to use, chances are very high that your drinking buddy might not be the best choice as an advisor and expert.

Having a solid and respectable team of financial advisors and managers from reputable firms will act as your buffer to protect your assets now and in the future. Do you know how to protect your assets against all threats and know exactly how to protect your estate in case you die or become incapacitated? Here is a very real hint: If you answered yes, you probably did not bother playing the lottery.

5. Do not let your debt and existing obligations remain in place.

If you suddenly become filthy rich, get rid of your old financial obligations and debts immediately. If you feel like “I’m rich and don’t have to pay anymore,” you are already deep into the path of dooming yourself. Whether you take the lump sum or the annuity option, if you have a single penny of debt in the immediate future and distant future, then something is seriously wrong. For that matter, you should not have a single debt ever again. One lottery winner in California was reportedly strapped with debt from property purchases.

If you manage to go broke down the road and still have a mortgage, car payments, student loans, credit card debt and personal bills, all your friends and family members should get to spank or ridicule you every day for the rest of your life.

6. Do not go out and live the big life way too big.

Temptation to keep buying or accumulating can wipe you out. If you go from living a simple life to instantly having the wherewithal to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) per week, what do you think happens to your expectations in life ahead? Chances are high that you will want more of the same.

If you start gambling in Las Vegas and are not happy until you are gambling with hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) per play, you are dooming yourself. Now just wait until the real con men find you. Taking you and your favorite 500 people on a luxury cruise around the world can become very expensive, very fast. Having an entourage generally only works for people who keep making more and more money — and they usually end up broke for that cost.

7. Do not run out and buy everything for everyone, not even for yourself!

Everyone probably has a list of things they would love to own. Buying nice things is fun. It can even create a rush for some people. Imagine getting to buy whatever your imagination can think of. Now take a breath for a second.

Society and the endless commercials trick the public into thinking they need to own endless numbers of things. It’s just stuff! Do not go out and buy dozens of cars. Do not go buy multiple houses. Do not run out and keep buying things for friends and family members (nor for yourself). This will put you on a bad path if you do not avoid the impulse buying. Do you really want to be your friends and family personal welfare department?

If you start buying everything for everyone, chances are high that they might expect that to last forever. The other end of the story is that you do not have to be a cheapskate either. Still, after hearing a real-life personal story of one lucky winner buying more than 30 cars and multiple houses in three months, it is just crazy.

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8. Do not think that budgets are just for the poor and middle class.

It may seem silly on the surface that you might need a budget and might need to consider limitations. The harsh reality is that creating and actually living on a budget are not just tasks for the poor and the middle class. The very wealthy, at least those who stay that way, know that even a vast sum of money can vaporize. Major lottery winners generally become wealthier in an instant than everyone they know combined. This also goes back to having advisors and being prudent, but at the end of the day you do still have a finite sum of money. Chances are very high that you will make some serious purchases and your lifestyle will be changed forever.

Without setting limits for yourself and for what you do with others is a recipe for disaster. Again, many lottery winners go broke. If they went broke in a very short time, what do you think the reflection about wishing for a proper budget would be? In short: Do not think you don’t need a budget!

9. Do not become the business backer for your friends and family.

If you knew little about money or finance yesterday, what makes you think you will understand venture capital or merchant banking now? It may sound powerful and enticing. Do not fall into this trap. One common theme that has come up with lottery winners who suddenly get vast sums of cash is that their friends and family start pitching them on endless business ideas. Sure, some will sound great and some will sound crazy. This could expose you to more than just a loss. You could end up with endless liabilities in some cases.

If someone has no knowledge of a particular business and does not know what it takes to actually run a business, will they do better because a lottery winner who lucked into vast wealth gave them money to start it? If your answer is yes, you seriously need to protect yourself (from yourself).

10. Do not think about giving your new fortune away immediately.

Many lottery winners and others who become filthy rich fall into the trap of thinking that they need to immediately share their newfound wealth with society. It may seem nice to give away vast amounts of cash to charity or to religious institutions. This might not be the case for everyone, but giving away an entire fortune or a large part of it to a charity or to religious institution needs to be given great consideration.

Imagine that you give away that fortunate and a serious crisis arises in your life or your family’s life. You simply gave away all financial means to change it. There are ways that you can be quite generous without doing the unthinkable. Rather than giving everything away now, the current charitable trend of the extremely wealthy is to plan for how to give the money away upon death. This allows you to divvy up what you want to give back to society and decide what you want to leave for heirs.

Should you be charitable? Absolutely! Should you give it all away? Absolutely not!

11. Do not get athlete or celebrity envy.

Many movie stars, entertainers and athletes live a life of luxury. Lottery money gives a winner the chance to live a life of luxury up with the lucky few. This privilege comes with pitfalls that can make them go broke. Keeping up with the Joneses is bad enough. Trying to keep up with celebrities is a recipe for disaster.

It may seem cool to own a 200-foot yacht, or perhaps to have an entourage or maybe a film crew following you around. It may seem cool owning castles in Europe. Owning an original Picasso painting sure sounds impressive. Having a big new private jet makes sense for a lot of people. Now go add up the price tags of these things, plus the cool cars and houses and the rest of it. You can go broke really quickly. Just ask actors and athletes who did this how they feel now.

Trying to dodge taxes might even sound appealing to misguided people. Before you do this, think about how many athletes and celebrities who have gone broke over tax dodging, and some even went to prison.

12. Do not think the laws or decency standards no longer apply.

There are some people who believe that the rich can do whatever they want without consequences. It is true that the wealthier you get, the more high-class trouble you can find. It is also true that the rich can afford better attorneys and a better legal defense than the rest of us. Still, living a reckless life without concerns about the law will not keep you from going to prison, or worse. A good sports coach will tell any star athlete upfront that chances are high they will have to be human for far longer than they are going to stars.

It is quite frequent that movies and television shows glamorize scoundrels. The reality in life is that fictional scoundrels would be scoundrels in real life. What good would it do you if you are incredibly wealthy and such a pariah that no one will associate with you? Remember, you don’t get to take any of your wealth with you.