I won the lottery (a few years ago) AMA

[NCuserer]

NC for this as I remained anonymous, which was fairly pointless as I did tell some family and friends and it spread from there.

Have you given any to charity ?

Did you move house ? did you buy a holiday home ?

It's really sad about your friends and family members, people can be so entitled.

I hope you don't get any begging PM's off the back of this thread!

Did you tell your work colleagues you had won?
Did you gift any of the money to them?

@newestbridearound

Has it changed your life as you expected? Would you do anything differently (what you’ve spent, who you told etc) if you could?

It's changed my life for the better. I always had financial concerns as a single parent, we rented, I had no car as couldn't afford running costs, no international holidays etc

The only thing I would have changed was not telling anyone

Did you buy a really nice house and do you pay for security?

This is so interesting! It's hard not to tell anyone but it's obvious they will all talk. Did you find the grabbiest people were those actually related to you or were they in laws?

Are you leading a similar life to the one you had then, just with more handbags or do you have a completely new set of friends and live in a different part of the country?

You say you still have most of it left, do you have any longterm plans for it?

I know it's a bit of a gruesome thought (sorry), but if you passed away suddenly would DS just suddenly become a very rich young man and the blessings / curses that can sometimes go with that?

How many times had you played the lottery before you won?

What sort of house did you buy? City? Country? Second home abroad? Indoor swimming pool?

The only thing I would have changed was not telling anyone

I think this is impossible though. Someone I know won £3.5m and tried to keep it a secret. They were very poor beforehand, then suddenly they bought a £750k house, 2 brand new mercs. It of course raised eyebrows. Unfortunately this person turned in to a bit of a dick. Insisting on only the best champagne at their mates garden BBQ's. They also didn't treat anyone they knew, even to a few drinks, despite the fact that when they were poor they were often paid for by friends who didn't want them to miss out.

Did they give you the winnings in one lump sum into your regular bank account?

How long did it take to be paid?

Were you offered financial advice and if so, did you take it?

I go to sleep most nights thinking of how I would spend my winnings. I don't go for the big ticket items first, strangely enough. I imagine the relief of no more money worries would be the best thing about it.

Blatant PM

Did you buy a new house, car, holidays etc, which made it obvious you won or had inherited a lot of money?

If anyone asked you whether you had won the lottery, were you honest and admitted you had? Did you tell them how much you had one?

Ooh, I've always wondered how long it takes to actually have the cash after telling Lotto you've won is it days, weeks or months?

@ineedaholidayandwine

Were your friends and family respectful or did they start asking for/think you should help them out financially

Well, my father who I wasn't close to expected me to pay him for raising (which he did not do!).

@Learningatmyownpace

What's the best thing you've bought?

My home

Do you still live in the same area?

@ShutUpaYourFace

Was it lucky dip or did you pick your own numbers? How long had you been playing? Are you a regular or was it a one off ticket purchase? Are you a lucky person anyway? Breathe! I need to win the lottery - any tips😂😂😂

Lucky dip Over a decade, and a fairly regular player Absolutely not! It really is luck of the draw

First of all, congratulations, I play the lottery by direct debit 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼 and don’t begrudge a single penny because it either goes to worthy causes or to people such as yourself which is the whole point and I would absolutely love to win one day...🙏🏻

I have a few dreams that I would do if I won, my life would change quite drastically, for a start a move to the coast and start my own business like a small gift shop or similar, both of which are long term aims but it would just mean I could do them sooner instead of waiting. I would also give my sister and her family as much financial stability as possible and help a few others of course.

What dreams did you have before winning and have you realised any of them yet?

Is your money invested, do you live off the interest as the saying goes?

Has it changed you in anyway?

Sorry I find it such a fascinating conversation I could ask questions for days hahaha!

I'm just wondering if anyone had PM'd you yet? .
Have you had any begging letters in RL?

Before you won had you ever imagined what you would do if you did win? Did you do any of those things?

Charity?
Investments?
How was the lottery in terms of offering you advise?

@ivykaty44

Did you give up paid work?

Do you do any type of volunteering or charity work?

I did give up my job. I actually enjoyed what I did but there just wasn't much point and I also moved shortly after

You lucky boo

Do you help others? Eg donating to charities?

I always think if I won the lottery I'd give half of it out to charities that really needed it but I wonder if that changes if you actually do win and if a sudden desire to hang on to it all overwhelms you