Lottery win (not a bad amount).

[winningballs]

Name changed for this.

I have been thinking about asking this and I have spoken to f&f about it and the opinions vary.

Last Wednesday I got an urge to do the lottery, I haven't done it in ages because I just can't afford it, but I got a lucky dip and lucky it was, I got 5 matching balls plus the bonus. I won't say how much I won but it's a fair amount, enough for me to not worry about bills for the foreseeable and enough to give people 10k each.

Here's my question.

I have a list of whom I would share my winnings with stored on my phone, it's been on there for years and my ex is on there. We have been split for a year or so but I always said I would give him something if I won. I don't hate him and I really liked his children, so should I just transfer some into his account? This is not a plan to get him back as I am happily with someone else now and he has no problem with my list as he is well taken care of too.

Should I - or should I not bother?

Nope! Id never leave a list like that on my phone. I do the lotto online and forget about it. All winnings, only small 3 quid ones, get rolled over into spending money for more lotto

It's like an inheritance but you have to witness the fall-out from your bequests!

Don't give it to anyone. If you give people £10k they'll come back for (much) more and you'll end up with nothing.

As per PP, get some proper financial advice, invest it and live off the interest. It will set you for live and your children will inherit the investments.

And I'm another one who has a 'list'! And yes, an ex would be on there. We're friends.

For a million, I agree. The best thing would be to make sure you have a great financial set up that will give you life long security, and some investments that can be passed on to children, plus money invested in giving them a good start.

The best thing you can do with a million pounds for your children is set them up so that one day they can make a million themselves.

My advice , for what it's worth , is to sit on it for a few months ( 6 months ) and do nothing . Carry on going to work , don't have a mad Christmas , don't go out and buy 2 £50.000 cars . Sit on it , digest the news , come to terms with it etc. Then when you've got head around it, decide what you want that money to do for you and your loved ones.
congratulations.btw.

I personally wouldn't tell a soul I'd won (other than immediate family). You get the beggars and hangers on becoming more friendly in the hop you'll give some away.
Take the advice of the lottery advisors and invest to give you an income/improve your family's life.
If you give anything away then do it anonymously - so much easier than having the burden of being asked for ££

Why not Op if you like him . You sound very kind

2 winners, so she won 500k. Nice gotcha try though

No way would I give to the ex it’ll just be awkward. He will never know so don’t worry

2 winners and prize fund of £2m. 5+bonus gets a million. Its on the national lottery page.

I have a list of whom I would share my winnings with stored on my phone, it's been on there for years and my ex is on there. We have been split for a year or so but I always said I would give him something if I won. I don't hate him and I really liked his children, so should I just transfer some into his account?

I find this a bit strange, if I'm honest. Why do you feel bound to an old list you created and that you want to give an ex money just because you 'liked' his children. I would find this really weird if an ex sent me a few grand because he'd won the lottery, liked my children and said he would have done at the time we were together.

Just enjoy your money yourself. If you're going to share it, do so with people in your life, or donate to a select few charities. It's strange to want to give some away to random people who are no longer in your life.

The typical scenario of the ungrateful recipient will be that they buy a car using the £10k that you have them.

Then at some point the car needs a new part that isn’t covered by the warranty or the warranty has expired. They can’t afford to pay for it but in their mind YOU gave them the money for the car so it’s only fair in their mind that you stump up more cash to have it repaired.

If you don’t stump up more cash they then spread the rumour that YOU bought them an unusable car.

If I won a mill I would definitely not be telling anyone let alone giving it away 😄 you’re a better person than me OP! £1m won’t really go far retirement wise etc. Or rather, it would be very easy to spend it on a some fab life things.

Can I have 10k op? Jk
I wouldn't tell anyone how much you won, but if you did say you won make out it's a much smaller amount.
Imo I wouldn't give 10k to my family.. Sounds harsh but then mine are the type that would come crawling back for more and throw a feud about it.
Help them out if they are struggling sure.. A smaller gift maybe. Only you know what your family are like.
I definitely wouldn't give it to my ex.. He will let slip and then more and more people will find out.
With things like this you find out just how greedy people are.

Should I - or should I not bother?

On the face of it Id say yes, it's a pleasant gesture as you've found yourself in a fortunate position. Making someone else's life good and the children will be nice for them for knowing you.

I don't know what sort of person your ex is, will it cause problems of any sort? Will he wonder if you won big, will he tell others? telling others then may cause unknown problems etc

lottery winners find out all sorts of errors amongst people they know when they win.

My advice is be very careful and there is no rush to do anything - whilst no one knows

Whilst I appreciate this is more likely, I guarantee you if I won a million, for at least the first month I'd still be sat doing my usual job, surfing MN and digesting everything carefully before I made any moves.

DON’T TELL ANYONE.

Great advice @FlamingBells .

Consider investing a small amount now in trust for Ex’s kids - & other youngsters you are fond of in your list - to mature when they of adult & of an age when a lump sum would be a great help to them.

Playing 10k giveaway is a fun fantasy that takes no account of the variable nature of the recipients - just how did you think people would respond? - & the unintended consequences of your actions.

Congratulations on your good fortune.
Enjoy!

…& where’s the bar?

This

It's strange to want to give some away to random people who are no longer in your life.

I don't know that it is strange, it makes some people fell good about themselves quite genuinely, or they feel that person may have been part of their life when they needed a lot and now they are returning the karma in a different way.

I have a friend that has just come into a large sum of money and wants to take all her close friends for a meal, that I find more realistic. For others though they want to do things differently

i dint think it’s strange that OP has a list. Sometimes when I can’t sleep or am on a long and boring train journey I day dream about how much money I would give people. Only difference is that I never do the lottery so I’ll never need to make those decisions.

Be careful how many people you tell or you’ll suddenly have a lot of new friends.

Yep.