To ask if you've ever won the lottery?

[imboredtonight]

And if you have what was the first thing you spent it on?

I regularly play the lottery and have occasionally won very small amounts.

My DP and I live a very simple life and have already decided that if we ever did win the jackpot, we would give it all away to various charities, except for £150k.

With that £150k we would:

1. get married at the local registry office and treat our friends to lunch at the pub to celebrate
2. go backpacking in the Philippines for 1 month
3. buy a little flat of our own
4. buy a small van and some tools so my very talented DP can start his own business

We're saving every spare penny we can to make our dreams come true but a lottery win would speed things up and make us able to help others!

I won £68m.
68 million! Holy god.

With £68 Million I'd start my own charity where I would set up hotels that could provide training and accommodation for women and children fleeing domestic violence. I'd also be paying for someone to come around to get me up in the mornings and do exercise as I also struggle with motivation. I won £25 last week but will no doubt just spend it on more tickets.

£5 on a scratch card

If £68m makes you depressed then just give it away.

Two people I worked in Waitrose with as a teenager both got 5 numbers plus the bonus on the same weekend! One was a 16 year old boy (is that right can you/could you play the lottery at 16?), the other a woman in her 50s. I think they both won around 120k, this was in 1996.

An acquaintance won several million in a lottery win a few years ago. He's paid off his and the mortgages of his family, paid or put away university funds for his kids/nephews/nieces. Bought several properties which he lets out at peanut rates to struggling people. Supports several charities and generally is a good egg.

£2,224 with 5 numbers. I put £1k into premium bonds and £1k in an ISA which encouraged me to keep saving (£500 most won on PBs in one cheque - but lots of £25s) - the rest I squandered! I still have an ISA - but had to cash in the PBs as a deposit for a house. Not live changing amount but I still consider myself lucky!

My biggest fear about winning the lottery is what would I do about all the begging letters. I've given this a lot of thought and I've decided......I'll keep on sending them.

No, as I have never bought a ticket. I object to gambling that is chance and not based on some form of skill.

Then why bother even posting ForalltheSaints?

An ex student of mine won around £150m on euromillions years ago. It led to me planning exactly how I’d spend my win. I’ve decided what percentage I’d give to each family member/friend and mentally maintain that list even now. I decided winning huge amounts would be pretty pap if all your family and mates were too poor to drop everything to take their private jet to one of our houses in the Bahamas on a whim, so I’m going to have to make them all millionaires too.

I don’t buy lottery tickets, for the record.

Maintaining the mental list is pretty therapeutic. Helped me out picking the kids up from swimming? Your % just went up. Went out on a night out without inviting me and then put photos on Facebook to rub my face in it? Sorry, you’ve just lost your share of my win.

Kolo- love the thought of mental crossing people off the list! I have my thoughts to what I’d do with millions - I wouldn’t want lots of people to know just how much I had, though, because of the begging letters as mentioned above. In my head I think I would just tell people that I’d rather not say how much, but it’s meant that we are mortgage free and can set the kids up with homes. I could obviously then give up my part time job if I wanted to (I do enjoy it though, so would think carefully on that one, or might stay on as bank staff and just do odd shifts to help out here and there). DH would be tougher to explain if he gave up, but to be honest we are not that far off being able to draw pension early, so could say that there was enough left over to pay salary until we draw the pension.

Sigh, until the mega bucks come in it’s back to work next week....

We've had a syndicate since the very start ; ( 5 of us) had 4 numbers once and that is it. 3 numbers come up sometimes. We dream on

I actually happened to be reading this the other day as saw an article about Adrian Bayford, the guy who won £148m.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/euromillions-biggest-uk-winner-jackpots-1919342

According to that no-one's ever won £68m BTW.

I've never had more than 3 numbers. I've been considering just giving up now.

I wouldn't tell anybody tbh, I certainly wouldn't go public with it. I'd be careful how I spent my money, I'd buy a slightly upgraded version of my house in a slightly better area. I'd upgrade my car to a decent VW but not a Lamborghini iswim. If people asked where my money came from then it's from an inheritance my uncle left me who who didn't marry. Things can be easily explained as long as you're clever about it and discreet.

First mistake,lottery winners make is to go public and go on a massive spending spree. You often here of them wasting the money and becoming broke later in life. Clever spending and wise investments and good advice from a decent solicitor and accountant is what's needed.

£90 when I was 19 and broke. Was a little bit too happy looking back!

I was in a syndicate at work, we won £250k on the Thunderball in 2004, we got just under £15k each, I was pregnant with DS at the time, I bought a car, all my baby stuff & got the house I was living in finished ready for DS arrival, I treated myself & my then DH to clothes & a holiday.

I've been lucky, I won £8k on online bingo & a few odd £1k wins since then.

Poor @WesternOatman I would 100% do what you describe. I kind of already do in a very mediocre way as I live off my dh income as he earns a lot of money and although I am still forced to leave the house as I have a dd at school, any chance I get to stay in and someone else do school run I do. I wish you well whatever you decide to do in future.

Got £200 on scratchcard as I was on my way too airport on holiday...

I work in conveyancing and have done a house transaction for someone who won a very large 8 figure sum.

It must be very surreal. Looking at the bank statement we received having only a couple of hundred pounds in their account the day before and then millions the next.

I watched a programme recently about 6 different jackpot winners.

4 of the couples had divorced, a few businesses started and all had folded, one single bloke was in prison, and 5 out of the 6 winners has little left and all 5 were unhappy. The only 1 couple that were still together and happy were a retired couple who had used the money for a holiday and a new house and had given away pretty much all of the leftover money to friends and family. Don’t get me wrong i could really use a few quid, but money can’t buy you happiness.

DH says he would sponsor talented athletes, local football club, digs home etc. Basically the money would stay local.

When I was in fourth grade (so 9 or thereabouts) the parents of one of my classmates won several million dollars in the state lottery. They threw a big party for our class (in school) and then they immediately moved away and I never heard from the boy again.