To ask if you've ever won the lottery?

[imboredtonight]

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

money can't buy happiness

But it does allow you to be miserable in luxury.

When I was growing up a girl across the road won the pools, I think she was either 16 or 18 but pretty much never worked. They moved about 5 or 6 years later, I'd love to know what they did with their lives. Half the street played pools after that but nobody that I know of won again

I don't really play the lottery anymore but have signed up to postcode lottery. 300k would be a life changing but not so much that it would ruin your life!

My dad did, but I had no idea until years afterwards! Apparently it was quite a large sum. He spent it on moving house, new car, holiday and my wedding. I suspect he's invested the rest, he's always been good with money.

I was worried about the wedding at the time but he just said "it's sorted" and paid for everything. Luckily DH is much loved and adored by my family so he's got his money's worth (14 yrs and counting)

I know if DH and I won any decent amount there would be huge fall outs in our family. Well, his side anyway. Mine wouldn't expect anything.
His side however would be there in an instant arguing that he would be selfish not to share it: (example, his DSis and Cousin sat fighting loudly over who was getting their Gran's new washing machine. This was in front of the whole family who were gathered around Gran's bedside as she lay dying.) When we won £800 MIL asked what we were giving SIL. She wasn't happy when we said nothing or we'd have to give to my 3 DBS and 1 DSis too.

If we won a large amount we would have to tell people a much lower figure. A secret I would love the opportunity to have.

I won £240, I was a student. I spent it all on alcohol 🙈

I won around £100.

Whilst I was (at the time) with a dickhead of a boyfriend

He took the ticket and cashed it in

That ticket brought me freedom from 11stone of dead weight

Worth every penny

Kept playing the online instant wins with a £20 initial stake, and ended up with about £200 profit.

Money can definitely buy you happiness, it's just can't eradicate misery and misfortune. My plan if I win is, clear all our debts and mortgage, live normally for a while, then tell only close people we won the lottery, but never tell them when or how much we won, no-one needs to know those details.

I play quite regularly and have won £25 a couple of times but that’s it. I should really stop.

If I did win anything bigger, I’d spend it on IVF.

No but my friend won £40k in a syndicate at work. Used it to pay off student debts and deposit for a flat

I'd love to win one of the 1million raffle prizes, I think that is the perfect amount for me. I only do the lottery a couple of times a year but each time I do I always go on Rightmove and find my dream house that I'm going to buy.

Then of course I don't win and declare the whole thing a swizz for the next 6 months

@BorisAndDoris you don't tell ANYONE that you have won at all. Keep schtum, nobody in the family needs to know at all. Firstly, make your arrangements with your solicitor and accountant and live with your winnings for a while. Stick a lot of it in premium bonds, ISAS, savings accounts, investments etc.

Things can be explained away, don't quit work immediately but go part time. Just buy upgraded versions of your house, car etc to begin with.

I have an elaborate back story, all ready for when we have our big win!

Alas we would have to admit to something because we live one street away from PIL and as it's a pretty close family, and we are living measly paycheque to measly paycheque, any slight windfall would be noticed.

I haven’t, but my mum’s cousin won $1 million earlier this year.

Unfortunately where they live in the US one pays tax on the winnings instead of the stake. All told, when the taxes were finished, he ended up with about $350k.

I believe he bought his wife a new car, and the rest is invested.

My dad also was at school with someone who won significant sums twice. I can’t even imagine!

I woke up this morning to an email from National Lottery telling me to check my account ..... I've won £30!
Always welcome, but not life-changing 😂

Serious plan would be to keep an amount which would allow me to live MY life but easier. So pay off mortgage, upgrade car, holiday home, nice holidays, take a lesser-paid job ...... all the things which would be "reasonable" of someone my age / job might do ...... but without worrying about increased mortgage payments for the next house up, or being able to afford to upgrade car with no finance AND have the holiday.
My logic is that if you do too much that's outside the bounds of reality, whatever that is for you, then folk will notice. So, depends how much you want to make it obvious or not.

Thereafter I'd split between charity and family / friends ...... exact split is varying constantly!

Money might not buy you happiness, but it could buy me a house, houses for my loved ones, a fund for all the kids of the family to go to uni/ start up in a trade/ etc, a pension fund, really decent white goods and furniture to last for years and years, peace of mind knowing I'd never need to win Peter to pay Paul again and that I could help my friends and family when they needed it... I've been poor and unhappy, being rich and unhappy would be preferable to that.

I think a friend of mine may have won a decent amount due to recent changes in their life but I’d never ask her and she is very private so wouldn’t tell anyone.

We were in a syndicate at work and one person bought our Euromillions tickets on Friday... they never returned to work ever again. It’s more probable that we didn’t win but there’s always that ‘what if’? We checked the website and it did say there was 1 UK winner of the jackpot that week...!

I won £40k several years ago. It came at a time when we had been so broke for many, many years that I had cried in Tesco at Christmas because we couldn't even afford a tin of Roses much less presents for the kids. It was spent on a nearly new car (ours was dead), a holiday in France (we booked a mobile home on a little French holiday park) we drove there and back and the rest was put away and used as and when needed. I don't have a penny of it left but it was lovely while I had it.

No, but I'm planning to win it on Tuesday.

I know two lots of Euromillions millionaire raffle winners, where the prize is £1m.

First was my ex-DPs mate, he found out on NYE, he and his wife and kids were on their arsebones, so it was a timely and welcome win. He bought them a house, cars, a boat, gave money to family and paid for a load of friends to go glamping / VIP at a music festival. He invited me and my then DP, was incredibly generous, but it started to get showy and vulgar, he literally wouldn't let anyone buy a drink all weekend, we'd already had him spend £1k on tickets and a tipi, he then asked me what band tee I wanted, I said I didn't want one thank you (I'd only met him once and didn't feel comfortable accepting gifts), but he went off and bought me merchandise anyway. He then spent the entire weekend hanging off of me and trying to hold my hand (bear in mind he was married and a friend of my BF), turned out he was off his face all weekend on three different drugs and ended up taking himself off to hospital on the last day due to the ill-effects.

A few months after the festival, he messaged me to see if I wanted a trip on his boat. I said I'd ask my BF, as he worked funny hours. He then replied, "No, just us two." Ewww! I declined.

I split with BF a short while later, we are friends still and went to a gig together a few weeks back. We talked about that festival and I asked whatever happened to his friend, he said he spunked all the remaining money on cocaine, got into debt with scary dealers and had to move away! I told him about his friend cracking on to me and he said he'd heard the same reports from other woman in their social circle. Poor wife eh?

The other winner was a syndicate at work. Split the £1m, got about £80k each, one person had left the syndicate a month before the win (gutted!) and two people left their jobs after they won.

Only won small prizes, nothing major.

My old line managers wife’s sister (long winded!) won the £1mil raffle about 2 years ago I think. Apparently she gave some to one sister in the form of a car, but not his wife. The amount of whinging I had to listen to on a regular basis was amazing. He seemed pretty put out.

Right now I’d love to win enough for our own house, a car (doesn’t have to be brand new) and a holiday. I’d be happy with that.

Once won £125 for four numbers. Often used to get £10, but when they changed it to £25 for 3 numbers it hasn't happened as much. I wouldn't tell anyone if we won a large amount - well not immediately anyway!

I don't think I'd move if I won a million. I love my house. I'd redecorate everywhere and buy all new furniture though. I might not give up work either but I'd certainly cut my hours! Trip to disneyworld florida would be my first purchase and a nice new car - something like a merc or audu bit a ferrari or anything!

That should say: Merc or audi not a ferrari - damn autocorrect!