How do you stop your life being ruined by a lottery win??

[Foliageeverywhere122]

Inspired by the euromillions thread!

Ever the optimist, I started thinking about how exciting it would be if I won...and then started thinking about all those news articles you see in the daily fail about people who claim their lives were ruined by it.

So how do you actually enjoy a lottery win? Has anyone won (or inherited) a large sum of money and has advice? :D

I often think of this, even though I stopped doing the lottery ages ago.

I think it would lead to so many problems if you won a huge amount. Even with a smaller amount, could you really hold on to a couple of million while your friends and family looked at you with expectant eyes? And if you gave them some, you can bet your life it wouldn't be enough for some of them. And then that would lead to stress. "It's alright for you" would be said again and again.

Keep it secret.

Tell no one.

I'd give it a damn good try, but.

Keep working or volunteering? I think having too much time on your hands is really bad for you.

Tell literally no one. It means you can't spread your good luck around, but it also means you can't be taken for a ride.

Never won the lotto but have had a hefty inheritance. It didn’t ruin anything for us. It was a bit weird getting it because it meant that our much lived grandad was really gone😢 All I did was exactly what he would have wanted me to do. I got on the property ladder and only needed a small mortgage.

Just a side note, any lottery winners who have this fear, I am here to help. I will take the burden of that win for you. Just say the word and I will send details for a PayPal transfer

You don’t tell people how much you’ve won. Out and out lie about the amount. Sit down and think about who has helped you when you were at your lowest and also cheered you on when things went well for you. There are those that support you when you’re down, but get jealous when you’re up.

Help the really small charities, but in a quiet way. Buy a place that is animal friendly and adopt elderly animals, so they don’t spent the last years of their lives in shelters. Hire help, if you need it. I think if you quietly help others, even without them knowing it’s you, then you will get more satisfaction out of that.

If it gets too much, go and do voluntary work with people who have a lot less than you, so you get a better appreciation for what you have.

Yes! I definitely think you must tell NO ONE (but must be bloody hard to keep a secret??) and keep working in a job you enjoy

Keep working in some capacity.
Don’t flash the cash
Tell nobody
Change parts of your life (houses/cars/holidays) gradually
Save for your own retirement
Give to charity

@AnytimeIsWineTime

Never won the lotto but have had a hefty inheritance. It didn’t ruin anything for us. It was a bit weird getting it because it meant that our much lived grandad was really gone😢 All I did was exactly what he would have wanted me to do. I got on the property ladder and only needed a small mortgage.

Just a side note, any lottery winners who have this fear, I am here to help. I will take the burden of that win for you. Just say the word and I will send details for a PayPal transfer

You’re an incredibly thoughtful person. Do you want it in small sums, or would you want the lot in one go?

I’m just away to look down the back of the sofa. 😁

I'll let you know when my numbers come up

Keep it secret .. donate privately. Obviously people would guess that something had changed when we could buy land to build our own home, and we stopped driving round in elderly battered old cars... but I reckon I could help out all my family members quietly, donate masive amounts to the causes that I currently donate to, and my family are not the sort to shout about it.

I love that 10 mins dreaming (only do the lotto on rare occasions tho!) about how I could do so much...

@AnytimeIsWineTime

Just a side note, any lottery winners who have this fear, I am here to help. I will take the burden of that win for you. Just say the word and I will send details for a PayPal transfer

A true saint on earth

As others have said, keep it secret. Don’t be in the tabloids holding a big cheque. Don’t get into cocaine and give up your job. Try and do something worthwhile with the money. Set up a charitable foundation where the money actually goes to the people or animals that you’re trying to help, instead of big salaries for the ceo etc

Don't play or tell no-one

I think I read an article years ago, probably in The Economist, describing global studies showing that a lottery win amplified your life (for good or bad).

If you were broadly happy with your life before then the win would make you happier in the long run.

If you were broadly unhappy with your life before then the win would make you even more unhappy in the long run.

I think it was like having a baby: you think it will save a bad relationship but actually makes it worse; any flaws are amplified by it.

You don't tell anyone, ever. You also don't buy yachts until you can drive them (I have a recurring dream that I win the lottery, buy a yacht and crash it quite badly into some cliffs on the first outing, with me stood at the helm in a Captains hat shouting "port bough, port bough" with authority).

I don't have any advice but it's interesting! I read a novel about a 16yo winning the lottery. She had a meeting to discuss whether she wanted to go public. My first thought was 'clearly you would keep it a secret' but then it talked about how people would be suspicious of where your money came from. I reckon you might actually be better off in the long run 'only' winning a couple of million, buy a nice house mortgage free so your outgoings are less and you can work less, give some to family and friends and put some in the bank for holidays and the finer things. I think there is a balance between having enough money you can buy nice things and not need to worry but not having so much money you lose all sense of perspective.

Usually by picking different numbers than the ones that come up in the draw, in my experience. :/

@TheNestedIf

Usually by picking different numbers than the ones that come up in the draw, in my experience. :/

Great tip. I do this too

A young Scottish teenager won a huge amount on the lottery and she was on five live radio last year saying that ' it ruined her life' and the lottery people didn't help her enough ! She became depressed and people fell out with her and it all sounded a bit sad. She bought some buy to let properties , but she didn't sound very happy about any of it.
I often wonder if she found peace in the end.
Maybe it's better to win when your older ( I live in hope!)

My mind says to keep to keep it secret WHEN I win tonight.

My heart could not sit on the money secretly and not give some to my siblings. Of course doing that means the news will get out somehow.

I might half-lie and claim I had high risk high reward investments that paid out big against all expectations. Mind you, nobody would expect me to share that money, though they would believe I had such investments.

At that level of money I think you’d need to do something productive with it or have a plan. I’m fairly sure it wouldn’t ruin my life. I think sometimes the problems happen when people who aren’t brilliant at financial management or have addictive personalities etc win. To manage £100m well takes a fair amount of skill that not everyone will have.

£1m would be a completely different beast. I could easily use it well without telling anyone. We’d just pay off the mortgage, pay for private school and have nice holidays.

You keep it absolutely secret!

Yes I agree , tell only close family but even then don't say how much that way whatever you decide to give away they will be happy . If they ask say it's enough .
I'd plan things slowly before I leave my job .
I like my job but I'd like time to do things working full time doesn't give you a lot of time .
I'd definitely get financial advice before I spent anything but I'd love to help my family/ friends and charity's out .