To think winning £110M overnight would solve a lot of problems but bring a whole set of new ones?

[SereneFinch]

Someone in the UK won £110M last night and I was just thinking about how they’re feeling this morning.

All your money worries are gone, you can buy a nice house, quit your job etc.

But I wonder if those problems are replaced with new ones. Some people in your life might be jealous. Or expect handouts and get angry about who gets what.

And then your DC. Do you tell them they still need to do their homework? That they’ll still need to have a job/career one day?

I’m not saying it wouldn’t be great, I'm just wondering if it swaps one set of problems for another.

Can I be honest, I’d hate it. Don’t get me wrong, I’d LOVE a lottery win. All that money to help my family out and lead a better life. But that much money would freak me out. Just a few million would be great.

I think that’s a bit sad and strange. I’ve a few friends/acquaintances with this level of wealth (although it’s been passed down to them through generations or earned rather than won) and all their children are still expected to be high achievers, go to top universities and have meaningful careers.

Oh I know a phenomenal small charity that does amazing research that would be able to really push boundaries I would donate a big chunk to them and the rest I’d pay off mortgages and pay school fees etc for family. I’d invest the rest rather than spend. I’d family trusts for children’s education. Money would help privately treat my mum who has an advanced cancer.

@RikthePoet I was agreeing with you

Good Lord, only mumsnet could turn winning the lottery into a miserable, negative experience

🤯🙄

I think one should be careful of donating a large amount to a small charity. They wouldn’t have the infrastructure to deal with it and it could cause a lot of problems.

Exactly! I could “fill my days” with absolutely no problem at all and do so many fun and meaningful enriching things.
Feeling like lottery winners should have to pass a test before they get their winnings 😂 can you describe 10 great things you’ll do?!

I think its too much

Don’t play then. I can imagine a hundred ways to improve my life. I’d be very good at being very rich.

I wouldn't tell anyone how much or when I won, but I would have to tell them eventually that I won something on the lottery, the only way to realistically avoid having to do that is to not spend any of the money which defeats the point. My plan has always been to hide how much I win, no-one knows what my salary is now or how much I have in savings so I don't see any reason why that should change with winnings. Even if I "only" won one million, I'd still only say to anyone the most I'd won is £500k.

I'd keep quiet but I'm not sure how I could explain away any degree of spending as I live a modest life on a lowish single income. I'd have to say it was a win on a smaller scale. I'd immediately retire, pay off my mortgage and start looking for a house with a rural view, my children would get homes and the grands would get an education of their parents choosing. The devil in me would hire someone to ensure both EXH's experience a bit of bad luck- manure on the drive, flat tyres, that sort of thing - just a little mischievous payback. I think perhaps the saddest thing would be that as a single person you'd probably be suspicious of any potential romantic partner. However I also take comfort that in an alternate parallel universe I have won that £110m and am married to David Morrisey or Andrew McCarthy.

Red fairy
Not heard the name Andrew McCarthy for many years.
He was gorgeous in all those silly 80s films he was in.

Yeah but look at celebrity kids and I don’t want to point any fingers, I’m guessing some of them work hard and create a good life for themselves but we hear of those that struggle to find purpose. I’d worry that it would fill my kids life with empty nonsense, destroy their relationships and friendships and ultimately lead to misery. We would not tell them.

You can’t explain those things away by the odd bonus and normal investments.

But you absolutely can. You don't need to explain it away as the “odd bonus” or a few ordinary savings accounts. Look at bit.coin, Google, Nvidia, Amazon etc. Someone who invested a relatively modest amount years ago could have made a very substantial amount of money. You could simply say you've had some very successful investments over the years.

And unless someone has access to your bank account, how exactly are they supposed to know whether you're telling the truth? You don't have to provide a forensic breakdown of your finances to satisfy their curiosity.

And even if someone suspected I'd won the lottery, so what? They can’t know for certain.

I’d also have absolutely no problem lying about it. It’s not information anyone else is entitled to in the first place, so I wouldn’t feel remotely guilty about protecting my privacy.

But some of us were children or at uni when you needed to invest in Amazon & Google to make multiple millions now! Plus people can work out how much your house costs.

I have had some very successful investments which will allow me to help my dc and hopefully retire earlier, they won’t give me a 10m plus lifestyle.

No idea why my post was hidden!

If you mentioned bit.coin thats why it was flagged

But it really doesnt matter if anyone believes you or not about the investments- like, who cares?

I dont get this obsession with telling everyone everything or feeling that you have to!! NOONE has the right to know where your finances came from and if you dont tell them, they cant ever be sure it was from the lottery.

Let them wonder about it- the world isnt going to end just because they dont have access to your bank account details. The consequences of telling the world about your win are going to be far more stressful than a couple of nosey friends or acquaintances gossiping about where your money really came from!

I have thought about this a lot. I would, quit work, invest half for my kids immediately, get them the best education money can buy. Then I'd spend my days working out how to do the most good with that money, researching small charities and ensuring their security. I would of course have great holidays in between.

I wouldn’t tell anyone! I’d put some money in trust funds for family, then start a Foundation and start giving it away to small charities

Basically do what that Irish woman did when she won over £100 m - she’s given over half away already

I can’t @ you for some reason but yes I said that word.

I wouldn’t tell everyone but I would tell my family & close friends something, as I said I would want to take them on the ride with me & help them. And nobody needs access to my bank account to see my lifestyle has significantly upgraded, most of my friends are from school so they know me really well.

I could hide 5 mill or maybe a bit more due to my background but not such a huge sum. I don’t see the point of a life of lying to people close to me eg I holiday with family & friends every year so some
of those trips would be upgraded.

Also maybe it’s a generational or cultural thing but I discuss salaries, mortgage rates, investments etc with friends and family. It’s not such a taboo.

I don’t see the point of a life of lying to people close to me eg I holiday with family & friends every year so some

Fair enough - then tell all and sundry. I personally would not as I am of the view that its noone else's business

I dont ever question my close friends about where their money comes from so it wouldnt be an issue for me 🤷‍♀️

I would definitely not tell anyone.

I would probably stay where I am, my property is accessible and I like my neighbours.

I would set up some sort of a 'front', maybe a book shop. I would own it but not tell anyone that I would claim to be an employee. I would employ people in the shop

I would get pay rises and bonuses that I might treat people near me to nice things.

I would also set up some form of grant making organisation.

The area I live in is fairly deprived and there are things I think the area would benefit from. The local community centre / community shop has plans to rebuild, I think they would get a grant for the full amount to rebuild.

I might set up a housing association and build accessible accommodation.