The winner won't get that much. Taxes will be 30-35% depending on the winner's state of residence. If you want to do your own investing and take the cash option, subtract 51%. With big jackpots like this it is very common to have multiple winners because of the shear volume of tickets purchased and the jackpot is split evenly between them, then taxes taken out. If you pick the annuity the lottery office will be investing your money while you get less than 3% of it per year for 35 years. The annual payments are not adjusted for inflation so the total amount will be worth less by the time you get it, if you live that long.
That said, yes, I am buying a ticket. Are you kidding?! That's a life-changing jackpot. What to do with it? Pay debts, gifts to a long list of individuals, set up a foundation to contribute to a list of charities every year. Buy my dream house, kids' college funds, a few trips to show them more of the world, and get a pair of roller skates. Really nice roller skates. :)
Thanks for replying. I can't help myself and have to ask what the definition of "that much" is. *smile* You said "The winner won't get that much," and while I understand that taxes will wipe out half of the winnings, $210,000,000 of $425,000,000 is better than $0.00 of $425,000,000. And even if there are multiple winners, $1,000,000 is better than $0.00, and yes, I'm writing out the numbers to provide perspective. :)
At any rate, the point of my post was to get people to dream. Think big. If no one else won, and there was no such thing as taxes, what would you do if you had $425,000,000? People have forgotten how to dream, and dreams feed our reality. Dreams fuel our motivation and affect our thoughts in positive ways (as long as they are healthy dreams). And since more and more evidence is piling up to prove that our thoughts do affect our reality (power of positive thinking; The Secret; what you think, you become), allowing ourselves to picture what it would be like to have that much money is a powerful weapon to actually attaining wealth.
Heck, if I only matched enough numbers to win $100,000, I'd be ecstatic, but allowing myself to envision the $425M might be what sets the universe up to plop $100K in my hands.
With that said, no doubt, all my debts would be paid off: house, car, student loans, credit cards. All of it. I would donate to the animal shelter. Heck, I might even build an animal rescue shelter. We would renovate our house, add on, build a wraparound deck, and pave the driveway. I would quit my job. No doubt. Why? Because I want to write for a living. I work to finance my writing. But if I didn't have to write, so much more writing would get done. I would return to school and earn a degree in English, emphasis on creative writing and editing. I would study my craft and teach a wider audience what I've learned. And I would travel to Chicago, California (all over), Arizona, New York, Miami, and maybe eventually to England, Italy, and Romania. We would also landscape the yard and buy a vacation home (destination to be determined). Oh, and while I love my Corolla, I'd probaby have to trade up to a BMW or Audi, and buy that black Camaro with the Micah01 vanity plate I've fantasized about for a couple of years. Which means that the detached garage would need a slight overhaul to house the cars.
Oh yes. I've thought about this. I've planned and I've prepared. Because being prepared to receive gets me one step closer to actually receiving.
The winner won't get that much. Taxes will be 30-35% depending on the winner's state of residence. If you want to do your own investing and take the cash option, subtract 51%. With big jackpots like this it is very common to have multiple winners because of the shear volume of tickets purchased and the jackpot is split evenly between them, then taxes taken out. If you pick the annuity the lottery office will be investing your money while you get less than 3% of it per year for 35 years. The annual payments are not adjusted for inflation so the total amount will be worth less by the time you get it, if you live that long.
ReplyDeleteThat said, yes, I am buying a ticket. Are you kidding?! That's a life-changing jackpot. What to do with it? Pay debts, gifts to a long list of individuals, set up a foundation to contribute to a list of charities every year. Buy my dream house, kids' college funds, a few trips to show them more of the world, and get a pair of roller skates. Really nice roller skates. :)
Thanks for replying. I can't help myself and have to ask what the definition of "that much" is. *smile* You said "The winner won't get that much," and while I understand that taxes will wipe out half of the winnings, $210,000,000 of $425,000,000 is better than $0.00 of $425,000,000. And even if there are multiple winners, $1,000,000 is better than $0.00, and yes, I'm writing out the numbers to provide perspective. :)
DeleteAt any rate, the point of my post was to get people to dream. Think big. If no one else won, and there was no such thing as taxes, what would you do if you had $425,000,000? People have forgotten how to dream, and dreams feed our reality. Dreams fuel our motivation and affect our thoughts in positive ways (as long as they are healthy dreams). And since more and more evidence is piling up to prove that our thoughts do affect our reality (power of positive thinking; The Secret; what you think, you become), allowing ourselves to picture what it would be like to have that much money is a powerful weapon to actually attaining wealth.
Heck, if I only matched enough numbers to win $100,000, I'd be ecstatic, but allowing myself to envision the $425M might be what sets the universe up to plop $100K in my hands.
With that said, no doubt, all my debts would be paid off: house, car, student loans, credit cards. All of it. I would donate to the animal shelter. Heck, I might even build an animal rescue shelter. We would renovate our house, add on, build a wraparound deck, and pave the driveway. I would quit my job. No doubt. Why? Because I want to write for a living. I work to finance my writing. But if I didn't have to write, so much more writing would get done. I would return to school and earn a degree in English, emphasis on creative writing and editing. I would study my craft and teach a wider audience what I've learned. And I would travel to Chicago, California (all over), Arizona, New York, Miami, and maybe eventually to England, Italy, and Romania. We would also landscape the yard and buy a vacation home (destination to be determined). Oh, and while I love my Corolla, I'd probaby have to trade up to a BMW or Audi, and buy that black Camaro with the Micah01 vanity plate I've fantasized about for a couple of years. Which means that the detached garage would need a slight overhaul to house the cars.
Oh yes. I've thought about this. I've planned and I've prepared. Because being prepared to receive gets me one step closer to actually receiving.
:)
Happy day, everybody!