Gyroscopic Investing

Is that weird? I used to snicker when people said they didn't want to win, but I'm doing fine without it and I'm afraid that with 475 million $US (the current take), I would not be fine.

That kind of money can destroy marriages and family relationships. I'm afraid that such a huge sum would take over my life like the ring in Lord of the Rings and bring out the worst in people like in John Steinbeck's. 'The Pearl.'  I'd spend all my time trying to keep my winnings a secret, and then when the secret gets out, trying to cope with that. Seems like a lot of bother.

5 MIL would be nice but no, this is just too much.
Anyone else feel the same?

This could be presumptuous but I don't think most people are thinking as far as you do and only realize this after the fact. If you think this before you even win, your interest in playing the lottery probably diminishes significantly.

Are you kidding?  Heck yes I'd want it.  Somebody would offer you $475 million on a platter and you'd turn it down?

I don't think I'd want to win it either, for the same reasons as dualstow.

I totally disagree dualstow.

I think if you're a fairly logical and intelligent person before you win, you're likely to be that afterward.  I think most of the sensational jackpot winner stories you hear about (rags to riches back to rags) are people that couldn't manage money and make sound decisions before they won, and just continued that trend afterward.

Hopefully I can prove your theory wrong someday.....

Maybe a good compromise if you win, is for you to keep $5m and give me the rest to destroy my life with

clacy wrote: I totally disagree dualstow.

I think if you're a fairly logical and intelligent person before you win, you're likely to be that afterward.  I think most of the sensational jackpot winner stories you hear about (rags to riches back to rags) are people that couldn't manage money and make sound decisions before they won, and just continued that trend afterward.

Hopefully I can prove your theory wrong someday.....

Maybe a good compromise if you win, is for you to keep $5m and give me the rest to destroy my life with

But isn't it not logical and intelligent to think you're going to win the lottery anyways? I realize that smart people play the lottery, it's just that you have such a low probability of winning, you are your own worst enemy towards providing for your future monetarily.

To clacy's point, I think I'm in a better position to cope with my winnings -- and I mean 'cope' without a trace of facetiousness -- than, say, a homeless person who suddenly strikes it rich. There is at least one documentary on that: filmmakers give homeless guy a million dollars and he has a good time before becoming homeless again.

At the same time, I don't think it would be worth the anguish.

Xan: if I could take 5 MIL off that platter I would do it happily, but if it's an all-or-nothing deal, I would seriously consider choosing nothing. I suppose the devil is in the details, e.g. could I do it without getting my name in the papers.

What I worry about is my family becoming a kidnapping and ransom target.  If you have half a billion dollars, you become a very tempting target for theft and plunder.

Yes, I could spend some of the money in order to make my life a fortress.  But I enjoy flying under the radar, and a jackpot like this would spell the end of this approach to living.

But If I can keep it secret, there's no question -- give me that money! 

aren't there legal ways around all of the "fame that comes with fortune" problems? incorporating before claiming the ticket and having it make the claim for you, putting the money in a trust of some kind etc?
I would probably prefer a 1.5 to 3 mill jackpot, enough to do all that i wanted but not quite as big a bother to deal with the question of what to do with it all...  but i wont turn down any windfall i am lucky enough to have.. 

Lone Wolf wrote: What I worry about is my family becoming a kidnapping and ransom target.

Definitely. File that under Steinbeck/Pearl.

dualstow wrote: Definitely. File that under Steinbeck/Pearl.

Man, you are right on with that one.

When I read "The Pearl" I was in high school.  Now that I have kids, I think that story would really harsh my Powerball-winning buzz.

Concur on the burden of others knowing, but I think I could figure out a way to keep that from being too big a problem. There are places where semi-billionaires could relax reasonably comfortably...

I've had many trials and tribulations in my life.

If God chooses to put this burden on me (it's now $550 mil as I write this), I will do my best to overcome the adversity.

Anybody see the 60-minutes piece on Bill Gates? The richest man in the world seems to be dealing very well with a lot more money than this. He has a plan to eradicate three diseases before he dies.

Yes, there are rich people in the world. That's not exactly the point, but sure, some people can handle sudden riches -- like that from the lotto, not from building up a huge company over time -- better than others can.

For what it's worth, my dad bought a ticket for each (nuclear) family member today.

dualstow wrote:For what it's worth, my dad bought a ticket for each (nuclear) family member today.

...Which you've since torn up, right?  :-)

Wonder what the going rate is on a Space Shuttle, I heard a couple of those were for sale recently.

Xan wrote:

dualstow wrote:For what it's worth, my dad bought a ticket for each (nuclear) family member today.

...Which you've since torn up, right?  :-)

Reminds me of the first winner of the Florida lottery. He was an elder in a church who taught Sunday School and he was known for being outspoken against the evils of the Lottery. When he was the first winner he claimed he found the ticket in a parking lot. Even if that was true (which I doubt) you have to wonder why he didn't just tear it up if he thought it was so evil.

dualstow wrote: Is that weird? I used to snicker when people said they didn't want to win, but I'm doing fine without it and I'm afraid that with 475 million $US (the current take), I would not be fine.

That kind of money can destroy marriages and family relationships. I'm afraid that such a huge sum would take over my life like the ring in Lord of the Rings and bring out the worst in people like in John Steinbeck's. 'The Pearl.'  I'd spend all my time trying to keep my winnings a secret, and then when the secret gets out, trying to cope with that. Seems like a lot of bother.

5 MIL would be nice but no, this is just too much.
Anyone else feel the same?

I think you're making a very good point.

I enjoy working for a living.  Working gives me a sense of purpose, and I enjoy watching my savings grow. 

I'm not sure what I would do if I suddenly struck it rich like that. 

AdamA wrote:
I think you're making a very good point.

I enjoy working for a living.  Working gives me a sense of purpose, and I enjoy watching my savings grow. 

I'm not sure what I would do if I suddenly struck it rich like that.

I have plenty of hobbies I can blow money on and spend my retirement doing. I'd be raising livestock with my father, traveling with my wife and family, and home schooling my kids. All on about 6000 acres somewhere secluded. Days spent fishing on my private lake with family sounds mighty tolerable.

The lotto ticket is part of the VP.  I don't think any of us would throw away a massively successful VP long shot.

But honestly, if I won, the second VP bet I would make is to find an island and clone T-Rexs from blood extracted out of mosquitos preserved in Amber.

I think I would take the $550 million jackpot.

If I could claim the prize anonymously or through a trust, I would do that. That would avoid all the crazy publicity and potential targeting. If not, I would probably just change my identity after claiming the prize. For $550 million, I can put up with that kind of inconvenience and hire a couple of full-time bodyguards for a few years until things settle down.

Regardless of what path we take in life, we have various kinds of problems to deal with. Dealing with a $550 million windfall is not the worst kind of problem to have to deal with.

AdamA wrote: I think you're making a very good point.

I enjoy working for a living.  Working gives me a sense of purpose, and I enjoy watching my savings grow. 

I'm not sure what I would do if I suddenly struck it rich like that.

I haven't enjoyed my job in many years so I keep looking forward to the moment not many years from now when I have finally met my retirement nest egg goal and can walk away from it. Given the uncooperative nature of the economy lately it has been quite a struggle so I suspect there will be a special sense of satisfaction accompanying it.

If I win the lottery tonight, I know it will rob me of that moment.

But then again I could also get laid off or die before I get there so I'll gladly take the money if it comes tonight.

Xan wrote:

dualstow wrote:For what it's worth, my dad bought a ticket for each (nuclear) family member today.

...Which you've since torn up, right?  :-)

(clears throat and stammers) Well, uh, they're all printed on the same sheet of paper...so we'll see what happens. 

Dualstow makes some good points. Coming into a sudden fortune that you weren't prepared for (i.e. an inheritance maybe) is something that will change your life dramatically, and not always for the better. It will effect your relationships with family, friends and coworkers. Most people who have gone through it have had serious emotional and in some cases psychological issues. Even for people like those on this board who probably would not need professional investing advice, it is bound to create problems.

Whatever vices you have, and we all have some, money is one of the great facilitators. Drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex, avarice, laziness, gluttony or just about any one you can think of, and money feeds it.

I bought a ticket (just the $2 minimum). But I have to admit, I am a bit frightened about what might happen if lightening struck and I did win.

Fortunately (or not), I know that it's a problem I am not going to have to worry about.

Now you will excuse me, I need to get back to shopping for my new retirement villa.

What do you think of this one?

10, 13, 14, 22, 52 , Powerball number of 11.