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zzyzzx
2014 May 7, 12:07am
When I clicked on this thread, I was expecting this to be about John Bobbit.
There may be "good" shocks and "bad" shocks.
Since often the same people who have poorly managed their affairs like to play the lottery, they do as badly as your average movie star or pro athlete managing their money afterwards.
Since often the same people who have poorly managed their affairs like to play the lottery, they do as badly as your average movie star or pro athlete managing their money afterwards.
Agree, you start hiring your "guy who does" this and your "girl who does" that. It's not just a cleaning lady, and it turns into having your whole paid entourage accompany you around. The worst thing you can do in these scenarios is overcommit cash flow (especially when you don't invest or don't know how to invest your money properly).
That's why these people's accountants tell them to lease overpriced things instead of buying them -- at least if they're going to make a stupid financial decision, they can get out of them more easily than having illiquid assets.
Rin
2014 May 7, 5:25am
If one comes into a lot of money, like winning a $50M lottery, the worst thing to do is to stay exactly the same.
What you need to realize is that even if a law firm goes between you and the lottery commission, someone will eventually find out about you.
Thus, move to either Australia or NZ. You can use a fraction of your money to get an investor class visa, if you're thinking of making it permanent. Now, you're physically hard to reach, by anyone on the North American continent.
Next, buy a mix of OZ/NZ bonds, w/ better interest rates than at home, and tobacco/util stocks with regular dividends. The money from those dividends, some of which you spend on your daily expenses, have the rest re-invested into buying more of those equities. This is known as a DRIP investment strategy. Eventually, your pile will start to grow and in a few years, your compounding earnings will easily beat out the amount of money you spend on your daily expenses.
Then, take advance engineering courses ala carte and learn some martial arts, so that your free time isn't boundless and that you have some focused structure in your life. If you can adapt in this manner, then you will not end up like Anna Nicole Smith.
Tenpoundbass
2014 May 7, 6:47am
Nothing would be more disappointing than hitting a Lottery with a pool of about 1 million dollars. Then finding out two other people had the winning numbers as well.
By time taxes, a few lifestyle upgrades and a couple months of paying your bills. You'd be broke again. 300K wouldn't be life changing money, I don't think anyone should consider 1 or 2 million, as life changing money.
Unless you used that money that actually changed your life. Like building a business, going to school, having the money to play with to invest smartly.
But it wont change your life, you definitely shouldn't quit your job over that alone.
Elena and I always have a lively discussion on what is the worst shock to one's system. She was an oncologist or cancer doctor for many years. She often had to give patients the shocking news that they had terminal cancer and a finite time left on earth.
Elena believes this is the worst shock that a person can get. Common sense would say that she is right.I'm blessed to have very good genes and probably will die of natural cause at some advanced age. Let us assume that I was given the news by my doctor that I had a terminal illness and only a few months to live. Of course it would be bad news. But I would look at it as if I had lost the lottery and became one of the relatively few people to die from cancer or something like that. I would accept the news with resignation, try to spend the remainder of time I had in comfort, and give love to those close to me.
In my 65.5 years on earth I have suffered shocks like being wounded in time of war, a divorce, literally losing every penny of money I had on earth, getting arrested, getting severely injured, etc. What I have found is that the worst shock to one's system is to have little or no money and to all of a sudden (perhaps overnight) have a lot of money. Some years ago the television series Numbers did a show on people who win millions of dollars in lotteries. They did not end up living happily ever after. A lot of them ended up dead broke and in tragic situations. People literally go crazy when they get large sums of money in their hands. They irrationally spend money. They dump long-time domestic partners. They lavish money on friends. They become victims to fraud artists and Ponzi schemes.
I know of two super-rich men who had the right idea of what to do when they got a lot of money. Both of these men died of old age in a peaceful manner.B.J. Pevehouse was one of these people. He was a wealthy oil man in Midland, Texas. Anton Rupert was the other man. Before he died he was the wealthiest man in South Africa. Both of these men treated all of the money that came to them as "just a bunch of zeros on a piece of paper." They continued to live in the same house they had owned for years. They drove modest cars. The dressed the same.They bought few luxury items. Both of these men invested their money wisely and made a lot of money for themselves and many others. They also contributed a lot of money to worthy charities.