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Old 12-17-2013, 03:13 PM   #41
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Anything over about $400,000 per year (depending on your filing status) puts you in the highest tax bracket. So taking the lump sum doesnt make you pay any more tax does it? Wouldn't you be much better off taking the lump sum and investing it instead of letting the Lotto people keep it and pay you in installments?
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Old 12-17-2013, 03:15 PM   #42
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The more I think about this, If I won that large a sum, I would keep enough to make our life comfortable and give the rest to Veteran's organizations to use for the soldiers and families in need that served protecting our freedom.

(I would still set up a 900 number though, just for kicks).
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Old 12-17-2013, 03:24 PM   #43
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What I have always wanted them to do is change the numbers/odds in a way where MORE people can win.....just less money. If a 100-200 people could win a $500k-$1 million.....better odds and still a butt load of money. Or have some version of that like maybe 20 people win a million, 50 people win $200K, 200 people win $50K.....etc .
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Old 12-17-2013, 03:26 PM   #44
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Supposedly 6 states allow winners to remain anonymous. They are SC, KS, ND, MD, OH, & DE.
My state is not on the list. Darn!

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But I think it would be highly stressful and frustrating to hear demands from extended relatives for money.
I would not mind helping some of our closer relatives. However, I have several cousins that I already avoid, who would come camping out in front of my home, I am afraid.

I guess I will sell my homes, pack up everything into my 25' motorhome and head to NM state campgrounds where they can't find me. Cell phones do not even work in some of those places.

Oh wait! I have to buy some tickets first before I can worry about the above scenario.
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Old 12-17-2013, 03:29 PM   #45
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.....Make a 9 hole golf course....and let only "special" people on it. ..
Reminds me of the Willie Nelson story about him building his own golf course so he could set the course rules. "Take this tough hole here", he said. "It's so tough I made it a par 11, and yesterday I birdied the sucker!"

But back to reality, the odds of winning that jackpot are much worse than ave golfer making 2 consecutive holes-in-one. Since I've not had a single hole-in-one in 40+yrs of golf, I won't even bother dreaming 'bout mega-millions.
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Old 12-17-2013, 03:31 PM   #46
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Winning half a billion dollars would be my idea of a nightmare. Although almost everyone dreams of having that kind of money, the complications it would cause would far outweigh the benefits - at least to me.

Good luck to those of you who buy a ticket.
I'm willing to find out for myself how bad it is to have a couple hundred million. I bought 1 ticket when I filled up on gas.
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Old 12-17-2013, 03:32 PM   #47
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your good friends and family will treat you different

you will have a bunch of new friends that you can not trust


for protection of the above I will not buy a ticket
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Old 12-17-2013, 03:37 PM   #48
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This is all academic for me since I forgot to buy a ticket.

I think only a couple of states allow the winner to be anonymous. Maryland is one of them. There was an uproar a long time ago when one winner (wisely, I think) took advantage of that.

First thing would be: HIDE. That kind of money brings out the worst in people. In addition to being targeted for every scam, known and unknown, winners and their relatives are also conceivably a target for kidnapping. That means move, all mail goes to a secretarial service, prepaid phone bought with cash, etc. We've actually talked about it in lighter moments and winning would be closely held to the vest.

A local retired sheriff won about $6 million a few years ago. He's given most of it to local charities, paid most of the cost for a new gym for one of the schools, and similar activities. I like that and would do similar stuff.

Waitresses get $100+ tips. DW's nephew and my niece get their mortgages paid off and paid-up 529's for their kids.

Big donations to other charities, like Children's Hospital in Washington, DC where they saved my life when I was an infant.

I like the other's ideas on helping local disaster victims and such.

Other than buying a place in Florida or Hawaii for the winter months I can't think of much that we would want to do differently.
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Old 12-17-2013, 03:52 PM   #49
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Anything over about $400,000 per year (depending on your filing status) puts you in the highest tax bracket. So taking the lump sum doesnt make you pay any more tax does it? Wouldn't you be much better off taking the lump sum and investing it instead of letting the Lotto people keep it and pay you in installments?
But if I take it in installments, I can fill up the lower tax brackets (i.e. those between my income and $400k) every year instead of only in the one year I receive the lump sum payout. The difference may not amount to much for a mega-payout in the hundreds of millions, though.
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Old 12-17-2013, 03:58 PM   #50
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Plus if one screws up and blows an annual installment in just one month, he only has to eat cat food for less than 1 year until the next check comes.

Of course, he can change his mind about the installments and sells his notes for a lump sum to squander it all.
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Old 12-17-2013, 04:02 PM   #51
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But if I take it in installments, I can fill up the lower tax brackets (i.e. those between my income and $400k) every year instead of only in the one year I receive the lump sum payout. The difference may not amount to much for a mega-payout in the hundreds of millions, though.
The only problem with this theory is that I've heard that the Lottery builds in a 3.75% gain into their tables so if you think you can beat that rate of return you are better off taking the lump sum and taking the tax hit all at once.

My plan would be to form a charitable foundation so that I could shield up to 50% of the lump sum from any taxes and use that money as the give away pile.
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Old 12-17-2013, 04:11 PM   #52
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Allow me to be the contrarian who would keep most of it and give just some away.



By the way, a good friend of mine won $44MM in the Virginia lottery a few years ago. As a lump sum it was $26, after taxes $14, split with his GF (with whom he bought the ticket) 'just' $7MM each.

At the time he won he had a net worth in the low seven figures and was 2-3 years from retirement. So this was a big boost, but not a huge game changer in terms of his plans or lifestyle.

About a year after he won, we were having dinner. I asked him what if anything had changed. He said "when I'm at a restaurant and they hand me the wine list, I start at the bottom and read up instead of the other way around".
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Old 12-17-2013, 04:15 PM   #53
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The only problem with this theory is that I've heard that the Lottery builds in a 3.75% gain into their tables so if you think you can beat that rate of return you are better off taking the lump sum and taking the tax hit all at once.

My plan would be to form a charitable foundation so that I could shield up to 50% of the lump sum from any taxes and use that money as the give away pile.
+1 I always thought that the reason most people take the lump sum is that the taxes are not that different because either way you are in the highest brackets but that people believe they can invest it better than the lottery can (and I would think that too).
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Old 12-17-2013, 05:33 PM   #54
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Since I don't play, I'll never know, but... I would either fly first class or use one of the Bizjet companies (like NetJets) when I travel. I'd buy a TownCar or big BMW or Mercedes. Other than that, can't think of many things I'd either like to do more OF or more expensively. Sad... Or is it? YMMV
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Old 12-17-2013, 05:41 PM   #55
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The more I think about this, If I won that large a sum, I would keep enough to make our life comfortable and give the rest to Veteran's organizations to use for the soldiers and families in need that served protecting our freedom.

(I would still set up a 900 number though, just for kicks).
I understand this. The more I think about it, I would not know what to do with that much $$$$. It will just ruin my relationship with all my relatives, family members, friends.

Besides, I am too comfortably settled with my current life style and don't want to reinvent/recreate a new one b/c I just happen to have 1/2 billion dollars. But, then again, dear Lotto god, please give me a chance to reinvent/recreate a new life style ....
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Old 12-17-2013, 05:46 PM   #56
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+1 I always thought that the reason most people take the lump sum is that the taxes are not that different because either way you are in the highest brackets but that people believe they can invest it better than the lottery can (and I would think that too).

And even if you can't do better, you still have removed an opportunity for the state/lottery commission/etc. to say, "oops, we are sorry, we can't pay out this year."
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Old 12-17-2013, 05:53 PM   #57
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Good point.
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Old 12-17-2013, 06:18 PM   #58
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I may be wrong but thought the annual payments stop if you die before they are completed.
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Old 12-17-2013, 06:18 PM   #59
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So, I have to admit that for entertainment purposes, I sometimes spend $2 for a lotto ticket. Even though the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.

Here are the "What would you do?" questions if you won:

Do you continue to handle your own finances? Or go with a financial group of advisers? (for me I would think I would still be frugal enough to not want to pay a fee)
Easy, I would buy one of those Indian gaming casinos.

Where do you put such a large sum of cash? Multiple banks, brokerages, credit unions? Are there specialty banks for the super rich?
Casinos will give me pocket money.

How much do you help your family? Set up trusts to dish out cash on a bi-weekly basis? Give them whatever is currently the tax free amount (frugal bastard)?
They don't get a dime. They have to go out and earn it like me and then ... play the lottery too.

Collect on the winning ticket the next day or wait for a few month(s) for the news to die down?
Wouldn't let a day go by, that's cash flow there.
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NOTE: The above answers are from Rat in Peals Before Swine, I'm just the mouthpiece. I don't buy lottery tickets but Rat does.

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Old 12-17-2013, 06:40 PM   #60
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I have to agree that (now 600+ million) it is too big a sum to win or want to win. I think that would bring way too much unwanted attention. Now if the jackpot was one of the beginner $40 million pots, where believe it or not, seems to not interest people anymore, where you could take a lump sum of $23 million, just under $14 after taxes would be nice.

I'd buy each kid a house. Set up a trust where $50k would be thrown off annually to help them keep from having to have two spouses work or if they could live off that, more power to 'em. Give extended family the gift max without incurring more taxes. And implement the retirement plan.
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