Win the Powerball, what would you change?

[W2R]

I won the Powerball! (JUST the Powerball)
$4 will buy some paper plates!

lol, this explains how little I know about Powerball. I had the Powerplay option, so I actually won $12! Paper plate (singular) for everyone!

Woo-hoo! Let the good times roll.

 

[travelover]

I see three of twelve recent topics are on powerball.

Are we so shallow for so much attention to this topic?

Well, nothing much is going on in the stock market.

 

[jim584672]

I would surround myself with a posse, give them gold chains, buy them houses. Start a sketchy business based on a dumb idea. Put a few million on red or black, just for the fun of it. End up on TV as the guy who won and is now broke.

 

[calmloki]

See, now this is why my market skills are much like my musical ability - I didn't spend real money on the lottery and am not sure whether a woo-hoo! from W2R counts as a Whee! (or whether Whee! is a sell or buy signal).

 

[RunningBum]

I see three of twelve recent topics are on powerball.

Are we so shallow for so much attention to this topic?

It's entertainment. Even if I don't play, it's kind of fun to read what others would do with that kind of money. It also confirms that I wouldn't want that kind of money to fall into my lap.

For topics that bug me and keep popping up, I click on "Ignore Thread" under Thread Tools. This isn't to be snarky at you or anything. I really do get annoyed at times when I see a topic on the latest American Idol or a show like that continually popping up when I care nothing about it, so I put the thread on ignore and never have to be bothered by it no matter how many times it is updated and how long it lives.

I went to a party last night and expected it to be a hot topic, but heard nothing. Of course I was hanging out with other runners and that's pretty much all we talked about, except a bit about the football playoffs.

 

[W2R]

See, now this is why my market skills are much like my musical ability - I didn't spend real money on the lottery and am not sure whether a woo-hoo! from W2R counts as a Whee! (or whether Whee! is a sell or buy signal).

Nah, it doesn't count; besides, it's way past time for a Wh***!!! It's hold onto your hat time on Wall Street I suspect.

As for powerball, it seems like a fun topic to get our minds off the market. I don't buy tickets, though, because I would just lose my money.

 

[jabbahop]

I would surround myself with a posse, give them gold chains, buy them houses. Start a sketchy business based on a dumb idea. Put a few million on red or black, just for the fun of it. End up on TV as the guy who won and is now broke.

Or say that happened so people stop asking for money or kidnapping your family members


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[Spanky]

What would you change in your life?

Move to the SF Bay Area or Hawaii and a lot more travel. Cost of living is extremely high, but the weather climate is almost ideal.

 

[FI by 2024]

Move to the SF Bay Area or Hawaii and a lot more travel. Cost of living is extremely high, but the weather climate is almost ideal.

The fact that you mention COL when talking about what you'd do with hundreds of millions of dollars sums up what I love about this board. We all work to have more than the average American, but once we've achieved "more" we don't become stupid.


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[MJ]

Hire body guards.

Worry about being kidnapped, or relatives being kidnapped for few million ransom.

In some ways its too much money, hard to even think how to spend it.

As I wrote on another thread, be sure to hire a team of trustworthy and very expensive bodyguards, with the current 1.3 billion jackpot, you would be now be a 1/2 billionaire after taxes.

 

[samclem]

We all work to have more than the average American, but once we've achieved "more" we don't become stupid.

Ha! Speak for yourself!

If I win the money, I'll buy myself a couple of senators and a few congressmen. Then the fun will start.

 

[travelover]

...........If I win the money, I'll buy myself a couple of senators and a few congressmen. Then the fun will start.

Why think small? Run for president!

 

[zerogravity]

How does one go about playing powerball anyway?
I have never bought a lottery ticket.


--ZG

 

[MichaelB]

How does one go about playing powerball anyway?
I have never bought a lottery ticket.

Buying a ticket certainly does improve the odds of winning

I've never bought a ticket either so I can't help you there. From the news reports it's a lot like Disney World. You have to stand in line for a long while, then once it's over you feel kind of let-down, and wish you had spent your time and money doing something else.

Here's the website. Powerball - How To Play

 

[samclem]

Why think small? Run for president!

I could get my feet wet with a mayorship, I hear that there's at least one that could be had pretty cheap. I think that headache would cure any personal ambition I'd have to hold office. Better to be the "idea guy" than to be the person who has to actually implement 'em.

 

[Fishingmn]

Sheepishly admits I have a spreadsheet that outlines finances and a plan for winning. Gotta do something to provide entertainment for what is purely an imaginary fantasy. Current plan -

- Hire Attorney/Accountant
- Change #'s, Install Security, Hire security company for time of announcement
- Contact family members - plan on giving % to siblings
- Claim winnings (can't be anonymous in MN)
- Set up charitable foundation with 30% of winnings to avoid taxes - give away money for a living going forward to causes (not individuals)
- Join the MN Council on Foundations and learn how to run new venture
- Sell off rental properties (lawsuit waiting to happen)
- Buy lot, build very nice rambler and probably a condo downtown as party crash pad
- Instead of giving money to friends we would just buy first class experiences for us to share. This would include travel, plays, dining & suites at sporting events. Would buy suites for Vikings and MN Wild. Wouldn't be flying coach that's for sure.

All that said, I would definitely be fearful of the changes that this may bring. All of the requests for money but mostly the impact on relationships with friends. We have it pretty good right now.

 

[sengsational]

Oh, I didn't know the annuity was backloaded. Probably would take the lump sum then.

I wonder in truth how many on here would actually come back to post if they won this amount? Would you? I like to think I would but there would be so many new different opportunities. Pretty much never needing to worry about money, insurance costs, retirement would negate a lot of the fun of reading this forum. I might make one post revealing my true name but I doubt anyone on here would believe me. I am not even sure how you would prove you won to people.

I'd create a new private forum, invite the best and brightest from this forum to argue about what the best actions would be. Of course compensation would make it w*rk, so I wouldn't be able to pay anyone. But I would create a local "teacher Nobel prize" in your community. A self-sustaining endowment that would award outstanding teachers.

 

[kcowan]

I had the Powerplay option, so I actually won $12! Paper plate (singular) for everyone!

DW might go for a newer model dishwasher.

(Did I mention that I am the dishwasher!)

 

[kcowan]

With the current 1.3 billion jackpot, you would be now be a 1/2 billionaire after taxes.

Move to a low tax jurisdiction to avoid the income taxes on $500,000,000.00 while negotiating the total tax bill to Uncle Sam.

 

[RunningBum]

Move to a low tax jurisdiction to avoid the income taxes on $500,000,000.00 while negotiating the total tax bill to Uncle Sam.

With that kind of money I would most certainly live wherever I wanted without worry about the tax rate. If you've got more money than you would ever know what to do with, why compromise on where to live just to have more money you don't know what to do with?

 

[samclem]

But I would create a local "teacher Nobel prize" in your community. A self-sustaining endowment that would award outstanding teachers.

Oh, that would be a bag of woe. "Outstanding" by objective measures (test score improvements--tests are not very popular these days) or via nomination packages, screening boards, fact checkers, interviews, etc. Lots of personalities, politics, etc.

Maybe drop by each actual classroom in the district and give each actual teacher $1000 to spend on whatever they think would be most useful for their classroom and students. Tell 'em there will be more next year if they get results, and that if they are interested in another go they can send your staff a 2 page (max) report on how they spent the money, what it produced, and next year's plan. Let vendors of all kinds know you'll be sprinkling around a few million dollars among teachers in that district. They'll get some good ideas and resources out there.

 

[FI by 2024]

With that kind of money I would most certainly live wherever I wanted without worry about the tax rate. If you've got more money than you would ever know what to do with, why compromise on where to live just to have more money you don't know what to do with?

+1 Quite right.


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[kombat]

That's a life-ruining amount of money and I would never want it.

 

[dtbach]

That's a life-ruining amount of money and I would never want it.

I would want it but really? a 1 in 295 million chance? I would think most of us on this forum know that that is as close to 0 as one can get without it actually being 0.

 

[FI by 2024]

- The odds on Powerball are 1 in 292.2M.

- There is a 100% chance that someone will win the Powerball jackpot, be it on 1/13/16 or Saturday or next week or next month, barring a catastrophic event. "Someone's gotta win."


Can we all just accept that both are true so we can stop belaboring this point? If you want to play, play. If you don't want to play, don't play.


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