Don’t tell me you’re not following the $1.4 billion PowerBall jackpot, and wondering what you’d do with that much money.
If you’re thinking, “I don’t gamble, thank you very much,” then good for you for being so darn wonderful.
But you’re missing out on all the fun of fantasizing about being a billionaire.
Over the weekend, we were at dinner with some friends and, of course, the big old jackpot came up, and then the question, “What would you do with the money?”
Not surprisingly, everyone said the obvious.
Help the poor.
Help my family and friends with this or that.
Invest it.
Get an accountant, an attorney and a financial adviser.
Travel.
Buy a new car.
Seriously?
Even my manicurist shared her dreams of winning with me today.
She too would help the poor, help her friends and family, but she also wouldn’t quit her job. She loves doing manicures and pedicures.
I’ve learned from hearing everyone talk about how they’ll spend their winnings that most people don’t have a clue how to spend that much money.
Our dreams barely skim money off the top of $1.4 billion.
Even if we help the poor, help our friends and family, travel and buy new cars, we still have enough money left to buy about 5,000 more new cars or go to Disneyland about a million more times.
I met an author at a writer’s conference whose book became one of Oprah’s favorites.
It turned her life upside down.
She felt so guilty about suddenly having money that she gave a lot of it away, thinking she’d feel better after helping all of her friends and family.
She bought her roommate a new car.
But, the roommate trashed it.
She gave money to her family and friends, and they squandered it.
That big pot of gold became one big old nasty problem for her.
I see some valuable lessons there…
- Do not share your lottery winnings with your friends and family. It will ruin their lives and strain your relationships with them. You’re doing them a favor by keeping all the money to yourself.
- Bear the billionaire burden alone. Nobody wants to hear you whine about how your life was ruined by money.
- Do not feel guilty. You can’t help it that you are luckier than everyone else. Being rich may be your cross to bear in life. Just remember, “It’s not what happens to you that counts, it’s how you respond to what happens.” Respond well my rich friend.
You can thank me later for this advice.
In the meantime, can you tell me how to buy a PowerBall ticket?
I hear you have to play to win.
love your witty prose! Happy New Year, Laurie!!
I actually had no idea that there was anything going on with the Powerball until I saw a couple of friends on FB mention that they bought tickets. Later that night I was with a friend who turned on the news and there was coverage about it being up to something like 800 million dollars. That’s a lot of money. But I didn’t even know when the drawing was. LOL
Go to 7 11 put $2. Down & ask for power ball. Wednesday at 9:59 pm the wining numbers on tv..
My number is 09 14 16 43 64
Power ball 04.
Good luck. I will buy a yacht & take my buddies on a tour of the Greek Islands
I hope you win. I want to go to Greece with you.