Saturday, January 16, 2016

Lottery Fever Lingers

Image result for moneyAs you know, the Lottery Fever that had been gripping the country lately has been cured. Meaning that someone finally won. Actually three someones each won over a billion dollars ($1,000,000,000!!!). Now just a few days later after the drawing, people have quickly moved on. Back to reality and dealing with the same amount of money they had yesterday.

However, thoughts about the lottery are lingering with me. Like many others, Ward and I had a conversation about what we would do if we suddenly came into a large amount of money. It seemed like a silly exercise, but it was interesting all the same.

We started with the big picture and moved inward. First, we said that we would give most of the money away. Now if truth be told, we wanted to do this as much as to avoid the hassle of everyone wanting something from us as doing a good deed. But if we were going to  give it away, how would we do it? I saw an interesting show once that interviewed some very rich people about philanthropy. They said donating money to good causes was much harder than it looked. First there was no end to the people that would like a slice of your pie and everyone believed their cause was the most worthy. Second, they wanted to give their money to people who would actually spend it well and not have a large overhead in their organization. That took a lot of work to figure out.
Gates Foundation

So we decided that maybe we'd give a large amount to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Many of the issues they support such as improving the health of children around the world, we were in agreement with. And they certainly knew how to deal with large amounts of money. (Of course, we'd have to check into the statistics of how well run their organization was.)

Next we made the circle a little closer and thought about other people we'd like to help. One was providing dental care for people in Appalachia. We talked about the grants we'd give to understand and implement a program for this. We also wanted to help rural libraries. Another idea was to provide scholarships for needy kids to get tutoring. After discussing a few more things such as new camping equipment for the local Boy Scout troop, we moved on.

Then we narrowed our circle more and talked about the extended family. Luckily, most of our relatives are in pretty good shape and don't need much. Maybe a little fun money would go their way or maybe a family vacation. The exception to this was to make sure our elderly relatives had all the money they need to get the best care.

Now down to our immediate family. We want our kids to find their own way, so we wouldn't be giving Wally and Theo much. Maybe some help with health insurance and or a low interest loan to set up a business that has been mentioned. Maybe there would be a trust for them that they could access in a decade or two.

Image result for muppet chef
Swedish Chef
Then finally ourselves. We'd keep enough of the money that the interest on it would provide us with our current standard of living. Well, maybe a little better. A personal chef and tailor sounded pretty good.  And Ward would build the workshop he has always wanted and I'd have some professional landscaping done on the yard. We'd also keep enough to pay for good health insurance so we could take early retirement if we wanted.

Not very exciting discussion, was it?  Especially since a billion dollars was involved. But the reason that this conversation is lingering with me is the very fact that is was not exciting. There's not much on this list that is beyond our ability to do now if we put our minds to it and do some creative thinking.

So we didn't win the lottery, but I'm glad there was lottery fever which prompted our "what if" conversation. Unknowingly, our talk gave Ward and I a chance to revisit our priorities. So, we're off now to start our lists and do some creative thinking.

Did you have a Lottery Fever discussion? Did you have fun imagining some exotic things you'd do with the money or were you more down to earth?



13 comments:

  1. Son2 and I talked at great length about it. First thing I would do would be tithe 10 percent. Like you I would give most of it away, but would spend an inordinate amount of time establishing foundations for some of the specific local things I would want to give to, just so the money could be used as needed and not be subject to non-profits salaries and operating expenses. As for general donations, we would fund scholarships at 2 schools (Roll Tide and yay the other school with no sports program), donations to medical research, Special Olympics, food banks, global homeless missions, global children's aid missions, special needs adults missions, a full scholarship to the university of their choice to an average student who just needs a little financial help. set up a family trust for our sons and their families. I could also see us helping all three with a new to them home. (Son1's home was a fantastic bachelor house that worked fine to accommodate just a couple but is not so great with a toddler. Son2 moved back here to help with my dad and now is staying for a while to help with my mom. Since he uprooted his life to help them/me, I would love to hand him the keys to a home wherever he decides to settle. Son3 will most likely continue to live in NYC and I would buy him a small, emphasis on small apartment)

    However, since we never buy lottery tickets, the chances of me ever being the big winner are pretty slim. Still it is a fun discussion to have

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    1. There are so many worthy causes out there. That's why it is good that not just a small group of people are making the decisions about how we should spend the money. If we each follow our passion, hopefully the money will get spread around to many of the places it needs to go.

      I especially like your ideas about scholorships. Money going to an average student doesn't happen very often and is greatly needed.

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  2. Ha! Sounds like your lottery discussions were very similar to ours. There are, of course, a few things I'd love to "improve" around the house. Get the plastic tile out of the bathroom, fix or replace the damaged tub, tear up the ancient avocado green shag carpeting that's now developing holes... But the truth is, money is really not what keeps me from doing all that. It's just the PITA factor and all the disruption that would come with home remodeling.

    And in terms of the bigger stuff... there are lots of issues I'd like to support, but as you say, the devil's in the details and finding worthy and well run organizations isn't quite as simple as it sounds.

    I might spring for those studded bike snow tires though... along with some serious winter clothing - maybe the heated variety! :-)

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    1. You're right. Our discussions sound similar. There are things we want to do, but money isn't necessarily the biggest stumbling block preventing us from action.

      Maybe when you win the lottery, you can rent a nice, cat friendly place while the remodeling is being done. And you could do it during a slow vacation season so you would be doing the owners a favor.

      I think you should get the studded bike tires now. If all of your money is not going to the vet, you may already have what you need to get them. Have fun.

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  3. I once heard Bill Gates explain why he had only $1 million in trust for his wife and daughter. He said he wanted them to make their own way in the world. I thought especially for his daughter that was a great idea. With his kind of money his daughter could just as easily have become one of those rich kids who have no interests outside of partying.

    My oldest son and I did talk about the lottery and what we would do. He started the conversation because right now things are more than tight with being out of work all of December. He and I would both set up our own charitable trusts rather than give to existing charities for the many reasons you mentioned and because what we would like to see isn't being done by the exiting charities. Our main focus would be providing opportunities for those in our community plus a pet project dear to both of us. For him Veterans programs would top his list and mine would be helping families with disabled family members to retrofit their homes to make life easier.

    While my son does play when the jackpot gets large I don't so it was only talk on my part.

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    1. I hadn't heard the details about how Bill Gates was dividing his money. I think that's a good idea.

      Is your son back to work yet? I hope so and things will not be so tight for him. I bet you two working together could help wounded veterans retrofit their houses and accomplish both of your goals

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  4. That's funny - I've heard that conversation lots amongst colleagues as there was a similar big jackpot last weekend I think (we don't do the lottery). We also discussed it at home today because my husband was given a lottery scratch card for Christmas on which he won £5 and he keeps on winning miniscule amounts which he then uses to buy more scratchcards...we were trying to imagine what we'd do if he won a large amount with his latest £2! Similar conversations to yours. Somehow I think his winning streak will end soon and we won't have to put any of our plans into action.

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    1. Let us know if you win big. Then you can come visit on your trip around the world. :)

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  5. We had the same conversation, and I would just take what I thought I would comfortable living on for the next 50 years (wishful thinking), and give away the rest. I don't want the hassle of having that much money either. :)

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    1. Maybe now is when we should play--when the jackpot is not so big and the decisions won't be that big either.

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  6. Interesting post.... Yepp had some fever two and had it all planned out. Walk up to my employer and tell him DONE....but it would also scare me having that much. Money is the root of all evil.....((I didn't win))

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  7. Interesting post.... Yepp had some fever two and had it all planned out. Walk up to my employer and tell him DONE....but it would also scare me having that much. Money is the root of all evil.....((I didn't win))

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  8. I think many people's lottery dreams included quitting their job. Quite frankly, that much money scares me too. That's why I'd give most of it away.

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What do you think?