If I Won The Lottery, The First Think I'd Do (Once I Got The Money) Is:

[Dinger]

Call my mom and tell her.:)

[Zavulon]

1. I'd call an accountant first.

Despite what Joe Biden said, I don't view paying taxes as "patriotic." I'll pay what I'm legally required to pay, but I'm not interested in paying once cent more. If the tax system is going to be an incomprehensible behemoth, there's no reason not to take every possible loophole.

[Ikonoklast]

2. Nothing until I set up a trust to collect the winnings.

I actually know someone that won the lottery, and she didn't tell anyone for a year. Still went to work, didn't spend any money foolishly.

Then one day she gave her notice, and told a few people what she did, created a revocable family trust, took care of any and all tax liabilities, and diminished any future taxes on her estate.

She was a smart cookie, and had some crackerjack legal and financial advice.

[edbermac]

3. Call my managers at work.

And tell them the weather in Tahiti is perfect. And also I'll be a little late in coming in to work...about 20 years late.

[Dinger]

4. Cool : ) (nt)

[flvegan]

5. Call my lawyer.

Matter of fact, I've already told him that. He said that was a very good idea.

[snailly]

6. Call a good tax attorney

I wouldn't tell a single soul until I got everything figured out.

[rurallib]

8. yep - me too

and I have 3 local charities that I would love to give a big boost to.

[madamesilverspurs]

7. Laundry. Bigtime.

Seriously, I'd have to if I wanted to leave the house to meet with the attorney...

[carlyhippy]

9. sign the back of the ticket and make about 20 copies

go buy some plane tickets for plane flight to iowa or whereever one goes to collect, be out of town well before the news spread. While in flight I would call a trusty lawyer, accountant and put on retainer. Collect the money, while on vacation I would be on the phone, calling the family, putting the house up for sale, arranging for the purchase of a new home in Colorado....arrange for all my belongings to be moved...wow, it would be way to easy for me....please please give me the chance to prove my plan is the best one, let me win the lotto!!!

[DeepBlueC]

10. yes, me too

The news is the first thing I'd want to share. And with my mom without question. She can keep her mouth shut until I make a few basic decisions. :)

[LeftyMom]

11. Change my phone number. Give the new number to five people, tops. Then take a vacation.

I've spent too damned long worrying about money. A week or two someplace nice without having to mentally add up the total before every purchase would be incredibly liberating.

While I was gone I'd have my Dad track down somebody to keep an eye on all that money for me. He's better at that kind of thing than I am, and he'd be very relieved to know that my future was in secure hands. Once I got back I'd get the boyfriend to grill the lawyer and/or financial whiz kid Dad selected, to make sure he was a) worthy of the job and b) sufficiently terrified of pissing me off.

I also think I'd go car shopping when I got home. And bring the boyfriend. He puts up with my nonsense, and I figure that's worth the most completely insane, overpowered, unreliable, utterly useless car of his dreams.

[BlueJazz]

12. ..is Wake up

:(

[GoneOffShore]

13. Easy - three phone calls - Lawyer, accountant, financial adviser

Make feeding arrangements for the cats for a week.

Then - two first class tickets to Paris on Air France and rooms at the Meurice. After the jet lag wore off real estate shopping for an apartment on the Seine.

Back to home - call a contractor to do some repairs, a garden service, a used car dealer - to replace the 3 door Saab with a 5 door 9.5 2000 - 2001 vintage. Then and only then put a notice on our website that we are closed, out of business, packed up the tent, out of Dodge, go away you all sucked anyway.

Set up a trust fund for the goddaughter, make sure that the in-laws couldn't get anything and then go traveling.

[RobinA]

14. Call a Lawyer

even before I collected the money. Put ticket in a fire proof box. Start researching beach property. Continue to go to work like nothing had happened, but start speaking up all over the place.

[EvilAL]

15. Buy one of these,

then smash it on the stage after playing 'he stopped loving her today'.

[davsand]

16. My first call would be to my financial guy. He's also a lawyer--a damn good one.

My instructions to him would be to pay off any tax liabilities, make sure my family will never want for anything, and then to set up a foundation to provide grants to social justice and social services non-profits. I'd take enough to buy myself a nice place to live along with a vacation house on a beach someplace, but it would pretty much all go to other people.

Imagine, if you can, how amazing it would be to fund a dental project that would enable people to see a dentist when they need one. Imagine how amazing it would be to provide prescriptions to people who could not otherwise get them. Imagine free clinics where you could go see a doctor when you needed to--and nobody treated you like shit because you were poor. How about making sure people had a safe place to live? Access to enough food?

I only need a certain amount of space to live in, and a couple of bathrooms--I don't NEED anything more. Left to my own devices, I live a lifestyle that is about jeans and t-shirts. I have enough NOW, i really don't lack for anything, personally. The only lack I feel right now is the ability to give enough to others.

Can you imagine how much suffering a few million in seed money could alleviate? THAT is my dream.


Laura

[LynzM]

22. That's awesome

:D Alleviating suffering is a great thing to do with that kind of money, and having a positive social impact (in some form) would be high up on my list, too. :thumbsup:

[grace0418]

17. I think about it all the time. But not as much since I got laid off from my last job in

December. GOD I HATED THAT JOB. I think I fantasized about winning the lottery about once every hour I worked there. Now it's not so bad, I only think about it every other day or so. :) And that's only because I wish I could travel the world without having to worry.

I would have a lot to figure out though, since I have 10 siblings and my husband has 2. We'd have to figure out how to fairly divide that up. Maybe it would depend on which one of us actually purchased the ticket. ;) I would definitely want to help my loved ones out, but make it an upfront thing so I'm not being hounded for cash the rest of my life. I'd give them a certain amount and it would be up to them to spend it wisely. After that I'd use the money for causes I support and travel.

[dysfunctional press]

18. buy an estate in hawaii, and bring as many family/friends as want to come...

[XemaSab]

19. If we're really talking BUCKETS of money

a ranch in Northeast California and a condo in either Marin or Santa Barbara would be a good start. And paying off my mom's house.

The rest of the money would be set up so I could party on the interest. :D

(Party meaning bird the living snot out of the entire planet. :D )

[Initech]

20. Tell my boss where they can stick it.

[rcrush]

21. Leave the country.

[Roon]

23. Don't call anyone

just hop a limo and go to all my friends and families places and tell them in person. If they want to join me in the limo, fine. First thing we are going to do is go to vegas. Second is round up the kids and go to Disney.

After all that, I would take someone special to go to Toyko or Hong Hong.

And then, ONLY then..would I start to look for a house.

[Bunny]

24. I'll be doing a lot of travelling with my baby.

Brazil, Barbados, France, Italy, Switzerland, Tanzania and probably some other places too. :loveya:

[cherish44]

25. Take a flippin vacation!!

The very first thing I would do is something self-indulgent, frivolous, hedonistic and impractical. I'll call my accountant/lawyer/financial advisor when I get back all rested and happy :)

[hobbit709]

26. 1. Pay off the mortgage and other debts

2. Buy new car and truck
3. Pay off a couple of good friends' mortgages.
4. Get the gastric bypass surgery.
5. After that a long vacation in Europe.

[ccinamon]

27. Payoff mortgage and other bills, create non-profit

to supply funds for short term help (food, rent, car repairs) and education (for long-term success) to help those who are trying to make it on their own, but for whatever reason are about to fail and have to live on the street.

[bikebloke]

28. There are still a few places I want to travel to.

But I'd still go as a budget backpacker.

Then buy a small place in New Zealand.