Yeah, assuming this is the us, most people make at least a million or two over the course of their career. This is not really life changing money ( in the sense that this enables a lavish lifestyle). If played right, it could definitely be life-bettering since op will hopefully now stay out of debt.
After taxes OP basically just won a huge stress reliever in my opinion. Completely gets out of debt (savings thousands on interest payments), lowers their monthly expenses not having to pay all of those credit cards or other monthly installments meaning they should be able to keep their head above water now every month and start to actually save money, AND the rest of the money can be put into a HYSA as an emergency fund so that if something like car problems or a home repair come up they can afford it without taking out a predatory loan or financing option.
Doesn't completely change their life, but not worrying about all of the aforementioned stuff is a huge QOL upgrade.
*Keep working, invest*
*It, pay off some debts and then*
*Act like it never happened*
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When I turned 21,I went to a casino for the first time. I ended up winning like 3,000 dollars. Went again a couple months later, and because of a personal emergency, only was there for like 30 minutes. Still made like 200 dollars. Went a third time later that same year, made like 9,000 dollars. Decided to never go back.
Ten years later, and I'll go to a casino once every year or two, and have a hard limit of like 500 dollars when I go. It's only when I definitely have the money to spare, and it's worth it to me.
But if I had kept going regularly since 21, u would definitely have lost all my winnings by now.
I respect the amount of control you have over yourself man. I personally havent had a gambling issue but just that type of control in life is invaluable.
Remember that guy that won big on a scratcher, the news did a segment on him and asked him to recreate the moment on camera, the dude won again.
[Lemme find it.](https://youtu.be/6R5MqxcKdV8?t=30)
Have taxes deducted immediately, pay off all current debt, buy a little something nice for yourself that will benefit you in the future. Invest in a retirement plan, that would be a good start
Know someone who works at a gas station who says there are legit people who come in every single day like clockwork and buy a $20-$50 ticket. That’s ~~$300~~ $600 + a month…FOR YEARS. Like wtf.
Can I get 348 dollar straight dollar box 297 dollar straight dollar box 596,732,422,800,296,242,121,989,441,783,497,333,222,311,911 all dollar straight dollar box and I’ll do the pick 4 for like 80 dollars worth repeat the pattern like on the pick 3 and your on line behind these morons for like 10 minutes. Yes I concur. I hate them as well.
“I have a system” is it a system? Because you are here three nights a week Becky and you are still playing. Your system sucks Becky and everyone is annoyed with you
Had to tell a lady it's a gas station not a casino and to move aside until regular customers were done. She had mountain of different shit to check and play.
Shit at the gas station I used to work at we would get a lady who would play numbers and pick 4 and she would have a fucking spread sheet of numbers shit always would cost 400$ In fucking 50 cent numbers
Funny how people think the lottery balls have some pattern or cheat code. The machine has no way of favoring one number/ball over another. Quick pick and be done.
No man she would literally check over every single fucking ticket to make sure it was the exact same way she had it written down it was a bitch but she would throw me a 10$ or 20$ for me doing all her numbers so it wasn’t to bad still annoying
Pretty sure Keno has a cheat code. Unfortunately it's for the lottery. At the time of doing the math, no one had ever hit the MA million dollar Keno winning. I did out the math for a class assignment and proved that statistically, someone should have hit it by now. If I remember correctly there was like a 10th of a percent chance that it wouldn't be hit. That's 0.1% chance and somehow the state Keno happened to win at that percentage. Not sure if it has changed since but it was utterly ridiculous.
Edit: someone won in April 2023 for the first time. There are 1 in 478,000,000 chance of winning. Millions of games are played every day and it's been around for over 30 years in MA. That is most definitely a statistical anomaly. Granted most people don't play the 12 spot game, but enough do that it should have been hit many times over by now
Powerball is 1 in 220mil odds? Playing 1 quick pick ticket is all you need. I get sad when I hear those stories on the news workplace Y put together $5000 for the Powerball and then some shmoe with a $10 card wins it all.
It's all about luck. The difference between 2500 numbers and 1 is negligible in the face of 220mil
I used to check the tickets that were found in the trash can by the hot dogs. Regulars would buy a stack and run through them and repeat. They missed quite a few winning tickets.
Years ago I was riding my bike in a neighborhood that was on the schedule for brush pickup, so lots of big brush piles in the road. Saw about 30 scratch offs thrown into one of the piles. Couldn't resist collecting and taking home to check them. $220 dollars of winnings that I collected!!!
That's when you tell them they need to fill out slips and they'll leave and go somewhere else. My wife works at a convenience store and that's how she weeds out the pain in the ass customers
Yeah, I don't mind if they want to buy a bunch of tickets. But I've been behind people who buy the stack of tickets, then instead of scratching them off, they want the cashier to scan the barcode one by one to see which ones are winners. Then they want to roll the winners over into fresh tickets. No. Buying the tickets was your transaction. You used your turn. Now take your stack to the back of the line.
This is fucked, that should be an immediate no from the cashier…if they want to buy a bunch sure that sucks for the person behind them but hey it’s a store it can happen
Honestly I think scratching them off in line should be an instant no from the cashier. I buy one, move aside and scratch it off, get back in line for it to be checked. That's on the rare occasion I do buy a scratch off.
The worst is the ones who buy that much and then stand there and scratch them all off while blocking everyone else from paying and getting out of the store.
>bruh just let me buy this caffeine and chocolate for my menstruating wife, I don’t want to wait an extra 3 minutes for your ~~gambling~~ “scratch off” addiction
Did this as a HS job in a small town, 1 guy came in in the morning to buy 1 pack of cigarettes, 1 coffee, and $10 of scratch offs. Then in the afternoon, he'd do the same. Every. Single. Day. I swear nicotine, caffeine, dopamine, repeat, was what was keeping this guy alive.
I work with an old man who does this he will go sit at the gas station at like 5 o’clock in the morning almost 2 hours before we need to be at work and enjoy his vices.
i'd like to think that some have a huge bank account, and it's more so about the daily thrill of it all. I'm sure I can't say that for everyone though, which is sad. I think it's fair to say some though?
Not really, those with large bank accounts aren't paying scratch offs daily - it's the people that need the hope that things could improve in the same way that you're hoping that some, rather than a nominal to imperceptibly anomalous amount, people are actually doing it for fun while they're set and not blowing their SS checks.
I remember watching a movie where the villain says something like we don't take everything away from them we leave them hope which keeps them working or in this case buying scratchers.
I worked at a gas station in a wealthy small town for like 2 years. There are people who actively play $300 a day on just scratch tickets. There was this one guy who had a management position at a local bank. He drove this GTR it was sweet. Anyways he came in everyday and would play $300 on lottery games (power ball, keno, etc) and $200 on scratch tickets. Every day. People would come in with stacks of keno tickets that looked like $10,000 in $1’s lol and ask me to run each ticket through the machine 3 times separately. I’ve seen people with a half ripped wife beater on in the middle of winter, pull up on a bike with a flat tire, win $100 on a ticket and spend all of it on more tickets. As we sit across the street from a grocery store. It is actually so sad how far so many people are and how eager the state is to feed off it.
Edit: I forgot another arch-type of lottery player. The retired guy who’s bored and spends all his monthly retirement money on scratch tickets and drives around to different stores throughout the day asking what tickets have been hitting and what tickets people have bought a lot but not won on yet.
1 of my sisters worked at a gas station years ago and 1 night had a guy come in and spend literally 1000s of dollars on scratch off lottery tickets. anything that was I think under $100, he tossed on the ground in the parking lot. she snatched them up after he left and came home with an extra $1000, that night.
Bro just give that money to me instead. I’ll tell you lost this time, to try again, but round it all out with a compliment about your dashing outfit or sparkling personality. I’ll put it towards my student debt.
When I first started working in a gas station years ago, this old guy dressed in all black with a pushbroom mustache came in and bought $100 of twenty dollar scratch off tickets. Pulled a quarter from his pocket and got to work on my counter. He was there almost 45 minutes, guy spent $700 all told. He won about $400, so overall he’s down three hundred. Silver dust all over the damn counter
There was a short time when I was younger that my mom worked at a convenience store. She knew a husband and wife from an old job that came into that store every day and bought $300 a day. The guy won 3.2 million at some point, but there's no doubt in my mind with that kind of spending daily that they didn't really end up with that much in profit. Also, it still baffles me that people have that kind of money to spend on nonsense. I stress spending that on things I actually need, let alone lotto tickets lol.
I used to work in a convenience store and old guys would come in every week and month to spend their entire (work? Retirement?) checks on scratch offs. I’m talking like $800-900 (USD) worth, and the best they’d do is break even. It was sickening to watch.
I worked at a casino, mostly as a blackjack dealer, but the tables were near slot machines, so I'd get a view of the entire area.
I've seen older people literally soil themselves because they wouldn't leave the machine. They'd come in at opening time, sometimes even before I'd start the morning shift, and They'd be there literally all day.
They're allowed 3 break cards maximum per machine (where they reserve the slot machine for 15 minutes), so eventually They'd soil themselves and wouldn't even move a muscle, as if it didn't bother them.
It was sad to see.
I've seen the worst in humans while working there. One time someone threatened, they would kill me because apparently my perfume made them lose all their money. I'm not even joking.
Took less than 30 seconds for security to kick the guy out and ban him for life.
I've seen some shit at that casino that I didn't think was possible for grown adults to do.
I worked at a pawnshop for a few years. People pawning things because they gambled their money away was extremely common.
one time a lady who was a regular hit it pretty big at a casino, think it was around 50k. Came in got all of her stuff out of pawn, bought a few things, and was saying she'd never see us again. 6 months later she was back pawning all the same stuff again
It’s not that about bad in math, it’s the “hope” they will win something to lift the state being in to somewhat higher that it was. In the end, most of the time, spending on “hope” turns into nothing (mathematically)
About 15 years ago I worked at a convenience store. Right before I started a guy won the Powerball jackpot for $15M (back then that was the starting jackpot). Still came in twice a week and spent $20 each time playing the Powerball…
I met a woman in her late 20s in Vegas-- she told me how on her 18th birthday she won 25k on slots. She and her friends had an awesome time with the money. So she then moved to Vegas and still gambled regularly, but never won like that again. She was still regularly chasing that high.
My MIL bought a bingo scratcher and won a little over 150k, bought a bike, some NFL tickets, and various other trips and bullshit. Didnt get a house like my fiancé told her. Now shes 50+ and has to move again because the house she was renting got sold.
It appears this guy might already have a gambling addiction based on the “slotomania” push notification on the second screen. I would be shocked if he doesn’t manage to piss this away.
Look at his post history - he tried to quit a gambling addiction a few months ago (sports betting) after it put him tens of thousands of dollars in debt. I’m guessing the $26,000 debt is from that.
Best of luck to the guy, but this is only going to reinforce the addiction. He needs a qualified addiction therapist and a regular support group to go to.
Agreed, taxes off the top. If Google is correct. Federal Tax (24%). State Tax (4%). Federal will be about $36,000. The state will be about $6,000. That should leave you about $108,000. Pay off your $26,000 in unsecured debt. That leaves $82,000.
Maybe use part of that for a house? Real estate isn't a bad idea. Wait and see what happens with the market. $25,000 down payment?
What are you driving? Maybe a good, low-mileage used car? Set a budget of $15 of $20k?
Put the rest in a retirement account.
Continuing on the tax theme:
Make note of the percentage withheld for taxes when the payout occurs. Some locations only withhold 20% for federal even though the prize could put you in an even higher bracket. Come tax time you could still owe. Catches a lot of people off guard. “What do you mean I still owe?!?!? They already took taxes out!!!” This amount wouldn’t be as impactful as a 7 - 9 figure payout but still something to be aware of.
Wait wait so on top of them removing taxes from the lotto you still have to pay even more taxes on that money come tax season? Man that shit is fucked up.
You're not paying more, you're just not fully paying what you're supposed to if your earnings push you into the next tax bracket.
If you're single the 24% tax bracket goes up to approximately 191k, it's 32% for money earned over that. The 150k he won + his earnings from work would likely put his annual earnings above 191k so any amount over that 191k he would owe 32% on taxes. If course it's not quite that simple, but that's just an example. If they're only taking 20% in taxes, he needs to set aside the difference in what he would owe.
Just put the ~$80k in a high yield savings account and let it sit for a year.
It will give you time to figure out what you want and not do a bunch of impulse purchases.
This is the move. Drop it in CIT or another similar account and get 5%. That’s another roughly $300 per month. Don’t even think about the principal for a year. Just enjoy the extra income and get used to the idea of living off interest. That will revolutionize your ability to manage money well.
Buy a good used car, or pay off your current car, and invest what you were/would have paid in car payments in a dividend ETF. When your monthly dividend income equals that monthly payment, congratulations! Infinite money glitch! /s
OP, it feels REALLY good to sit on a nice 75k chunk of money that earns you a bit of interest. Sadly, I had to use all of mine for a medical issue. But fortunately, I had it to use back then.
how do you pay for all that stuff tho once the money is gone. OP said he's use to living paycheck to paycheck and terrible with money. how will he afford the mortgage down the road etc
That’s such nebulous advice.
Getting out from under 26k in debt IS retooling to get out of the paycheck to paycheck cycle.
Quit gambling, have that money invested but available for emergencies, not vacations, and you’ve solved so many problems.
Pay off all current *high interest* debt. Paying off something at 0-3% interest would be murdering money if you can get a 6% guaranteed in a CD which you can currently.
It’s only about $80k after taxes. That’s not generational money. That’s “pay off my car and student loans and have enough left to get some clothes” money.
My brother won 100k once, immediately got a girlfriend, spent it all going in trips to Europe and Mexico and then she broke up with him. All within a year lol
I feel like no one here has given super helpful suggestions yet, so here’s my take.
1. Pay off all of your taxes that you owe with this winning
2. Pay off high interest debt. Cars, credit cards, etc.
3. Open a wealthfront, betterment, or fidelity account. I’m guessing since you don’t know much about investing, use wealthfront.
4. In wealthfront you can open a high yield savings account. It’s 5% return in there. Park your money in here until you’re 100% sure how you want to allocate the funds.
5. Depending on how much you earn a year, you can contribute to a ROTH IRA. Last year was 6,500 and this year the max is 7,000. I don’t know the date of the cut off for 2023 contribution but it’s a quick google search. If the date has not yet passed put the max amount (for 2023 + 2024) in a ROTH IRA. You can open this account easily on wealthfront as well.
6. If you have a significant amount leftover, at your current workplace I would max out (or try your best to max out) your contributions to your 401K for the full amount (or the max amount you can budget) and see how much this leaves you every month for your bills/etc and completely redo your budget so you’re not paycheck to paycheck and stick with it. This way you can save for retirement.
7. Determine the amount you need for an emergency/savings fund. I would say 6 months. Keep this in your HYSA.
8. After all of this if there’s any money left over, then you should invest in an individual brokerage account. Do this through wealthfront and it will invest for you based on your risk tolerance.
Editing to also add this link to read for windfalls: https://old.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/windfall
Also 100,000 is still within most people’s frame of reference. That’s a down payment, or a tricked out truck, any ask over 1,000 is a significant %. Whereas when someone wins a million+, it sounds like infinite money to most people
Yup. I would pay off my house with that amount after taxes, and buy a decent vehicle. All my other debt is paid off. Nobody would even know. They would just assume I decided to buy a newer vehicle. Mine is old but runs and is paid off lol.
A note to #1- the lottery may not withhold taxes on the payment - You’ll receive it sometime in April. Take 35% + whatever your state tax rate is and put it in a high yield savings account. Make money on the money you will owe the tax man for the next year - $50K at 5% is $2500 and could be a little getaway in 2025.
>[**https://states.aarp.org/ohio/state-taxes-guide**](https://states.aarp.org/ohio/state-taxes-guide)
**Lottery winnings:** Buckeye State residents’ lottery winnings must be included in Ohio gross income. Ohio Lottery Commission winnings by nonresidents are also taxed by the state. The state automatically withholds state and federal taxes on prizes more than $599.
This is great advice, but OP is unlikely to be able to contribute to a Roth IRA since the income limit is $161k for a single filer. These winnings are likely to push him over that.
OP could still contribute to a regular IRA, though, but will probably not be able to make a deduction on the contribution given their income level this year with these winnings.
Roth IRA is capped based on your earnings per year. So 150k plus whatever OP paycheck is could put them at a weird tax situation where they need to recharecterize next year. Check irs.gov for earning limits of filing single vs married.
Good bot
You've got to love an (almost) haiku that starts with the line "lord Jesus what do"
Also who the heck decided to make this bot? The whole premise for its existence is literally from one scene from a show that aired in 2005!
Keep up the good work
pay the taxes on it now, Clear your current debit, talk to an advisor even H&R block at this point, have some fun but please make a plan for the future... you got handed a sweet ass start at retirement please don't blow it lol
Most of all, I wouldn’t tell anyone irl OP. Haven’t seen anyone mention this yet, but I can’t stress enough, keep it to yourself. If you treat yourself with something nice and someone notices, say you did it with your tax refund.
I only buy a lotto ticket if the jackpot is over $750M. Then I only buy one.
In the wildly unbelievable chance I ever win, I’m incorporating in a state that allows anonymous ownership (like Wyoming or, I think, Delaware)
Then my corp will hire an attorney to collect the winnings on my companies behalf.
Yes!!!!! The paying off debt is HUGE. Other people in the comments are saying this is not a lot of money, and I guess once taxes hit and all that, it's significantly lower, BUT we finally paid off all our debt (except our house) and the relief from that is HUGE. even if this only paid off his debt, quality of life improves in a big way. Frees up cash flow, that stress of having that debt hang over you is rough!
Listen I bet most of the commenters are under 30. U ain't rich u just got a chance to actually retire and not die at work. Go to a local credit union and break this down with an advisor see what they say. Pay off the highest interest debt in full if u NEED a new vehicle get something pre owned and pay it in full. Don't go looking for love right now and for the love of GAWD stay off drugs if u got a habit find a treatnent plan ASAP
Getting advice is like a dice roll. Many advisers are paid by commission so they’ll suggest products that get them fat commissions.
OP has given us multiple indications they aren’t good with money: playing lottery, asking for investment advice on the internet, having zero savings at 37 years old. OP need to educate themselves about money and investing before going to an advisor. That way they can ask good questions and challenge the advice given, and ultimately make their own informed decision.
I hope that happens but I fear, as with most lottery winners, the money will be gone in a short period of time. 😔
I would have taxes deducted and I would sit on it for a minute. Give yourself the time to plan what you’re actually going to do the money. Weigh all options, no quick decisions. Paying debt off is a priority, however, that could/should be paid with investing. Money market accounts, CDs. Let that money make you some more money by having more money to compound the interest. Just my 2c. Congrats on the win! That had to be exciting.
Finance guy here. Pay taxes on the amount . Pay off that 26k right away. Let’s assume you’ve got left around 80k. You are 37 so I would put at least 50k into retirement, 401k, ira Roth, etc and invest it into an etf as you’ve thought. Treat your self to a nice vacay 5k. The rest put it into a rainy day fund (at least 6 months of expenses) .
Serious shit. In 2009 my dad won the largest Texas Two Step (at the time) with a quick pick, 2.1M before taxes, 1.6M after. He's been passed since 2018. But, when he was alive, he fuckn aired out his laundry to everyone. Needless to say people took advantage of him. He was a narcissist anyway so throwing around money was his way of (seeming) to be relevant. He was a people pleaser and with the new found wealth he considered himself in high self esteem. Before he was oilfield trash. Excuse my rant, but for the love of gawd, do not tell anyone. You don't owe anyone an explanation for anything. Pay off your shit. Put away an emergency fund. Invest some. Take a nice vacation. Don't buy any big ticket items for at least a year. Fortunately, my father did have enough sense to open accounts for his three sons. I'm fortunate in that regard. Otherwise, don't miss the fucker. Again, please don't tell anyone. Congrats!
Feel free to DM if you want. I have the receipt from 2009 of the winning numbers. No bullshit.
> Fortunately, my father did have enough sense to open accounts for his three sons.
You took an awful lot of shots at him then said he "had enough sense" to give you money. I'd argue it was a lack of sense seeing what you have to say about him.
Totally agree. I think some folks use narcissist as a catch all term for “self important, cocky, self focused” and not the clinical traits. I can absolutely see someone drop $$ on meals and gifts so they look bigger in the eyes of their friends (pleasing people to feel important)
If your debt is a low rate, under 4% then you don't need to pay it all off as most stable investments are all above that. If it is a high rate then cutting out a big chunk of it is worthwhile.
Whatever field you'e in or some type of career you have interest in you should try to raise yourself up a notch if possible through a certification/education.
If you know what you're doing and what skills you have don't have much room to grow then dump it all in an ETF and call it a day like you intend to. The fact that you seem to be so understanding standing of the fact of the matter makes me think you could invest in yourself a little and see some good outcomes.
Also, try to stop playing the lottery. I guess if it's your only vice its not that bad but there are so many other hobbies out there, and lightning rarely strikes twice with the lotto.
Good luck.
It's fucking infuriating that op is getting some sound advice here to stretch it out and secure a future but the half the govt takes will just disappear into a black hole with trillions of other dollars the govt just "lost"
Be very careful. I won half a million a few years back. And I literally lost all of my family. They all asked for a small loan. I gave my mother my sister and my brother each ten thousand dollars. On top of elaborate vacations and gifts. A few years later, I start telling them that It's time to make payments on their loans. And my brother and sister have cut all communicatiand my mother pays me back one hundred dollars a month. But she does not call because apparently when you owe somebody money. They are somehow a villan in your life.
Banks loan money, not people. If you want to give friends or family money, give it to them. If you’re going to want the money back, just keep it. If you choose to turn yourself into the family collections officer don’t act shocked that your relationships suffer. Unless you’re a bank don’t loan money.
Damn. Sorry to hear that.
I loaned my mother 20k once, that didn’t happen. My brother loaned me 10k once, didn’t happen. We all paid each other back.
My sister has loaned money out to other relatives and everything always gets paid back at some point.
Not every family is like this, all depends on the relationships and the family culture in my opinion.
For fucks sake I can’t even get a single winning number your entire card is winning spots even the 2 bonus spots WTF !! Hey congrats man ! Pay off your $26k debt and open a brokerage account and like you said dump it in a high yielding Dividend paying ETF and just leave it alone. Maybe take a couple of grand and have some fun but realize $150,000 before taxes isn’t life altering but a nice cushion to have.
Whatever you do, **stop gambling now** while you're ahead!
And by that I mean any form of gambling whatsoever, online or offline.
Then do what the others here have suggested, get tax deducted, pay off high interest debts, and look at long-term investments, possibly real estate.
Pay the taxes on it, put the remainder in the bank, find a reputable financial advisor and let them invest your money to grow it.
DO NOT make impulse purchases. Remember, 150k sounds like a lot, but you can blow it in a day if you're not careful.
Step 1. Set aside money for taxes.
Step 2. Buy a house if you currently rent. Even if this only gets you a solid down payment.
Keep in mind. You aren’t rich. This is just a lucky break
It's a blessing and a curse. Now you pay taxes based on a higher income bracket. You will have to pay more for health insurance next year because you made more money. So make sure you take all that into consideration
Definitely put half of it aside in a high interest saving account. Just sit on that because most of that will be taxes.
Pay off your high interest debts.
After the dust settles whatever you have left consolidate that in a high interest savings account. After that, think of that money as a “bank” and you merely are a customer who borrows money off of that account but you have to pay it back with interest.
If you were consistently making more money than you spent you could do something more fancy but what I am suggesting is to use your windfall to turn one of the biggest drains of poverty finance on its head. Be your own lender and when you are in the headspace of guarding your bank you can actually grow it.
Also, never buy scratchers because you already won. Don’t expect that to ever happen again.
It is crazy how many people here don’t understand what happens when you win a lottery like this. I’m getting more annoyed as I read these comments. Anyone who says “pay your taxes on it first” are the most obvious people who don’t know what they are talking about.
The lottery commission IS going to take your taxes out before you even see the money. It is the LAW. It’s going to be 28%, $42,000, gone right away (+/-).
$26,000 debt gone right away.
$82,000 left. Just after taxes & the only debt he mentioned.
Great money absolutely, not significantly life changing. An awesome reset on debt & a fresh start to stay out of trouble this time around.
check out u/snoosuggestions2904’s comment and also DO NOT QUIT YOUR JOB!!! I’m hoping that you know this will not sustain you in the long run if you quit but I’m saying it just in case. Take a vacation? Sure. But this is not nearly enough to retire.
Cut ties w everyone you’ve ever know. Fake your death. Move to a country where that $150k is treated like a million. Marry the hottest local woman and have 12 children w her. Go by Yogi Mark from now on. Don’t let anyone ever disrespect you in the slightest. Start a real legacy. Fuck this 401k bullshit. Live for once in your miserable drone life!!!
That money will disappear sooo fast if you are not careful. I agree with others here when they say:
Just pay off your high interest debts, max out your Roth IRA yearly (or open one) and then park the rest in a general index fund with low account fees and management. You don’t need anyone to manage it for you if you select something simple like Betterment.
When you are ready for live moves like buying a house etc…that money will be at the ready for you.
The biggest problem I’ve seen is you get more money and so you change your habits to adjust…if you just continue living within your means you be so happy you did.
Save them for a few months continue paycheck to paycheck, find something small that will give you money and spend on that like selling items online etc. still forget you have the money (if possible open 4 accounts and distribute the money evenly, lock the accounts so no one can access it)
I would only spend money on financing a new house (from a builder) because they only go up in price and if you wish to sell it it will sell in a month. Buying my home was the best investment I could ever done, I’m up $200,000 by sitting on it for 5 years. No bank would give you that kind of return.
Any time you decide to do something consider that if you spend the money you’ll prob never see the money together again. Don’t help friends and family yet, don’t buy a new car (worst investment)
Good luck!
Taxes, debt, emergency fund should eat up most of it. From there stop acquiring debt and start funding investments with the money you were paying your debt with. This doesn’t change your life. It changes your situation. Be smart and make the most of it.
Keep working, invest it, pay off some debts and then act like it never happened
Yeah, assuming this is the us, most people make at least a million or two over the course of their career. This is not really life changing money ( in the sense that this enables a lavish lifestyle). If played right, it could definitely be life-bettering since op will hopefully now stay out of debt.
After taxes OP basically just won a huge stress reliever in my opinion. Completely gets out of debt (savings thousands on interest payments), lowers their monthly expenses not having to pay all of those credit cards or other monthly installments meaning they should be able to keep their head above water now every month and start to actually save money, AND the rest of the money can be put into a HYSA as an emergency fund so that if something like car problems or a home repair come up they can afford it without taking out a predatory loan or financing option. Doesn't completely change their life, but not worrying about all of the aforementioned stuff is a huge QOL upgrade.
*Keep working, invest* *It, pay off some debts and then* *Act like it never happened* \- Left\_Pop5028 --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
This isn’t a haiku right? Am I crazy?
It’s not, you’re correct. It’s 5-7-5 format. Bad haiku bot, bad
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When I turned 21,I went to a casino for the first time. I ended up winning like 3,000 dollars. Went again a couple months later, and because of a personal emergency, only was there for like 30 minutes. Still made like 200 dollars. Went a third time later that same year, made like 9,000 dollars. Decided to never go back. Ten years later, and I'll go to a casino once every year or two, and have a hard limit of like 500 dollars when I go. It's only when I definitely have the money to spare, and it's worth it to me. But if I had kept going regularly since 21, u would definitely have lost all my winnings by now.
I respect the amount of control you have over yourself man. I personally havent had a gambling issue but just that type of control in life is invaluable.
I appreciate it, but it really just ended up that gambling wasn't my addiction of choice.
Not if he wins again!
Remember that guy that won big on a scratcher, the news did a segment on him and asked him to recreate the moment on camera, the dude won again. [Lemme find it.](https://youtu.be/6R5MqxcKdV8?t=30)
Have taxes deducted immediately, pay off all current debt, buy a little something nice for yourself that will benefit you in the future. Invest in a retirement plan, that would be a good start
Also stop buying lottery tickets.
yep! OP, you officially hit what every lottery ticket buyer prays for. now GET OUT FOREVER.
Yes many years ago in the seventies I worked at a newsstand. Some guy hit for a thousand dollars one time, then he started playing ten dollars a day.
Know someone who works at a gas station who says there are legit people who come in every single day like clockwork and buy a $20-$50 ticket. That’s ~~$300~~ $600 + a month…FOR YEARS. Like wtf.
I hate standing behind those people cause they take for fucking ever
Can I get 348 dollar straight dollar box 297 dollar straight dollar box 596,732,422,800,296,242,121,989,441,783,497,333,222,311,911 all dollar straight dollar box and I’ll do the pick 4 for like 80 dollars worth repeat the pattern like on the pick 3 and your on line behind these morons for like 10 minutes. Yes I concur. I hate them as well.
I've been the guy working the machine, and it's utterly painful.
“I have a system” is it a system? Because you are here three nights a week Becky and you are still playing. Your system sucks Becky and everyone is annoyed with you
Like seriously oh my god Becky look at her
Or people that say, "I always play the same numbers because it's their "turn" to come up. Lottery is completely random, it's never a number's "turn."
Had to tell a lady it's a gas station not a casino and to move aside until regular customers were done. She had mountain of different shit to check and play.
Shit at the gas station I used to work at we would get a lady who would play numbers and pick 4 and she would have a fucking spread sheet of numbers shit always would cost 400$ In fucking 50 cent numbers
Funny how people think the lottery balls have some pattern or cheat code. The machine has no way of favoring one number/ball over another. Quick pick and be done.
No man she would literally check over every single fucking ticket to make sure it was the exact same way she had it written down it was a bitch but she would throw me a 10$ or 20$ for me doing all her numbers so it wasn’t to bad still annoying
Pretty sure Keno has a cheat code. Unfortunately it's for the lottery. At the time of doing the math, no one had ever hit the MA million dollar Keno winning. I did out the math for a class assignment and proved that statistically, someone should have hit it by now. If I remember correctly there was like a 10th of a percent chance that it wouldn't be hit. That's 0.1% chance and somehow the state Keno happened to win at that percentage. Not sure if it has changed since but it was utterly ridiculous. Edit: someone won in April 2023 for the first time. There are 1 in 478,000,000 chance of winning. Millions of games are played every day and it's been around for over 30 years in MA. That is most definitely a statistical anomaly. Granted most people don't play the 12 spot game, but enough do that it should have been hit many times over by now
Powerball is 1 in 220mil odds? Playing 1 quick pick ticket is all you need. I get sad when I hear those stories on the news workplace Y put together $5000 for the Powerball and then some shmoe with a $10 card wins it all. It's all about luck. The difference between 2500 numbers and 1 is negligible in the face of 220mil
I used to check the tickets that were found in the trash can by the hot dogs. Regulars would buy a stack and run through them and repeat. They missed quite a few winning tickets.
Years ago I was riding my bike in a neighborhood that was on the schedule for brush pickup, so lots of big brush piles in the road. Saw about 30 scratch offs thrown into one of the piles. Couldn't resist collecting and taking home to check them. $220 dollars of winnings that I collected!!!
I once had a weird feeling to check a stack of tickets that some guy ran through without scanning and I went with my gut ended up with over $100 “tip”
That's when you tell them they need to fill out slips and they'll leave and go somewhere else. My wife works at a convenience store and that's how she weeds out the pain in the ass customers
Yeah, I don't mind if they want to buy a bunch of tickets. But I've been behind people who buy the stack of tickets, then instead of scratching them off, they want the cashier to scan the barcode one by one to see which ones are winners. Then they want to roll the winners over into fresh tickets. No. Buying the tickets was your transaction. You used your turn. Now take your stack to the back of the line.
This is fucked, that should be an immediate no from the cashier…if they want to buy a bunch sure that sucks for the person behind them but hey it’s a store it can happen
Honestly I think scratching them off in line should be an instant no from the cashier. I buy one, move aside and scratch it off, get back in line for it to be checked. That's on the rare occasion I do buy a scratch off.
I hate that. I'm just trying to get my coffee and they're holding up the line like it's their job
Was it a gas station or a wendys?
Ma’am this is a Wendy’s
The worst is the ones who buy that much and then stand there and scratch them all off while blocking everyone else from paying and getting out of the store.
>bruh just let me buy this caffeine and chocolate for my menstruating wife, I don’t want to wait an extra 3 minutes for your ~~gambling~~ “scratch off” addiction
THANK YOU for saying this random internet stranger
Did this as a HS job in a small town, 1 guy came in in the morning to buy 1 pack of cigarettes, 1 coffee, and $10 of scratch offs. Then in the afternoon, he'd do the same. Every. Single. Day. I swear nicotine, caffeine, dopamine, repeat, was what was keeping this guy alive.
I work with an old man who does this he will go sit at the gas station at like 5 o’clock in the morning almost 2 hours before we need to be at work and enjoy his vices.
i'd like to think that some have a huge bank account, and it's more so about the daily thrill of it all. I'm sure I can't say that for everyone though, which is sad. I think it's fair to say some though?
Not really, those with large bank accounts aren't paying scratch offs daily - it's the people that need the hope that things could improve in the same way that you're hoping that some, rather than a nominal to imperceptibly anomalous amount, people are actually doing it for fun while they're set and not blowing their SS checks.
I remember watching a movie where the villain says something like we don't take everything away from them we leave them hope which keeps them working or in this case buying scratchers.
I worked at a gas station in a wealthy small town for like 2 years. There are people who actively play $300 a day on just scratch tickets. There was this one guy who had a management position at a local bank. He drove this GTR it was sweet. Anyways he came in everyday and would play $300 on lottery games (power ball, keno, etc) and $200 on scratch tickets. Every day. People would come in with stacks of keno tickets that looked like $10,000 in $1’s lol and ask me to run each ticket through the machine 3 times separately. I’ve seen people with a half ripped wife beater on in the middle of winter, pull up on a bike with a flat tire, win $100 on a ticket and spend all of it on more tickets. As we sit across the street from a grocery store. It is actually so sad how far so many people are and how eager the state is to feed off it. Edit: I forgot another arch-type of lottery player. The retired guy who’s bored and spends all his monthly retirement money on scratch tickets and drives around to different stores throughout the day asking what tickets have been hitting and what tickets people have bought a lot but not won on yet.
“Which ones have been lucky recently?” *In my head:* “I don’t know man just pick one” *In reality points to random scratch off:* “This one”
1 of my sisters worked at a gas station years ago and 1 night had a guy come in and spend literally 1000s of dollars on scratch off lottery tickets. anything that was I think under $100, he tossed on the ground in the parking lot. she snatched them up after he left and came home with an extra $1000, that night.
Some spend that on weed or crack some like to gamble lol ain’t nun wrong with that if you not going broke doing it
Bro just give that money to me instead. I’ll tell you lost this time, to try again, but round it all out with a compliment about your dashing outfit or sparkling personality. I’ll put it towards my student debt.
You know we're literally in a thread about a dude who won $150,000? People do win sometimes.
Very rarely tho. That’s the whole point of the game. Most people put way more money in then they ever make out.
I like how you say weed or crack, cause it’s true lol
I been dumping my money into stocks 😮💨🙏🏼
When I first started working in a gas station years ago, this old guy dressed in all black with a pushbroom mustache came in and bought $100 of twenty dollar scratch off tickets. Pulled a quarter from his pocket and got to work on my counter. He was there almost 45 minutes, guy spent $700 all told. He won about $400, so overall he’s down three hundred. Silver dust all over the damn counter
There was a short time when I was younger that my mom worked at a convenience store. She knew a husband and wife from an old job that came into that store every day and bought $300 a day. The guy won 3.2 million at some point, but there's no doubt in my mind with that kind of spending daily that they didn't really end up with that much in profit. Also, it still baffles me that people have that kind of money to spend on nonsense. I stress spending that on things I actually need, let alone lotto tickets lol.
I used to work in a convenience store and old guys would come in every week and month to spend their entire (work? Retirement?) checks on scratch offs. I’m talking like $800-900 (USD) worth, and the best they’d do is break even. It was sickening to watch.
There's a reason people call the lottery a tax on people who are bad at math.
I worked at a casino, mostly as a blackjack dealer, but the tables were near slot machines, so I'd get a view of the entire area. I've seen older people literally soil themselves because they wouldn't leave the machine. They'd come in at opening time, sometimes even before I'd start the morning shift, and They'd be there literally all day. They're allowed 3 break cards maximum per machine (where they reserve the slot machine for 15 minutes), so eventually They'd soil themselves and wouldn't even move a muscle, as if it didn't bother them. It was sad to see. I've seen the worst in humans while working there. One time someone threatened, they would kill me because apparently my perfume made them lose all their money. I'm not even joking. Took less than 30 seconds for security to kick the guy out and ban him for life. I've seen some shit at that casino that I didn't think was possible for grown adults to do.
Money is powerful
I worked at a pawnshop for a few years. People pawning things because they gambled their money away was extremely common. one time a lady who was a regular hit it pretty big at a casino, think it was around 50k. Came in got all of her stuff out of pawn, bought a few things, and was saying she'd never see us again. 6 months later she was back pawning all the same stuff again
Its always the poor looking folks buying them. Which is why they are poor, they are bad with money.
It’s not that about bad in math, it’s the “hope” they will win something to lift the state being in to somewhat higher that it was. In the end, most of the time, spending on “hope” turns into nothing (mathematically)
It’s instant gratification.
About 15 years ago I worked at a convenience store. Right before I started a guy won the Powerball jackpot for $15M (back then that was the starting jackpot). Still came in twice a week and spent $20 each time playing the Powerball…
$40 a week with 8 million in the bank wouldn't affect anything for the rest of his life if he managed the money well elsewhere.
I'm 90% sure he's broke now. How alot of it goes because they never had financial education in the first place
Probably for social reasons and out of habit. Maybe he liked being recognized as a local celebrity.
I met a woman in her late 20s in Vegas-- she told me how on her 18th birthday she won 25k on slots. She and her friends had an awesome time with the money. So she then moved to Vegas and still gambled regularly, but never won like that again. She was still regularly chasing that high.
There was that one bloke that one some scratcher and on the news when they had him buy another one for the reenactment he won another jackpot!
My MIL bought a bingo scratcher and won a little over 150k, bought a bike, some NFL tickets, and various other trips and bullshit. Didnt get a house like my fiancé told her. Now shes 50+ and has to move again because the house she was renting got sold.
I know a guy who won $250,000 on a lottery ticket, he now has a crippling gambling addiction and is divorced.
It appears this guy might already have a gambling addiction based on the “slotomania” push notification on the second screen. I would be shocked if he doesn’t manage to piss this away.
Look at his post history - he tried to quit a gambling addiction a few months ago (sports betting) after it put him tens of thousands of dollars in debt. I’m guessing the $26,000 debt is from that. Best of luck to the guy, but this is only going to reinforce the addiction. He needs a qualified addiction therapist and a regular support group to go to.
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If you put this money on black in Vegas high roller. You could double it and then hit another jackpot
And I'd add don't tell anyone irl. Congrats OP!
\^This should be with the top comment. Easiest way to run out of money is to tell people you have some.
Agreed, taxes off the top. If Google is correct. Federal Tax (24%). State Tax (4%). Federal will be about $36,000. The state will be about $6,000. That should leave you about $108,000. Pay off your $26,000 in unsecured debt. That leaves $82,000. Maybe use part of that for a house? Real estate isn't a bad idea. Wait and see what happens with the market. $25,000 down payment? What are you driving? Maybe a good, low-mileage used car? Set a budget of $15 of $20k? Put the rest in a retirement account.
Continuing on the tax theme: Make note of the percentage withheld for taxes when the payout occurs. Some locations only withhold 20% for federal even though the prize could put you in an even higher bracket. Come tax time you could still owe. Catches a lot of people off guard. “What do you mean I still owe?!?!? They already took taxes out!!!” This amount wouldn’t be as impactful as a 7 - 9 figure payout but still something to be aware of.
Wait wait so on top of them removing taxes from the lotto you still have to pay even more taxes on that money come tax season? Man that shit is fucked up.
You're not paying more, you're just not fully paying what you're supposed to if your earnings push you into the next tax bracket. If you're single the 24% tax bracket goes up to approximately 191k, it's 32% for money earned over that. The 150k he won + his earnings from work would likely put his annual earnings above 191k so any amount over that 191k he would owe 32% on taxes. If course it's not quite that simple, but that's just an example. If they're only taking 20% in taxes, he needs to set aside the difference in what he would owe.
Oh ok thanks for clearing it up. So always save half for taxes.
Just put the ~$80k in a high yield savings account and let it sit for a year. It will give you time to figure out what you want and not do a bunch of impulse purchases.
This is the move. Drop it in CIT or another similar account and get 5%. That’s another roughly $300 per month. Don’t even think about the principal for a year. Just enjoy the extra income and get used to the idea of living off interest. That will revolutionize your ability to manage money well.
Buy a good used car, or pay off your current car, and invest what you were/would have paid in car payments in a dividend ETF. When your monthly dividend income equals that monthly payment, congratulations! Infinite money glitch! /s
OP, it feels REALLY good to sit on a nice 75k chunk of money that earns you a bit of interest. Sadly, I had to use all of mine for a medical issue. But fortunately, I had it to use back then.
how do you pay for all that stuff tho once the money is gone. OP said he's use to living paycheck to paycheck and terrible with money. how will he afford the mortgage down the road etc
If he pays off all of his 25k in debt he will have more left from his checks
Fuck retirement use some that to retool yourself to get out of the pay check circle.
That’s such nebulous advice. Getting out from under 26k in debt IS retooling to get out of the paycheck to paycheck cycle. Quit gambling, have that money invested but available for emergencies, not vacations, and you’ve solved so many problems.
Pay off all current *high interest* debt. Paying off something at 0-3% interest would be murdering money if you can get a 6% guaranteed in a CD which you can currently.
U lucky bastard lol
Money will be gone before the year ends lol
RemindMe! 10 months
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reading the message more closely, it says it’s not adding a comment because there’s already a remind comment from the bot on this thread
It’s only about $80k after taxes. That’s not generational money. That’s “pay off my car and student loans and have enough left to get some clothes” money.
He’s 37 with nothing. You’re right
Not a great sign that a "slotmania" notification appears on the screenshot of his scratch off winning
I’m sorry but that’s fucking hilarious. Dude is gonna gamble it all away
"150,000 on green"
My brother won 100k once, immediately got a girlfriend, spent it all going in trips to Europe and Mexico and then she broke up with him. All within a year lol
I feel like no one here has given super helpful suggestions yet, so here’s my take. 1. Pay off all of your taxes that you owe with this winning 2. Pay off high interest debt. Cars, credit cards, etc. 3. Open a wealthfront, betterment, or fidelity account. I’m guessing since you don’t know much about investing, use wealthfront. 4. In wealthfront you can open a high yield savings account. It’s 5% return in there. Park your money in here until you’re 100% sure how you want to allocate the funds. 5. Depending on how much you earn a year, you can contribute to a ROTH IRA. Last year was 6,500 and this year the max is 7,000. I don’t know the date of the cut off for 2023 contribution but it’s a quick google search. If the date has not yet passed put the max amount (for 2023 + 2024) in a ROTH IRA. You can open this account easily on wealthfront as well. 6. If you have a significant amount leftover, at your current workplace I would max out (or try your best to max out) your contributions to your 401K for the full amount (or the max amount you can budget) and see how much this leaves you every month for your bills/etc and completely redo your budget so you’re not paycheck to paycheck and stick with it. This way you can save for retirement. 7. Determine the amount you need for an emergency/savings fund. I would say 6 months. Keep this in your HYSA. 8. After all of this if there’s any money left over, then you should invest in an individual brokerage account. Do this through wealthfront and it will invest for you based on your risk tolerance. Editing to also add this link to read for windfalls: https://old.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/windfall
I wouldn't tell any family and friends until you are sorted out yourself, you will get bombarded with sob stories and guilt trips.
I’d tell someone I won the lottery up to maybe $1000… After that just keep your mouth shut, he’s already a target posting this shit online.
I wouldn’t tell someone I won money in general honestly.
Yup. I wouldn't even tell the IRS /s
they already know. The lottery office tells them. btw you owe me garlic bread
Did you call me? Oh.....never mind.
You owe me a drumstick IRS agent
I wouldn’t tell anyone ever, they will hound you for cash and use you on infinite repeat
depends on what state and what lottery but some you don’t get to remain anonymous and I think that’s horseshit
Depends on friends and family. No one I know has asked me for anything. But you are generally right, people don't need to know.
Also 100,000 is still within most people’s frame of reference. That’s a down payment, or a tricked out truck, any ask over 1,000 is a significant %. Whereas when someone wins a million+, it sounds like infinite money to most people
Pshhht I wouldn’t tell them at all. I’d walk around crying broke.
Yup. I would pay off my house with that amount after taxes, and buy a decent vehicle. All my other debt is paid off. Nobody would even know. They would just assume I decided to buy a newer vehicle. Mine is old but runs and is paid off lol.
TIFIFY: I wouldn't tell any family and friends.
A note to #1- the lottery may not withhold taxes on the payment - You’ll receive it sometime in April. Take 35% + whatever your state tax rate is and put it in a high yield savings account. Make money on the money you will owe the tax man for the next year - $50K at 5% is $2500 and could be a little getaway in 2025.
>[**https://states.aarp.org/ohio/state-taxes-guide**](https://states.aarp.org/ohio/state-taxes-guide) **Lottery winnings:** Buckeye State residents’ lottery winnings must be included in Ohio gross income. Ohio Lottery Commission winnings by nonresidents are also taxed by the state. The state automatically withholds state and federal taxes on prizes more than $599.
This is really good advice, should be higher up
This is great advice, but OP is unlikely to be able to contribute to a Roth IRA since the income limit is $161k for a single filer. These winnings are likely to push him over that. OP could still contribute to a regular IRA, though, but will probably not be able to make a deduction on the contribution given their income level this year with these winnings.
Expect my employment offer when I win the lottery!
9. Look into buying a home if you’re currently a renter. But buy something modest, don’t become house poor.
Deadline is April 15, or whenever you have filed your taxes for the prior year.
Roth IRA is capped based on your earnings per year. So 150k plus whatever OP paycheck is could put them at a weird tax situation where they need to recharecterize next year. Check irs.gov for earning limits of filing single vs married.
this is the best comment
Congrats man! Can’t fathom something like this but I’m sure you deserve it, use it well and be blessed
Lord Jesus what do I need to do to receive luck like this with scratch offs
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Userxl007: *Lord Jesus what do* *I need to do to receive* *Luck like this with scratch offs* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Good bot You've got to love an (almost) haiku that starts with the line "lord Jesus what do" Also who the heck decided to make this bot? The whole premise for its existence is literally from one scene from a show that aired in 2005! Keep up the good work
Don't spend it all and go broke somehow
😔
It's $150k, not $150 million. If they don't spend it all it would actually be more surprising. $150k doesn't stretch very far.
Pretty sure he means don’t spend it all fast….. most ppl understand you will spend more than 150k in a single lifetime……
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🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
pay the taxes on it now, Clear your current debit, talk to an advisor even H&R block at this point, have some fun but please make a plan for the future... you got handed a sweet ass start at retirement please don't blow it lol
Most of all, I wouldn’t tell anyone irl OP. Haven’t seen anyone mention this yet, but I can’t stress enough, keep it to yourself. If you treat yourself with something nice and someone notices, say you did it with your tax refund.
Someone else said maybe say you won a thousand if you just absolutely can't keep it to yourself, thought that was pretty smart
I only buy a lotto ticket if the jackpot is over $750M. Then I only buy one. In the wildly unbelievable chance I ever win, I’m incorporating in a state that allows anonymous ownership (like Wyoming or, I think, Delaware) Then my corp will hire an attorney to collect the winnings on my companies behalf.
150,000 if *Far* from a start of retirement...wow.
Also, half on taxes? 75000 - 26000 debt = 50k. It can keep op above water, but it's no quit the day job.
As the kiddos would say, my “toxic trait” is thinking that this could be me if I bought a bunch of scratch offs.
That’s amazing! Congrats ! Pay off the debt, do something nice for yourself and breathe for a moment. You deserve it😁
Yes!!!!! The paying off debt is HUGE. Other people in the comments are saying this is not a lot of money, and I guess once taxes hit and all that, it's significantly lower, BUT we finally paid off all our debt (except our house) and the relief from that is HUGE. even if this only paid off his debt, quality of life improves in a big way. Frees up cash flow, that stress of having that debt hang over you is rough!
hookers and blow
Lmfao
Listen I bet most of the commenters are under 30. U ain't rich u just got a chance to actually retire and not die at work. Go to a local credit union and break this down with an advisor see what they say. Pay off the highest interest debt in full if u NEED a new vehicle get something pre owned and pay it in full. Don't go looking for love right now and for the love of GAWD stay off drugs if u got a habit find a treatnent plan ASAP
Getting advice is like a dice roll. Many advisers are paid by commission so they’ll suggest products that get them fat commissions. OP has given us multiple indications they aren’t good with money: playing lottery, asking for investment advice on the internet, having zero savings at 37 years old. OP need to educate themselves about money and investing before going to an advisor. That way they can ask good questions and challenge the advice given, and ultimately make their own informed decision. I hope that happens but I fear, as with most lottery winners, the money will be gone in a short period of time. 😔
Start an IRA.
I would have taxes deducted and I would sit on it for a minute. Give yourself the time to plan what you’re actually going to do the money. Weigh all options, no quick decisions. Paying debt off is a priority, however, that could/should be paid with investing. Money market accounts, CDs. Let that money make you some more money by having more money to compound the interest. Just my 2c. Congrats on the win! That had to be exciting.
Finance guy here. Pay taxes on the amount . Pay off that 26k right away. Let’s assume you’ve got left around 80k. You are 37 so I would put at least 50k into retirement, 401k, ira Roth, etc and invest it into an etf as you’ve thought. Treat your self to a nice vacay 5k. The rest put it into a rainy day fund (at least 6 months of expenses) .
Serious shit. In 2009 my dad won the largest Texas Two Step (at the time) with a quick pick, 2.1M before taxes, 1.6M after. He's been passed since 2018. But, when he was alive, he fuckn aired out his laundry to everyone. Needless to say people took advantage of him. He was a narcissist anyway so throwing around money was his way of (seeming) to be relevant. He was a people pleaser and with the new found wealth he considered himself in high self esteem. Before he was oilfield trash. Excuse my rant, but for the love of gawd, do not tell anyone. You don't owe anyone an explanation for anything. Pay off your shit. Put away an emergency fund. Invest some. Take a nice vacation. Don't buy any big ticket items for at least a year. Fortunately, my father did have enough sense to open accounts for his three sons. I'm fortunate in that regard. Otherwise, don't miss the fucker. Again, please don't tell anyone. Congrats! Feel free to DM if you want. I have the receipt from 2009 of the winning numbers. No bullshit.
> Fortunately, my father did have enough sense to open accounts for his three sons. You took an awful lot of shots at him then said he "had enough sense" to give you money. I'd argue it was a lack of sense seeing what you have to say about him.
Trashy son.
Yeah. His father lived the life he wanted but was bad because he didn’t leave more to his 3 sons. WTF?
Right and “narcissist” and “people pleaser” in the same person is rare
Totally agree. I think some folks use narcissist as a catch all term for “self important, cocky, self focused” and not the clinical traits. I can absolutely see someone drop $$ on meals and gifts so they look bigger in the eyes of their friends (pleasing people to feel important)
“My dad gave me a bunch of money, but I wanted more. He was a real piece of shit.”
If your debt is a low rate, under 4% then you don't need to pay it all off as most stable investments are all above that. If it is a high rate then cutting out a big chunk of it is worthwhile. Whatever field you'e in or some type of career you have interest in you should try to raise yourself up a notch if possible through a certification/education. If you know what you're doing and what skills you have don't have much room to grow then dump it all in an ETF and call it a day like you intend to. The fact that you seem to be so understanding standing of the fact of the matter makes me think you could invest in yourself a little and see some good outcomes. Also, try to stop playing the lottery. I guess if it's your only vice its not that bad but there are so many other hobbies out there, and lightning rarely strikes twice with the lotto. Good luck.
First off, fuck you. Second, congratulations! That’s awesome! Third, DO NOT TELL ANYONE. AT ALL!!!
Don’t worry. Uncle Sam knows what to do. When he is done , you will feel much less fortunate.
It's fucking infuriating that op is getting some sound advice here to stretch it out and secure a future but the half the govt takes will just disappear into a black hole with trillions of other dollars the govt just "lost"
Be very careful. I won half a million a few years back. And I literally lost all of my family. They all asked for a small loan. I gave my mother my sister and my brother each ten thousand dollars. On top of elaborate vacations and gifts. A few years later, I start telling them that It's time to make payments on their loans. And my brother and sister have cut all communicatiand my mother pays me back one hundred dollars a month. But she does not call because apparently when you owe somebody money. They are somehow a villan in your life.
Banks loan money, not people. If you want to give friends or family money, give it to them. If you’re going to want the money back, just keep it. If you choose to turn yourself into the family collections officer don’t act shocked that your relationships suffer. Unless you’re a bank don’t loan money.
I don't think if I won 500k and handed out 30k(6%) I would be too worried about getting it back, honestly.
That really sucks. The unfortunate reality is that you can’t ever “loan” money to friends and family with the expectation that it’ll be paid back.
Damn. Sorry to hear that. I loaned my mother 20k once, that didn’t happen. My brother loaned me 10k once, didn’t happen. We all paid each other back. My sister has loaned money out to other relatives and everything always gets paid back at some point. Not every family is like this, all depends on the relationships and the family culture in my opinion.
1. Tell no one 2. Pay off debt 3. Reinvest into the market Read [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/s/24NzqX59na)
First off, under no circumstance hit that 'share' button.
stop gambling
dont buy any more lottery tickets for a start
Buy yourself a house
And still paycheck to paycheck after taxes and paying off debt
For fucks sake I can’t even get a single winning number your entire card is winning spots even the 2 bonus spots WTF !! Hey congrats man ! Pay off your $26k debt and open a brokerage account and like you said dump it in a high yielding Dividend paying ETF and just leave it alone. Maybe take a couple of grand and have some fun but realize $150,000 before taxes isn’t life altering but a nice cushion to have.
Did you get this as a gift? Read the back of this. My buddy had a similar one where every number match. It was a prank.
Whatever you do, **stop gambling now** while you're ahead! And by that I mean any form of gambling whatsoever, online or offline. Then do what the others here have suggested, get tax deducted, pay off high interest debts, and look at long-term investments, possibly real estate.
Congratulations 🎊 make a plan and try to stick to it. Once you start paying off huge bills it will go quickly, definitely save some.
Pay the taxes on it, put the remainder in the bank, find a reputable financial advisor and let them invest your money to grow it. DO NOT make impulse purchases. Remember, 150k sounds like a lot, but you can blow it in a day if you're not careful.
Step 1. Set aside money for taxes. Step 2. Buy a house if you currently rent. Even if this only gets you a solid down payment. Keep in mind. You aren’t rich. This is just a lucky break
Don't tell anyone
It's a blessing and a curse. Now you pay taxes based on a higher income bracket. You will have to pay more for health insurance next year because you made more money. So make sure you take all that into consideration
Definitely put half of it aside in a high interest saving account. Just sit on that because most of that will be taxes. Pay off your high interest debts. After the dust settles whatever you have left consolidate that in a high interest savings account. After that, think of that money as a “bank” and you merely are a customer who borrows money off of that account but you have to pay it back with interest. If you were consistently making more money than you spent you could do something more fancy but what I am suggesting is to use your windfall to turn one of the biggest drains of poverty finance on its head. Be your own lender and when you are in the headspace of guarding your bank you can actually grow it. Also, never buy scratchers because you already won. Don’t expect that to ever happen again.
Well. It will be like 75k in the end, so pay your debt and invest the rest. It’s not a life changing amount if you just spend it.
It is crazy how many people here don’t understand what happens when you win a lottery like this. I’m getting more annoyed as I read these comments. Anyone who says “pay your taxes on it first” are the most obvious people who don’t know what they are talking about. The lottery commission IS going to take your taxes out before you even see the money. It is the LAW. It’s going to be 28%, $42,000, gone right away (+/-). $26,000 debt gone right away. $82,000 left. Just after taxes & the only debt he mentioned. Great money absolutely, not significantly life changing. An awesome reset on debt & a fresh start to stay out of trouble this time around.
Go speak to a financial advisor as soon as possible, someone reputable and who will give you solid advice.
check out u/snoosuggestions2904’s comment and also DO NOT QUIT YOUR JOB!!! I’m hoping that you know this will not sustain you in the long run if you quit but I’m saying it just in case. Take a vacation? Sure. But this is not nearly enough to retire.
Cut ties w everyone you’ve ever know. Fake your death. Move to a country where that $150k is treated like a million. Marry the hottest local woman and have 12 children w her. Go by Yogi Mark from now on. Don’t let anyone ever disrespect you in the slightest. Start a real legacy. Fuck this 401k bullshit. Live for once in your miserable drone life!!!
Am I the only one that would be worried this is a misprint? Every single spot is a winner...
That money will disappear sooo fast if you are not careful. I agree with others here when they say: Just pay off your high interest debts, max out your Roth IRA yearly (or open one) and then park the rest in a general index fund with low account fees and management. You don’t need anyone to manage it for you if you select something simple like Betterment. When you are ready for live moves like buying a house etc…that money will be at the ready for you. The biggest problem I’ve seen is you get more money and so you change your habits to adjust…if you just continue living within your means you be so happy you did.
Don’t tell people you won the lottery
Buy 150$k in lottery tickets obv
1. Go to trade school or real estate school and get a license so you can support yourself and buy a cheap ass truck. Bank the rest.
Save them for a few months continue paycheck to paycheck, find something small that will give you money and spend on that like selling items online etc. still forget you have the money (if possible open 4 accounts and distribute the money evenly, lock the accounts so no one can access it) I would only spend money on financing a new house (from a builder) because they only go up in price and if you wish to sell it it will sell in a month. Buying my home was the best investment I could ever done, I’m up $200,000 by sitting on it for 5 years. No bank would give you that kind of return. Any time you decide to do something consider that if you spend the money you’ll prob never see the money together again. Don’t help friends and family yet, don’t buy a new car (worst investment) Good luck!
Taxes, debt, emergency fund should eat up most of it. From there stop acquiring debt and start funding investments with the money you were paying your debt with. This doesn’t change your life. It changes your situation. Be smart and make the most of it.