If you won the Lottery how much would satisfy you

[walterjay]

My wife and I were discussing the Lottery the other day and day dreaming about winning big. We concluded that we would be very happy with 17 million dollars. We wouldn't want to win a billion. Too much to deal with.
What about you?

 

[wpod]

Billions I dream big ! I would say it would be better to earn the money instrad of winning it.

 

[oldhp]

After I took care of my kids, grand kids, great grand kids, 5 million after taxes. They would all be taken care of a LOT, so if you blow it........don't come crying to me.

 

[Zee09]

If you won a billion take it over the 20 to 30 years that way it is easy to handle and if older it's still the same and your heirs would get it.. That's if you found it difficult to handle.

 

[Furious]

Id be happy with a million, obviously the lottery would have to be probably around 2 million because the government takes a big chunk.

I live a poor life and don't need to live a rich life so I would take that money buy a double wide trailer on about 3-5 acres of land in the country, buy a new truck some lawn equipment to maintain the land and put a few trailers on it for family members and just use the rest carefully to get by with other necessities.

 

[supton]

$20M, assuming I don't have to share (if I have to split the pot, $20M afterwards).

My reasoning: cash payout is about half, then I lose half to taxes. $5M left over. Put into a diversified portfolio. I should be able to pull 4% per year after that, which is $200k. Sounds like a lot, but, I might live another 40 years. Doesn't sound so hot then, so I might only pull say $100k initially, then let my standard of living go up.

At that $20M, I'm making one call to my employer--that they can mail me whatever is at my desk as I'm not coming back...

Of course, mo' money is mo' better, I wouldn't turn down a higher amount...

[Haven't played in years. But do I still dream? sure do.]

 

[walterjay]

If you won a billion take it over the 20 to 30 years that way it is easy to handle and if older it's still the same and your heirs would get it.. That's if you found it difficult to handle.

And I would send some to AutoMechanic so he could get that VW on the road.

 

[cptbarkey]

6 million, 5 into revolving CDs, live off the interest, 1 as a safety net.

 

[Zee09]

And I would send some to AutoMechanic so he could get that VW on the road.

That 17 million would work well for me. I wouldn't get too exotic with it. Right now it could sit and get 5% interest and give me a monthly interest check and most would go back to earning interest again. I'd be happy.

 

[y_p_w]

Depends. I'd want enough to be debt free (including my mortgages) and live comfortably for the rest of my life. I'd want to live more like upper middle class. And then something as a buffer in case investments go south plus enough for multi-generational wealth so my child wouldn't have to worry about income either. So maybe $20 million lump sum (before taxes) would probably do it. And my state doesn't tax state lottery winnings, but would if I purchased a ticket out of state. But I wouldn't go crazy spending. No first class and I'd still be eating reasonably. But I wouldn't be worrying about anything like losing my job or the cost of repairing my house.

And the thing that would bother me is the required publicity. At least in my state, the only requirement for public reporting (any prize above a certain amount) is the name of the winner and the store where the winning . It's not possible to place it in a trust or request anonymity. The ideal would be to buy a ticket far away from home to throw off people. I've heard of news organizations staking out a local lottery office looking to score an interview with a big lottery winner. And the thing they would look for is where the ticket was purchased and then scout out the closest lottery office to that.

What I would do would be to present the winning ticket to a bank's wealth management division, get a six figure advance (which would be subject to interest) on the understanding that there would be a substantial deposit to that bank, and get advice on how to handle everything. They would likely provide a safe deposit box. Then plan on how to present the ticket - probably a long ways and a few weeks in order to avoid reporters. And once that happens, lay low somewhere else.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Let’s see there are three things i would want. Enough to open up my own shop. That’s my dream in life to open my own repair shop and have techs working for me and me being the big man. And also enough for me to pay for travel and tickets to all MLB stadiums. That’s my second dream in life to visit every MLB stadium. Then lastly I want some to give to my parents. They have always been there for me and gave me a place to live and have always said if they won the lottery they would give me some so I’d give them some too. And my parents want to retire really badly but are in no spot to do so so I’d want to help them as much as i could. I know my sister wouldn’t so I would. So let’s see maybe $2-$3 million worth?

 

[walterjay]

I would put in an in ground swimming pool for fitness. Otherwise I am pretty satisfied with what I have. Of course I would take care of the family.

 

[Passport1]

Just enough to cover the taxes.

 

[nomas]

That 1.5 billion scared me . My grandchildren would be kidnap targets and could never live a normal life . There's a lot of things to consider besides how to spend the money .
If I could clear a couple of million I think I could stay under the radar and be comfortable .

 

[Zee09]

I'd go buy a white Rogue and take it straight to Florida

 

[doitmyself]

I cringe at the idea of winning a huge sum. I can imagine it would ruin my life and maybe those closest to me. I guess I would be most content to win just enough to get my immediate family somewhat settled with basic needs such as education, housing, etc..

Two weeks ago I was disappointed eating a $70 ribeye at Ruth's Chris steak house. I told people "if this is high living, they can keep it", lol. My son (a trained chef) laughed and said Ruth's Chris is the Applebees of steak houses.

 

[Chris142]

Enough to buy a whole ghost/ western town to rebuild and live in.

 

[WylieCoyote]

At age 53, I'd be comfortable retiring with $3M. Or however much it would take to not have any debt and never work another day.

 

[supton]

And the thing that would bother me is the required publicity.

That would be a drawback. Then again, my hope was to win enough to retire on, so... who cares. Those who matter, won't care once I explain how I plan to invest and spend. Those who care... don't matter.

Few miles from me is Lake Sunapee. Bit more money up there than I would have. I still wouldn't be rich in my own neighborhood.

 

[JHZR2]

Somewhere between $20-100M.

Of course I’d be happy with $50k.

Or $1M or $5M.

But I think at my age and interests, to live off of it and actually do something without concerns about drawdown… and be able to do something that is for the greater good, it would need to be north of $20M I think (so I could give away more than 7% ). Not that I couldn’t do good with less.

I don’t think I’d quit working at my age even if I won $5M. I’d just bank it, invest prudently, augment my lifestyle, etc. I’d run at that level to just live off the interest, counting on only being able to yield 3-5% over the long run…. So $150-250k/yr…