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I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

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Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#181

Post by sumtechguy »

throwaway210222 wrote: post #72
technothrasher wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At my current ~2% mortgage interest rate, why do I want to pay off my house? I make more putting that money into investments returning me much better than that. I don't think the super wealthy keep their money needlessly tied up in real estate like that.

> why do I want to pay off my house? Because its the poor-man's version of F-You money. It instantly and dramatically lowers the monthly takings to have to make to keep your household going, and noticeably shifts the balance of power in all financial negotiations in your favour. Try it. Trust me.

It changed my life. I went from debt to significant savings/investments in under 5 years when I did it. Think of whatever your rent/mortgage is per month. Think of getting that sort of raise. How would it change your life? Money/debt became a tool instead of a burden for me personally.

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#182

Post by throwaway210222 »

tehjoker wrote: post #117
throwaway210222 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> why do I want to pay off my house? Because its the poor-man's version of F-You money. It instantly and dramatically lowers the monthly takings to have to make to keep your household going, and noticeably shifts the balance of power in all financial negotiations in your favour. Try it. Trust me.

It's kinda crazy that people think you can only get this by being rich. Why don't we just eliminate the market in housing and make it super cheap to live? We have more houses than people.

> Why don't we just eliminate the market in housing … we have more houses than people/

Sure tavaresh, I'd like a mine to be pied á terre in the Hamptons. You know, since there's no shortage.

Please try debug your suggestions first.

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#183

Post by throwaway210222 »

sumtechguy wrote: post #181
throwaway210222 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> why do I want to pay off my house? Because its the poor-man's version of F-You money. It instantly and dramatically lowers the monthly takings to have to make to keep your household going, and noticeably shifts the balance of power in all financial negotiations in your favour. Try it. Trust me.

It changed my life. I went from debt to significant savings/investments in under 5 years when I did it. Think of whatever your rent/mortgage is per month. Think of getting that sort of raise. How would it change your life? Money/debt became a tool instead of a burden for me personally.

Preach brother.

Its the psychological value, not some optimisation on a spreadsheet.

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#184

Post by throwaway528645 »

version_five wrote: post #114
TheMerovingian wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you need to win the lottery to be in this situation. Imagine having a cushy job in a FAANG company, where your base salary is probably more than what your parents make combined. It is in my case. I made the mistake of telling them (roughly) what I earn and it definitely has changed the way they interact with me. I get remarks about my 'wealth' and that I can easily drop $10K on something frivolous. I ge…

What you describe is true of many successes I find. Lots of people look at it as if you got some unfair or lucky break. Maybe that is true for the lottery, but for things like good grades, good job, wealth, or even access to leisure time (for example having time to exercise), many get defensive instead of being happy for the success. I've done it to, to some extent it's human nature, but it's something to try and avo…

I disagree. Dropped out of community college, couch surfed late teens to early twenties, worked night stocking at grocery stores, phone support for Wells Fargo, and DSL tech support.

I suffer from ADD and depression(some anxiety). I drink too much too often as self-medication.

Yet somehow I'm grossing just over 300k this year not working for a FAANG company. It's incredibly easy for me to get a job and offers and has been for nearly a decade. I've received multiple offers after passing interviews quite hung over(hey, when your interviewing at a few companies interviews are bound to collide with drinks nights haha).

I consider my self extremely lucky that I'm somehow successful career wise despite myself. And it's a trope that people who are successful monetarily but have a lacking family situation look at those with a great family situation and believe them to be lucky. And vice versa.

Some people are able to quit smoking relatively "easy". Some people are not able to, or need to be exposed to the right method of quitting. Some never get exposed to the right method, and some try everything and still can't quit.

Sometimes I feel like we are all just riding out life experiencing something we have little control over. And what we believe we have control over, we don't actually have control over having that control. This outlook doesn't take away from trying to maximize my personal experience, but it makes me think more than twice before considering the difference between myself and others as "hard working" vs "lazy".

Just because it may be human nature to be jealous of those with success doesn't mean they weren't actually lucky. The best or worst luck anyone will ever get is probably the parents they were born to and the genes they inherited from them..

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#185

Post by at_a_remove »

Just the network effect of, say, two degrees of Kevin Bacon here is interesting. When it gets to three, rather than directly be approached "hey old buddy old pal" what you would have to do is wonder what percentage of those folks are grifters, con artists, and your basic criminals.

I have a Cousin Tammy I've never met, who out of nowhere calls and tries to hit us up for money every so often. Two degrees. If Cousin Tammy knows some desperate people ...

You have to really weigh how much you trust each person you tell not to tell, and you have to also evaluate all of the people they might tell -- which is not an easy task. For example, I am estranged from my father who, if I went into why, most people here would easily agree, if not suggest pressing charges. Despite repeatedly asking my mother not to tell my father anything about me -- where I work, what I do, and so forth -- she does it.

Ergo, if I really want to keep something from my father, I cannot tell my mother.

Now, imagine doing this for everyone you know, plus a lot of money, which at fifty-five million dollars, which, in the words of The Way of the Gun "is not money. It's a motive with a universal adapter on it."

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#186

Post by jnwatson »

silicon2401 wrote: post #87
jnwatson wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bioethicist/philosopher Peter Singer disagrees. "if you are living comfortably while others are hungry or dying from easily preventable diseases, and you are doing nothing about it, there is something wrong with your behavior." [1] I'm inclined to agree with him. This is my current moral quandry, since my income is about to dramatically increase. I'm looking for a new car. I can pay in cash. I could pay $90K for a Po…

Funny how Peter Singer condemns comfort while living comfortably enough to have the time to write and publish a dozen books [1]. That time could've really helped a lot of people. Wonder what his thoughts on hypocrisy are. For me, other people's problems aren't my problem. If I won a billion dollars I'd probably donate to things generously out of mild interest in trying to make the world more to my liking, but that's…

How Peter Singer lives is completely irrelevant to the argument. The argument stands on its own regardless of the provider.

Google "Ad Hominem".

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#187

Post by andi999 »

alecst wrote: post #173
andi999 wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everybody can choose to donate, nobody should donate (otherwise it is also not really a donation if you should). Singling out rich guys to donate who do not donate could actually be counterproductive (since people just feel the responsibility lies with the rich guys). Encouraging everybody to donate small amounts of money might lead to a better outcome.

I don't really see how that adds up. In order to collect $50B, everyone in the US would need to donate about $150. Or, Jeff Bezos could liquidate a 1/3 of his net worth. A bit exaggerated, and a bit of a cartoon, but you get the point. Plus, the utility of an extra billion dollars to a billionaire is basically zero. Fight me if you disagree.

Well Bezos donated 12 billion already, and who knows how much more he will donate. He probably couldn't donate every year that amount, so if you say in 20 years it is 150$/20=7.50per year which is less than a dollar per month (admittingly this is everybody in the US). This is a lot of money for a lot of people but I still believe the total possible donatable wealth of non rich people is orders of magnitude larger than rich people (couldn't find good stats, was looking a while ago)

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#188

Post by Rapzid »

jkereako wrote: post #26
thepasswordis wrote: post #9

Not that much, but I did make a ton of money in crypto. Similar thing: bought a house, also bought myself a nice car. I didn't tell any of my friends, but did mistakenly tell one of my parents, who then felt it necessary to share this information with the rest of my family. If you make a bunch of money: I would highly recommend not telling people. The will treat you differently (not in a good way).

I’ve wondered about this: when someone comes into a windfall and their loved ones see them differently, are they really different or is the person seeing them exactly as they are?

The relationship is different. They are seeing a side of them they didn't realize existed.

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#189

Post by ksaj »

shocks wrote: post #24
alecst wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's such a low bar to pass. The guy in the article is 67, makes 1MM+ in interest a year, and won't even consider telling his friends or family? Or donating a penny of it? Is there not room for a middle ground here? What about: "Hey, I made a million bucks in the lottery/stocks/crypto. I heard you're having a tough time, take this -- you don't owe me anything. Wishing you well, -Dave."

“Hi Dave, Thanks for reaching out. You’re right that we were struggling and this generous gift really helped ease our minds. Anyway, Auntie Venessa has come down with lung cancer and we’re finding it difficult to…” etc

This was already taken care of by saying that he won/made a million. So that would mean there is no money left for Auntie Venessa.

So his reply could literally be "I gave you a mil. Pay some of it forward."

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#190

Post by brailsafe »

version_five wrote: post #114
TheMerovingian wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you need to win the lottery to be in this situation. Imagine having a cushy job in a FAANG company, where your base salary is probably more than what your parents make combined. It is in my case. I made the mistake of telling them (roughly) what I earn and it definitely has changed the way they interact with me. I get remarks about my 'wealth' and that I can easily drop $10K on something frivolous. I ge…

What you describe is true of many successes I find. Lots of people look at it as if you got some unfair or lucky break. Maybe that is true for the lottery, but for things like good grades, good job, wealth, or even access to leisure time (for example having time to exercise), many get defensive instead of being happy for the success. I've done it to, to some extent it's human nature, but it's something to try and avo…

Ya, if you don't acknowledge the luck involved in things like getting that good job, it can offen imply everyone else is just lazy and it's hard to be congratulatory when most people just don't have the circumstances work out for them.

It could come down to your first job working out super well, paying well, and maybe you also happen to not find it extremely depressing. It helps if you're parents are still together and didn't have their own mental health issues, or less likely it helps of your family is so screwed that you had no other option than sacrificing yourself fully for money. That carries you forward. If however anything happened to impair that, you could be screwed.

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