Top Five Ways in Which Winning the Lottery Would Change My Life

As a Nevada resident, there is no state lottery for me to play because of all the money generated by casino revenues. About the closest thing we have to a lottery is Megabucks, a progressive slot machine jackpot that continues growing statewide until someone bets a fateful $3.00 and pulls the winning combination for the prize. After each win, the jackpot is reset to $10 million, so one can see the appeal of this game.

To play the actual lottery, many Las Vegas residents make the short 45-minute trip to the California border to buy tickets. As of this date, I'm unaware of any Nevada resident winning it big in other state lotteries but like many Americans, that doesn't stop us from playing and dreaming.

So how would winning the lottery change my life? Here are the Top 5 Ways I believe winning a large sum of money would change anyone's life.

Top 5 Ways in Which Winning the Lottery Would Change My Life #1: Financial Freedom

Let's face it. The reason why anyone wants to win the lottery is not so much that it's a lot of dough, but because winning large sums of cash virtually removes money as an obstacle to achieving one's dreams. Financial freedom means that money would never be a factor in making another decision in one's life. For the most part you can do what you want, where you want, when you want. Why do you think celebrities and the super-rich don't stand hours in line for a million dollar jackpot? They don't have to.

Financial freedom is the #1 way winning the lottery changes lives because ways #2, #3, #4, and #5 wouldn't exist without it. You can dream bigger and with more possibilities. For instance, winning financial freedom through the lottery would allow me to do the following:

Top 5 Ways in Which Winning the Lottery Would Change My Life #2: Be Debt-Free

Winning the lottery removes the burden of money from one's life. I'm no exception to that. The first thing I would do is pay off all my debts, from my house mortgage to medical bills. And I would make sure I never had to take out another loan again, and pay for items in cash as much as possible. Being able to afford things without having to sign your life away - how sweet is that?

Top 5 Ways in Which Winning the Lottery Would Change My Life #3: Invest Wisely

After paying off all my debts, the next thing I would do if I won the lottery would be to hire a financial advisor (preferably a trusted friend) to help me manage my money and find investments that would stretch the winnings as far as they could go.

I would also take the leap of faith and invest in the little guy, people who had sound business plans and wanted to be their own boss. This includes giving to Kiva, a non-profit organization that helps to alleviate poverty by distributing micro-loans throughout the world. Which brings me to the fourth and biggest way that winning the lottery would change my life:

Top 5 Ways in Which Winning the Lottery Would Change My Life #4: Change Others' Lives

As much as possible, I would want to use large winnings to help other people. After all, you can't take the money with you when you die so you might as well do something good with it while you're here.

Now I imagine most lottery winners have long-lost family appearing out of the woodwork asking for money. But to avoid being sucked dry (which my family would never do), I have specific ideas on how to help my relatives if I won the lottery.

After paying off my debts I would also pay off my parents' and brother's debts if they allowed me too. And I would set up a scholarship foundation for all my nieces and nephews so that they could study at any school of their choice. My parents would live out the rest of their lives in fabulous retirement and comfort, and my family's foundation would have the financial backing it needed to get off the ground.

Finally, I would donate a substantial amount of my time and money to charitable organizations both in the U.S. and the Philippines, because volunteer work is a large part of sustenance for my soul.

Top 5 Ways in Which Winning the Lottery Would Change My Life #5: Splurge

This is what most people dream about doing when they win the lottery. For me the big luxury splurge would be to travel the world in style. I would buy a private plane and hire my friend Mike as my personal pilot. (This is an actual pact that we made.) To make my grandmother's dreams come true, I would plan annual all-expenses-paid family reunions to exotic locations.

My friends and I would enjoy spa services on a weekly basis, and I would hire people to do every single chore in my life that I abhor. Oh, the idea of never cleaning a bathroom again fills me with such joy...

Top 5 Ways in Which Winning the Lottery Would Change My Life: Final Thoughts

Many Americans dream of what winning the lottery can do for us. But in order for us to win, we have to play. With that being said, anyone up for a trip to California?

Sources:

The Curse of Megabucks Progressive Slot Machine, Slot Machine Resource

Megabucks by IGT, A2Z Las Vegas

About Kiva, Kiva.org