What Will You Do If You Win the Lottery?

Winning a lottery makes you more vulnerable. You can become more impractical, over confident, extravagant and the subject of exploitation. It comes with a bigger package than you bargain for. Therefore, you should chalk out a "sound" and "realistic" plan to secure your future. Some of the things to start with will be :

1. The best thing will be to hire a tax consultant (preferably a CPA) to make sure you are paying the taxes properly and not breaking any law. As soon as you win a lottery, your name will be on the list for auditing by Uncle Sam. It is very easy to get into trouble due to an oversight and only an expert can help you out in this case.

2. Absolutely DO NOT quit your job. Even if you do, make sure you start a business or invest in such a way that you can ensure that you will have a steady stream of income.

3. Buy only what you need. Do not buy 10 of the same thing just because you could not afford to do that before and now you can!

4. Know your friends. If you see too many new faces, most likely they love your money and NOT you. So, don't waste your money on them.

5. If you want to go on trips or want to fulfill your dreams, take care of one of those at a time. May be you can plan one expensive trip a year.

6. why not invest the money in mutual funds, stocks, foreign exchange, real estate, etc. and let the funds grow? You can easily use the return on your investment to fulfill your dreams perpetually.

7. You can allocate funds for charity. In doing so, it is important to remember that charity starts at home. Try to help out the friends and family that need help the most and then make charitable contributions for good causes.

8. You can also think of contributing to the school or college that you went to. Maybe you can introduce a scholarship. All it requires is the heart. Does not matter how huge a contribution you make.

9. Maintain a stable and comfortable life. You should not be extravagant.

The main point is, DON'T GET CARRIED AWAY. Most of the lottery winners get forced to file for bankruptcy. They get destined for failure before they even realize it. That is because a lottery winner is similar to a kid who inherits the rich parents' wealth. When you don't have to work hard to earn it, spending gets too easy and that is what leads to the doomed future. So, be smart and make the best use of the once in a lifetime chance that you get with it.