I Won The Lotto And This Is How I Spend It.
Winning the lottery is very random. But what is not random is what happens next. Some of us are not fond of lotteries as they are considered gambling. Which is true. But I bet (pun intended) majority of us do not feel offended with the thought of buying Lotto Max ticket for $6 and winning (Cd) $55,000,000 – the Jackpot for March 28, 2023, draw. So, I ask myself this question, “Should I win this $55million tonight, how would I spend that kind of money?”
What is the most important in my preparation?
Typically, the answer to that question is very practical. There are plenty of tips out there: contact the professionals (lawywers, financial advisors, accountants, among others). And activate my retirement plans, pay off debts. Call my travel agent, upgrade to my dream house, and dump my decades-old sedan, and be ready to hear calls from different charity organizations and the like. But amidst the frenzy of what-to-do list, one very important question is sometimes left out: What happens to my human relationships?
I ask you this question.
Before I proceed, let me ask you this question. What do you think will happen to your own human relationships should you yourselves suddenly find $55million – cash – in your hands? Close you eyes for a minute and pretend that you have won the lotto with this prize. Will your relationships survive this test? Or would you discover more about your family members, relatives, and friends? This is the challenge of this post.
How these thoughts entered my mind.
These thoughts came to my mind when I happened to pass by a convenience store and saw the blinking neon sign showing the next prize money. How exactly do I spend that kind of money? What kind of charities should I choose? Do I also share it with other people? Who are these people? And how do I determine how much each would receive? How long should my naughty-or-nice list be?
But, first, reality check.
Before getting ahead, there are a few things I need to remember here. First step, I must buy a lotto ticket tonight. I don’t have any chance of winning if I don’t. Second, I need to keep it in the safest place. I will have a heart attack after knowing that I have won but I couldn’t find the winning ticket. Third, I must tell myself that I have the chance to win. There is no point buying and keeping a ticket if I do not have any confidence of winning at all. Fourth, I prepare my post-win plans. At least mentally. I cannot take this part for granted, since random luck can come to me anytime. Although, I must also temper my excitement with the fact that the odds of winning for this draw are 1 in 33,294,800. But still, there is a chance, right?
Can I hide my identity?
Now, some would say that to make things simple, why not come forward and claim the prize anonymously? Well, it might not be possible. In Canada qualifying to keep the winner’s identity secret is very stringent, the bar is set so high. So, I just presume that my identity and nervous smile would be splashed all over the mass media platforms. And I expect that it is just human nature that my circle of family members, relatives, and friends would suddenly become as wide as an area affected by the fallout of numerous nuclear bomb detonations. Thus, I must take this into serious considerations.
Winning might be easier than what happens next.
So, how does a $55million affect my life, as far as the drastic change to my human relationships is concerned? First, I am aware that there are different ways relationships can be altered. For example, a death or a serious illness of a common loved one. Family and friends gather to lend each other’s support and strength. Or, to celebrate a huge milestone in someone’s life and career. There are many. Second, these same life-changing events can have unpredictable outcomes.
One true sad story.
I once attended a memorial service for a deceased acquaintance on three separate occasions. There were ten siblings who were bitterly divided intro three factions. Their poor widowed mother worked so hard for many years to send all of them to college. And decades later as their careers and family successes grew, so too were the chasms between them. And all started because of petty jealousy and envy for those same successes. Before she died the mother begged all of them to show some appearance of a reconcilation as a gift for her passing. They never did. During the funeral celebration itself, since three funerals were impossible, the family scandal was in full display to the guests. Each camp was conspicuous by the space it occupied inside the chapel. I was personally disheartened. I was the appointed mediator for that family. And I miserably failed.
Money is always the root of …
Money is another good example of a relationship-altering event. Especially big money. When it comes to money, people show their best or worst nature. No, it is true not just to the needy; in fact, we see some billionaires squeeze their poorly paid workers for the sake of their bottom line, and we wonder how much really is enough?
So, here are my plans.
Now I go back to that fantasy of winning the $55million tonight. On, no. Not a fantasy, but a confidence that I will win! So, let me see. Of course, my family and loved ones should be the first on the list. Let me re-examine the landscape here. My father passed away more than two decades ago, so he is not on the list. Mother is 95 years old and spends almost all her hours sleeping, so I don’t think she needs cash.
I have 8 brothers and sisters. And I take a special note on the sibling who is currently our mother’s caregiver. As of my last census, I have 27 nephews and nieces. But because of the distance, I haven’t seen some of them yet. And based on what I have heard, I presently have at least 3 grandchildren. Check and check. Next: uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. Check and check. Then close friends. Check and check. And, of course, let me not forget my in-laws, some of whom are closer to my heart than to a few of my own blood relatives. So, let me stop here.
Scenario #1
Everybody leaves happy. Each one gets a fair and equitable share. The other shares go to other individuals and charity organizations. What is left is for my decent retirement. And suddenly I became a hero. I am now the best brother, uncle, grandfather, model community member, etc. Now I can spend the rest of my life doing the things I love doing. I will surely have lived a purposeful life and die a happy death. Besides, for all I know not all of them will want to have a part of the money, because they believe they already have enough in life. This is the easy part.
Scenario #2
I have just stirred a hornet’s nest. How does a fair and equitable distribution look like? One sibling has 10 children, another has 0. A sibling has more grandchildren, two have kids with disabilities. And what about those who claim that they must get a bigger slice because they have grander dreams in life? Worse thought, how sure am I that no siblings have illegitimate children? Things, at this point, are getting trickier. To solve this, I should hire some professionals, like actuarial, accountant, math scientist, or whatever. But what if this makes the situation worse? Why do you trust strangers rather than your own heart? They might tell me. What should I do?
The community.
And since I may not qualify to dive into this sudden windfall anonymously, what happens in my community? How do I distribute the largesse without anybody feeling left out? Should I just rent the biggest arena in the city and hold a week-long feast? Of course, not all of them would expect to receive anything from me. A few of them would just express their joy for my fortune. But I am not sure. They might have a change of heart when they realize they deserve it after all.
More trouble
The bible has a story titled Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16), where a landowner hires some workers who are just as excited to be given the chance to earn a specified agreed-upon wage for a certain job. Then succeeding new hires who start at different points in the day come in. And these are to receive the same rate of wage as the first ones. The story ends with a lot of rumblings and resentments. Suddenly, it is no longer about the wage but the sense of justice and fairness. I do not want this to happen to my relationship with the community members. What should I do?
Scenario # 3
What if I do not share any of it with anyone, including my family, relatives, and friends? Say I just give it away to some organizations and causes close to my heart? Like, setting up scholarship trusts or something. Give to cancer and other serious diseases research endeavors. This way everything is fair and square. But can I live with that? Everyone needs money, even the rich people. Some can benefit from my generosity by accepting the money and giving it away to whatever good causes they deem closest to their heart. Even among my siblings, extra money goes a long way. What should I do?
Scenario #4
What if I just totally vanish? I change my contact information and delete all my social media accounts? As if I didn’t exist at all? Where I put that huge amount of money nobody will know. This sounds feasible, since I do not have much longer to live anyway. But can my conscience bear the thought that I was given the chance to make some huge difference to other peoples’ lives and wasted it? What should I do?
Watch out!
People will know that I have won the $55million Lotto Max tonight if any one of the following happens.
One, I will start contacting some of them. I will make up stories for why I need to see them in person. I ask them subtly about their plans in life, their wishes, their immediate concerns. Then I try to determine quietly how much they deserve.
Two, I suddenly become so hard to reach. I don’t return their calls, emails, and other social media messages on time. And if I return their calls and messages, there is obvious sign of indifference and disinterest in the tone. My blog posts are becoming rare and far in between.
Three, I vanished completely. My voice message says my number has been disconnected. The emails sent to me are bouncing. No activity on social media. No new postings on my blog site. Gone. As in disappear.
What about you?
Let me ask you this question again. What do you think will happen to your own human relationships shoud you suddenly find $55million – cash – in your hands? Close your eyes for a minute and pretend that you have won the lotto with this prize. Will your own relationships survive this test? What should you do?
Okay, you will say it’s not going to happen because you do not believe in lotteries. Fine. But if you do, you have no plan of buying any ticket – whether you are in Canada, or the US, or any country with this kind of game of chance. But that is not the point of this post. I just happen to have these thoughts because I passed by that convenience store and saw the neon sign displaying the $55million lotto prize. On your part, just pretend. How does that huge sum of money alter your human relationships?
Let me know your thoughts.
And, by the way, since I know most of you reading my blog posts are strangers, who knows I might contact you by tomorrow night. If I won the lotto tonight, I will surely not forget to share it with you. That is a promise. After all, what should I do with that $55million? It is too much. Just make sure you let me know how to contact you.
So, try sending your comments on this post. You never know. Luck can be random. And you will hear from me.
