Winning the lottery is one of the best things that can happen to a person, don’t you think?

And why wouldn’t you think that? Why wouldn’t you want to have an instant answer to your money worries and be able to pretty much do whatever you want? Seems like a no-brainer!

Buy a mansion? Check.
See the world first-class? Check, check.
Spoil the heck out of your loved ones? Checkmate!

Except, the reality of winning the lottery is rarely the trip down easy-street that you might think. Here are a few cautionary tales for you:

David Lee Edwards won 27 million in 2001 and lost everything within 5 years – even resorting to living in a shed with his wife from reckless spending, and spiraled into an out-of-control drug habit. Tragically just 12 years later, he died alone and still broke.

Young Mickey Caroll was only 19 when he won a life-altering 11.8 million dollars just as he was heading into college in 2002. My goodness, this kid was set, wasn’t he? Well, he could have been, but instead he blew through his fortune by buying high-end cars, jewelry, and like David Lee Edwards, developed a drug habit. The result? A lengthy criminal record and a mountain of legal problems.

Now, let’s not leave the ladies out!

Evelyn Adams incredibly won two jackpots (in 1985 and 1986), totaling 5.4 million! Instead of staying on the lucky path that she seemed destined to stay on, she gambled it all away and made some terrible mistakes with investing. The story goes that she ended up moving to a trailer.

This next one’s not quite so sinister, but it’s sad. Janite Lee from South Korea won 18 million in an Illinois lottery in 1993 but ended up being too generous and giving it all away to political, educational, and social causes that she cared about. Within 8 years, she was filing for bankruptcy with less than $1000 in the bank and a heart-stopping 2.5 million in debt.

Huge windfalls (like lottery winnings or inheritances) can truly mess with your head and leave you super vulnerable to reckless behavior, but it doesn’t have to be like this. The value of a financial advisor is that no matter how much your net worth is, the means in which you acquired it, or what kind of future you want to build, we can help you protect it by creating a roadmap that’s all your own. So why not give us a call at 513-563-PLAN (7526) or click here to book a 15-minute chat?

After we talk, I’m confident you’ll truly feel luckier than our lottery-winning friends David Lee, Mickey, Evelyn, and Janite.

Regards,
Nikki Earley, CFP®