10 Best Decisions Every Lottery Winner Could Make

Winning the lottery, regardless of where you are in the world, is incredibly unlikely and will probably never happen for 99.9% of us. However, if you happen to be in that 0.1% or someday desire to be, then we’ve got a few tips for how to handle this brand new life that has made its presence known.

RELATED: 10 Biggest Lottery Prizes Ever Won

There are plenty of great things to do with your lottery winnings or ways to act, but for the sake of this piece, we’ve decided to narrow it down to 10 entries.

Above all else, though, congratulations! (Even though we’re unbelievably jealous of this accomplishment).

10 Helping Their Family

It sounds as simple as can be, but every lottery winner should turn to the people that have helped them throughout their life in order to repay them for their troubles.

Your family may already have a degree of wealth in their own right, but hey, it’s not every day that somebody wins the lottery, right? We all wish that we could do more for our siblings and parents, and this serves as the perfect opportunity to do just that.

We aren’t saying you need to give it all away, but a slice of the pie will do.

9 Pay Off Lingering Debt

Whether it be student debt or ten dollars that we forgot to pay back to our friend from down the street, everyone has a little bit of debt eating away at them here or there.

It’s not an overwhelming issue and it certainly isn’t a problem that we need to dwell on – and when you become rich, nothing is stopping you from paying that debt back.

It’s all about being the sort of citizen that you would hope your own friends and family would be, and setting an example that says the lottery money you’ve accumulated isn’t going to change who you are.

8 Learn About The Tax Payments

It may not be immediate, but the taxman is going to come calling – whether it be due to what you do with the money or the fact that you actually won it in the first place.

Do your research, make sure you don’t go too crazy, and just remember that there are rules behind everything in life.

RELATED: 10 Worst Things You Could Do When Becoming Rich

You don’t want to end up like the superstar athletes that wound up being taken to court over this sort of stuff. It’ll tarnish the winnings and it’ll get dragged out pretty significantly.

7 Hire Proper Advisors

Which, of course, leads us onto our next point: Advisors.

Hiring a financial advisor, if only for a month or two, will give you great clarity on what needs to be done in order to manage your newly-discovered wealth properly.

Taking advice from individuals that you don’t trust is a risky move in day-to-day life anyway, but it’s especially true if you have people that are practically strangers getting in touch.

Consultations are key to avoiding the majority of screw-ups in life, so make sure you do the right thing.

6 Give Money To Charity

Giving to those who are less fortunate than us should be a standard requirement in day to day life. Many governments from around the world fail on this topic every single minute of every single hour.

As opposed to falling into that very same trap, we suggest doing something about it by going out and giving as much as you possibly can to charities that matter to you – or to anyone, really.

We all need to keep fighting the good fight. Never stop.

5 Big Announcement To Loved Ones

We like the idea of winning the lottery and surprising those closest to you in some way, shape, or form. It could be a party or it could be by showing off something that you’ve purchased for them. Whatever the case may be, it needs to be a whopper of an idea in order to make it worth it.

RELATED: 10 Most Lavish Purchases Made By Lottery Winners

This all depends on what sort of person you are and we can completely sympathize with that, but sometimes, shouting it from the rooftops is a natural emotion, and we need to be able to manage that.

4 Remain Anonymous

Going into the local papers and letting it be known that you’ve won the lottery is great and everything, but you’re also putting a massive target on your back.

That sounds a little bit dramatic and over the top, but it’s true. Remaining anonymous with it all ensures that only those within your inner circle really understand how things have changed.

Stick to what you know, go about life in a normal manner, and just allow things to unfold from there. Don’t open that box unless you’re absolutely certain of what lays beneath.

3 Invest In Your Local Area

Never forget where you came from.

The instinct may be to move over to Los Angeles or somewhere equally as fantastic, and that’s fine. However, forgetting your roots and the place that got you to where you are is a big, big mistake.

It could be helping to build a new park or even just getting out there and mixing things up in the community. As long as the people within your local area know that you’re going out of your way to assist them and make life better for them, then everything will be okay.

2 A Few Nice Treats

Because come on, you aren’t expected to be completely tame after the biggest moment of your life.

Whether it be a fancy jacket here or a luxurious holiday there, splashing the cash (a little bit) is vital. If you’ve won millions, for example, then one or two outrageous expenditures aren’t going to mean much in the grand scheme of things.

There are times in life when people need to be selfish and do what is best for them as opposed to what is best for others. This is one of those times.

1 Give Some Thought To Your Will

Life, taxes, and death are all to be expected and while none of us know when our time is going to come, the preparations that need to be put in place before it happens are absolutely crucial.

It’s all about picking out the people in your life that mean the most to you and ensuring they’ll be secure once you’re gone. Alternatively, you can wait a few years and see how things pan out, but it all depends on the assets you’ve accumulated and how much of it you want to leave.

NEXT: 10 Little Known Facts About Tom Hanks

Source: Read Full Article