When I Win the Lottery. . .

I have an Uncle and I believe his favourite five words are…”When I Win the Lottery.” Every time I chat with him, that’s what he dreams about. Let’s face it; who among us wouldn’t want to or hasn’t at one time had a dream about the big pay day?

Unless you’re one of the lucky one’s either born into wealth, a Prince in an Arab country or have some how managed to become a self-made millionaire, odds are quite high you’ll never truly know what it’s like to be “rich”.

Oh sure, I’m rich in many ways, just not in the pocket. I have a loving and supportive family, a few close friends, many other friendly acquaintances and my health, although not perfect, isn’t as bad as it could be. However, unless some long lost relative leaves me a fortune, I’ll likely have to worry about money my whole life.

So what do those of us without money dream about…winning the lottery of course. Here in Canada we have a couple of good lotteries that can at times get jackpots up to 25 to 40 million. When you compare that to the U.S. where the Power Ball pot can reach over 100 million, it doesn’t sound like much. Of course in Canada, our winnings are tax free which means if you win a 30 million dollar jackpot, you get the whole 30 million.

Since I’m quite sure I’ll never have to worry about it, I’ve never actually taken the time to think about what I’d do with the money if I won it.

For starters, let’s say I won 20 million. That’s a nice round number. The first thing I’d do after picking up the cheque and contacting my bank is disappear for a little while and take some family with me. I wouldn’t be going on a big spending spree; I just want to get away from all of those long lost friends and solicitors who have a tendency to show up at your door.

After a short period of time I’d resurface and make sure any debts are paid off to the bank to get me back to even. Luckily at this point it wouldn’t take too much to do that.

So now the fun begins. I’d probably put 10 million in the bank and leave it there for now and use the other 10 to do a few things, including giving some money to my family. I’d make sure all of my parents bills were taken care of and I’d give them a million to start. I’d do the same for my brother.

So with about seven of the 10 left I’d probably fly to Florida and start looking for a nice house. I figure I can get a very nice home for one million. I could probably furnish it nicely for a couple hundred thousand. And of course I’d need a couple of vehicles to go in my three car garage. Nothing too expensive…maybe an Escalade and something a little less flashy and more fuel efficient as well.

Did I mention I’d never work a job again? I suppose that’s understood.

I’d also make sure I had a new home back in Canada and make sure my parents are looked after. They would be more than welcome to stay at my place in Florida as well. Of course, if they wanted it, I’d get them a home down there. My parents aren’t the flashy type and my mother is not one to spend money frivolously so their money would last a very long time.

Once I’m established and my immediate family are taken care of, next I’d make sure the rest of my family is looked after. My aunts and uncles who I still keep in touch with would probably receive a gift of some kind…most likely in the form of cash.

Boy, it’s kind of fun spending this imaginary money. So where does that leave me? I have 10 million in the bank and I’ll say I have three million of the fun ten left.

Time to go on a trip and I think I’ll take some family members with me if they want to go. I’ve seen only a fraction of the world so far having been down to Panama, Belize, Costa Rica and the Caribbean. So I’d say it will be a month long trip to Europe as I’ve always wanted to see Scotland where my family comes from and see our family castle. I figure that should take care of a good portion of the remaining three million.

After returning I’d have the other 10 million to live off of for the rest of my life. I’m pretty sure I could do that as long as I don’t go crazy spending money. I can’t foresee myself building the “Bundyland Ranch” with a zoo and amusement park.

I think I could live my life quite happily from that point on.

Alas, the reality is I haven’t won the lottery and I have to resign myself to the fact that I’ll likely be working until the day I die and won’t likely see retirement. Even if I live that long I won’t be able to afford to quit working so I’ll just have to enjoy the relaxing times when I can and pretend that my weekends are my retirement.

Yikes…that’s pretty damn depressing. I think I better get to the store and buy some lottery tickets fast.