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Winning the Lotto

(84 Posts)
Newatthis Sun 26-Jan-20 14:16:03

So, if you won the Euromillions - say £170 million - how much would you hand out to your family and what would you spend it on. I recently asked a friend this and she said she would ask each individual member of her family how much they think they should have and justify the reason. She has a large family of sisters, brothers, nephews, nieces in-laws etc but doesn't really see that much of them nor do they contact her. She makes all the contact and effort to visit them. They also have not been very supportive of the years to her so at first I was shocked as she is a kind, generous person but when I thought about it I though she has a point. I personally would go down the charity route as there are lots of charities I would like to support.

Dottydots Mon 27-Jan-20 15:52:30

The first thing I would do is to pay a top consultant to sort out my incessant headaches. After my head had been fixed I would take my two sons on cruises/holidays and have the time of my life.

I would make sure my sons were set up for life, and also, like bikergran, I would enjoy giving a decent amount of money to all those kind people who have helped me in the past.

M0nica Mon 27-Jan-20 16:28:32

Extravagent and complicated lies get caught out. Just say something if asked and say as little as possible. I would just announce I had won and most of the money was going into a charitable foundation and that would be all I would ever say.

Knowing my family, they are more likely to approve my action than send begging letters.

annodomini Mon 27-Jan-20 16:31:39

Set up a family trust fund to help the younger generation with education and housing. Provision for emergencies.

Anniebach Mon 27-Jan-20 17:20:35

Wouldn’t play the lottery too fearing I may win. It could ruin
my grandchildren’s lives

M0nica Mon 27-Jan-20 17:46:39

Annie That is why I would give most of it away and just give DGC a good start in life (university without debt and a starter home). DC are both in careers they love that provide a reasonable standard of living but both would benefit from larger houses (not huge houses) and a cushion to see them through old age (they are both close to 50) and will inherit our estate house and savings) anyway.

You do not have to give family members vast sums of money, just a good start in life.

Anniebach Mon 27-Jan-20 17:57:29

MOnica, you are right but I wouldn’t trust myself, two grandchildren through university and both in good careers, third is in her second year. One has a mortgage, two rent and this worries me. My late husband’s mother died last year , I refused her offer to leave me her bungalow and asked her to
leave it to her son’s grandchildren. It will help with a deposit.

notanan2 Mon 27-Jan-20 18:03:56

"A small win" isnt a hugely complicated lie. If asked for specifics just say "oh about enough for a few treats and to move house" grin

grannypiper Mon 27-Jan-20 19:00:01

A nice 4 bed house in the villages they already live in ( still in my name in case they divorce), a new family car, a holiday and clear any debt. They are too young to give up work, i think having too much time on their hands at a young age is not good

SalsaQueen Tue 28-Jan-20 15:43:13

A massive amount like that is too much. If I were to win say £10 million, I'd buy a new house, give some to each of my 2 sons so that they could have a new house, we'd all have new cars, and I'd put some in trust for my 2 granddaughters. I would give so much to animal and children's' charities too.

GrannyLaine Tue 28-Jan-20 16:22:06

Mr L & I were talking about this the other day. Only theoretical as we don't play the Lottery. We were both agreed that such a huge amount of money would be really disruptive to the entire family and we didn't have much of a clue how we would spend it, but definitely wouldn't tell them. We both enjoyed the fantasy of a holiday home by the sea that the whole family could benefit from. We had a great laugh at how shocked they would be when they finally inherited the whole lot grin

Doodledog Tue 28-Jan-20 18:21:14

I am agreeing with Notanan2 again today grin.

I wouldn't want people to know I had hundreds of millions - it would totally change everything, whether I wanted it to or not, so I approve of the white lie idea. I might extend it to saying that I had a fixed sum to share amongst the family, and would give it to my siblings - they could decide how to share it amongst their own children, as I wouldn't want to get involved in any disputes. The only strings attached would be that they would have to agree to keep the source of the money secret - otherwise it would be up to them what they did with it.

I would love a house with a sea view, and I would like to fund an Arts Centre in my home town, and give performance and exhibition space to up and coming artists of all types. I would also offer sponsorship to local poets, artists and musicians - something like the fees for an MA and a salary for five years after graduation so that they could concentrate on their art without worrying about the rent.

I wouldn't give massive sums to my children, as I think it would stop them from finding out who they are and what they want from life. They would get the lot when I go, and in the meantime I would give them a monthly income that would replace a reasonable but not wildly extravagant salary (£40 or £50k a year?), so they could decide whether or not to work, but not have enough to swan about on yachts or bath in champagne if they decided not to. I wouldn't tell them that they had riches in store either, unless something huge happened and they really needed to know.

After that, I would like to do something for the homeless, but I would have to take advice, as I know how easy it would be to do more harm than good.

Maggiemaybe Tue 28-Jan-20 18:47:38

I don’t know how it works with Euromillions, but the top prizes seem obscene, and I’m sure lives have been ruined for some of the people winning. If they have a good causes fund like our national lottery, I’d leave £167 million of the £170 million in that and share the other £3 million with the family. It’s lovely to have a windfall, but I don’t think it does anyone any favours to be given so much they don’t have to work.

I do play the national lottery as part of a family syndicate, just one entry per draw. So if I win my close family will have won too and it’s unlikely to be a huge amount.

Sidiusss Wed 28-Sep-22 08:26:28

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

Lucca Wed 28-Sep-22 08:41:21

Reported

Jaxjacky Wed 28-Sep-22 08:41:28

Reported

Georgesgran Wed 28-Sep-22 08:56:03

It’s an obscene amount of money, in my opinion - I don’t gamble, other than a local hospice lottery - won a fiver once.
To win the Euromillions, I’d see the family ok, then invest the rest and make it a job to give most of it away - even the pathetic rates of interest would give big returns, so big projects, but I’d help (anonymously) the small ones, where a small local charity is struggling to raise a few thousand pounds, or an individual needs an aid they can’t afford.

Lucca Wed 28-Sep-22 09:10:35

Old thread

Spinnaker Wed 28-Sep-22 10:10:51

Bugger ! Must start looking at the date on threads - I've just spent over ten minutes reading this grin

lovebeigecardigans1955 Wed 28-Sep-22 12:26:17

This is a favourite fantasy and I've had this conversation with family members and guess what? Even the fantasy of imaginary millions causes disagreement.

The main problem is that they wouldn't do the same thing that I'd do, and they think I'm wrong to be so generous. With such a large sum I'd like to give say, a £1m to siblings whether or not we're close or see them often or hardly at all.

If I had millions (and gave a million to them) who cares what I'd do with it? I'd give a fair amount to charities which I support. I'd want to give all donations anonymously to family, friends, etc, but have no idea how to go about that anyway. The problem is hardly likely to occur as my occasional ticket purchase rarely has one winning number, let alone six.

Kryptonite Sat 01-Oct-22 11:09:53

I think too much money may wreck the family. But I'd like to see the kids mortgage free while still doing something worthwhile with their lives. My husband and I would give up work instantly and have a home by the sea. ?

SillyNanny321 Sat 01-Oct-22 11:42:07

If I won that much I would give family a million each with the warning that that was all they get! Pay for my DS & DDiL’s house & wait for them to decide if they wanted another bigger one which I would obviously pay for. Buy myself a nearby bungalow for my last few years & make sure my friends were suitably sorted. Then all the charities that I would like to support that a lot of people dont even know about would be given a lot. My Kids could have the Animal Sanctuary that they have talked about for years. Leave it all to them in a waterproof will for when I die as they deserve it having been my rock & support forever in my DS’s case!

TerryM Sat 01-Oct-22 11:56:52

Have to say concern about the huge prizes makes me only go in the little aka $5,000,000 AUD ones or less.
I couldn't imagine the headaches of winning anything bigger.

Alioop Sat 01-Oct-22 12:15:46

A lot won't be going on family as there's only my sister and I left. Some friends would be given share, but a lot would go to charities, especially local rescue centres and guide dogs.
As long as I could buy a house by the sea, fill it with dogs and live a very comfortable life I think I'd be really happy.

Chicklette Sat 01-Oct-22 12:18:11

My children would get at least 1 million each, and the grandchildren would get a large sum. I’d buy a property overlooking the sea. Then I would set up a charity fund. I would mainly donate to small charities, and would make the application process as easy as possible. Imagine being able to just help people and charities! I work for a tiny charity, and fundraising is one of my jobs. The process is long winded and difficult, so I’d love to make it easy for the charities. And then I’d have money for holidays etc. I’d probably give my sister and brother a large sum, and my two nieces, especially as one of them is a single Mum in America, and I bet she could use it.

All that said, £170 million is a ridiculous amount of money, so I would do my best to use it to help individuals in need. I’d do it through local charities so that I didn’t get ripped off.

NannaGrandad Sat 01-Oct-22 12:28:13

I’d share with my immediate family, donate to charity and travel in comfort. All the usual things…. and I’ve have the heating on full blast this winter ?