August 10, 2010 4:33 pm

Winning the Jackpot Dream or Nightmare?

We dont really expect to win. We know the odds are stacked against us, yet when it comes the National Lottery, we somehow imagine that 1 chance in 14 million is worth getting our hopes up for. How many people sit watching the results on a Saturday evening, clutching their ticket with plans of how theyll spend their jackpot winnings. Arguments rage among families about who they would give money to and exactly which Aston Martin theyd splash out on. Dreams about going into work on Monday morning and telling the boss where to stick his miserable badly paid job alternate with dreams of the luxury lifestyle, the holidays, the shopping sprees and never having to worry again.

The Lottery (and before it, the football pools) gives people an opportunity to dream of escaping from the daily struggle of earning a living. Trouble is, its never a simple as that. The prospect of fabulous wealth sounds appealing but the stories of jackpot winners leading lives of blissful happiness are few compared to the stories of those whove lost everything.  The impact of an apparently bottomless bank account can be negative and damaging with health, relationships and lifestyle suffering as a result. Few people are mentally equipped to handle all the friends and relatives that appear from nowhere claiming to be lifelong buddies and looking for a handout, or the smooth talking conmen adept at parting a fool and his money.

The euphoria of a big win can seriously unbalance a seemingly rational person who finds themselves taken out of their comfort zone and suddenly able to live the dream. However that dream can turn out to be a nightmare unless they are well grounded or prepared to take (and heed) advice.

These articles from the Sun the Daily Mail or The News of the World are typical of how peoples lives can be turned upside down when faced with having too much money. An International survey of showed that 35% of lottery winners turned out to be bankrupt within 10 years of their big win. A few million pounds may sound like a fortune when your bank account is overdrawn but its not enough to live a millionaire lifestyle and unless you make a plan it can disappear almost as fast as it came.

Houses, cars, yachts, holidays, racehorses and lavish gifts quickly add up and it doesnt take long before the money runs out.  Most people, when dreaming of their big win will state their intention to invest wisely but there is plenty of evidence that the thrill and excitement can break through the most sensible of plans, thinking that they have so much money, they will never be able to spend it all. There are stories of Lottery winners pictured with the obligatory bottle of champagne claiming theyll carry on working and will stay in the same house and to be fair, some do, for a time. For many the jackpot turns into a nightmare and theyre happy to return to their old lives when, to quote Monty Pythons Four Yorkshiremen We were happy when we had nothing!.

Duncan Glassey a Scottish based financial planner has built a business advising the suddenly wealthy concluded an article in the Herald Scotland with this cautionary note: “Money is the single most transformational substance in our society. It is seductive, alluring, fascinating, and perceived as greatly desirable. It is everyone’s dream – but you must be mentally prepared.”