What would you do if you won the lottery

What would you do if you won the lottery?

Identifying your community and giving back

by Peter Attia

Read Time 5 minutes

Have you ever imagined what you would do if you won the lottery? In an open letter to MarketWatch’ s personal-finance editor, Quentin Fottrell, an anonymous winner of the California lottery admitted that he barely touched the 55 million dollars he won (he only bought a truck and a house), and he didn’t tell anyone about his win. I can understand why he wouldn’t want to tell anyone, and Quentin responded that he could understand the urge to preserve anonymity, too. The winner also wrote that he didn’t believe in loaning money to friends, for fear of going broke. That admission resonated a bit less. In any case, I would imagine that winning that sum of cash brings a lot of pressure along with it—to do something “meaningful” and “useful” with the winnings. In his letter, the winner asked if he was wrong by not telling anyone about his stroke of luck and fortune. Quentin, in his response, offered a deceptively straight-forward suggestion, about how to navigate the pressure of such wealth and consider putting the funds to use: Quentin wrote that there is no need for the winner to tell anyone if he doesn’t want to, but that he may consider where he wants his estate to give the money. Pick a cause that means something to him and support it.

There seems to be an innate wiring for the act of giving—it’s one expression of the adaptive drive for prosocial behavior. There is ongoing research and some debate about the role of altruistic behavior in evolution, but social psychology research makes an argument that relates prosocial behavior with increased social connection and enhanced subjective well-being. Empirically speaking, I have found that philanthropic work positively influences personal health and well-being.

Even though most of us will not set up philanthropic foundations like John’s, many of us seek ways to add value and contribute to society as intelligently as possible. To this end, there are a few points I keep in mind from my discussion with John. The first takeaway is that charitable giving is all relative to the resources that someone has. For example, individuals who partake in the Further Pledge movement give away income that is in excess of what they calculate as the “living allowance” they need. The framework recognizes that the value of the dollar donated is higher than the value spent by the person who has enough to live. The second takeaway is to thoughtfully identify the community to which someone gives time and financial resources. As a rule of thumb, we are generally more informed about the communities we are a part of, which makes for more intelligent giving. The last piece of guidance I took from the conversation is that there is no “right” way to define community nor is there a “right” answer to how someone improves their community. The definition of community is flexible and not necessarily defined by geographic proximity; the Veterans’ community, for example, can span the world.

If you know anything about me, you probably know how much I love frameworks. For me, the right framework allows me to identify and stay on track with my objectives, serving as a helpful way to construct my thinking. So I was particularly attracted to the process and rigor with which John and Laura approach their philanthropy. While their giving is far different in scale and content, their analytical approach has had a profound impact on how my wife and I approach our own giving. I share our personal approach below, as one example of a strategic framework. But, to reiterate, there is by no means a “right” way to improve your community of choice. This is just one approach that resonates with us, and I encourage anyone who wants to give, regardless of amount, to explore what resonates with them. We structure our giving by choosing projects that fall within one of three categories, each shaped by a guiding principle for change. The first category of giving is to translational biomedical research that would otherwise not be funded by standard channels (e.g., NIH, industry), either because such research is deemed too risky, because it has no clear potential for commercialization, or because it’s simply underfunded. We specifically look for projects that are seeking to answer questions that will lead to a change in clinical practice within about 5 years. The second category of giving is to the overhead of organizations that we believe are doing amazing work. This sounds counterintuitive—most people are loath to fund the overhead of an organization, even when they are doing great work—but that’s exactly why we think paying the salaries of people doing amazing work is so important. Dan Pallotta raises a similar point in his 2013 TED Talk in which he communicates a different way to think about non-profits. Among other cogent points, Dan argues that a charity’s overhead is an important aspect of the organization, signaling what it needs to grow and succeed, as opposed to an avoidable income sink that catabolizes “the cause.” The reality is that without charity employees, among other aspects that comprise overhead, all the project funding in the world is meaningless. So when we find people doing amazing work, we aim to figure out a way to give them a raise and take away the stress of having to fundraise for their own salaries. Finally, our third category of giving is directly to people or small projects where the dollar amount can make a step-function change in an individual person’s life. Funding even one such project a year that can change the course of a person’s life by giving them the means to access something they couldn’t otherwise afford, feels more meaningful than contributing the same dollar amount to an amorphous pool of money without a clear line of sight into the lives impacted.

Again, I am not suggesting that anyone else adopt these categories of giving in the way we have formulated our own strategic principles. They simply represent how we define the communities we want to support and how we go about doing so. With that said, I think it makes sense to deliberately consider strategic principles that resonate for you in order to make the greatest impact. The framework for giving may begin with identifying a community that speaks to you, then selecting aspects of that chosen community which require change, or areas that could use support to avoid future problems. To me, the act of giving as an individual (as opposed to an organization) has less to do with the absolute amount given than with how the donation is used. Irrespective of the order of wealth one has or the absolute size of the charitable donation one makes, the leading question doesn’t have to change: where could your dollars be most helpful? Stated another way, how much good are we doing that wouldn’t have been done otherwise?

What Would You Do if You Won the Lottery?

Have You Ever Wondered.

Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Dylan. Dylan Wonders, “Is there a secret to winning the lottery” Thanks for WONDERing with us, Dylan!

What special days do you look forward to each year? If you’re like most kids, your list probably goes something like this: Christmas, your birthday, the last day of school, Halloween, and the Fourth of July.

Let’s say one day you do play the lottery when you’re old enough. You’re lucky and win a jackpot worth millions of dollars. What would you do with the money? What would be the first five things you’d buy?

Some psychologists believe that the answer is definitely not. In 1971, two psychologists first published research about a new concept they called hedonic adaptation. The concept has since become known as the hedonic treadmill.

The hedonic treadmill theory holds that people stay at approximately the same level of happiness regardless of what happens to them. This applies to both positive and negative events. Whether you win the lottery or become permanently disabled in a car accident, eventually your happiness will return to about the same base level it was at before the positive or negative event occurred.

Could this be true? Some researchers point to studies in which recent lottery winners report similar overall happiness levels to people who were involved in catastrophic accidents. One might expect that lottery winners would be extremely happy while accident victims would be quite sad. Unexpectedly, their self-reported levels of happiness were quite similar.

Researchers believe the hedonic treadmill theory can be explained by the remarkable ability humans possess to adapt to changing circumstances. Sure, winning the lottery will result in immediate happiness as you are suddenly able to do things you’ve always wanted to do.

You may have experienced the hedonic treadmill on a smaller scale already. Do you remember something that you wanted for a long time? Perhaps it was a new bike. You thought about it every day for months and then, on Christmas, it’s yours!

You’re full of joy and you ride it every day for weeks. After a few months, though, it’s just your old bike already and you’ve already got your eyes on something new. You got used to having the bike and it doesn’t bring you the same happiness it once did.

Winning the lottery is the same way for many people. It may solve some problems in the short run. It may also create some new ones. Over time, though, you get used to the money and it doesn’t bring you the happiness you expected it would. Instead of dreaming of winning the lottery, make the most of the time, talents, and treasures you already have. Enjoy your family and friends and make memories that will last longer than any amount of money ever would!

Wonder Contributors

We’d like to thank:

Leandra
for contributing questions about today’s Wonder topic!

Postcrossing Blog

Blog > December Writing Prompt: What would you do if you won the lottery?

The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!

Here in the UK, it’s already started to snow, which to me means it’s the ideal time to wrap up warm inside and do some daydreaming. So here’s a suggestion from Isaac (aka whitefroststreetboi) from our forum topic of suggestions for the monthly prompts:

As usual, I’ll go first! I have all sorts of dreams about what I’d do if I won the lottery! Most of them are sensible ones: buy a house, invest, put money into my pension fund, pay off my student loans, and donate a good chunk of it for people less fortunate. But let’s say you have plenty of money to do all those sensible things and do something a bit wilder, or fulfil a secret dream. What would you do?

I think my main indulgence would involve that house I mentioned after all, though. I have a lot of books already, and you can be sure that I’d buy more if I won the lottery! So I think I’d build myself a library, with plenty of room for expansion. I’d especially like to finish up my collection of British Library Crime Classics (I love the cover designs—wish I could send those as postcards!) and display them all together… and then it’d be nice to have a little reading nook or two in that library, to hide away and read.

So, what about you? What would you do, if you won the lottery? Do you have any big dreams you’d try to fulfil? You can tell us about them here, and use this as a prompt for your postcards this month if you’re not sure what to write!

The Powerball jackpot is at a record high — here’s what we’d do if we won

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On Saturday, there will be the second Powerball jackpot drawing this week.

A surprising number of Americans say they’d keep working were they to snag the winning ticket. What would you do if you won? More importantly: What would you buy?

We asked the staff of Business Insider, Tech Insider, and INSIDER what they’d do with such a major windfall (although we didn’t go in on tickets, so the likelihood of our fantasies coming true is slim). Here’s where that money would go:

Many of us would make a responsible choice first: pay off student loans.

«I’d pay off my student loans first before I could even think about buying anything!»

» The first thing I’d do is pay off my student loans, those of my friends and family, and set up a scholarship so at least one lucky student will never have to deal with them.

«I’ve often contemplated one day setting up a scholarship for Type 1 Diabetics, which is probably a purely selfish decision because I share this illness. But I know first-hand there aren’t a whole lot of scholarships out there for people with this chronic illness, and the cost of managing this disease, especially when you don’t have great health benefits, can be overwhelming at times.

«Take the financial pressure of paying off staggering student loans and add healthcare costs that more than double what the average American pays, and you have the recipe for some crippling angst.»

. and a little more fun.

«I’d pay off my student loan debt in a heartbeat. Then a chrome-plated Lamborghini.»

«[I’d buy] a n around-the-world plane ticket so I can travel to every country I haven’t been yet. Is there any other answer?»

If you won the Lottery, What Would You Do?

December 3, 2010 by Justin

Every time I buy a lottery ticket, I play this mental game of what I would do if I won! I allow myself to fantasize for a couple of hours or a day, the few times I bought tickets. Lotteries draw many people, but few win. I don’t think I ever saw a rich person win. The background of many winners is generally hard working people or people with difficulties who buy a ticket with their last dollar. With the odds against them, they win.

If I won the lottery, I would probably take more than half (approximately 65%) of it and invest in a business or tax free bonds. I know, it sounds boring! I want the guarantee of knowing I will have more money in the long run. Most people who win the lottery lose all of it! They spend it on frivolous things; give it away to family, friends and others. I would partially rely on experts that I know for years which include attorneys, accountants and other professionals. Having a network of people I trust is very important. Most people who win the lottery have to assemble those experts and they do not really know them.

What would I do with the rest (approximately 35%) of the winnings? The rest would go into savings so I can draw upon it until the business or investments started to show consistent earnings. New cars, house and some electronics would certainly be on my list. The key is to set a budget for these purchases. A lot depends on how much I win! I would try to keep it close to 10-20% of the total winnings. If that percentage is not enough for all the things on my list, I would adjust my list. Do I pay cash or invest more money and borrow to finance the house and cars. It depends, if I can invest conservatively and earn more than the cost of borrowing. Winning the lottery requires a lot of decisions and most people are unprepared for that part of it. That is why your experts are so important. How much planning should you make when the odds of winning is so small? The best advice is to spend a greater amount of time on things you can control such as your career, how you spend your money and future goals. The fantasy of winning is just a fantasy. If you like this article, please subscribe.

Comments

My husband and I dream about this once in a while, lol. We’d split it into thirds. One third would be invested so we could live and play off the interest. Each of us would take another third and invest it as we see fit.

I’d use the interest off of my third to donate to charity and spoil our family and friends. I may also adopt a few more dogs, lol.

Hubby would pretty much do the same, but he would also use his third to build a Curling stadium closer to our house since he is tired of the hour commute one-way across town every weekend, lol (he’s in a Curling league right outside the south of Houston and we live right outside the north of Houston…).

Yeah, we are wild people… 🙂

Thank you for your comment. I find it interesting how my articles get people thing about things! From your writing, I can see sure you are also thinking about the more important things too. I hope to hear from you again.

My BF is constantly talking about this. Personally, I would hire a money manager, pay off all bills, purchase a small farm somewhere, a couple more rental rental homes and then take a vacation to Bora Bora and allow my money to work for me.

Finally, I’d go back to my home country and try to work on some solar power installations for schools on the countryside.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It is good to only spend a few minutes fantasizing about “if I win”, but then get back to realty!