We've all dreamt of it. We've all promised to donate most of it. We've vowed to help out family members and those less fortunate. We've even gone as far as to pray to God that if 'He' gives us this one thing, we'll never ask for anything else. C'mon, we've all done it before. Admit it...
Especially when the jackpot for one of the largest lottery drawings reaches epic proportions. Like this coming Wednesday's estimated Power Ball Jackpot of $650,000,000 (YES, that IS six zeroes after the 650). Can you imagine?
Well, if you were ever so lucky to solely win the jackpot, the $650-million would not be what you actually receive if you took the one-time cash payout. According to USA Mega and depending which state you reside in (the Power Ball lottery game is offered in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) You may only actually get $272-$308-million dollars after taxes, and taxes, and taxes are paid.
So over half of what you win, goes away immediately. But still, who couldn't live on what was left?
Ticket from Saturday August 19's drawing- Not ours, borrowed someone's for the picture
I mean think about it... What would we do if we won (keeping in mind we'd have to play to actually win)?
- Yes, I would donate most of it. Some to our church, some to research for medical conditions, some to my old high school in the form of college scholarships, some to the Veteran's of America, some to animal rescues, some to... well, the list goes on and on.
- Buy my husband his perfect piece of property so we can get the homestead off and running. Plus he can hunt to his heart's content. Imagine the perfect homestead everyone? What would yours have?
- Set up college funds for all five of our grandchildren.
- Of course, give some to our children.
- Move my parents to our homestead. They are getting up there in age and I would want them to live their last years debt free and happy.
- Invest, invest, invest.
- Pay it forward at every turn.
It's only six numbers. Five numbers plus the actual Power Ball. Sounds easy, huh? The odds of winning are astronomical, but we can all dream, can't we?
So what would you do? What would you buy? Donate?