Most of us have daydreamed about winning the lottery. We picture ourselves giving away cash to our closest family and friends, quitting our job, traveling the world, or even just investing in a new house. But are those fantasies grounded in reality? Have you ever actually met someone who won the lottery—and if so, what happened?Â
Below are some stories shared by Reddit users that are too inspiring not to share:
1. Friends won 30 million
One user posted, “Friends of ours won $30 mill. They took a group of us on vacation. [They] bought a cottage and built a house not much really changed. They are doing great.”Â
Another user shared, “Coworker won 41 million. She quit her job. I know she bought a house down the street from where she lived already, but that was mainly because, in our state, winners can't be anonymous, so she's been trying to avoid being “found” once it's out in public. Hopefully, it works out ok for her. She's got another few weeks before her name gets out there as a winner.”
“I have seen how my friends turned out once I fell on hard times. F*ck them when I win. I will be anonymous also,” another Redditor responded.Â
2. Paying off debts
A user shared how his mother-in-law paid off their debts, “My MIL won 33k on a scratch-off. She paid off some debt and got new windows installed on her house. The new windows in an 1890s farmhouse are amazing, don't think I've seen a happier woman!”
Another user commented, “Love this one. Windows are no trivial expense!”
A third commenter concluded, “The most adult thing she would have possibly done. As a fellow adult, I got excited about the windows.”
3. Partying harder
A user shared, “Two people, actually. One was a friend of mine in high school who won $15k on a scratch-and-win. She rented a house downtown and threw a party. Somebody said I should stop by and check in on her because they'd been down to the party and hardly recognized anybody. Sure enough, I got there, and my friend met me at the door, put way too much money in my hands, and told me to go get a bottle of wine. She just partied with whoever was around until it was gone, which took about three weeks.
“Next was a friend of mine from Toronto who is mostly known for doing zombie walks. She won a ‘cash for life' dealio and I think it's around ten thousand a month. She bought a theramin and started making 50s-style monster movies and is generally living a high-rolling rockabilly lifestyle.”
“I bet it's a really nice theramin, too,” another person commented.
4. The contented one
One user shared, “My neighbor won the lottery in his sixties, it was something like 1.2 million in the late 90s. We lived in a trailer park in a rural part of the US, a pretty low cost of living area so the money stretched pretty far. He bought his trailer and land outright with the money and pretty much just spent everyday drinking on his porch and yelling at his goats. IIRC he used a good chunk of what he won to put his son and grandkids through college. Died of liver failure at like 85 or something. Not a terrible way to do it, all said and done.”
“I like that he was content with the trailer,” another user replied.Â
One commenter also added, “Sometimes I think “you know, if I had a Bit more money I could live this same lifestyle and feel very secure. Then I remember, I could live a bit less luxurious and feel the same way. My money goes to good shoes and coffee. I play 10 year old games and try to walk everywhere I go. Still don't feel that financially secure but I'm putting money away!”
5. Bashed for not sharingÂ
A user has posted his friend's story, “Someone got 30k or something. Not too much, not too [little]. She got a lot of hate for not “sharing her riches” whatever the fuck that means.”
Someone responded, “I wish it could be anonymous.”
Another commenter shared, “It can be in some states. I represented a guy who claimed his lottery winnings via some trusts we set up. The state lottery even gave us the forms. They do require you to reveal the real owner to them privately though so they can make sure you don't owe the state back taxes, child support, etc. I asked him why he wanted to go through the trouble of staying anonymous when it was only $90k or so. He said he didn't want his girlfriend to find out, lol.”Â
One user responded, “TBH 90K to some is like 100mil to others. You'd absolutely have people coming out of the woodwork to ask for a handout if you had 90k.”
6. The Proud KidÂ
One user shared, “Technically, a kid from school parents won a few hundred thousand. His parents were chill, acted like they had the same money as before, But the kid was acting like a baller.”
“It's because $100,000 is a lot, but not enough to make a huge difference. Maybe you can be ahead two or three years in life. And that's it. Own your house faster. Get a new car. Unless you're just using the money to go on vacations (and that's A LOT of vacations), it won't be a life changing amount for most, unless you're already on the brink of homelessness or very young and in college (which is really the same as brink of homelessness if you're not being bankrolled),” another Redditor replied.Â
One commenter also shared, “I will never be able to have close to that much money. It would literally change mine and my family's life. I could pay off debts so we could be able to start saving up and not live paycheck to paycheck and constantly worrying about being able to pay for it if someone gets sick. I could buy an affordable, reliable car to be able to give my kids happy memories of family vacations. Yeah any of those by itself is unimaginable. But hey, there are countless people way worse off than us, so what am I sitting here complaining about.”
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