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10 readers share how they would spend their lottery winnings
"If I win, everyone rides."
The lottery is an incredibly popular game amongst American adults, but the chances of winning major prizes are minuscule at best.
If you bought a Powerball ticket for every drawing for 80 years, there’s still a higher chance you’d be hit by lightning than winning. However, hitting the jackpot is still possible — just ask the Mega Millions player from Florida who won the $1.58 billion jacket last week.
We asked Boston.com readers what they would do if they cashed in a large prize. One of the most common responses was donating a portion of the prize to charity.
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“There are so many people in need. I couldn’t spend it all,” said reader Cynthia P. from Dorchester. “Give it away! Then hide!”
Some other reader ideas included starting a summer camp and creating infrastructure to protect water resources.
Read below to see what 10 Boston.com readers would do if they took home the big bucks through the lottery.
Some responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
‘Get away from the chaos’
“Housing in this city is off the charts and basically ridiculous. I would buy/rent a home away from here to get away from the chaos. I would also travel to various Nordic countries too. I would, of course, donate a bunch of it to various charities.”
—Kristine A., Boston
‘If I win, everyone rides’
“Depending on the game and on the state, you receive about 36% after taxes and lump-sum penalties. I have to give the wife half or I’ll never be able to spend the rest in peace. That leaves me 18%. Then half of that to family and friends, leaves me 9%. Then half to Catholic Charities and local land conservation, leaves me about 4.5%. In the end, I expect to keep no more than 2% for myself. A lottery prize of about $300 million gross means about $6 million net for me. A prize of $1.5 billion gross means about $30 million net to me. If I win, everyone rides.”
—Jeff, Danvers
‘For charity’
“Over $1 million? For charity. For international food, safe water, protection of animals at risk.”
—CG, Gloucester
‘Give some of it away’
“There are many people in need. I couldn’t spend it all. Give some of it away! Then hide!”
—Cynthia P., Dorchester
‘It’s the American dream’
“I would buy a house (it’s the American dream!), travel to Venice where I’ve wanted to go for a long time, pay off my niece and nephew’s student debt, buy for the first time in my life a brand new car, buy a small, one-sail sailboat because I love sailing, and hopefully win enough to quit my job so I can volunteer for organizations that help people. I would also like to take piano lessons and yoga classes.”
—Christine, Quincy
‘Enough to pay off my mortgage’
“I just want enough to pay off my mortgage and go on a nice vacation. I like the routine of working and would be bored otherwise.”
—Stefanie, Bourne
‘Start a summer camp’
“I would start a summer camp for inner city youth so they could experience the great outdoors. Things like archery, canoeing, hiking as well as STEAM would be enjoyed by the residents.”
—Bluefish, Dracut
‘Employ people so they can do the charity work they love’
“Depends on how much! If it were the recent $1.5 billion, obviously pay off debt, set aside some for retirement, give some to charity, and then set up a private foundation as a charitable business to employ people so they can do the charity work they love without worrying about job security.”
—Zac H., Tulsa, OK/Allston
‘If I’m blessed, I would bless other people’
“I would buy a new house, a car, buy my kids a house and car, and buy mom a car and buy my ex in-laws a house and car for helping with kids, and I would find people and randomly give them some money for no reason, because if I’m blessed, I would bless other people.”
—Shelly C., Goodman, MO
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