£108,000,000

[Mick F]

I stand corrected.
It was John Major in 1993 that got it going.

[iandriver]

In my case, the West Somerset Railway will have found a new volunteer. With his own Pacific. Money might not make you happy, but driving steam engines blessed well does…........

[Thermostat9]

Pay off the mortgage, buy my dream bike, give some away, then invest the rest, so I can live off the earnings.

I'd be happy never to have to work again.

You wouldn't even really need to invest - you ought to be able to get @£500,000 a year in interest just by putting it in a bank.

And if you couldn't spend it fast enough you would have more money next year and get even more.

But I imagine it's paid out over a period of time? Or maybe a lump sum is worth somewhat less?

[/quote]
I understand it is paid in full promptly. Big winners get financial advice if they want it.

[Vorpal]

Put it in a bank? Let them lose it? I don't think so.

[mike_dowler]

It's all right, the government will guarantee the first £60k...

[jezer]

Pay off the mortgage, buy my dream bike, give some away, then invest the rest, so I can live off the earnings.

I'd be happy never to have to work again.

But I imagine it's paid out over a period of time? Or maybe a lump sum is worth somewhat less?

I'm one of the post war baby bloomers, possibly one of the last to enjoy a good state pension. I fear my children will not have the same.

[RJS]

I've got a friend who knows that money can't buy happiness, but says at least at least you can be miserable in comfort if you are rich
I know I'd feel guilty if I won a load of money, just thinking about those that had nothing. If I ever did have say a million pounds, after setting the son and daughter up I guess I would buy a nice Bike or two, Spa Ti audax, Shand, with some nice bits, if I got tired of them I could give them away, and buy something else, all good for trade, as my grandfather used to say.
Can't afford to buy a lottery ticket, so it's not going to happen, also statistically you are more likely to be murdered than win the lottery, and I don't fancy being murdered
Cheers, Rob.

[Thermostat9]

Put it in a bank? Let them lose it? I don't think so.

Fair point, the winner is 41 so he could have the cash in a bag in the attic (I wonder how big the bag would be?) and spend £2,140,000 a year and run out when he is 90.

[Mick F]

Then what does he do?
I'd cut back to £1,000,000 a year so it lasts a bit longer.
Mind you, it would run out when he reached 149. Suppose that's fair enough, he wouldn't be able to enjoy it much at that age, but he could cut back a bit as he turned 125 to stretch it out further.

[horizon]

I think that £108m is a very awkward sum of money. Most of us could get rid of a million or two easily by paying off mortgages, helping out family and stopping work (in fact they say that winning £5000 is what really makes us happy) and you don't need to feel guilty about it. But above that you need either a seriously expensive hobby or a passionate cause. Both would antedate the lottery win and in many ways be somewhat selfless activities - even steam engines, historic yachts, works of art and old houses are fairly selfless in their way - they often need hard work and do benefit other people. Without a cause, the problems of what to do with the money and how to secure it may start to outweigh its enjoyment. And then there is the fact of £108m not being enough: for many of the world's problems (or even those confined to the UK) that I would like to solve, £108m is a drop in the ocean. And all the money in the world doesn't, at present at least, solve the problem of life and death. Hmmm.

PS I've just looked out of the window to check - no reporters. Thank goodness for that.

[al_yrpal]

Blimey! George Osbourne beat me to it on the free pension advice service. Have to think of something else?

Al

[jezer]

My youngest daughter won about £700 on a local radio phone in a few years ago. She was over the moon at such riches. She, and my three other children have since inherited £90k each from their grandmother's estate. Phew, that let's me out of future commitments

[661-Pete]

I have a total abhorrence of gambling. I'm not trying to be sanctimonious here, or instruct other people what is 'right' or 'wrong': simply saying what my personal feelings are on this matter.

Once, some years ago, my then boss (whom I didn't really get on with) decided to give all his staff a modest Xmas pressie. Very nice of him, you might think: box of choccies, wine bottle, or whatever, it's the thought that counts! What he chose to do was buy each of us a scratchcard. I surreptitiously fed mine into the shredder, unscratched. Perhaps I should have done so openly, but I didn't have the nerve.

My son, some years ago, did a stint working at an off-licence, which sold lottery tickets and scratchcards. He said, the punters used to come in, buy a couple of cards and get scratching there and then. If they got a small win (the sort my son could pay out from the till), it all went on more scratchcards and more scratching. Another win, and the process repeated itself. Unsurprisingly, the punter would invariably leave the shop with --- nothing.

But these things, on their own, aren't really the explanation for my point of view. It's just the way I've always been.

Anyway, carry on with speculating!

[Ben@Forest]

Whenever the lottery comes up as a topic whether on a forum or round the water cooler the most depressing thing is that the sole item of interest appears to be the winning and sums thereof. I play the lottery and have done so by subscription for 15 years, in that time I have generally received no more than enough to pay for about six months worth of tickets in any given year. However I am pleased that lottery money has supported everything from nature reserves to the restoration of historic buildings, from new village halls to the arts and of course funding for projects like the Olympics. If you can't see that first when looking at the lottery then it is a shame.

[Edwards]

I am a little surprised not to read about some people getting private health treatment instead of having to wait to get some things mended.

I do not know if that amount of money would make life any better for me?