Powerball dreaming. Annuity or Lump Sum

[FrannyFrogs]

Lump sum! I might buy a million DVC points and spend my time in Florida, California, and Hawaii (and invite everyone along!)

Husband: what happened to all the money?!
Me: IDK, time to go to Disney again!

 

[antmaril]

I’m in my 70’s, so lump sum!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Looks like a huge back up from Las Vegas for lotto ticket buyers trying to get to the Lotto Store in Primm which is just across the border in California.

LOL the entire complex is on the Nevada side in Primm and the only building on the California side is the lotto store which has Nipton CA as its postal address. Reminds me of fireworks stores around here. We have one where the entire parking lot is in a county that bans em but the store itself is in a county that allows them. There are always a ton of tents right at the county line next to counties that ban them. Or Pot stores in Illinois right next to the Wisconsin border.

Using the lottery app makes it much easier to buy tickets. And an email when if you win.

 

[KayMichigan]

I remember hearing an alalyst advise the annuity, because people who got the lump sum tended to blow through all the money pretty quickly, and when it's gone, it's gone. With an annuity you know there's more coming, at least for 26 years.

However, I'm 58 so I'd probably take the lump sum.

 

[MillauFr]

Lump sum! I might buy a million DVC points and spend my time in Florida, California, and Hawaii (and invite everyone along!)

Husband: what happened to all the money?!
Me: IDK, time to go to Disney again!

Points? Just buy an entire DVC building.

 

[DisneYE]

We're 15 minutes from 3 different border crossings, seriously considering driving down to Washington state on Friday night or Saturday morning and buying a few tickets ;-)

Are you allowed to keep the $ if you win, being Canadian?
If yes, how would the taxes affect you, wouldn't both the IRS and CRA tax you? I know winnings in Canada are not taxed but if you win the PB, that's income you obtained in the US, no?

 

[GAN]

Lump sum….would you really rely on the staff at the lottery to manage YOUR money . Not me!

 

[starry_solo]

Are you allowed to keep the $ if you win, being Canadian?
If yes, how would the taxes affect you, wouldn't both the IRS and CRA tax you? I know winnings in Canada are not taxed but if you win the PB, that's income you obtained in the US, no?

Here's a blog post. 30% taxes are withheld:

https://journeyz.co/can-a-tourist-w...led_on_a_non-US_citizen8217s_lottery_winnings

 

[bcwife76]

Are you allowed to keep the $ if you win, being Canadian?
If yes, how would the taxes affect you, wouldn't both the IRS and CRA tax you? I know winnings in Canada are not taxed but if you win the PB, that's income you obtained in the US, no?

@starry_solo provided good info, just wanted to add that it's no different from winning on board a casino on a cruise ship or at a casino in say, Vegas. Obviously a LOT more money involved ;-) And a bit more paperwork haha

 

[RoseColored97]

Lump sum; a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow.

I think having access to the full amount (minus taxes, etc) and being able to invest could lead to a greater chance for continued wealth that would last longer than the annuity option for future generations.

 

[Cheburashka]

After doing a little research on it, I would be taking the annuity. It pays out 22.7 million in the first year and each year it bumps up by about 800k. The annuity is also treated as an asset to your estate so it would continue to be paid out after death. Even if you make some really stupid choices, you still have another really large check coming next year. Not that I think I could spend the first installment in the next 5 years.

Be careful. That's assuming that your state never goes bankrupt in a severe future economic downturn and defaults on lottery payments. There's no way to tell what will happen in our society over the next decades. And if you die in the near term, annuities are harder for heirs to collect from. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Also, in my state, lottery winners can elect to remain anonymous but only if they select the cash value option. If I were to ever win big in the lottery, I would definitely want to remain anonymous. I would avoid telling anyone except the people very close to me.

 

[Cheburashka]

I think at those amounts the $$$ control you.

Imo it's the other way around. Not having enough money controls you, because you have to spend most of your waking hours working, budgeting, worrying about money, how to get by, etc. With hundreds of millions of dollars at your disposal, you can stop working long hours, hire good financial managers and have a lot less stress.

 

[TCRAIG]

Lump Sum - So I can blow it all quicker and make the lead-in story on all the tabloids- ‘Women wins big $$$ and wastes it all on cat toys’ or some other click-bait headline…then y’all can read about me in the grocery check out

 

[Carol_]

Lump Sum also sounds extra dumplings in your Dim Sum. So that alone should be reason enough.

I’d take lump sum and Dim Sum.

 

[mrodgers]

I remember hearing an alalyst advise the annuity, because people who got the lump sum tended to blow through all the money pretty quickly, and when it's gone, it's gone. With an annuity you know there's more coming, at least for 26 years.

However, I'm 58 so I'd probably take the lump sum.

That's only because Idiocracy was a documentary, not a fictional movie.

I'm an outlier of most of society to begin with. And if I were to win a significant amount of money, I'll be disappearing. It may only cost me $30-40,000 of my winnings because one option is leaving everything I have (which is really nothing) and hitting the road on my new Harley. Or maybe a few $100,000 on an RV and hitting the road. I know what it would take to achieve my unobtanium dream at the moment, so the third of my top 3 would probably be pilot's license, an airplane, and disappearing into the skies.

Essentially I am nearly homeless now and struggle to move the the other way, but a lottery win would put me in choosing to be homeless as I would be on the move for probably many years as there's a whole world out there to see if I had the means.

 

[RoseGold]

Also, in my state, lottery winners can elect to remain anonymous but only if they select the cash value option. If I were to ever win big in the lottery, I would definitely want to remain anonymous. I would avoid telling anyone except the people very close to me.

You're going to have to change your name to Jose Rodriguez. Sorry.

 

[EACarlson]

Be careful. That's assuming that your state never goes bankrupt in a severe future economic downturn and defaults on lottery payments. There's no way to tell what will happen in our society over the next decades. And if you die in the near term, annuities are harder for heirs to collect from. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Also, in my state, lottery winners can elect to remain anonymous but only if they select the cash value option. If I were to ever win big in the lottery, I would definitely want to remain anonymous. I would avoid telling anyone except the people very close to me.

If the state goes bankrupt in a severe economic downturn I'm going to have much bigger problems than collecting my lottery winnings and it won't matter if where I had the money, unless I put it in Gold, which I would do with the annuity also.
No anonymity option here. The state has decided that the name and city of lottery winners is information "in the public interest" and subject to an open records request.

 

[_19disnA]

Yes, many states require the winner to made public so people don't think it is rigged and the money just kept by those running the lottery.

 

[Moliphino]

Yes, many states require the winner to made public so people don't think it is rigged and the money just kept by those running the lottery.

There are usually still ways to get around it (trusts, LLCs, etc.). The first thing I'd do if I won would be to get a lawyer and a financial adviser to work it all out and stay anonymous.

 

[MillauFr]

There are usually still ways to get around it (trusts, LLCs, etc.). The first thing I'd do if I won would be to get a lawyer and a financial adviser to work it all out and stay anonymous.

Exactly. Only a fool would show up at a press conference saying they won the money.