If I were Filthy Rich
By dishsoapbox+198 If you won could you really keep it a secret?
I talk to my wife and we both talk about taking jobs with way less responsibility and stress. Like I would literally work fast-food or be a bus driver just to contribute to society. The problem is when you start going on trips more people will start having their suspicions. I would try to make my house as awesome as possible without changing the outside of the house so I could keep it on the DL, though the heated driveway might give it away. I would continue to try the same car (probably get it cleaned more). Eventually the cat will get out of the bag and i almost feel like people would have to submit formal inquiries that would be reviewed before I just go paying out tons of money. I want to take care of my parents and other immediate family so we could travel and not have to work as much but I really worry about jealousy, which in part has to do with me probably getting very jealous if someone close to me won lol. Last idea is buying a large piece of vacant land and building a mini resort. Everyone has their own house but there are amenities like a pool, arcade, bar, gym, basketball court, tennis pretty much covering most sports. I think it would be cool so you would barely have to leave the property. A gated community for family and friends.
Recent responses
+94 @PrimitiveThoughts You want to give back to society by working menial jobs if you win the lottery? Why not open a non-profit aimed at actually helping people, and actually help people? Why not announce a new job in a different state and move there to go do whatever you want to do without anyone important knowing?
+43 @Daegog You would hit the lottery and work at a fast food place because of less stress? What kinda fantasy life do you think fast food workers are living?
+36 @Annhl8rX I could very easily. There wouldn’t be any point in trying, though, because my wife wouldn’t make it five minutes without telling her mom and brother. 10 minutes after that, half of Texas would know.
+20 @AggravatingFun4525 I have an agreement with my two close friends that we split it - we each buy a couple tickets weekly. Aside from them, I’d tell my immediate family because I would absolutely give them some. Outside of that, I think I could keep it a secret. I’d live a pretty low profile life. If anyone asked how I retired early, I’d just make something up like “I created an app and sold it” (easy to say since I’m a developer anyway). I feel like if people know you won money, they feel more entitled to a piece because you didn’t “earn” it. But if you tell them a story of how you “earned” it, then the perception is that it’s rightfully yours. Of course, I wouldn’t spout this, it would only be revealed when necessary
+16 @Deskbreaker I absolutely could. I'm not social (no friends outside my wife and kids) as it is, so it isn't like I'd be blabbing to anyone, I'd put in my two weeks, and just appear to be going to a different job. I'd buy a whole new phone with a whole new number, pay off everything, and we'd start deciding where we wanted to live for the rest of our lives. We'd have a mortgage (so the property taxes are paid for me) on a modest house built on a hill with a decent view, so it wouldn't seem like we were just tossing money around by the handful. I'd also start by claiming it in a state that doesn't have the ridiculous practice of identifying the winner.
+16 @Eagle_Fang135 To keep it on the DL: You got a really great consulting job offer that was a dream job come true. Some WFH and a lot of travel. You make enough to allow your spouse to retire early/stay at home. With your travel job you have your spouse traveling with you. Because of NDAs you cannot discuss the details of your work or the companies you are consulting. The companies are global so you have domestic and international travel. Or your company (or new job) promoted you and is moving you to another state. Or your job became remote so you decided to do the RV life while working from anywhere. Or an Aunt/Uncle/Parent etc. passed and you (1) needed to take a little time off to go take care of the estate or (2) got a house or nice inheritance. (3) Got a nice inheritance, not enough to be life changing but your job is allowing you to work from the inherited home. Story can hold as long as you want as long as you keep quiet and don’t post on social media or have large conspicuous spending. Heck, didn’t you make a million or two on GameStop stock?
+15 @tabby90 It would be tough. I think you need to keep it a secret long enough to lock away a trust to provide you with a generous annual income. No matter what you do with the rest, that's your safety net. Beyond that I read on here that you should plan on going from the lottery office to the airport. I live in a state where you can't remain anonymous, so my picture and name would be out there. I'd travel long enough to let the buzz die down. Have a lawyer handle any correspondence requests. Then for a few years, I'd probably feel safer in a gated community for a little security. Or could live in a nice hotel for a while.
+11 @gudetamaronin I think you'd just have to move somewhere else and cut off contact with most everyone. I don't know how easy it would be to reinvent yourself or if you could contact your old friend group from a distance. Of course I wouldn't want to lose my friends personally.