# If you win the lottery



## Caroline (Apr 9, 2009)

what would you do?

With our last two bigger than normal wins we bought a new washing machine and had the fence repaired. If I win enough I want to buy a bigger house so that we each have a room (there are four of us)to do as we please in, a library/study, a family room, eight bedrooms (spare rooms for guests) with ensuite loos and showers, kitchen, dinning room, utility room, a gym or room with dance floor (big boy likes karate, I like tai chi, little boy will join whoever gives most attention) a work shop for the old man, a junk room so that I throw in everyone elses mess if it starts to get in the way and a couple of cleaners to help keep things all sparkling and nice. Think with my delusions of grandeur it will have to be a substanntial win...


----------



## Northerner (Apr 9, 2009)

I stopped doing the lottery - in several years I only ever won the odd ?10 prize. I was in a syndicate at my last place of work and we put in about ?20 a week and hardly ever won even a tenner. I think sometimes it's hard to get your head round the odds of winning big - I probably had a much greater chance of getting Type 1 diabetes! In theory, you should have just as great a chance of winning if you pick 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 - but that doesn't seem right at all!

I think it would be nice to have enough money just to pay off my mortgage and live comfortably. More money would probably go to helping family members and some of my favourite charities.

What I don't understand is these people who have more than enough money than they'll ever be able to spend, but still employ armies of accountants to dodge paying taxes etc. Greedy hypocrites like these politicians who claim unwarranted expenses - within the rules, maybe, but morally indefensible. Or the bankers and their ilk still rewarding themselves for failure on a massive scale. Bill Gates does a lot of good work, but I do object to his virtual monopoly of computer operating systems with such a shoddy, plagiarised, bloated product. 

Oops! I just went off on one again!


----------



## Caroline (Apr 9, 2009)

Luckily for me we finished paying our mortgage two years ago.

All the poloticians who claim their expenses within the rules wrote the rules. The thing that bugs me is I am expected to take a below inflation pay rise yet still pay for all the other things that keep going up. If rail fares go up much more I'll have to give up work and start claiming benefits....


----------



## aymes (Apr 9, 2009)

Caroline said:


> what would you do?
> 
> With our last two bigger than normal wins we bought a new washing machine and had the fence repaired. If I win enough I want to buy a bigger house so that we each have a room (there are four of us)to do as we please in, a library/study, a family room, eight bedrooms (spare rooms for guests) with ensuite loos and showers, kitchen, dinning room, utility room, a gym or room with dance floor (big boy likes karate, I like tai chi, little boy will join whoever gives most attention) a work shop for the old man, a junk room so that I throw in everyone elses mess if it starts to get in the way and a couple of cleaners to help keep things all sparkling and nice. Think with my delusions of grandeur it will have to be a substanntial win...



I've probably thought about this far to much.... but if I ever won big  on the lottery I would give half to charity that would include existing charities and potentially setting up a trust myself either within an organisation or on my own. With the other half a large chunk would go to family including paying off any debts. With the remainder I would buy myself a house, not a huge mansion but big enough to have my dream kitchen (huge wooden 'farmhouse' table, red aga etc etc) a library and a shoe room! I would learn to drive and get a red mini. I would also have a holiday and visit every state in America and in particular revisit the area where I went to university overthere.

Sorry, think I've gone off into my own little dream world there.....


----------



## bev (Apr 10, 2009)

I would give up any huge win for someone to find a cure for diabetes! Sorry if i am being miserable - i just hate diabetes today - Alex is so high and he cant exercise or have any fun - i hate it!Bev


----------



## Northerner (Apr 10, 2009)

bev said:


> I would give up any huge win for someone to find a cure for diabetes! Sorry if i am being miserable - i just hate diabetes today - Alex is so high and he cant exercise or have any fun - i hate it!Bev



I'm sorry to hear that bev, I hope things improve soon.


----------



## bev (Apr 10, 2009)

Thanks Northerner,
Its so nice to know that people care! I have given him an extra injection to bring him down he was 22.5 - so now we are off to find some scarecrows that are hidden all around Lacock in Wiltshire!  Bev


----------



## Einstein (Apr 10, 2009)

If I win big, the first hurdle will be recovering from the sudden shock and who knows what that will do to my levels... thereafter, a few charities will benefit, and the rest, I really haven't a clue what I'd do with it... buy a thinner matress as my ceilings aren't that high and if I stuff any more under this matress I won't be able to get into bed...

Well with the current mess in the banking sector, do you really think I'd trust it to that bunch of crooks? 

Actually, making the bed out of solid gold, perhaps just the ingots - at thats the ultimate trading currency


----------



## Caroline Wilson (Apr 10, 2009)

bev said:


> I would give up any huge win for someone to find a cure for diabetes! Sorry if i am being miserable - i just hate diabetes today - Alex is so high and he cant exercise or have any fun - i hate it!Bev



I hope Alex is feeling better. It can't be much fun for him. If I were in the same position I'd want to do the same for my boys, I hate it when they have normal things like coughs and colds.


----------



## Northerner (Apr 10, 2009)

Caroline Wilson said:


> ...I hate it when they have normal things like coughs and colds.



Surely you mean 'man flu'!


----------



## bev (Apr 10, 2009)

Hi,
We had a lovely afternoon finding scarecrows! But the best thing was - Alex's levels were 6 before lunch and 9 a couple of hours later! He hasnt been in single figures for a few days! Wooppeee!!! Bev


----------



## Caroline Wilson (Apr 11, 2009)

Northerner said:


> Surely you mean 'man flu'!



Little one is only 4 so dodesn't know what man flu is yet and big one knows me too well to get man flu when he only has a cold. he gets the lemon beechams embeded in the side of his head if he exagerates too much. If he realy is ill I will call the doctor, so I'm not that unsympathetic...


----------



## Caroline Wilson (Apr 11, 2009)

bev said:


> Hi,
> We had a lovely afternoon finding scarecrows! But the best thing was - Alex's levels were 6 before lunch and 9 a couple of hours later! He hasnt been in single figures for a few days! Wooppeee!!! Bev



Well done Bev and Alex. I hope you enjoy the rest of Easter. these things are bad enough when you're grown up, but seem worse when your a kid and see all of your friends enjoying sweet treats.


----------



## Einstein (Apr 11, 2009)

bev said:


> Hi,
> We had a lovely afternoon finding scarecrows! But the best thing was - Alex's levels were 6 before lunch and 9 a couple of hours later! He hasnt been in single figures for a few days! Wooppeee!!! Bev


 
Hi Bev,

I was working the house and while I might have looked like a scarecrow, I wasn't in Lacock yesterday - couldn't have been me! 

Have a great weekend, hope the little chaps levels have remained under control!


----------



## Sugarbum (Apr 11, 2009)

aymes said:


> I've probably thought about this far to much.... but if I ever won big  on the lottery I would give half to charity that would include existing charities and potentially setting up a trust myself either within an organisation or on my own. With the other half a large chunk would go to family including paying off any debts. With the remainder I would buy myself a house, not a huge mansion but big enough to have my dream kitchen (huge wooden 'farmhouse' table, red aga etc etc) a library and a shoe room! I would learn to drive and get a red mini. I would also have a holiday and visit every state in America and in particular revisit the area where I went to university overthere.
> 
> Sorry, think I've gone off into my own little dream world there.....



Sounds lovely! both the kitchen (ive always said that I wouldnt crae too much about the house of my dreams as long as it had a large farmhouse style kitchen and room enough for a table and to live in essentially!). Where did you go to university in the US? I was a nanny there many years ago now and would love to revisit the area. But I would most like to do a big circle, do Canada left to right and then down the east side of America and then through the middle and up the west coast back to the begining....

I think Ive also just gone off in my dream world....!


----------



## aymes (Apr 11, 2009)

Sugarbum said:


> Where did you go to university in the US? I was a nanny there many years ago now and would love to revisit the area. But I would most like to do a big circle, do Canada left to right and then down the east side of America and then through the middle and up the west coast back to the begining....
> 
> I think Ive also just gone off in my dream world....!



I was in Virginia, in a little place called Roanoke which is right in the Blue Ridge Mountains, absolutely beautiful. Where were you based? Did you get to do much travelling when you were there? 
 I really want to do the visiting every state thing, I met Stephen Fry towards the end of last year and spoke to him about the trip he did for the recent tv show and it sounded amazing, very jealous.


----------



## Northerner (Apr 12, 2009)

aymes said:


> I was in Virginia, in a little place called Roanoke which is right in the Blue Ridge Mountains, absolutely beautiful. Where were you based? Did you get to do much travelling when you were there?
> I really want to do the visiting every state thing, I met Stephen Fry towards the end of last year and spoke to him about the trip he did for the recent tv show and it sounded amazing, very jealous.



I'm more jealous that you met Stephen Fry, he's one of my heroes! How did that come about, if you don't mind me asking?


----------



## aymes (Apr 12, 2009)

Northerner said:


> I'm more jealous that you met Stephen Fry, he's one of my heroes! How did that come about, if you don't mind me asking?



He's a local man so you do tend to see him around here fairly regularly. But it was at an event/signing for an event to launch his book that I was referring to.
You'll have to start hanging around Norfolk if you want to meet him!!


----------



## mikep1979 (Apr 12, 2009)

if i won the lotto i would have to donate half to duk and then the other half would set me and the wife on a trip round the world with the kids. simple but my dream it is lol


----------



## Sugarbum (Apr 12, 2009)

*Blimey O Reilly!*



aymes said:


> I was in Virginia, in a little place called Roanoke which is right in the Blue Ridge Mountains, absolutely beautiful. Where were you based? Did you get to do much travelling when you were there?



I was in VIRGINIA too! Arlington. Nice spot. Never went to the Blue Ridge Mountains, sounds fantastic. Good times!


----------



## aymes (Apr 13, 2009)

Sugarbum said:


> I was in VIRGINIA too! Arlington. Nice spot. Never went to the Blue Ridge Mountains, sounds fantastic. Good times!



Small world! I visited Arlington Cemetary while on a trip to DC but didn't venture into Arlington itself.


----------



## Ikklemo (Apr 13, 2009)

If only I could win the lottery what would I do?

Probably the boring, clear my mortgage, pay any debts, invest some, sort my family out, spend a little and save a little for my old age!


----------



## Caroline Wilson (Apr 13, 2009)

Ikklemo said:


> If only I could win the lottery what would I do?
> 
> Probably the boring, clear my mortgage, pay any debts, invest some, sort my family out, spend a little and save a little for my old age!



Not boring at all. Once the mortgage and debts are paid off, the is a big relief of stress, and many people want to help their families. All of my family is pretty well set up so no need to worry about them. i did think about giving them a holiday, but it would have to be lots of separate holidays as they don't all get on...


----------



## WHT (Dec 19, 2018)

If I won the lottery after the initial 'clear debts etc;' I'd do a lot to help homeless people, carers, disability. . .then you'd have an official gov body come along and say 'no, no, no, no can't do that, can't have that, can't access that and you most definately owe us!'. They'd be the first in the queue with their hand out! ! !


----------



## mikeyB (Dec 19, 2018)

If I won I’d buy a Roller and pay a chauffeur to drive us around. That’s after building a bungalow with nice wide doors for a Whill Model A four wheel drive wheelchair. In Scotland, though  - I do like having an NHS that doesn’t have CCGs imposing their capricious will on GPs. And buy a nice Purdey Damascus to blast Grey Squirrels and ring necked parakeets.

Oh, and an apartment in Venice. With a lift. And only emerge in the early morning or in the evening, when the peasants on the cruise ships disappear. 

Wouldn’t all be self, though, I’d increase the money I already give to charity to more substantial levels. Honest.


----------



## C&E Guy (Dec 19, 2018)

I would clear my desk and say goodbye to my friends at work. Mind you, they're in the same syndicate so would all be winners too.

A new house (bungalow) that I would design with big rooms & en suites. Some with walk in showers. Perhaps a small swimming pool as well. No loft - everything accessible in a storage room. A room for watching tv, listening to music or reading.

I'd employ a cleaner/housekeeper and a good chef to make all those lovely dishes you see on tv.

Maybe have some animals (horses, chickens, reindeer and I've always wanted a pet cheetah!) and pay someone to help look after them.

Charities would benefit a lot.


----------



## grainger (Dec 19, 2018)

Travel travel and more travel.

Oh and give family/friends some


----------



## eggyg (Dec 19, 2018)

I would first and foremost make sure my children were financially settled then would just travel all over the world, ticking off all my bucket list items, first class of course!


----------

