6 Bad Money Habits That Have Left Lottery Millionaires Broke

Giving anybody millions of dollars at their disposal, usually ends well, however, there are those who fail greatly, IN STYLE. In most cases this is because these millionaires made over night carry forward bad habits which result in big money spending. It’s like adding oxygen to wildfire. You know it can’t be extinguished as long as there’s oxygen to fuel it.

If say, you win the lottery, I recommend keeping a cool head.

Try to stand firmly on the ground without having any wild ideas. Furthermore, if you happen to have some of the following problems, you better watch out for potential predators that are just in for your money. Remember, every story has two sides.

Gambling – Once a Gambling Addict, Always a Gambling Addict

This is almost a standard. I can already imagine the bookies offering odds if a new lottery winner will start spending big money in casinos. The most well-known lottery winner who has gone broke because of gambling issues was our beloved Evelyn Adams. This lady won millions, yet she ended up living in a trailer, broke as the day before she became a lottery winner. That’s right, I didn’t say THE jackpot. Evelyn won the New Jersey lottery twice, in total $5.4m. She spent it all in Atlantic City.

In my personal opinion, I find gambling as the worst vice of them all. Eventually you get tired of drinking, you get high and you can’t do drugs anymore, but you gamble as long as you have money in your wallet or your bank account. Don’t get me wrong! This is just my opinion.

Tax Evasion – Lottery Winners Should Know More about Tax than Common People

The richer you are, the higher the taxes become. That’s how it is as far as I know and the IRS agrees with me. The thing is, people who didn’t have a lot of money before they’ve won the jackpot, they are not familiar with the tax laws. The first thing a lottery winner should learn about is taxes. If the winner decides to take the lump sum, almost half of the prize goes away to taxes, both local and federal. Everybody wants their own cut of the pie.

Winners start spending big time before they know they should be paying their taxes first. Once they realize what they should’ve done, it’s already too late. They’re millions in debt because they didn’t settle their taxes.

As lottery millionaires, lottery winners should know more about taxes than common mortals like me for instance. Now, I’ve done my homework so I know how much I should pay and when. I recommend lottery winner to consult with a CPA as soon as they are aware they’ve won the lottery. DO NOT CLAIM the prize before you’ve consulted with an accountant.

Quasi Philanthropy = Poor Money Management

Well, some say that you can never be too good of a person, mainly because one person cannot solve all problems. And people are greedy. It’s never enough.

Sadly, but there have been players who had a noble idea to help people and contribute to good causes. Then again, they all failed. Take for instance, Andrew “Jack” Whittaker. His family torn him apart! He was excited that he can finally do all the good things he always wanted. Unfortunately, his story ended tragically. Andrew started drinking heavily; he was robbed and abandoned by all when he spent all his money. His granddaughter who he loved so much, died mysteriously. Andrew lost all people who once were around him just because he was a millionaire.

He wanted to make the world a better place. Sometimes it’s just better to be selfish.

Or, is it?

Selfishness – Lottery Millionaires in Love with their Jackpots

Being generous and acting as if you’re the world’s philanthropist cannot meet the needs of all people who are in need of money. Some people will push you away eventually. On the other hand, being selfish also drives people away from you, but you usually end up with a big cash balance. I understand lottery millionaires who’d run away from people who come out of the woodwork, but not willing to share the wealth with your husband or wife?

Once I heard about this particular case, I was stunned. In the end, the innocent party prevailed.

Meet Thomas and Denise Rossi. A couple who had a happy 25 year marriage has gone downhill. Thomas never visited a marriage counselor, nor did Denise. However, Denise filed for divorce out of nowhere. The reason, she had won $1.3m 11 days before she actually filed for divorce. Denise wanted to run away with the money, without sharing a dollar with her beloved husband.

This was a violation of the law, because she did not declare all of her assets. The California court declared Thomas the sole beneficiary of the $1.3m lottery prize. You deserved it!

Drugs, Partying – Jackpots Were Just the Oxygen the Fire Needed

In all honesty, I can’t point out only one lottery millionaire who has gone bankrupt because of drugs, alcohol and partying day and night. As I, “declared” in the introduction, eventually all of the victims of these addictions come to terms, rich or broke. Gamblers tend to end up broke, always!

These people never lived the life they wanted. As lottery millionaires they can finally fulfill their wildest dreams. However, be careful what you wish for, it might come true.

BONUS: Lottery Millionaires Who Never Claimed Their Jackpots

I despise people who fall in this category. They forget or simply don’t claim their jackpots. I’ll call them senile. It’s not a bad money habit, but the sure end up where they once were. If I compare these lottery winners with the lottery millionaires they’ve could’ve become, they sure seem broke to me!