Money for nothing. The vast majority of people who win lotteries go broke within three years. Why? They didn't earn it, and therefore they don't value it.
The same rule applies to people who inherit large sums of wealth. In the U.S., most inherited fortunes are totally gone by the third generation. That far down the line, people just don't have any appreciation for what it takes to earn money and they piss it away. I saw a quote by one of the Hilton sisters, who was repsonding to criticism that she fritters her money away on useless crap. She said, more or less, that it was her money and she could spend it however she liked. She has no appreciation for the decades of labor it took her family to build that fortune. I believe, to some extent, that professional gamblers are an exception to this rule. They are more like professional athletes who make large sums of money in a short period of time. They spend money on lifstyle choices and the like, but they are more able to make wise decisions and preserve their earnings long-term. Why? Because they appreciate what they had to go through to make the money. Now, plenty of gamblers and athletes go broke, but as a rule they are far better off than lottery winners, who are almost guaranteed to declare BK. > Ray wrote: > That's one thing I never figured out - how folks can go broke after > winning millions. If I understand right... and I may not... a normal > treasury bill pays what.... 5% or so? That would mean a "small" > lottery winning of 2 million dollars could generate 100k in interest. > Taxes would take a third I think, leaving you with like 66k per year. > That's a lot more than most folks make. If you don't quit your job, > and you earn 50k - your now earning a 6 figure salary. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Save $10 Download ZoneAlarm Security Suite http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=66 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:145269 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
