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What are the Most Important Things to do if I Win a Big Jackpot?
Progressive jackpots are among the most popular online games here at Everygame Casino. Some progressive jackpots reach seven figures. Whenever someone wins one of these massive jackpots, we publicize the win on the casino homepage all the while making sure that we keep the identity of the winner secret.
Money Does Not Grow on Trees
One of the most common memes about new wealth is that many newly enriched people squander their money in a short time. Athletes often get big contracts at very young age. These young and often immature athletes have so many people who want a piece of their pie that they don’t conserve their money well. In addition, many athletes come from under-privileged backgrounds. That translates into many millions of dollars being squandered by young athletes.
We hear about actors in similar situations: getting a huge contract and spending the money on big homes, big yachts, and big entourages only to find out that money doesn’t last forever unless it is replaced by more money. Performers, especially in the music industry have similar experiences.
Wealth Can Come from Many Sources
Some people inherit vast sums when a relative dies. In many cases, the heir didn’t know that they were in line for a huge inheritance. In some cases, a stock that a person held for many years, even decades, may be rebought by the parent company, thus making the stockholder rich. The same has been known to happen in the oil and gas industry as mineral rights that were bought in the 19th century suddenly become worth millions of dollars in the 21st century.
What Should a Person Do if They Win a Big Progressive Jackpot?
Here are a few very sound pieces of advice for the newly wealthy. We love when gamers win our big progressive jackpots but we are also aware that without careful nurturing of the money, many of them, more than half, will lose all the money in just a few years.
Act as if You Have Never Had Money Before
Of course, you have had money before but not in these amounts. It is very easy to lose perspective when you look at a price tag on a garment and the sum no longer has any meaning to you. It is much better to suspend all new purchases until you have acclimated your cognitive side to the amount you just won.
Stay Anonymous
If you are going to pretend that you have never had money before, you should also stay incognito as far as letting family and friends know that you have won a big jackpot. Also do everything you can to avoid telling just one person with their promise not to tell anyone else.
This is a well-known meme from the movies but it is as real as that the sun will come up in the east! Tell one person and before you know it, a lot of people know.
We say that you should stay anonymous because you will quickly find out how many ideas people have for spending your money. You will be expected to “help” friends and relatives. You will be expected to invest in many fly by night business ventures. So keep your winning to yourself while you perfect the best approach to your new reality.
Pay off Debts Like You Did Before
You will be tempted to pay off debts. If the interest on these debts is very high, you might pay off a large amount of the debt. Otherwise, it is best to pay the debts as you did before so you don’t draw attention to yourself.
If you have gotten into credit card debt in the past, make sure that you don’t fall into that trap by making no large purchases at all for a set period of time, perhaps a year.
Draw up a Will
Many people pass away without a will. If you cherish your loved ones, you should make the dispersal of your assets official and legal. This will give you a lot of peace of mind.
Take a Modest Vacation
You can take a vacation and stay at a better motel but not at a motel that will cost more than you normally spend on motels by a large factor. If you normally spend about $100 per night for a room, you might up that to $150. Try to avoid going up to $300 just yet. There will always be time to do that later on.
The key here is to take a vacation. You deserve it, not because you won the jackpot but simply because you deserve it. Included in taking a modest vacation is flying in economy class even if you feel that you can afford business class or even first class.
If you fly in business or first class, you will inevitably let the fact slip and then your privacy will end.
Begin a Learning Process that Takes Your New Money into Account
Unless you have had such large sums at your disposal in the past, you really don’t know what a million dollars mean. You have to teach yourself to have the proper perspective for a million or more dollars.
This is an ongoing process and it may last a year or more. You shouldn’t make any large financial decisions on your own while you are teaching yourself to think like a person of means.
You will need to learn a lot more about the investment world. Eventually, you will want to invest your money in a way that it will generate a lot more money. This takes time to learn so take the time!
Be Realistic about Expectations
We recommend that you invest conservatively. Whatever the most reasonable investment return per year is, that should be your goal. So, highly speculative investments are generally out but you can invest very modest sums on penny stocks or other high risk investments.
This is similar to the way many gamers play progressive slots. They play for just a few spins every day on their mobile device when they have a few free moments. This may even be the way you won the jackpot. Playing progressive jackpot slots in this way is just like owning a few penny stocks.
Keep Your Day Job
There will always be time to change jobs. If you have won a million dollars, you might think that you can retire. Keep in mind that a million dollars in 2020 are not the same as a million dollars in 1920! So, keep your job.
You might decide to look for a better job. That’s fine, but continue to work, to get up every day and put in the hours at work as before.
Go on a Health Kick
It’s always a good idea to eat better, get more sleep, and so on. The temptation for newly rich people is to go in the opposite direction, to eat things that you felt you couldn’t afford before and to pamper yourself.
So, even if you are already in good health, and we hope to everyone will stay in good health during the coronavirus scare, we think that making an extra effort to stay healthy will help you avoid one of the major pitfalls of having a lot of money on hand.
Emphasize Family
Do everything you can to strengthen your family. Reassert your commitment to your wife or husband or significant other. The temptation of people with a lot of extra money is to look beyond where they are in life. Cherish where you are. There will be changes ahead but the time for those changes is down the road, not at the outset.