Winning the lottery may seem like a dream come true. And it really is! But, what to do when you win the lottery is a big question. There are a lot of decisions that need to be made. Some of them are quite personal, involving family matters and who you are going to involve in the whole process and if you are going to give any money away and who to, etc, etc. Then there are the different payout options that you have such as annuity vs lump sum lottery winning payments. The whole thing can be quite a headache. You’ll want to make sure that you hire a financial adviser that has helped other lottery winners previously if you want to ensure correct decision making. Throwing a lot of money at a person all of a sudden can be a shock to their system and you really only have one chance to make the right choices. The main choice that you will have to make is the annuity vs lump sum lottery winning payments process.
You will have the choice of whether you receive annual payments over the course of however many years or you can sell your lottery winnings and receive the lump sum right now. As with anything there are several pros and cons when it comes to annuity vs lump sum lottery winning payments and the decision is ultimately up to you and how it will benefit your long term goals. Having said that however, here are a few reasons why a lump sum might be more beneficial right now.
Getting Out of Debt
Almost all Americans are in some kind of debt or another and many of them are so deep in debt that they don’t think they’ll ever be able to get out of it. With the availability of personal and business loans and credit cards these days, it’s very easy to find yourself in a lot of debt. If you are one of these people, then you are probably living with a heavy burden. Selling lottery payments could offer you the chance of a lifetime- you could pay off all of your debt. Not only that, but doing it all at once will avoid all of those pesky interest charges that make it almost impossible to ever pay it off.
Making a Large Purchase
Maybe you have always dreamed of buying a brand new car, or a house or even a boat or a yacht. Whatever your dream is, you have the chance now to grab it. Annuity payments come in such small amounts, it would still take you years to save up. If you sell your lottery payments and receive the lump sum instead, then you will be able to buy whatever you want in cash and owe nothing on it. Not only would you be fulfilling your dreams but it would be a great investment for the future.
Paying for College
As much as most people want college to be free, right now it is not. It’s actually incredibly expensive and most people leave college with hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up in school loans. The only hope is that they’ll be able to get a good enough job in their chosen field to eventually pay it off. You have a great opportunity to either go back to school yourself or send your kids to college, completely debt free. Not many people get that kind of opportunity so don’t take it for granted!
Travel the World
Have you always wanted to see the seven natural world wonders? Or maybe you just wanted to relax on an exotic island but it was such a pipe dream. Not anymore! If you get that lump sum, you could be jetting off to all corners of the earth in no time. Plus, you could fly first class and do it in style. Depending on how much you won and if you want to, you could bring someone with you and make their dreams come to as well.
Annuity vs lump sum lottery winning payments, which will win for you? Consider your dreams, your goals and your life and find out where you are headed. This will help you decide what you should do.