What Should I Do When I Win?

The VERY first step you need to do if you hit the big one is…drumroll…sign the dang ticket!!! You don’t want someone else finding it and claiming it for themselves. With your signature and info on the back, there will be no question who it belongs to. If it’s a large jackpot (say $5-10 million+), leave a little extra room above your name. Your lawyer may want to put it under a trust or LLC and you’ll need the room to put the name of that in there as well.

Got the ticket signed? Great! Make a copy of the front and back of the signed ticket. Do not laminate it. Now you need to drive straight to the nearest Wal-Mart or Home Depot and buy yourself the best fire-proof safe you can afford. What if your house catches fire that night? You make it out alive but lose everything including potential millions of dollars. No bueno. Keep the ticket in the safe, and take a deep breath.

Your life is about to change.

It is up to you how much this money will change your life.

Don’t tell anyone you’ve won yet, except your spouse. If you have a boyfriend or girlfiend, don’t tell them. Only someone who’s made a lifelong commitment to stick with you for richer or poorer is worthy of knowing this info at this time. Everyone you know is going to want something from you once they know you’ve won, so it’s best to not tell anyone but your spouse right now.

I know this is difficult, because we all want to celebrate great things with those we love when something amazing has happened. But for now, for your future sanity, please remain silent.

At this point, it’s probably time to go to bed. You may have a really hard time sleeping because you’re so excited, but at least try. The next few days may be crazy and you need all the rest you can get.

Find the next step here.