I bet you wish you had the problems I want to talk about. The first is lump sum lottery payout. Should you do it or should you not? Let’s set aside the little piece of luck about whether or not you will ever win the lottery. Let’s assume you will. And when you do, how will you decide whether to stretch your winnings out over years or do you want to take a lump sum lottery payout?
Me, I go with the lump sum lottery payout. Almost half of all lotto winners will work after they win anyway so why not get your cash up front so that you can pay off debt, make house improvements, or send your children to college. The government is going to withhold nearly one-fourth of all lottery winnings anyway so it is to your advantage to make the best use of the remaining 75%.
The other financial advice I want to talk about is what to do if you are the recipient of aa employee lawsuit or other financial settlement. In the last 20 years employee lawsuits have increased by almost 400%. And, the average payout for a typical employee lawsuit is $150,000. While not huge, this is certainly a significant amount of money that could immediately help you and your family.
In both cases I suggest that you, if given the opportunity, take your money up front. If you consult a tax attorney or a lawyer they will likely quickly begin talking over your head. They may start talking about:
–structured settlement annuity and structured settlement annuity benefits
–lump sum lottery payout and what it means to take a lump sum versus annuity
— calculating a structured settlement
It gives me a headache just hearing those terms. No matter how much research I do I will likely never remember the difference between an annuity and a settlement. For my part the only thing I want to know is, “What is the fastest way to get most of my money?”
I seem to always be in the wrong income tax bracket so as far as I am concerned I am used to paying the highest income tax allowed, 35%. So the fact that I have to pay a penalty for receiving my lump sum lottery payout or employee lawsuit settlement is not a big deal to me.
I am not likely someone who will ever spend a large amount of money on a fancy sports car. I might, however, want to spend my unexpected income on a family trip to Santorini, Greece to see the windmills, brightly colored doors, and the Mediterranean Sea my husband I remember from a 10 year anniversary cruise we took. And to do that, I need my money now. I do not need to talk to anyone about selling a structured settlement. Show me the line I need to sign so I can get my cash. That’s right I will take my lump sum lottery payout the fastest way possible!