I’ll bet you’ve entertained the thought about what you would do if you won a million dollars. I certainly have. So what would you do if you won $1.1 billion? Or even claimed the cash option of an estimated $568.7 million of last night’s prize? 

Tuesday evening the third largest Mega Millions lottery prize was drawn. As I submit this piece to the News-Banner, I have no clue if there was a winner. If I were that prescient, I should have been able to guess the winning numbers and win that prize myself. Alas, that is not my special power. 

As of Friday there had been 23 drawings without a Mega Millions winner. Not since Oct. 14, 2022, has someone won the MM lottery. It was at $502 million then. 

Mega Millions drawings are held at 11 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays. For $2 you can participate. From a set of balls numbered 1 through 70, five balls are drawn; from a second set of balls numbered 1 through 25, the Mega Ball is drawn. The odds of matching all six and winning the jackpot are 1 in 302 million.

Add the “multiplier” for another dollar to increase your non-jackpot prizes by up to five times. You need only match one ball to win a prize ($2), but that one must be the Mega Ball. Matching two will also win a prize, but one of the two must be the Mega Ball. Those matches will return $4 if you’ve not also paid extra and guessed the “multiplier.” If you correctly match five of the five balls, you can claim at least $1 million.  On Friday, though no one won the jackpot, five lottery players won $1 million for matching those five balls. 

So what would you do with a big lottery win? I know what I wouldn’t do. I wouldn’t let anyone know I’d won, and I mean anyone (well, except maybe my husband). I also wouldn’t start spending my winnings. I would make copies of that ticket. And for sure, I would enlist the services of an experienced and successful money manager/CPA/lawyer/investment banker.

A money manager would probably advise me to sign that ticket and safely secure it. He or she would help me decide if I wanted a lump sum (probably about 60 percent of the total jackpot) or the actual jackpot. We’d talk about a trust and if that’s the route to go. I would probably be advised to be prepared for taxes. Not all states tax lottery winnings. Indiana does. My windfall will be appreciably less than advertised—but still a windfall.

I’m not about to assign dollar amounts to categories where I’d put my winnings because I HATE numbers. There are already enough numbers in this article to make me uncomfortable, so I’m not going to speculate on the amount I’d win or how I would divvy up that amount. I will leave it at budget categories that Jim and our personal money manager will help with. 

I would definitely set aside a portion of the winnings for charitable donations. Which ones? Right now I really don’t know. I can tell you that everyone wants what money we have now. I have enough address labels to see me through the next decade thanks to all those organizations that learned I’ve donated to the Cancer Society and the American Heart Association. While these two are definitely deserving of monetary consideration, there is no shortage of causes where millions of dollars would be appreciated and put to good use.

Jim and I would use some of our money to finish fixing up our Bluewater Drive property, making it just the way we envisioned it could be when we purchased it in 2016. And we’d certainly travel. Sure, we’ll take our new camper around the U.S., but there are places outside our country that are beckoning.

I suppose a category for gifts is in order, but that will be a hard one to determine. Who? How much? How often? Is that a proverbial can of worms I even want to open?

It goes without saying we need a category that allows us to further prepare for the future. I recently received an email confirming my contact information in order to keep me in the loop regarding my 50th year class reunion slated for 2024. How on this big blue marble can I possibly be approaching the 50th anniversary of my graduation from Norwell? Reaching such a milestone reminds me that I’d better have my ducks in a row. Am I prepared for future health issues, concerns about where I might be spending my “golden years,” and arrangements for this mortal coil when I’ve shuffled it off. (Pardon my reference to Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” speech.)

Here’s the Thing: I’ve already won several lotteries. You probably have too. I have a loving husband and family, and friends I can count on. We have the sweetest dog on the planet. We’re living on a lake with the best neighbors anyone could want. I’ve survived a recent bout of breast cancer and a broken hip. And I have an unbreakable faith. I would say I’m pretty fortunate and definitely blessed. But it’s still fun to fantasize about spending lottery winnings.

Oh, my special power? Being grateful.