Winning a lottery is like dream for everyone. Although everyone has an equal chance of winning this gambling game, chances are slim in the eyes of the people due to the number of entries and the randomness of the winning combination. Despite the slim chance, people still try their lack because winning in a lottery is never impossible. It is like a game where no one is discriminated. However, everyone claims that luck has a huge role in winning the lottery. In fact, everyone wants to try their luck for an instant fortune and fulfillment of the financial success they have dreamt of. “If I won the lottery I would…” is what we think of even we have not won the game. For Filipinos, there is a saying “libre ang mangarap”. This means that dreaming is for everyone and does not cost anything so what should you do if you win the lottery? It is easy to dream of what you would do with a large sum of money but in reality, there are necessary measures to take in order to secure your win and protect yourself from being taken advantage by opportunists. So, here is what you should do if you win the lottery.
Before Turning in the Winning Ticket
- Take a Deep Breath and Take Your Time
If you feel like you are going to win soon and ask yourself “what to do if you win the lottery”, this may be the best answer. Upon winning the lottery, you do not have to rush in the lottery office to claim your prize. The sweepstake company recognizes that winner/s may feel overwhelmed because of the huge amount of cash prize in a lottery. So, winner/s have an ample amount of time to claim their prizes. In fact, in the Philippines, you can claim your prize within one year from the drawing date. That’s a lot of time, right?
With this, the winner/s must maximize this ample amount of time to relieve the overwhelmingness being felt. Whenever you are overwhelmed or shocked with a happening, you tend to make impulsive or wrong decisions, so it is important to take your time to relax and take a deep breath to process everything with your most trusted person.
- Secure your ticket
Your ticket is the most important evidence of your win. The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) recognizes that whoever possesses the winning ticket is considered the winner of the lottery draw. So, if you lost this ticket, chances are your win becomes nonsense because of the lack of proof.
A good way to authenticate your ownership of the ticket is to put your name on the ticket with your signature to authenticate that the ticket is yours. This process will also be done when you will be turning over the winning ticket to claim your prize. This is also a requirement by PCSO to completely recognize that you are the lucky winner of the lottery draw.
Whether you are a winner or not, you should keep your ticket safe as long as the draw is not yet happening. Wrinkled, damp, or ripped tickets may not be read by the PCSO’s lotto terminal. The most important part of the ticket is the serial number at the bottom right of the ticket. The thermal paper given to you after you placed your guest of the winning numbers should be kept in a safe place as this can be easily destroyed by heat, water or any other element or chemical substance.
The most important thing to do is to not give your winning ticket to anyone. You must secure it by yourself because the amount of prize money is no joke. People around you, even your loved ones, may be tempted to fool you for their selfish desires especially with something money related.
- Protect your privacy and do not tell everyone about you winning the lottery
Being an instant millionaire might be the best moment for anyone. However, you should protect your privacy as there are people who will envy you and might take advantage of your vulnerability to fool you. Remember that the PCSO only requires you to possess the ticket with the winning numbers to be declared and authenticate you as the winner of the lottery draw. Additionally, PCSO also supports the anonymity of the winner as opportunist taking advantage of the winners, especially those uneducated, is not a new issue.
Anonymity is also important to protect yourself from external pressure. It is common in the Philippines to request for a share on the prize won by the gamblers. Henceforth, you should not let the people know that you won the lottery. Take note that this reminder is to discourage you to share your winnings but there is another way to share the blessing from your luck like donating from a charity or doing charitable activities by yourself. Sometimes, your achievements should not be told to the whole world. It is enough to celebrate in secret and share your blessings like a normal person with a kind heart especially to the needy.
After Claiming Your Prize Money
After calming yourself and following the necessary procedures in claiming your prize, you will now have your prize money. Of course, the overwhelmingness might still be there but your focus now is how you will take care of the money. The first thing that you may come to your mind is everything you imagined when you thought of the phrase “If I won the lottery I would…”. Now, after claiming it, here are the things to do.
- Put it in a bank account
You should not be holding your lotto winnings in cash and just put it in a vault or secured space in your house. There are fortuitous events that are unavoidable like house fires, robbery, or any thing that may cause you to lose your important belongings in your house. Additionally, there are benefits that you may enjoy if you deposit it into multiple bank accounts. Take note of the word “multiple”. The Philippine law only insures a bank account up to its PHP 500,000 amount. It means that when a bank closes you will be ensured that your money is secured and can still be returned to you up to that max amount. However, multiple accounts in one bank do not mean that you are guaranteed to be insured for each account you have in that bank. For you to be eligible in this insurance, you should open accounts in different banks. Opening a bank account makes your money more secured from unforeseen and catastrophic events that may destroy your physical money.
- Build a crack team
Hiring a lawyer, accountant and a financial advisor may be helpful when making big investments, tracking your expenses and budgeting your money. A lawyer may help you in understanding contracts that you may undergo as you acquire an investment. An accountant will help you in your tax and recording of the transactions you underwent especially if you opened a business venture. A financial advisor will help you manage your acquired wealth by giving you tips on the proper allocation of money so you would not spend much of it in things that are nonsensical. Having a lot of money needs a lot of discipline because you might be excited to spend it to fulfill your dreams. However, there are a lot of scams and scammers know who to take advantage of. Having a crack team can help you safeguard your money even if it has fees.
- Make a general plan
It is good to list all your needs and wants before you start purchasing or acquiring all the things you want to have or the investments you want to obtain. If you do not have a plan, there is a big chance that your money would easily be depleted. Of course, you do not want to live paycheck to paycheck again after you become a millionaire, right? There is this belief that you should not live beyond your means. This means one should not experience lifestyle creep. This scenario is an event when as more resources are spent towards standard of living, the luxuries you have in the past are being perceived now as necessities. If you suddenly upgraded your lifestyle without plans for sustainability, this may cause you to lose your money easily. Having a plan and a crack team with you will help in obtaining a sustainable future which will maintain your millionaire status for a long time instead of being a temporary phase in your life.
- Business Venture and Investments
The common ways to make an income is through opening a business venture and acquiring an investment. But if you are busy with work, investment is the perfect way to earn passive income. With investments, you do not have to work all day or monitor the daily operations of your business.
If you have huge funds, the safest way to invest your money is through real estate. Having a property will give you access to appreciation value of the property. If you have not decided to live on that property, you may decide to make it a rental business. With that, you will be earning an income per month. The most challenging for this type of business is the location so that income will be fixed per month. If you are really into real estate, you might want to check Bria Homes. Bria offers a lot of affordable house and lot and condominiums. The company has also premium offers depending on your taste. Remember that you should not fall in the lifestyle creep so you can maintain your millionaire status and enjoy your good financial status for a long-time.
So why should you invest in Bria? The property it offers can be found in strategical locations of the country specifically in Luzon. Currently, the business centers are expanding on the nearby locations of Metro Manila as they recognize the congestion of the region. The government also makes efforts to let the nearby locations more accessible so that people residing in these areas may now have a choice of not relocating to Metro Manila. See how the developer has a great forecast on the future developments of the area? That is what makes Bria Homes one of the best real estate developers in the country. It does not only satisfy your shelter needs but also gives you the mindset of a good investor. In fact, it also cares for its owners, so it built a community center which is known now as Sentro. With Sentro, it gives the neighborhood an avenue for socialization and to unwind from life stressors. If you are still not convinced, you may check the website or visit their Facebook page and schedule for a virtual tour of their offers.
The Most Important Attitude of When Becoming a Millionaire
Keeping your feet on the ground is the best advice and note that you should remember when becoming a millionaire. Not all has the chance to become wealthy instantly. There is also this saying in Filipino, “ang hindi pinaghirapan ay madaling mawala.” Perhaps, a lot of lotto winners have been eaten by the lifestyle creep and did not plan the sustainability of their status. Nobody could blame them especially if they came from rags to riches but there is a limit for everything, right? Maybe the best line to connect with the phrase “If I won the lottery I would…” is to make a sustainable future for yourself and your family. If you have this mindset, even if you delay the gratification of obtaining your dream car, house, or other luxuries in life, you will still have the chance to achieve it. You know why? Because you kept your feet on the ground. Your mindset should be making yourself sustainable rather than acquiring the luxuries instantly so you can feel your status right away and declare to the public that you have the money. You only live once but surely, there are other ways to enjoy life. The fact that you won the lottery is enjoying as well because it gives you an opportunity to make a better for yourself and your family. Enjoying your winnings is not discouraged. However, being wise is important especially if it is your first time holding a huge amount of money. Like any resources, money is limited especially if you focus on luxuries rather than building cash flows for a sustainable future.
