A COUPLE who won a whopping $1million from a scratchcard have been advised to use a specific strategy which will help them avoid a common lotto pitfall.
The lucky punter’s wife told how her husband picked up a random scratch-off lottery ticket from a gas station – before it revealed the eye-watering cash prize.
A cash expert told a lucky punter about a ‘bite’ strategy for handling their jackpot[/caption]
She called in to The Ramsey Show to get advice on how the pair should handle their cash.
She told financial advice guru Dave Ramsey: “We’re way in over our head.”
The couple decided to take the lump sum up front, which ended up being around $600,000.
The other option would have been to take the money over a span of a few years, which would have amounted to a higher figure.
The caller explained that they’d receive all the cash in one month – and said that they had been told the jackpot had been cut down to just over $400,000 after taxes.
The cash expert told the caller that because the state had told them this, the final sum might actually be higher.
He recommended they pay for a private consultation from a tax professional to find out how much the taxes had actually taken off the sum.
He also warned of “bad information” that could be misleading by doing research alone on the internet.
Referring the the final after-tax sum of $400,000, Ramsey said: “I think the numbers you got might have been aggressive.
“I don’t think your taxes are going to be quite that bad, but they are going to be bad.”
The caller then explained what the couple planned to do after speaking with a tax expert.
She told Ramsey plans of paying off the house and their credit card debt.
The expert then quizzed the lucky punter on what cars they have, and if they planned to upgrade.
He recommended keeping a budget on any motor upgrades, and told her not to break that budget.
Ramsey said: “The people that have regrets and that people tell ugly stories about after they win the lotto are those that are not intentional.
“You have to be very careful and very intentional.”
He advised the woman to make a road-map planning out each individual step of their post-jackpot journey.
Top 10 Greatest Powerball Wins
The Powerball drawing on August 30, 2025, is the sixth-highest in the game’s 33-year history.
1. $2.04 Billion – Nov. 7, 2022 – CA
2. $1.765 Billion – Oct. 11, 2023 – CA
3. $1.586 Billion – Jan. 13, 2016 – CA, FL, TN
4. $1.326 Billion – April 6, 2024 – OR
5. $1.08 Billion – July 19, 2023 – CA
6. $1.0 Billion (estimated) – Aug. 30, 2025
7. $842.4 Million – January 1, 2024 – MI
8. $768.4 Million – March 27, 2019 – WI
9. $758.7 Million – Aug. 23, 2017 – MA
10. $754.6 Million – Feb. 6, 2023 – WA
Credit: Powerball
Whether it is investing, spending on a budget or paying off debt, he emphasised the necessity of a plan.
“The things that’ll get lottery winners in trouble is when they get half-a-million and they go spend five million.”
He stressed: “The way you eat an elephant’s a bite at a time.”
The host also warned that they shouldn’t go around “acting like you’re rich”.
He said: “This is sweet and it’s very nice and I’m happy for you, but you didn’t get five million, you got 500,000.”
The host highlighted that the cash could disappear “in the blink of an eye” if they were not careful, so cautioned them to follow his advice carefully.
The winner was advised to plan ahead carefully[/caption]
