It Feels Good Win Agains Republican
Everybody needs coin to survive. Information technology'due south a fact nosotros may not similar, but it'south still a fact. Some other inescapable truth is that virtually of us could utilize more than money for the things we demand too as the things we just want. That probably makes the hope of winning the lottery sound like a dream come true, but the reality is much more than complicated than that.
Consider this cautionary tale of a adult female in desperate need who won an unbelievable corporeality of money. The choices and mistakes she made after winning ultimately resulted in losing it all. Her story reminds u.s. all to never forget that money doesn't buy happiness.
Meet Marie Holmes
When she was 26, Marie Holmes was living a difficult life in Northward Carolina. She was a hard-working, unmarried female parent of four with ii depression-paying jobs. On top of this, i of her children had just been diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
Considering of her child's special needs, Marie was forced to quit both of her jobs to care for him full time. Plainly, the $188 meg lottery windfall seemed like a Godsend when Marie won, but unfortunately, she made a series of poor decisions that resulted in her losing information technology all.
Marie's Original Plans
Marie made some promising comments about what she planned to do with the lottery money — $127 million after she chose to get information technology in a lump sum. "First I'thousand going to pay my tithes, because I wouldn't take none of it if it weren't for God."
"After that, I'k going to ready upward accounts for my kids…I'm going to purchase a house for me and my kids, then make sure my family unit is all practiced." Marie too told WGN-Television receiver, "I don't take to worry nearly the word 'struggle' no more than and neither do [my children]."
The Waiting Game
Although virtually lottery winnings are not life changing, lottery jackpots are huge, and there are rules for challenge those winnings. If a person wins less than $599, the institution that sold them the ticket pays them their winnings. Nonetheless, there is a lengthy process involved in claiming big lottery winnings.
The ticket has to exist verified by a scanning automobile. Adjacent, there is a waiting menstruation for the money to be awarded, and the winner must fill up out some identification paperwork. Last, the winner must decide if they desire all the money in a lump sum or accept it dispersed in installments for 30 years (on average).
Choices, Choices
Ane of the more hard choices when a person wins millions of dollars in a lottery is whether to become the money in a lump sum or in installments. The dilemma occurs because in that location is a large penalty for getting all the coin faster in a lump sum.
Marie had the choice of collecting the unabridged $188 1000000 over 30 years or forfeiting $61 one thousand thousand and collecting the remaining $127 million much sooner. Financial experts unremarkably recommend taking the lump sum and investing the money. That allows y'all the opportunity to make money on your winnings instead of the land. Marie chose the lump sum.
Uncle Sam's Cut
Many people don't know how much taxes people accept to pay out of lottery winnings in the U.South., and then we'll interruption it down for you. Although the entire taxation amount wasn't reported in Marie Holmes' case, she definitely paid millions to the government.
In the U.South., lottery winnings are considered income by the IRS, on both the state and federal levels. Therefore, North Carolina would accept taken 5.8% of Marie'due south $127 one thousand thousand, and the Federal Government would have taken anywhere from 25% to 39.half-dozen%, depending on tax bracket and other factors. Almost people pay the highest rate.
Setting an Example
When Marie won the lottery, she had plans that all sounded very honorable. She said she would donate offset to her church and then movement out of her mobile dwelling and buy a new firm for her children. She also planned to fix college funds for them.
Marie told NBC, "All the struggle that I ever went through, it was all for [my children]. I desire them to understand that money doesn't change y'all, but information technology tin assist you." The public fell in love with Marie after hearing near her history of poverty and hard knocks earlier she became wealthy.
Could She Handle It?
The reputation that Marie had in her hometown and elsewhere was that of a difficult-working, single mother who, according to her family unit and friends, "understood the value of a dollar." At i point, she had ii jobs — Walmart and McDonald's — to support her four children. Therefore, nobody expected her to make poor decisions about where the money would become.
Of class, no one took into account that Marie was inexperienced and uninformed most how to handle big amounts of money. When she started deciding how to spend the lottery money, the public viewed her as immature and irresponsible.
Financial Counselor, Please?
When people who aren't wealthy win a lot of coin, it'southward highly recommended that they seek professional assist about how to manage the money, including what Non to exercise with it. The boilerplate American has absolutely no experience handling large amounts of money.
Financial advisors warn that even titanic amounts of money can disappear rapidly if it isn't invested wisely. In the instance of Marie Holmes, it seemed like her heart was in the right place and she was doing what she idea was right, but some expert advice definitely would have helped her out.
The Bad Judgment Begins
The starting time thing dubbed a poor judgment call by the public was the $15,000 Rolex that Marie bought her boyfriend, Lamar "Hot Sauce" McDow. The watch was more jewelry than a timepiece and was reportedly "dripping with diamonds."
That same boyfriend ultimately cost Marie much more. The Port Metropolis Daily reported Lamar was a gang member and a drug dealer after he was arrested and charged with "conspiracy to traffic in opium or heroin" in April 2016. He continued to become arrested throughout their relationship, and Marie spent millions on his bail and defense.
The Saga Continues
Earlier beingness sent to jail on drug charges in 2014, Lamar McDow lived with Marie Holmes and her children in her trailer. When he was released from jail after serving his judgement, he lived in the $350,000 home that she had purchased later winning the lottery.
According to the Daily Mail service, of the original amount of $188 million, Marie was left with about $88 million after deciding to have her winnings in a lump sum and paying taxes. This is notwithstanding a very large corporeality of money, but a loss of $100 million is obviously very significant.
Leeches Coming Out of the Woodwork
Predictably, lots of people immediately started request Marie and her beau for money afterward they heard she won the lottery. The people included friends, family members and numerous others, all requesting diverse amounts of money for all kinds of reasons. Unfortunately, this feel is common for lottery winners.
Marie and Lamar were constantly harassed for money handouts, and it became very stressful for them. Marie was quoted as saying, "When money comes, in that location are more than problems," according to reports.
Racial Intolerance in Their New Home
Another problem that plagued Marie and her family in their new life in their new home was harassment from neighbors due to racial prejudice. The neighborhood that Marie moved into with her family was an intolerant, primarily white community, and much to the family's chagrin, the residents were not interested in changing.
According to Lamar, "One neighbor fix up a photographic camera to record everything we were doing. If I was driving down the road and going at the speed limit, they would wave at me for going too fast. They did not want the states there. They were prejudiced." Lamar reported these disturbing events to the Daily Mail.
The Church building Donation
Marie stayed truthful to her discussion, which was reported in a press release as "The first matter she promised was to tithe — give a 10th of her winnings to charity." Marie donated a total of $700,000 to her hometown church, Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church building, located in Shallotte, NC.
The church reportedly used the money for much-needed renovations. Marie told the printing the church building was an important function of her life and her faith and that she had been attending that particular church since she was a child.
Pastor Disaster
Unfortunately, a different pastor fabricated contact with Marie and her family with an evil ulterior motive. Pastor Kevin Matthews claimed that "God led him to them," and although they certainly regretted it later, Marie and her family believed him and allowed him into their lives and their dwelling house.
Soon later meeting Marie, Pastor Matthews asked her for $1.v million so he could build a retreat. According to him, Marie verbally agreed to fund the project, although there is no evidence to support that. He then went alee and began structure on the retreat using his own money. Marie did non contribute.
Wicked Intentions
Citing a verbal agreement in which Marie allegedly promised to donate $1.five million for his retreat, Pastor Kevin Matthews announced publicly that he was suing Marie Holmes for $x million. The amount of money named in the accommodate was baffling, considering the amount he was allegedly promised was much less.
The public believed Pastor Matthews was beingness ungrateful and greedy. His behavior seemed unbecoming of a Christian leader to nearly people of organized religion. The justification for his lawsuit was that he had a verbal agreement with Marie for a money donation and bounty for "emotional distress."
Public Outrage
As soon as the media caught wind of the lawsuit, they uncovered that Matthews did non appear to be affiliated with whatever church. This led to a severe, angry public backfire. People shamed Matthews for being a fraud and trying to scam a nice lady out of her rightful winnings.
One YouTuber, "Donald the Repentless," was so mad nigh this that he put out videos entitled, "F*** You Pastor Kevin Matthews." Public opinion was clear that this and so-chosen "pastor" was nothing but a coin-grubbing scam artist preying on a nice lady to go his hands on a lot of undeserved money.
To Top It Off: Adultery
In more than bad news for Marie and her children, the media reported that her ex-convict swain was being unfaithful. Unfortunately, it was also reported that she herself paid Lamar's mistresses hush money to go away instead of getting rid of him.
In more than reputation damaging news, a video surfaced on Facebook of a woman who claimed that in improver to Lamar cheating on Marie, he was also stealing money from her to pay prostitutes for "sexual favors." Unfortunately, the video went viral, equally juicy gossip often does.
Powering Through
Instead of withering under the scrutiny of the media and the public, Marie decided to take drastic measures to improve her circumstances. She gathered her strength and took matters into her ain easily by turning to a well-known life omnibus to get some advice well-nigh how to better her life.
Marie contacted Iyanla Vanzant, who has her own prove advising people about their relationships on the Oprah Network. Vanzant is a renowned author and motivational speaker with a huge post-obit due to her reputation for irresolute people'southward lives for the better.
The Truth Revealed
In another surprising twist, when Marie went on the Iyanla: Fix My Life talk prove, her female parent, Fontella, came out and revealed that the numbers she chose for the winning lottery ticket were actually hers and that they had a very special meaning.
"I kept dreaming about your blood brother that we lost. His birthday, he was the tertiary child, he'd accept been 25 that yr. Those were the numbers." When Marie asked her female parent why she didn't claim the money for herself, Fontella replied, "I just wanted you to better yourself for the babies."
The Scoop on Lamar McDow
Lamar "Hot Sauce" McDow was fortunate enough to stay in Marie'south good graces long enough to fight jail three times, to the melody of millions in bail and legal fees. The first time Marie bailed him out, information technology toll her $3 million in bond coin.
Before a yr had passed, Lamar was arrested again, and Marie bailed him out once more for $6 million. The third time Marie bailed out Lamar, it was $12 million. Yous would think she would have been repulsed by his criminal behavior, but she just kept spending the money, resulting in widespread criticism.
Misery Loves Company
Marie was warned by many people that if she continued her human relationship with Lamar, she could cease up with criminal charges herself. Unfortunately, that'south exactly what happened. I night, Lamar violated his parole curfew. When the law came, they discovered marijuana in the business firm.
Tragically, Marie was arrested for possession in front end of her children. Marijuana remains illegal in N Carolina, but there is a significant racial bias near who is criminalized for it, according to the ACLU. The aforementioned number of white people every bit blackness people use marijuana, but blacks are 3.73 times more probable to be arrested.
The Boyfriend Defense
Lamar somewhen got angry at the people criticizing Marie for spending her money bailing him out of jail, and he lashed out. To the Daily Postal service, he asserted, "We are a couple, and I am the male parent of her youngest child. This is what people do for each other."
Lamar went on to say, "She has the money, and she can practise what she wants with information technology. If I had that money, then I would do the same for her. People are just jealous because of how much she won, and people want to see me locked in jail."
The Wolf Pit
During the taping of the Iyanla testify, the bad headlines only kept rolling in. Marie's family and even former friends started accusing her of really stealing the lottery ticket from her female parent, despite Fontella freely admitting on television that she had given the ticket to Marie.
To add to the stress and drama, Lamar went to jail at this fourth dimension on a seven-yr sentence for charges related to possessing and selling heroin. True to course, Marie persisted in pushing forward and moving on with her life, demonstrating her strength and resilience.
A Goal Met
Despite poor gustation in partners, Marie did make some adept decisions about what to practice with some of her coin. She ended up giving $9.seven million to diverse charities. Part of that money went to the brand-new Marie Holmes Foundation, which was established to provide for children in need.
Marie'due south foundation provides necessities for underprivileged children. It also holds community events, which are how some children get their schoolhouse supplies and their Christmas presents. The foundation helps struggling young mothers like Marie was before she won the lottery.
Do Christians Hazard?
Marie was raised a devout Catholic, and she leans heavily on her Christian faith. Some people criticized her for playing the lottery at all, considering it tends to be frowned upon by the church building. People have mixed opinions when it comes to Christians gambling.
One pastor said this to the Christian Postal service: "You can't be against the lottery, but your youth section is doing a RAFFLE! Same thing, pastor. Aforementioned THING!" The stigma remains about gambling being an irresponsible money-waster. Others fence that there is nothing specific said near gambling in the Bible, so information technology'south okay when it'due south not abused.
The Root of All Evil
Other religious people, such every bit ane pastor cited in the Christian Post, pointed out that the Bible says that money is where evil originated. He scolded Marie for buying the lottery ticket and went on to say, "First, we must baby-sit against our dearest of coin."
It should be noted that when the Bible does mention "casting lots," it'southward not usually talking almost material proceeds, simply about God. In an example of this, Proverbs 16:33 states, "The lot is cast into the lap, simply its every decision is from the Lord."
Some Friendly Communication
We recommend that others read the unfortunate story of Marie Holmes in case they find themselves in her shoes. Information technology's non at all like shooting fish in a barrel to become from rags to riches, and like versions of her story have happened to others.
It's important to understand taxation laws for the long term, the rules of the lottery and investment options if you ever discover yourself in the position of receiving a large windfall of money. Exist sure to hire a good professional person financial expert to help yous decide how to manage your money to avoid reckless decisions.
A Cautionary Tale
If you always happen to detect yourself in the unlikely position of winning the lottery some things to lookout man out for include government laws, lottery rules, country and federal taxes and your previous unpaid debts. These things can assistance you calculate your expendable income.
It may exist unwise in the initial excitement to promise lots of charitable giving, like Marie did, without first doing the math to see what your take-home amount actually is. Multiple millions of dollars may seem similar an enormous amount, but as Marie discovered, information technology's easy to fire through it quickly if you are uninformed.
Further Drama
Some think that Marie had a run of terrible luck after she won the lottery, while others think she brought her woes upon herself with poor decision-making. A few think the truth lies somewhere in the middle of those 2 black-and-white judgments.
Aside from spending millions on her boyfriend — who eventually ended up in federal prison house anyway — Marie also made some other questionable decisions later winning the lotto, such as buying her boyfriend a business of his own and buying her female parent a house. She too had harassment charges filed against her for allegedly calling a woman repeatedly to threaten her.
The Lesser Line
The catastrophe of this story is generally grim, although Marie Holmes did do some positive things with a lasting impact before the last of her money was gone. She didn't seem to realize that she would be nether a microscope with the media and the public.
Here are a couple more tips, but in instance you ever striking it big: Don't trust anyone request for coin, fifty-fifty if they seem to accept a very respectable social status (like the pastor who sued Marie Holmes). Call up the good that money tin practise, but don't forget the bad. No thing what, don't brand bold promises immediately after winning.
Source: https://www.reference.com/business-finance/what-not-to-do-if-you-win-lottery?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740005%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex
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