Winning the lottery

Last night an old friend Clark came round for supper, he's been travelling on safari with a young man he met recently and he was full of great stories.  The best is by far the fact that his sister won the lottery, a whopping 2 million at that, she'd been trying to get hold of him to tell him the news but he obviously wasn't picking up the calls, then when he was at the airport he tried her, couldn't get through and left a message saying sorry he'd missed her calls, don't try again because he's boarding, unless you've won the lottery or something! 

She's never had money in her life, single Mum, two kids, living in a rough estate, no idea what a private bank is or a designer label and not quite sure how to spend the money.  Luckily Clark is well travelled and well off and well able to help her out, what a handy brother.  The poor, (well not anymore), lady hasn't been able to sleep and has all these crazy ideas and doesn't know if she's coming or going - she's going on a short holiday somewhere hot to get her head around it all!

 It got me pondering, what would I do if I'd won all that money?  It would seem like you'd need to attend a course on how to handle money for starters.  So much to learn about investing, bonds, offshore accounts, interest etc.  I never really had any good training as a child with money.  I used to earn it, my first job was as a chambermaid at the age of 12, then I'd spend it on a mint green polka dot matching skirt and top from Dotty P's and some bags of sweets - or something like that.  I used to put a pound a week into a post office account.  I used my money to help me through University and then went up and down into the red like a yo-yo.  Following my dreams of acting and music hasn't brought me the good fortune to be independently wealthy, yet ... (go on, please BUY my album - http://www.hiddenmusic.net/ ) but you never know!

So I would often think the money you spend on a lottery ticket each week would be better off put in a savings account, yet that old saying 'you've got to be in it to win it' nags a little too.  I know for sure that my child is going to have some financial coaching from the start, and it may even help me to understand it all a little better as well! 

Hmmm, so if I won the lottery, I'd set up a school with Jam on the farm teaching music, art, wood-making, money skills, start a few of my own projects that are slowly bubbling away, do some travelling, treat myself and my friends to good things, oh yes and employ a tiler so Jam would never have to do it again - ah, I think he's just finished it - finally we can have a shower!