When the possibility of winning the lottery is discussed, you can count on someone sharing the fact that many winners end up broke, clinically depressed, or worse.
These Redditors shed some light on the how of that downturn.
u/REDxSAM asked, "Redditors who suddenly came into alot of money, what was your horror story of people begging for money?"
Only a couple of these deal with money won. Mostly, we're talking money inherited.
Regardless, it takes a mountain of emotional labor to be asked a friend--or several friends-for money, turn that friend down, and then still aim to maintain the friendship through it all.
Yes, this is inherently a problem of privilege. But it is deeply stressful nonetheless.
No Gimme Backs!
I won $5000 on a scratch off that was given to me on my birthday by my aunt. It was just a $2 scratcher and obviously nobody thought I would win that much. I scratched it in front of everyone and they were all super excited for me except my aunt who demanded the ticket back because she paid for it. I even offered to split half with her.
Long story short, she took me to small claims where the judge pretty much laughed and she didn't get s***. Haven't talked to her since.
They Make Their Own Luck
I once took second in a poker tournament and won $150k. There was an audience of about 200 people when it finished. Common practice was ppl ask winners for a "lucky chip". I was almost mobbed by people begging for lucky chips as I left the casino. Had to be escorted by security.
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When Money Skips a Generation
My Grandma died a week before Christmas, and she left her house and 1/4 of her small fortune to me (the rest of the money went to my brother and my two cousins). My uncles and aunts have been a pain in my back ever since. Claiming that the money/house are theirs,etc. And I've also been approached by people who I haven't seen or talked in a while.
Some Overnight Modifications to the Will
My money came in the form of accidental death inheritance after my dad died in a motorcycle crash. His girlfriend at the time was furious that he left everything to me. She tried to convince me to give her money and when I refused she took everything, and I mean everything from his house overnight. She rented two U-Hauls and her and her brother raided the place.
She started selling what she could on Facebook, mostly his woodworking tools and fishing gear, and she fled to somewhere in the next state over. We tried to get help from the police but they didn't do much.
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Newly Adopted Rules
I'm adopted (USA) and an only child. I have an aunt that insists that because I'm not "actually" their child that I have no legal rights to my parents estate (which is sizable, go dad!).
Father Scams BestÂ
Got a 7k settlement from a car accident. I accidentally left the check on the corner table in the living room. My dad walks into my bedroom and asks if I can lend my mom any money. I work minimum wage retail and ask him how much does she need. He says how about half of that 7k check.
It has been almost 8 years. I haven't seen any of that money back.
Conditional Love
Old friends would only want to meet on the condition that we go out to eat and that I pay for it.
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Plight of a Tycoon
I received fourteen properties when my last parent died, and the amount of people who crawled out of the woodwork to ask for a "loan" were unreal. It's really unfortunate that many of them were in a state that publicly publishes details of an estate when probate is granted.
The *Actual* Actual Retail Price
I won 10k on Wheel of Fortune and my older brother, who I literally hadn't spoken to in 5 years and who bullied me my whole life to that point, called and asked if I would buy him a motorcycle.
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For Their Own Good
I basically became a bank. Always lending money to people. Eventually I had to stop because I realized even though my friends were paying me back, I was essentially facilitating their overspending and they were trapped in a cycle of debt.
Right On Cue
I landed a VERY high paying remote job($200k+) for a SF based company, the average salary for a software developer in South Africa is around $30k per year.
I started getting messages from some of my old "friends" saying that it had been a while and they wanted to catch up.
There was one guy I always had a soft spot for.
We hadn't even ordered our food yet when he dropped the bomb on me that he felt that I owed him a lot of money for "always being there for me" and that I would be "selfish" to not give him some money as I had so much. I quietly just got up and left.
Thanks for the Decade, Sucker
So, I knew this girl who was a sex-worker, had known here for years and we had even briefly dated before she got into that line of work.
Fast forward like 10 years, and I had inherited a bunch of money.
She started talking about how she wasn't young anymore, and she wasn't happy anymore doing what she was doing and wanted to change directions.
I don't know what she spent it on, drugs probably, but she didn't go back to school. She abruptly cut off contact with me (after TWELVE YEARS) and that was that.
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"Hey, Just Let Me Know When You're All Done Buying That, Mkay?"
I get my first income tax which was almost 3k and my mom tries to sell me her van for 2k...i tell her NO and she drops it to 1,000 since I can "easily afford it" I still refuse and less than an hour later she sends me a picture of a 1,200.00 dog for sale with "this is what I want for my birthday. He's in Kentucky I'll send you the address"
Mourning Can Wait, Kid
Friend of mine lost both parents in the span of about four months.
I go to [second] funeral but this time there are well over a hundred people there. It seemed like every aunt, uncle, nephew, and niece suddenly showed up.
After the funeral I'm waiting in the reception area before my friend and her brother come out to thank everybody for coming and I overhear multiple people talking about how much they're hoping to get in the inheritance.
A Little County Fair Coercion
When I was young, like 10, I won $100 on a Nevada pull tab ticket at the local country fair.
When I cashed it a lady who was selling knitted teapot cozies was like "oh where are you going to spend all that?" Then she asked me to spend $15 on one of her cozies.
I told her thanks but I'm going to save it for a video game console.
She then called me a fu**ing selfish little a** and said her teapot cozy was much more valuable than a stupid video game. I was so nervous I just bought one.
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Heyyyyyyyyyy Dad
My sister in law heard that her estranged father, to whom she hadn't spoken to in over a decade, had come into some money. She took her kid, abandoned her house and drove across Canada to go and reconnect with Daddy. My brother was overseas, serving in the military.
She basically moved in with daddy and love bombed him until she found out that - no he does not actually have money at all.
That Thing Must've Had Some Power
My former best friend got $5000 in back pay from her shi**y employer which she, on a weekly basis has to remind to pay their employees.
When her other best friend (who she did drugs with on the regular) found out, she instantly made her buy a $1600 vacuum for the house we all shared.
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