Dave Ramsey Warns On Winning Powerball Riches

Radio host and author Dave Ramsey is never shy about telling people who seek advice about what he believes are the best paths to success.

And those tend to revolve around whether or not a person is being smart about personal finance choices.

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When it comes to playing the lottery, that is no exception, he says.

A recent Powerball winner in California won a $1.08 billion windfall playing the game. A lot of chatter, since that event, has been about what a lucky winner ought to do with one's winnings.

Ramsey's advice is a little different. Don't bet on it in the first place, he says.

"If you’re one of those people who think winning the lottery will solve all your problems, you’d better think again," Ramsey's company's website, Ramsey Solutions, advises. 

"Winning the lottery is probably one of the quickest, most surefire ways to ruin your life -- we're serious. Not to mention your odds of winning the lottery are slim to none," it continues.

Ramsey says winning the lottery confronts a person with whole new set of unexpected problems.

But first, he emphasizes an obvious point: The odds of winning are absurdly small.

"The crazy thing is, most people know their odds of winning the lottery are really, really bad, but they keep buying tickets! Why? Because they’re looking for a rescue plan, a light at the end of the tunnel, a life raft to come along and save them," Ramsey Solutions says.

"They think they need a big windfall to pay off debts, buy a house, or save for retirement," it adds. "In their mind, the lottery represents a fresh start and a promise of a lifetime of luxury. But sadly, it’s all just a well-marketed pipe dream. The truth is much less glamorous."

The Lottery Can Ruin Your Life

One thing Ramsey cautions, if a person as wildly lucky enough to win, is that personal relationships will suffer.

"Coming into a quick pile of cash usually means that people will come out of the woodwork looking to get a piece of your newfound fortune," Ramsey Solutions says.

"Third cousins you never even knew existed will call and hit you up for money," the site explains. "You'll get letters in the mail from complete strangers armed with every sob story in the book -- they’re unemployed, their children are sick with a rare disease, they’re being held hostage in Timbuktu, and you’re their only hope. It’s all just an attempt to get sympathy points and money from you."

Ramsey emphasizes this point with a few more cautionary words.

"If (and that’s a big if) you win the lottery, be prepared to have a big target on your back and a slew of new troubles to figure out," he says.

A Cautionary Tale

In the article, Ramsey tells a story. 

In 2007, Donna Mikkin hit it big and won $34.5 million from the New York State Lottery. She thought her life was set, but she soon realized that achieving this dream life wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

"Most people look at winning the lottery as some magic pot of gold waiting for you at the end of the rainbow," she wrote in a blog post. 'If you ask me, my life was hijacked by the lottery."

For Donna, winning the lottery led her down a path of "emotional bankruptcy" and even impacted her overall happiness. "When we won the lottery, my inner dialogue was manic. I became more concerned about how I was being judged and perceived," she wrote.

Ramsey concluded his thoughts by offering what he called a moral to the story.

"If you’re looking for financial peace, you’re not going to find it in winning the lottery."

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