My 29 Million Dollar Lottery Payout! What to do with all that cash?

I've done the almost impossible. I've won a 29 million dollar powerball jackpot!! Today I'm the luckiest person in the world. I want to tell everyone of my amazing good fortune, but at the same time I know that letting everyone know my little "secret" isn't the wisest thing to do. It's a good thing my husband and I have discussed what we were going to do with our jackpot a long time before we won it, that way we have a plan to fall back on instead of making spur of the moment decisions that could ultimately come back to bite us in the rear end. We aren't going to let our children know, not yet anyways. They don't need to know, they need to finish college and get their lives started first before they are told about their good fortune. Money can do strange things to people and I don't want either of my children to be negatively influenced by it. Nor do I want them to be surrounded by a whole new group of friends the kinds who are attracted to them for their money. My children deserve to be among people who care about them for who they are not what they can do for them. They'll have plenty of time to enjoy the money and all the perks that go with it later, just not yet.

Chris (my husband) and I have talked at length about what we are going to do for our families. Not our children, of course a substantial amount of money will be put back for each of them, I mean our parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, etc. We've decided that we are going to pay off our sister's houses (neither of us has brothers) and get them each a reliable vehicle. We are also going to offer to pay the college or trade school tuitions for our nieces and nephews. I have a niece that has always wanted to be a veterinarian, this money will help her achieve her dream. The offer for college tuition will also be extended to our sisters, if any of them want to return to school we will pay for it and cover their expenses while they are studying.

My parents have lived in the same house for over 50 years. It is the same house that I grew up in. When I lived there the neighborhood was a quiet lower middle class neighborhood that was the perfect place for families to raise their children. With the decline of the steel mill, the ship building industry, and the Ford plant along with the jump in crime and drug trafficking the once pristine neighborhood has been slowly transformed into a wasteland of abandoned and neglected properties. I want to move my parents to a safe gated senior community where they can have their own condo and concentrate on enjoying their golden years.

I plan to pay off my friend Sheri's house. I plan to buy my friend Mary a house and pay her to take a leave of absense from teaching so she can stay at home with her son until he starts kindergarden. I want to buy my teacher's aide Pat a house-Pat is in her 60's and takes care of her adult son who has cancer. I want to be able to help her enjoy the time she has left with him without having to worry about hospital bills or living expenses. My friend Amy had an accident at her home and has had to have brain surgery which has resulted in her being sent to another city for rehabilitation. I want to pay her house off and renovate it so that when she is finally able to return to it she won't have any difficulty getting around.

 My husband is going to set up an emergency response team that can be dispatched when there is natural or man made disaster like the one currently happening in the Gulf of Mexico.  Chris has been a firefighter for over 20 years and has seen first hand the need for teams of people who are trained in disaster response. He has always been compelled to help others-this is the way he wants to give back.  He also wants to start a retirement home for OLD FIREFIGHTERS!  Seriously, he wants to open a living facility where old firemen can go when they don't have anywhere else to turn. 

The first thing I am going to do is found an organization that pays for the funerals of children.  I know it sounds morbid, but I want to somehow alleviate some of the pain that parents who lose a child have to endure.  The last thing a grieving parent should have to worry about is how to cover funeral expenses.  I just received an email today about a person who works for my school district who lost a child and is unable to pay for a headstone to mark the boy's grave.  An organization like mine will be able to step in and take care that family's need.

I want to open a no kill animal shelter patterned after "Dogtown" where we can rehabilitate animals and find loving homes for them.  I've always had a deep love for dogs and this is a way that I can help the animals who can't help themselves.

Well those are our plans. My husband and I will implement them as soon as we actually win the lottery. We haven't done it yet, but I know we will someday. Hopefully our someday will be soon as there are lots of things that need to be done right now.  People tell me that I am crazy-that I am never going to win my multi-million dollar jackpot. To them I say, "Poo  to you and your negativity. I am going to win my jackpot and when I do I am going  use it to do good things.  I am going to help others who need help, bring happiness to my community and the world at large, and buy lots of Faroh's french chocolate!"

What are you going to do when you win your multimillion dollar jackpot? Think about it-then leave comment and let me know.