You didn’t win.
Dream over.
There were three winning tickets in the recent Mega Millions drawing and so far no one has officially claimed their money, reports The Post and every other news outlet that has been telling us we didn’t win.
Nonetheless, all of us who played for a chance at the $656 million jackpot have to return to reality.
Don’t look at me with that tone of face, as my pastor often says. Yes, I played. I took a walk on the wild side and wrote about what my children dreamed we would do with the money, had we won.
When opportunities for instant riches come along, I like to reflect on the larger lessons we can all learn. So I point you to a story in the Baltimore Sun about one lottery winner, Ellwood “Bunky” Bartlett, who won a $32.6 million lottery jackpot in 2007. Bartlett talked about the good, the bad and the ugly of becoming instantly wealthy. Bartlett, a former accountant, admitted that, even with his financial background, he made lots of mistakes, including some bad business decisions.
“One of the mistakes I made was giving money to help other people realize their dreams instead of my own,” Bartlett told The Sun. “Then, when the businesses crashed, I looked like the bad guy.”
As I wrote before the numbers were announced, there are plenty of examples of former lottery winners who end up losing their millions because they overspend. I always say: How do you go broke on $200 million?
You spend $201 million.
Quick money is often not a good thing for folks. If you aren’t handling the money you have very well, getting more often won’t change that situation: Your problems just become more expensive.
Party Like You Just Don’t Care
Top government officials were recently fired for spending more than $820,000 on a conference in Las Vegas, reports The Washington Post’s Lisa Rein and Joe Davidson.
Martha N. Johnson, chief of the General Services Administration, resigned from her position, two of her top deputies were fired and four managers were placed on administrative leave for hosting a training conference that featured a clown, a mind reader and a nearly $30,000 reception.
This is a “significant misstep,” wrote Johnson in her resignation letter. “Taxpayer dollars were squandered.”
You think? They spent like it wasn’t their money.
Here’s how some of the money was spent:
●$44 per person per day for breakfast
●$75,000 for a “team-building” exercise that involved building a bicycle
●$146,000 on catered food and drinks
●$6,325 on commemorative coins in velvet boxes to reward all participants for their work on stimulus projects
●$31,208 “networking” reception featuring a $19-per-person cheese display
●$7,000 for sushi
This week’s Color of Money question: Do you have examples of a company that spent too much on an office event or convention? Send your responses to . Be sure to put “ Party Like You Just Don’t Care” in the subject line.
Let’s Chat Today
Join me live online today. My guest will be David Wolman, author of “The End of Money: Counterfeiters, Preachers, Techies, Dreamers and the Coming Cashless Society.” Wolman’s book was the Color of Money Book Club pick for March.
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