Are you a recent lottery winner? Congratulations! Millions of people all across the country are wishing they were in your shoes right now. You are probably in the midst of celebrating, answering calls for media appearances, and filling out lots of paperwork right now, but eventually you will get down to the nuts and bolts of how you will receive your winnings. Here are some things you should know:
1. How You Will Receive Your Winnings – Lottery winnings are paid out in what are known as structured settlements. What that means is that instead of you getting your winnings in a lump sum, you will get a small payout each month for several years. This is one of the reasons that almost 50% of all lottery winners are still working at their old job. The good news is that this isn’t your only option. You can choose to sell your structured settlement in order to get settlement money now.
2. Get Settlement Money Now – If you choose to get your winnings the typical way (structured settlement) you will usually start receiving payments in about 30 days time. Again, those will be small payments on a monthly basis. Instead of waiting a lifetime for your full winnings to add up, you can sell your structured settlements and get a lump sum payout immediately. Think about the difference that a lump sum of money would make versus a small amount each month. It’s worth it to sell annuity payments in order to get settlement money now.
3. Funds For Your Future – Many lottery winners choose to sell their structured settlement annuity because they know that is how they can best use the funds to change their life. For instance, many winners choose to pay off their homes, cars, and student loans with their money, but you can’t really do that with a small payment each month.
Did you know that around 70% of all lottery winners lose or spend all their money within five years or less of receiving it? You don’t have to be a part of that statistic. Rather than waiting on your winnings over decades, make the decision to sell your structured settlement so that you can get a lump sum payment now. You can make intelligent financial decisions about what to do with the funds so that you are benefiting from them for years to come.
