Frugal Lottery Winners

It always surprises me how frugal some lottery winners can be. There's nothing wrong with frugality, of course, but when someone has millions in the bank I would expect them to let their hair down a little and to have some fun with their wealth.

I say this as a trucker from Oklahoma recently won a Powerball lottery jackpot worth $105.8 million Powerball jackpot. Being in his early 60's, Don Harvey elected to take a $46.8 million lump sum rather than the larger annuity package. When he was asked what he was planning to do with his money, Don said that he would buy a used truck. And when pressed about why he would buy a used truck rather than a new one, he said that it was because used trucks don't immediately depreciate in value.

Whilst this principle of buying used is fair enough if you need to save yourself a few thousand, when you're a multi-multi-millionaire it just doesn't make sense. I mean, if a guy worth millions can't see the point of buying a new truck then who can?

Everything in life that you can buy new depreciates in value, but this doesn't stop us from buying new when it comes to the small stuff. I buy new socks which depreciate in value as soon as I open the packet, but I don't buy pre-worn socks just to save myself a couple of pounds. The appeal of buying something new is that it is, in fact, something new. It hasn't been used, abused or otherwise tampered with, and this is what makes it special.

I have made a silent vow that if I ever win the lottery jackpot, I'll buy my dream car, and I'll buy a brand new one. In fact, I'll buy one that hasn't even been built yet. Not because I want to throw money around for the sake of it, but simply because I think the experience of driving a brand new car is well worth a few thousand pounds in its own right, and winning the lottery would afford me this luxury with ease.

And yes, I would even continue to buy myself new socks.

Article Last Updated: 03/07/2007 14:37:00

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