Today’s episode of The Mugly Truth Podcast is an extra special one. We talk about our favorite foundations and encourage all our readers and listeners to check them out. Kym highlights the Second Harvest Food Bank and Kris talks about Patriotic Service Dog Foundation.
The Second Harvest Food Bank
The Second Harvest Food Bank is a member of Feeding America, which was started as St. Mary’s Food Bank by John van Hengel in Phoenix, AZ in the 1960’s. By the 1970s, 18 cities across the country soon had food banks. In 1979 Hengel created a national food bank which he called America’s Second Harvest the Nation’s Food Bank Network. In 2008 the name changed to Feeding America. The Second Harvest Food Bank Orange County is the chapter local to us personally, located in Irvine, CA. Their website, feedoc.org, is a wealth of information about the hunger statistics not only locally, but nationwide, as well as how to donate both money and time. For more information about a food bank in your hometown, please visit feedingamerica.org
The Facebook page for Patriotic Service Dog Foundation
Patriotic Service Dog Foundation is a group out of Murrieta, CA, dedicated to the training of service dogs for men and women suffering from PTSD after serving in the military, emergency response, and public safety. Recently they participated in a documentary, called To Be of Service (on Netflix), about how service dogs have helped improve the lives of these men and women. Currently Veteran’s Affairs does not pay for service dogs to be provided to veteran’s. Therefore all training costs are funded by private donations. We highly recommend viewing the documentary, and then visiting Patriotic Service Dog Foundation’s website and Facebook page.
Screenshot of the video with Chris, Jenn, and Emmy Thomas on Patriotic Service Dog Foundation’s Facebook page.
We also encourage you to watch the short video about Kris’ co-worker, Chris Thomas, and his wife Jenn, and how their lives have been changed by Emmy, Chris’ service dog from Patriotic Service Dog Foundation. In the podcast episode, Kris couldn’t remember the details of Chris’ service, or the battalion he served with, how it tied in with the Naval Base Guam’s war dog memorial, and Emmy’s name origin. Jenn was kind enough to text the details:
It was 23 years active duty with 18 months of active combat time, that time was split between Iraq and Afghanistan deployments, multiple times for each country. Chris served with the Magnificent Bastards which is an infantry battalion. That is also the same battalion that 25 war dogs gave their lives serving and protecting marines in WWII. The memorial is in Guam and that is where the dog’s names are listed, Emmy being one of them.
– Jenn Thomas
The memorial – called “Always Faithful” – to the 25 Marine War Dogs killed during WWII. Naval Base Guam .
When we say the Universe likes to show off sometimes, this is a pretty good example of exactly what we mean.
For more links, please check out the following:
Tackett Service Dogs Tom Tackett started Patriotic Service Dog Foundations, and is renowned for training dogs for competition, service, and obedience.
For more information about the history of the dogs who served alongside Marines in the Pacific during WWII, check out k9history.org
For more details about the Naval Base Guam memorial, Always Faithful, by sculptor Susan Bahary, and the efforts of William Putney to create the memorial, please read more about the National War Dog Cemetery.
Check out “Second Harvest Food Bank and Patriotic Service Dog Foundation“ episode on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Today we are calm, all is quiet, Kris tries Death Wish coffee and survives. All seems back to normal. We even bring back some spider stories. It’s a literal #TBT (Throwback, uh, Tuesday) episode as we share interesting stories we found from the internet. We have a few good ones, but in a flourish of dramatic mic-dropping, Kym lays a doozy of a story on Kris, like she does so often. We warn you, there’s a number of screams (because spiders, and…you know, Kym’s story) and maybe you shouldn’t eat before listening. We throw in some heart-warming tales to keep the episode afloat, but don’t forget…you’ve been given a head’s up. Or maybe we should say, toe’s up? Go listen now and while you’re doing that, check out the links and photos below for a truly well-rounded experience.
Zombie Snakes
Caution, if you have Ophidiophobia (fear of snakes), you’ve probably already thrown your computer out the window because of the photo below. But if you’re still peeking (perhaps a bit shaky if you’re anything like us?), rest assured that the purty little fellow is (fairly) harmless, but quite tricksy. Kris talks about the Eastern Hognose snakes who are making news lately for their defensive trick of playing dead when threatened, and then striking if something (or someone) gets too close. May we introduce to you the dramatic Eastern Hognose, otherwise knowns as ZOMBIE SNAKE(insert dramatic scary music):
This beauty right here is the North Carolina version of the Zombie Snake, or Hognose Snake (Heterodon platirhinos) in its dark phase. Photograph taken by Patrick Coin, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en
For more information on these naughty slitherers, check out this CNN report.
Be still Kris’ heart. The latest, and VERY expensive ($300 million to be exact) rollercoaster addition to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida (boohoo) is open and it seems everyone in the world of muggles and wizards is running, flying, apparating, or port-keying to be there. The lines are…wait for it…TEN HOURS long. Kris is a fan, but even if she lived in Orlando she’d be steering clear of THAT crowd (she’s 10 minutes from Disneyland and steering clear of The Galaxy’s Edge til the crowds simmer down). For a fun video about the ride, watch this NBC news report and for more details check this out. Ah, someday, Kris’ll be flying through the humid, thick Orlando air on a magical motorbike. Someday.
Good Humans
Man giving his sandals to a young girl in need.
This is the viral image Kris spoke of in relation to the Good News Network story about Officer Brian Zagorski of Niles Police Department in Illinois. For more information about Officer Zagorski, please go here. He deserves a lot of recognition for taking time out to get to know a homeless man he saw having some trouble, and then literally giving him the shoes off his feet. As for the photo above, we don’t know the full story, or who took the photo. If you know the details and more importantly the photographer, please let us know as we would like to give proper credit.
But Wait, There’s More
The NASA “get paid to lie in bed” story can be found here and here. We talked about the $18,500 offer, so thought we’d post both stories to let you decided if it’s still enough to make you go to Germany and literally lie in a bed for 2 solid months.
For the Chobani donation to school lunch programs, go here. And then go buy some Chobani to celebrate (they just came out with a “less sugar” version of their flips yogurts!)
Ella Casano is the extraordinary 12 year old girl who came up with the idea of cover IV bags for pediatric patients can be found here. Ella has to have regular transfusions so she decided to make the experience better for her and countless other kids who suffer the pain of the procedure.
Speaking of extraordinary kids, here’s the story of lovely 6 year old Eva Chapman who collected over 1,000 jars of peanut butter and jelly to help feed her classmates she knew might go hungry over the summer without the school meal program to feed them. We love Eva. We’re not crying though. NO WE ARE NOT. NOT NOT NOT. *sniff
And Now: THE STORY OF THE SOURTOE COCKTAIL (((ackkk)))
Erp. This is where things get gross. Kym saved the weirdest story for the end. Have you heard of the Sourtoe Cocktail Club based out of the Sourdough Saloon nestled in Dawson City’s Downtown Hotel in the Yukon region? It’s a club both Kris and Kym are sure they’ll never join, even though over 100,000 people HAVE joined it and still others are dying to donate to the cause. There is adventure and thievery involved, and even the United States Postal Service plays a role in this story. Mostly it’s just gross because Kris and Kym are absolutely positive the garnish of the ritual drink will never touch THEIR lips. It’s a story that’s sure to make your toes curl and your innards roil. Unless you think it’s cool, if so we’d like to say you’re kinda weird, and good luck on your trip to the Great White North. For more information on the latest update to this story, check this link. And even though Kris swore we wouldn’t sully this blog with photos of the initiation ingredients, well, see below. To our faint-of-heart, we’ll post a cute picture of a scaredy cat that you can look at if you decide you can’t view the, ah, “garnish.” All we can say is you don’t ever expect this crap with coffee. (Unless you like THIS coffee, which is literally from crap.)
This is how we feel about the next photo. Hurry up, scroll down to get to the rest of the blog. SCROLL LIKE THE WIND! Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Pexels.com
Check out our “Toe News is Good News” episode on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
How overwhelmed with politics, bad news, and violence have you become? If you’re anything like us you need a really large dose of HAPPY, stat. Fortunately we are super glad to be able to oblige you with a bunch of feel-good stories including the miracle of a late-night call to a wrong number; a toddler gone missing in a hurricane found alive and well; a school helping their students get clean clothes. We go on to highlight four big stories found on a fantastic website called Good News Network (synopsis and links below). You need to be inspired? GNN has it all wrapped up in an “Good News/Inspiring” tab for you to get your feelz on. Want to shop sustainably or give back as you receive? There’s a Good Gifts section to lighten your wallet with little or no guilt! Want to get involved? Click that Get Involved tab to get started. We can’t extol the virtues of this much-needed website enough.
Ahem. Sidenote. Remember last week’s noisy leafblower mess we fought to record through? Yeah, Enrique the gardener and his trusty leafblower are back. BUT!! GOOD NEWS!! (ha… hahahaha…. BWAHAHAHHA how easy was THAT?) You won’t know just how much Kris lost her mind because we managed to edit most of it out. If you can get through the first 2 minutes of the episode, we promise you will not be sorry because Enrique finally settles down and the birds chirp in the background once again and the real meat and potatoes of the episode are related sans-annoying whirring machine. Ahhhhh….all is right with the Universe yet again.
The first story is an article on Good News Network called, “Epic New Trail Will Allow Cyclists and Hikers to Travel 3,700 Miles Across America From Coast to Coast“ which is about a proposal to create a 3,700 mile hiking/biking trail that spans America from Washington, D.C., to Washington state. It will utilize about 50% of pre-existing trails and fill the gaps to make this the coolest – and longest – unbroken trail in the states. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) has been working on the initiative for about a year now, and needs 1,000,000 pledges to help this trail become a reality. We’re all about anything that unites anything AND gets people off their couches, out of their houses and doing good things for themselves with friends. WOOHOO! And of course, Kris has a dark-side take on this story, but you’ll have to listen to find out what it is. Oh, and then there’s her attempt at a Scottish accent. #cringe #eyeroll. For more information on the Countryside and Rights of Way Actin Great Britain, check here.
Story #2: Gardeners Unite Globally for Pollinators
Another way to help bees is to provide sugar water to grounded bees. To avoid a scenario like Kris’ attempt as described in the episode, there’s this handy Bee Savior Card you can carry and use to aid the next little buzzer you see struggling to survive.
Photo by Markus Spiske temporausch.com on Pexels.com
The next article we found on GNN is called, “Charity Has Been Secretly Fulfilling Small Wishes for Homeless Kids Who Could Use the Self-Esteem Boost,” highlighting a non-profit organization called Alice’s Kids which provides short-term financial assistance for immediate needs of children living at low- or poverty-level income. Relying on a network of social workers, counselors and teachers to guide them, Alice’s Kids makes anonymous donations, allowing parents to provide for their children’s needs with dignity. Please follow Alice’s Kids on Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook. Please share this information and considering donating. In this day and age these “small actions” make the HUGEST impact.
Story #4: Girls Save Dad’s Barber Shop & Shave Stereotypes
This one packs a huge punch as well. The article,“They Disguised Themselves As Boys in Order to Pay the Bills, Now ‘Barbershop Girls’ of India Given Scholarships,” tells the story of Neha and Jyoti, from the Banwari Tola village in Uttar Pradesh, India. When their barber father fell ill, the likelihood of them sustaining the business (and paying medical bills and funding their education) as women was slim, so in a major act of gender stereotype middle-finger flinging, they disguised themselves as men and then proceeded to very successfully run the barbershop. Gilette (yes, THAT company) then stepped in, and with the help of cricket star Sachin Tendulkar, delivered scholarships to the girls for their education. Check out Sachin’s awesome take on it all on his Instagram page. To view the video Kris talks about, you can watch on the GNN link above. Unfortunately a link to the video on YouTube showed it as unavailable. #ShavingStereotypes.
For more stories and details, check out our “Good News” episode on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Today we talk about the value of tidying up, decluttering – creating a home space that brings peace instead of pain. Yep. We’re all about Netflix’s latest phenom hit Tidying Up with Marie Kondo! And of course we relate “sparking joy” to our personal experiences when moving that forced each of us to purge a lot of stuff long overdue for the garbage bin or thrift store.
We cover some of the concepts behind Marie Kondo’s tidying method, found on her website Konmari.com, and how we’ve applied some of her organizing tips in our own homes. Kym has some life-hacks for repurposing crafting supplies, donating books, and includes a great story about finding a long-lost treasure! Kris discovered freedom during her moving process by finally letting go of some really strong sentimental items stored unused for decades. (The current stash-monsters that are spilling over in the kitchen/workspace will also be dispatched shortly. Do you hear that stash-monsters? Shredder is coming!)
And on the topic of boxes and baskets for organizing? Can we get a HALLELUJAH!?!? Yes we can. Boxes and baskets are our favorites! But if for nothing else, then at least watch the show for the pure genius of how to fold and store clothes AND how to fold that wily fitted sheet you wad up in the linen closet out of sheer frustration. Oh…and let’s just take a moment to bask in the brightness of Marie Kondo herself. She is the embodiment of “spark joy.” In all honesty, the idea behind “spark joy” is an exercise in gratitude: being grateful for and keeping what makes you joyful, and being grateful and thanking all other items for their service to your life as you move them to the “donate” pile.
We love storage organizers! Photo by Anete Lusina on Pexels.com
But the biggest takeaway? It has to be the value of coming home to a space that is safe, secure, and serene which is much more than a physical experience. Clutter can make home an anxious space. Constantly bumping into, stepping over or rifling through things to find something is annoying every single time, right? Opening that closet door shouldn’t be an exercise in cranial caution. Consider how simply oppressive clutter can actually be. You know how good it feels to get into a newly made bed with fresh, clean sheets? That’s how purging even the most clutched-to-the-bosom belongings can feel. Not EVERY thing needs to go. But letting go of “sentimental” items that aren’t doing anything more than taking space…that’s doable! Coming home to a physically clear space can create a mentally and spiritually clear opportunity to detox, decompress, and relax in. Even for the laziest of housekeepers.
And as always we take a couple detours because when you’re having great conversations over coffee among friends, there’s no such thing as a linear chat. So, yeah, somehow we also talk about The Masked Singer, how some meds can cause anxiety/panic attacks, and the importance of making sure the CBD oil you purchase is from a reputable source. It’s a fun, squiggly, pit-stop type of discussion but we somehow always make our way back onto the tidying up highway.
Whose yer cabinet? I AM!! Ok, that was a mom joke. Steve’s Hoosier cabinet. Pretty nifty!
Hoosier cabinet detail of label, straight outta Indiana!
So check out That’s Purgetastic! today. And while you’re at iTunes or wherever you listen to your podcasts, it’s SUPER EASY to 1) subscribe, 2) download, 3) listen aaaaaaaand 4) If you enjoy what you hear, rate and a review! (Pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
100$ bill closeup, photo by Vladislav Reshetnyak, courtesy WordPress free photo library.
Happy Tuesday! Have you ever daydreamed about winning the lottery? If you aren’t already a multi-millionaire it’s likely you have had at least one moment of wishful lotto thinking sometime in your life. So, do you play the lottery or think you might as well light a ten dollar bill on fire? Do you go Han Solo and yell, “Never tell me the odds!” (Kris) or figure you’re more likely to be struck by lightning than win a jackpot? (Seriously. Why can’t Kris and/or Kym be that 1 (or 2) out of 175 million? Why? WHY???) What’s your playing style: Quick picks? Specific numbers? Play every game, only once in awhile or only when the lottery pot is big enough?
Speaking of pot…let’s just say right now even though today’s episode is all about what Kris and Kym would do if either of them hit those 6 Powerball, Mega Millions or Super Lotto numbers, they do take an immediate detour down memory lane right from the start, talking about the old Dr. Demento show from classic 70s/80s radio (remember Dead Puppies? Fish Heads? Star Trekkin? Shaving Cream? No?? What are you, 30?? *Sigh*) and then somehow segue into talking about legalized marijuana. Because NONE of that has anything to do with winning the lottery, it only seemed right to start the show off talking about it. Boom. Done and done.
So what would you do? Assuming you’ve survived the initial shock, it isn’t as simple as walking into a lottery office to shakily hand them that precious slip of paper.
The following is an opinion piece based on personal research about winning the lottery. The author is not a professional financial advisor nor is The Mugly Truth Podcast advising anyone in any financial matters.
Lump Sum or Annuity
There’s the big question about taking the lump sum versus taking the 30 year annuity. You have to consider the odds of the taxes being in your favor over 30 years versus the instant gratification of a ginormously fat bank account in one fell swoop. Lots of people automatically think it’s smarter in the long run to take the lump sum. But is it? Seven million dollars does not have the same ramifications as $500,000,000. Here’s food for thought on that subject. And yes, you should be able to bequeath your annuity winnings in the event of your early demise (unless you have a will that specifies natural vs. suspicious causes. We’re just saying.) Double check your particular state lottery rules.
Know Thyself
It is also really important to be honest with yourself: what are your habits now, pre-millions? Do you blow through your money NOW, as a thousand- or hundredaire ? Or do you save a bit here, donate a bit there, keep your bills manageable and indulge occasionally? Do you feel like you’d lose your freaking mind throwing thousand dollar bills out your car window because you CAN, or would you try some controlled spree shopping to get it out of your system, putting the rest away for better use? It also depends on the size of the jackpot. Is $7,000,000 (pre-taxes) enough for you to feel like you can quit working and retire comfortably for the rest of your life? Clearly, winning at 50 and preparing for 25-40 years of retirement isn’t the same as cutting employment ties (and the benefits of it…medical insurance anyone??) at 30. Where do you plan to live? Let us just say that a $500,000 house – nay, more likely a condo – in Orange County, California won’t get you much and it certainly won’t get you nearly as much as it will get you in Scranton, Ohio.
TAXES!
Do you live in a state that keeps its mitts off your winnings? Surprisingly, if you’re in California you do, but it’s only one of nine states in the country to allow you to have your winnings sans state taxes (Puerto Rico makes that 10). Everywhere else the state gets a bite of your millions (ranging from 3% to almost 9%) after the feds get their feast (a whopping 24% off the top as of this writing).
MORE Taxes
THEN – and here’s where a bunch of newbie rich folk start going down the drain with their dough – the taxes taken out of the winnings right off the bat do not account for the taxes that you will STILL OWE because guess what? You, dear sir, who used to only make $80,000 a year and now have $600,000 or $40,000,000 coming to you, YOU are now in a totally NEW TAX BRACKET. Taxpayers fall into one of seven brackets, depending on their taxable income: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% or 37% (thank you bankrate.com). So, do the math and figure out that even though taxes are shaved off the top before you ever see your winnings, depending on the payout you receive you will most likely have to pay additional taxes to make up for the deficit since you’ve jumped brackets pretty much exponentially. Even if you take a lump sum, depending on how you set up your accounts, you’ll still pay taxes on your interest, which itself has the potential of being a lot of money.
When you do get into the weeds and break it all down into what funds go where, it’s pretty deflating to realize you need to set aside a huge chunk of money to hand over to the government. AGAIN. Oh, and don’t forget that if you give Grandma a windfall of her own, she’s going to have to pay her share of taxes too, just how much depends on what you give her and where ya’ll live.
Oh, those government people are tricksy ones ain’t they?
Don’t Forget About All the Other Stuff…and Other Taxes
If you think your multi-million dollar bank balance is going to cover a Lambo, an estate, gifts for friends and family, shopping sprees, charity balls, champagne, caviar, jetting across the globe, and Gucci track suits, well, you may be right, but make sure you have enough left over to pay that tax bracket deficit AND property taxes on that new estate, and maybe even a sweet little Homeowners Association Fee. And if your HOA doesn’t cover it, that estate is probably going to need a gardener, pool maintenance, a house cleaning service, and security to some degree or another. Probably stuff you DON’T have (or use as much) in your current state of affairs. So unless you WANT to do all that work yourself instead of lounging by that sparkling pool (but WHY??) …you’re going to pay someone else to do it for you.
If you’re blissfully retired at whatever age, you still need to pay for health insurance, and it’s doubtful state medical benefits are going to be in your cards. Nope. You’ll be paying a pretty premium because you, my friend, can afford it!
There’s also the planning for disaster: your new beautiful estate just sprung a leak and your 10,000sf roof needs an overhaul. Yikes. That is gonna hurt if you don’t set aside money for such emergencies.
But let’s not focus on just the burdensome stuff. What about going back to school? You can pay full tuition without batting an eye! How about private cooking lessons in your new state of the art gourmet kitchen? Want to learn guitar? You can hire someone to teach you! Stressed about all this financial crap? Hire a regular masseuse for daily massage therapy! By the way, you’ll want your body in shape for all that yachting off St. Tropez …so you’re going to need a personal trainer for that, yes? Of course you are. Going to put your kids in private school? What about private tutoring and classes for them as well? Sure, not a problem. Need a security detail to protect your new trust fund babies? Heck to the yes. It’s a whole new cost of living for the new mighty millionaire you!
Preparation is Key…And Be Quiet About it for Heaven’s Sake
The good news is there’s a ton you can do to prepare for all of the saving, spending, donating and gifting. But, let’s get back to that moment when you realize your life has changed forever. In our humble opinion, first things first. And by that we mean pretty much the same hour you’ve discovered you won:
Keep your damned mouth shut. Do NOT scream from your balcony that you’re holding the golden friggin’ ticket! Don’t call 30 of your best friends yelling “I’M RICH!” STAY. THE. FUCK. OFF. SOCIAL. MEDIA.That sentence deserves a page of its own. Do scream into a pillow. Dance. Cry. Laugh. Cry and laugh all at once, probably hysterically. Go ahead; pee your pants (you can buy new ones). Whatever it takes, just celebrate as privately as possible because eventually the cat will be out of the bag. But for now…Breathe. Be. QUIET. As hard as it may be, contain the urge to share the joyous wealth. Even though all but six states require you to release your name as a winner, it’s not smart to let the world know you have millions coming your way right off the bat. Money does really weird shit to people, even people you think you know well. If you have to tell someone, at least do the following steps first, and then consider who can keep THEIR mouth shut the most before letting ’em have it in one big wiggle-jumping-giggle-shout-fest. And DEFINITELY do NOT tell ANYONE you’ll be giving money to them. Just. NOPE. Stop. Because hinky lawsuits. Instead, consider the fun of creative ways of letting those closest to you know you won after you’ve got your ducks in a row.After the financial plan is set, then throw a reveal party, or treat a select few to a nice private dinner, or do what Kris plans and show up in front of their house(s) with pre-packed suitcases and yell, “grab your passports and get in the limo losers, we’re flying to London!” BUT FIRST:
Put that ticket in a safe or bank deposit box. NOW. YESTERDAY. DO. IT. Don’t have one? GET ONE. (By all that is holy, do NOT fold it up in your jeans pocket and then do laundry). But before you snap the box lid shut, consider how you’ll be claiming that prize:
Speaking of anonymity, before you put that winning ticket in your bank box, did you sign it? How’d you sign it? Your name? Hmmmm. It’s advised to always sign your ticket as it is a legally binding document. If you drop it on the sidewalk on your way to the bank and someone picks it up…if it’s not signed, they now have your millions. It’s possible if you sign it with your full name, which is the natural thing to want to do, you may be stuck with the lottery department taking that photo of you holding that oversized fake check with your full legal name right on it for the world to see. So…if you’re not 100% ok with that, then consider putting that unsigned (gasp…ok maybe print your name across the top rather than sign on the line???) ticket in the box and WAIT until you do Step 4 first:
Immediately get an appointment with a reputable, unbiased (KEEP YOUR CPA UNCLE OUT OF THE LOOP FOR GOD’S SAKE) financial advisor (the California Lottery office advises interviewing at least three advisors before choosing who to entrust your money with) who is familiar with large finances to lay the groundwork for you to make to the most of your newfound wealth and how to reap the rewards for years to come, even after your 30-year annuity payroll (if you chose it) has ended. This is where you’ll find out if it’s possible to set up some sort of fund account under which you can somewhat safely/anonymously accept your winnings rather than plaster your name all over kingdom come once the money is claimed (edit: sorry Californians, CA State Lottery won’t let you claim under a trust fund name. But it’s still a good idea to look into all your options, including setting up a trust fund if you want to protect your money). Your state lottery website probably has a list of resources for you so check there if you have no idea what to do first.
The reality of the lottery daydream is that there is a LOT to think about really seriously: lump sum vs. annuity payouts, tax brackets, trust funds, partnerships, how much what you buy will impact you in the future, where to live, who to give money to, who to protect you and your family from (Yes! Remember hinky lawsuits from above? Really.), who you associate with, who you trust, who your latest and greatest family members and friends suddenly are, what charities do you want to work with, and do you think more money will make you truly happier? It’s enough to make Kym ask, “Maybe it isn’t worth it?” To which Kris replies, “Are you effing kidding me? BRING ON THE BENJAMINS!” Kym is only kidding. She would totally be fine with millions. TOOOOOTALLLYYY fine.
Resources
We top off the discussion with a list of 23 statistics about winning the lottery, which you can find here.
If you’re in California, this link at the California Lottery website takes you to a downloadable PDF with information on what to do if you’ve won it big. The USA Mega website is not only a great resource with tons of information on the Mega Millions and Powerball lotteries, but it provides a regularly updated break-down of what your projected annual payments would be for annuity options state by state. It makes financial planning that much easier.
If you read nothing at all in this article, we hope you at least read this: if you have won the lottery, it is in your very best interest to calmly as possible research what you need to do to protect yourself, your family, and your newfound wealth before you even claim the prize. Finding a group of reliable, unbiased advisors (can’t say that enough) will help you navigate a financially secure future.
Check out our DEMENTO AND THE LOTTERY episode on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
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