A lottery win: how would you spend it?

With the UK public sector net debt being placed at £1022.5 billion, rising to a staggering £2311.6 billion once the financial sector intervention is included, it should be no surprise to any of us that the UK has the third largest budget deficit in Europe.

If that doesn’t scare you as much as it does me, the UK Debt Clock currently has the national debt tipped at a figure so enormous, I refuse to write it down. How we aren’t running around in a panic I don’t know. Maybe it’s the enticing prospect of still being able to win the lottery? Money can’t be that scarce if we have the weekly possibility of winning £109 million on a Friday night. Besides, any semi-optimistic individual would rather concentrate on winning a large sum of money than worrying about such an absurd debt that their great grandchildren will still be paying for.

Regardless of the lottery being a nice vacation from the bleakness of the economy, there is no doubt it’s played at an unhealthy rate… I would know.

Most of my student loan is spent on picking five main numbers and two lucky stars. Frantically trying to remember family members’ birthdays before Saturday’s draw closes is all part of the weekly regime for us lotto lovers. In the quest to win big, we end up playing all types of number combinations, random numbers spotted on days out become signs from God, and any digit with the least bit of significance under 49 is nothing short of dynamite. I’ve even, quite embarrassingly, used Hurley’s cursed numbers – which, surprisingly, won me £20, thank you J.J. Abrams!

Despite the promise of regular wins, it’s the ultimate jackpot the gambler in all of us craves. It’s the main reason we continue to log on to the national lottery site even when we’ve spent more than we have earned by far.

Whatever the bank balance may read at the end of the month, hope is something not easily lost. Being a firm believer in the law of attraction, I already know the answer to the short and sweet question that thrills us avid players four times a week: what would you do?

In all honesty, it’s quite simple. Bearing in mind I’ve based my following actions on winning a minimum of £26 million, this is what I’d do:

One of my many mantras is ‘why have one home when you can have many?’ Following this outlook, a significant amount of my winnings will be spent on buying properties around the world. Being able to jet off to any corner of the globe at the drop of a hat and still having it feel like home certainly has its appeal. Although the property market has gone through its highs and lows, it can’t be argued that, with the right investments, it remains an incredibly lucrative business.

With enough money, the entrepreneur in all of us can come out to play. Plus, a guaranteed monthly return once you rent it out makes the idea of having apartments in New York that much sweeter.

Aside from being very level-headed with my winnings and donating great quantities to charities with causes I believe in – as I’m sure many of you that share the same fantasy as me, would also do – I’d be extremely tempted to do something extremely frivolous and wild.

Once you start to think about all the things that are possible, limitations disappear and the impossible becomes nothing. My trip to the dark side of being a lottery winner involves filling a room with £50 notes and diving in head-first just for the experience. Not exactly the least sordid of wants, but who doesn’t want to swim in a room full of money?

Diverting back to reality for a moment, though dreams of an endless supply of money will forever remain a nice distraction from mundane day-to-day tasks, it doesn’t mean that we can’t all start to make our wildest desires manifest. Debt-ridden headlines might act as a deterrent for us to go out and enjoy ourselves, but that’s all they are: headlines.

We shouldn’t let jackpot obsessions get in the way of enjoying the money we do have, buying that dream car or owning that dream house are still all accessible to us with a little hard work and determination. Enjoy the escape and gamble the lottery brings, but don’t forget to enjoy the life you currently live. And, if you do happen to win big one day, remember me.