An Open Letter To South Jersey Residents Who’ve Recently Won The Lottery

With both the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot prize amounts surpassing half a billion dollars, it seems like the entire state's been bitten by the lottery bug.

The aforementioned statement is especially true for South Jersey since multiple lottery wins over the last few weeks have been from this region. Just last week, a winning one million dollar lottery ticket was purchased from Camden County. For most of the South Jersey region, that's less than an hour away - just a hop, skip, and a jump up the Atlantic City Expressway.

Let's not forget about the lottery ticket worth over a quarter-million dollars sold in Rio Grande this past month. It seems like South Jersey residents are scoring big left and right.

As discussed on the morning show this morning, a recent study revealed that the majority of people would choose to keep working even if they hit it big enough to be financially set for the rest of their lives. That's great and all, but this letter is geared towards those who would be quick to up and quit.

If you were one of the people blessed enough to hit it big with your lottery win over the last few months - a word of caution - don't quit your day job just because your checking account is currently looking pretty plump. Not that many people would, however. In fact, the survey conducted by Adobe Systems Inc. reports that over 50% of people say they wouldn't quit their jobs. Smart decision. For one, if you only scored a $250k payday, after taxes you're only walking away with somewhere between $100-$185k of that. While that's enough money to likely rid you of all your debt, it's certainly not enough to live on for the rest of your life.

Also, you have to think about your benefits. Health insurance is EXPENSIVE. I know I'm preaching to the choir, but I imagine it's super tempting to walk into your boss's office and tell him to "shove it..." after you've scored a hefty payout like that. I'm no lawyer or anything but yeeeeah, I'd advise against it. If you don't want to spend all your winnings having to pay doctors appointments out-of-pocket, that should be good enough of a reason to keep your 9 to 5.

You won big - congratulations! Enjoy some more financial wiggle room, but don't be stupid. Think long term. Think smart.

Source: Adobe.com