Who has not fantasized about having a first prize ticket in their wallet, the Extraordinary Christmas Lottery Draw? And it is that having a tenth awarded with “el Gordo” means a good pinch to the lucky winners: 324,000 euros treasury. However, from the initial joy you can go to tears, since sometimes, poor money management can lead not only to losing it, but also to total ruin.
70% of Lottery winners will be ruined in 5 years
Receiving a large amount of money all of a sudden can be overwhelming. This is precisely what most of the winners feel. According to different studies, the latest one published by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), 70% of the winners of a raffle end up losing everything within five years. The problem is that many of these grateful do not know or are not capable of managing their assets.
And it is that they may be tempted to give excessive gifts to their friends and family, make superfluous expenses or acquire necessary goods, which in the end means getting excessively indebted and, finally, not being able to meet the debts. And it is that as Leticia Grande, a lawyer for Reclamador, recalls, “being rich overnight is more difficult to manage than it seems.”
Why do some Lottery winners end up broke?
The lack of knowledge in the mortgage sector and the lack of financial education in Spain give rise to many doubts about whether it is advisable to invest the money from the Christmas Lottery in one thing or another, which can lead to errors of this type that make the few years they have less capital despite having been one of the winners, explains Sergio Carbajal, head of mortgages at Rastreator.
“This is mainly due to the fact that many make poorly analyzed decisions such as investing in an unprofitable business, investing without studying the market or paying off the mortgage at a time that is not the most appropriate, which results in a significant loss of profits. acquired”, continues the expert.
To avoid ruining finishes you have to follow a couple of tips. The first of them is not to get carried away by euphoria and stay calm. Secondly, have professional help, that is, seek financial advice that will be able to design an investment plan for the winner according to their vital objectives, for example, if they have children or if they are about to retire, what is their profile risk (is it moderate or aggressive) and what money would you like to earn as a return.
