A woman has taken to social media to ask for advice after she won the lottery and decided not to share her winnings with her family, who she claims didn’t support her when she needed them
A woman has been praised for her decision not to share her lottery winnings with her siblings, despite having won a substantial amount that could have benefited them all. The 34-year-old revealed that she bought the lottery ticket on a whim, which was quite unusual for her.
To her surprise, she hit the jackpot. While it wasn’t “hundreds of millions”, she confirmed that it was enough to significantly improve her life. Sharing her story on Reddit, she said: “I was ecstatic. The first thing I did was call my mum. She was excited at first, but then like a minute later, she started saying, ‘So, are you going to share it with the family?’ Like, before I’d even processed the news myself.”
She further explained that she has a brother and sister who didn’t support her when she needed help with her autistic son. She continued: “My brother and sister have always kind of been distant. When I had my son (he needs a lot of support), it was pretty much just me on my own. They didn’t offer help, didn’t check in much, and it hurt, honestly.
“I love them, but I’ve had to go through so much alone. My mum, too I mean, she was supportive in her way, but she was never really there in the ways I needed her.” Therefore, she informed her mum that she had no plans to share her winnings with anyone, preferring to use the money for her son’s future and to pay off bills and debts.
However, her mum didn’t react well to this news. The woman added: “She got really quiet, then goes, ‘Well, that’s really disappointing.’ That hit hard. Since then, my siblings have been calling me selfish and saying I’ve let ‘money go to my head,’ and even my mum has hinted that I’m being greedy. She actually told me that my son ‘needs a strong family around him’ and that I’m ruining that with my attitude.”
The woman is now questioning her choice – but commenters on her post were supportive, with one advising: “Take good care of you and your son and enjoy it! Your parents and siblings should be happy for you and your sons instead of being jealous! Also, take care as you have money and know you will make a lot of new friends! You know what I mean.”
Another said: “This is exactly why you never tell people you won the lottery. You get with a financial professional and lock down taxes and savings and investments etc. The second someone finds out you won the lottery, that’s found money to them and they have no problem coming out of the woodwork to hit you up for help or to invest in their terrible business or pay for their college or wedding or such.”
And another added: “You’re not awful in the slightest. Your son should always and forever be your priority. Treat yourself to a nice trip while you’re at it too.”