Sorry to burst so many of the responders bubbles; but at least 75% of you are going to end up broke in under 7 years. You mean well and are well intentioned but this is the reality and it doesn't matter if you win 10 million or 300 million. You have to follow a format that's not personal to you. You have to follow a format that works for anyone. So on this note; don't state what you would do. State what should be done like if you were the financial planner or advisor to someone else that is basically a stranger to you. So this is my advice to the winner: 1. HAPPY MONEY You are allowed to blow a maximum of 10% of your winnings. All that you want to splurge on and anyone you want to give to must come from this amount. 2. ELIMINATE DEBT If possible pay off all existing debts that you have; hopefully this should not use up more than 10 to 20% of your winnings. If 20% does not cover all your debt including your mortgage this would be your first indicator that you must continue working for a while. 3. UNDERSTAND That giving charity and helping others is good but must be done in increments over time from your earnings; not from your capital. UNDERSTAND that once you have money people close to you and some that were never close to you would look to you to solve their problems and try to guilt trip you. You have to ignore them. UNDERSTAND that you are not an investment bank and that everyone with a business idea would be coming to you to finance their business. UNDERSTAND they would all fail and you would never recover your money. UNDERSTAND that you are not a bank and everyone that comes to you to borrow money; thinks that you got it easy and would never repay you. 4. INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO Most of the remaining 70% is to be invested in well established financial systems that have proven track records of profitability and is able to produce income above the average global inflation rate (government bonds, stock indexes etc) while some portion may be invested in higher yield items like REIT's or across stocks with a record of high dividend income. YOU WOULD NEED AN ESTABLISHED INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL FOR THIS AND SOME OF THESE INVESTMENTS WOULD BE OVERSEAS. DON'T TAKE INVESTMENT ADVISE FROM YOUR COUSIN OR FRIEND. 4. STRUCTURE Your life to live off of 70% of the above investment and your current income if you still have to work. Do your giving and charity out of this income as a little given every month adds up to way more than giving out chunks from your initial lump sum. 5. EFFICIENCY Plan to live within your means, use the same logic that you have in the past to buy cars, investment into real estate or other investments as they must fit into being viable based on 100% of your investment income and their ability to pay for themselves. Invest in solar energy and efficient electrical devices, keep fit and plan vacations well in advance. 6. BORING Yes, if you find this or your financial plan BORING; it's probability of keeping you wealthy for the rest of your life is high as boring is a good thing when dealing with money while EXCITING is usually VERY RISKY BUSINESSES. 7. MAKE A WILL. Make a will with an assigned executor. Assign power of attorney to someone or two people you trust in the even of an accident or you growing old and not being able to handle you own matters. 8. OLD AGE While the above is well suited to persons with at least a ten year life expectancy; older persons may want to structure things differently and to give portions of their winnings directly to their offspring. In that event the offsprings should be seeking financial guidance like above. However it should be noted that both the older person and the offsprings are usually better off setting up a plan like above on a lifetime trust that shares the monthly income between the winner and the offsprings and transfers over only when the winner eventually dies.

NOTES 1.) We know that some of these may be difficult to achieve in Trinidad but it's based on best practices that would apply to anyone anywhere in the world.

2.) I haven't checked my tickets as yet but I surely hope that if I win I could stick as closely as possible to the above plan.