Online Lottery Tickets

How to Win the Lottery Without Losing Your Shirt

When you think about winning the lottery, you can probably see yourself crowing, "We're happy, happy, happy!" It's harder to imagine yourself wishing that you had torn up the lottery ticket instead of cashing it in.

However, for some lottery winners, like "Wild" Willie Seeley, that's exactly what can happen. Don't believe me? Check out the stories of these lottery curse victims to see how a Play online lottery win can turn nasty.

And I mean, really nasty.

Losing a large windfall, whether it comes from a lottery jackpot, a sweepstakes prize, or a sudden inheritance, happens more often than you might think. The National Endowment for Financial Education states that "70 percent of all people who suddenly receive large amounts of money will lose that money within a few years."

The good news is, it doesn't have to be that way. While there are some very unhappy lottery winners, many more manage their money and relationships wisely and stay happy after the win. Here are some tips to help you prepare for winning the lottery without losing your shirt.

1. Keep Your Lottery Win as Private as You Can

You might be so excited that you want to share the news with everyone — your mom, your best friends, the mailman. It's a natural reaction, but try to fight it. The more people who know about your lottery win, the more pressure you'll receive.

You'll also want to check your state's lottery laws right away. Some states allow lottery winners to stay anonymous, others require them to go public. If you can stay anonymous, it's a good way to protect yourself and avoid pressure from friends, relatives, and strangers.

Read More: How to Claim Your Lottery Winnings Anonymously From The Nest

2. Don't Quit Your Day Job... Yet!

If you're dying to quit your job, the moment that you get the news that you have a multi-million dollar lottery win coming to you might seem the perfect time. After all, those millions of dollars should last a lifetime, right?

Well it might. But before you make an irrevocable decision like quitting your job (or any other big decisions, like moving or getting a divorce), make sure that's the best decision for you.

One of the biggest mistakes a lottery winner can make is to start making decisions when they are overly emotional from the win. Brian Kuhn, who is a Certified Financial Planner in Maryland, says that before considering what to buy or whether to move, "take a deep breath, have a long meeting with your family and loved ones, seek legal and tax counsel on how to claim and own the prize money, and don’t make too many decisions all at once."

Read More: How to Quit Your Job (When the Time Comes)

3. Hire a Financial Advisor or a Team of Advisors

When you win the Play lottery online, you're going to have a lot of financial questions to deal with, including how and when to pay your taxes, how to reduce your tax liability, whether to take a lump-sum payout or an annuity, and more.

Most of us aren't experienced enough to answer these questions. An experienced financial adviser can help you navigate the tricky issues surrounding a lottery win to your best advantage.

Keep in mind that all financial advisors are not equal. One lottery curse victim, Abraham Shakespeare, was even murdered by someone that he trusted to care for his money for him.

Money Over 55 offers some tips on how to choose a reliable financial advisor. These include understanding your potential advisors' qualifications, asking the right questions, and finding out how their payment works (and if it's right for you).

Some people choose to use more than one advisor, to mitigate the risk that bad advice from one person or firm could tank your investments.