What if an Aspie won the lottery?
Has anyone ever thought about this before?
Personally, I think it would be more of a challenge than it would to an NT. Simply because, they wouldn't intuitively sort out who's their "new friend". Can't speak for everyone though; I'd be a little more on the paranoid side and want the ensuing media exposure to a minimum.
You could have a bit of fun to say the least, and I don't just mean indulgences - try to locate that despicable former bully, tell him about your new-found fortune, then say "I'd like to share it with you." (hand him $2) and say "don't spend it all at once, OK?"
I don't think many of us would go on lavish Las Vegas or Mallorca or Miami parties or what have you, with an entourage, and do all kinds of debauchery, drugs and drinking - but there are no shortage of stories out there of lotto winners who have done that, and blew all their winnings in like 2 years; some of their stories even culminated in suicide or murder (recall a story about someone who hired a contract killer, because he thought he was untouchable - duh! - ever hear of the expression "living well is the best revenge", there, buddy???)
Well, if I won, I'd spend a good portion of it on three things: 1) autism charity donations (like 5% of winnings perhaps), 2) any kind of training that offset the negatives of Aspergers - like personal trainers for coordination, speech therapy and image counselors (the kind who train politicians), and 3) invest a good deal of it so I could engage in one of my special interests of market monitoring and predictions. You might think #2 is just a feel-good thing, as I wouldn't be working anymore, but it's actually to make me appear less like "one of those naive Aspies" that others might try to take advantage of. I wouldn't tell the specialists from which I got my training where my source of funds was if they asked. Same goes for lawyers...I'd try to minimize contact with them, but I think it's pretty much inevitable in this case
I think I'd also promote Aspie sensitivity training and awareness in the workplace, and try to start up a firm like Specialisterne that hires people on the spectrum as software testers and programmers.
Hey, maybe one of you out there actually won the lottery -but I don't think you'd say so on this post!! ![]()
If I won the lottery I would put it into savings and depending on how much I won, I would quit my job and never have to work again and have more children and be a SAHM and take all the trips I want while earning money from interest. I don't want my home being filled with clutter and it would sure cure my money anxiety.
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Son: Diagnosed w/anxiety and ADHD. Also academic delayed and ASD lv 1.
Daughter: NT, no diagnoses. Possibly OCD. Is very private about herself.
I'd donate some to charity, buy 2 houses side by side ( one for myself and the one next to it for my parents so they'd be close by if they need me or vice versa ), buy a car for my self plus one for my parents and one for my sister, get caught up on video games, get a new computer and buy anything my best friend could ever want or need...
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I'd probably become even more of a recluse than I am already.
Just with my own private island and a REALLY powerful computer
I'd also put money into developing some of Tesla's ideas for free energy for all.
Of course I'd need some really good security because that would piss off a lot of very powerful people and completely change the world economy.
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It wouldn't really change my life much. I like the life I have now. I have a small apartment; I don't want a bigger one, because I'd have to clean it. I have access to education. I have enough food. I don't have a car, but I've had one before and it was more stress than it was worth. I don't think I'd be happier with more money.
I'd pay off my college loans, though. I hate being in debt. And I'd need to keep enough to get my degree, so the next semester's bills. That's about it. I'll have an income after that, God willing.
It's an interesting problem, though, to spend a large amount of money in an optimal way. The interesting thing about money is that the first $50 you give someone is worth a lot more than the hundredth $50, which is worth somewhat more than the thousandth $50. With $50, a person who has nothing can survive--the difference between life and death. With $5000, a person can have "luxuries" like shelter, nutritious food, and transportation. Given $50,000, they've got a middle-class existence. Give $50 to someone who has nothing, and their life improves much more than the life of someone with $50,000 if you give them $50. In a way, money is worth more the less of it you have.
Therefore, to optimize spending a large amount of money, I would need to find a lot of people who had very little money. Food pantries, homeless shelters, the red cross, whatever. That kind of thing would give me a lot of return per dollar.
But there's another problem--renewability. It's the old "give a man a fish" principle. As many of us have experienced, the less you have, the harder it is to get more. Someone who's absolutely broke, homeless, etc., will have a harder time getting a job (no permanent address, it's harder to look presentable for the interview, etc.) than someone who is barely making it in a cheap apartment. And someone who's inherited a small business from their parents will have an even easier time. So--renewability. The first $50 given to someone who's absolutely broke can save their lives, but only for now. So, some of that would have to be spent in ways that would boost people up from the very bottom category to just high enough that they could grab hold of a ladder and start working their way up. I remember one program that gave me professional clothing for a job interview, and I ended up with a job that lasted three months--better than most of the jobs I've tried to keep. Things like that would be fairly profitable, too, but a little more risky.
So, yeah, it'd be a tricky problem. A very fun one to solve, though. With that much money, you could change the world (or anyway, your little part of the world), and you wouldn't even need superpowers.
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If I had extra money I'd donate to social services program. There's a youth shelter in needs of funds in Seattle and may shut down soon if they get no funding. I'd help foundations like that, or build shelters for homeless men, women and children.
I'd also build safe drug usage rooms for addicts. Of course, this would involve legal finagling so this may be an impossibility.
I'd donate to food banks and food pantries and organizations that work to get people off the street.
I'd create music and writing scholarships in high schools and help poor kids get to college.
For myself I'd get a new hybrid car, a new apartment (fully paid) in a nice neighbourhood, and maybe even a health club membership.
I'd do my best to start living again. Who knows? Maybe I'll even meet somebody in my old age.
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If I won the lottery I would have security. I would keep what I needed to live off of and my daughter and grandkids also and for their college education.
With the rest of it I would help homeless people. I don't know how, maybe build low income housing or something. I think everyone should have a home of their own.
if i won the lottery, i would buy a new house, and sonic everything. and a bounce house! and 365 of the same shirts(all with sonic graphic on them) and 365 pairs of the same pants (black skinny)! i would give the rest of the money to my dad.
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Verdandi
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If I won the lottery, not sure. I don't need an ostentatious life.
I might go to university at the level I can tolerate until I get tired of it. I mean why not? Live the life of a dilettante.
There are organizations I would provide money to, but I would be hesitant to provide money to relatives on a regular basis. I mean I'd help my mother out of the financial hole she's in, but given my sister's logic, I'd tell her that since I had millions, she owed me her entire paycheck. That is, I wouldn't give her a dime.
Mostly I want to live on my own. With cats. Have my own space to do what I need and want to do.
If you win the lottery, Aspie or not, the best idea in nearly all cases would be to find a good financial manager to take care of the money and have them put you on a strict budget.
Look at professional sports players and how they handle their finances. Those who blow the money end up broke. I remember reading an article about one pitcher from the Houston Astros who made a lot of money but within maybe four or five years after leaving baseball had gone through all of his money and was living under an overpass in Houston.
In general, the sports figures who lead a good life after they leave sports had financial managers to handle the money and lived on a budget controlled by the managers.
If I won the lottery, I would probably build a mid-sized Santa Fe style house in my community which has a population of about 70 or in a nearby small town with a population of about 150. Get a new car (mine is about 12 years old) and fix up my '64 pickup for when I need a pickup. The rest would probably go to a money manager for investment (I know a good money manager in Amarillo who is very trustworthy) and live on a monthy budget. If the money manager would do it, I'd have my monthly bills go to them to pay (telephone, electricity, ...) and my monthly budget would be for spending money like for groceries and books.
I hate to travel. When I do travel, I prefer to stay long enough to make the travel worthwhile. There are very few places I'm even tempted to visit. As it is, outside of visits to family members when they are in the hospital, I don't even travel more than 35 miles from the house most years. For many people in the city, not traveling more than 35 miles from home would not be too difficult, but around here, I don't know anyone else who travels less than me.
The one kind of travel that is attractive to me is on a sailboat. Of course, there's not much opportunity for that on the Great Plains.
NTs usually lie when asked this hypothetical question, and try to claim they'd donate most or all of their winnings to various charities.
Last edited by Venger on 24 Nov 2013, 5:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
My state lotto has two options for payout for the big one. Lump sum (huge payout all at once) and annuity (bigger payout spread over 20 years). I'd do annuity to be safe. That way if I did go stupid I'd have a couple of decades to learn to manage my money before my last check.
I'd ask the media not to release my name/photo. And if you never talked to me before I won you won't get crap after. And if I did find love he'd have to sign a prenuptial agreement.
As for lifestyle I hate crowds and big parties, can't see myself enjoying Vegas. Though I'd definitely get out of the deathtrap I live in in the heart of Dalton's ghetto. I'd buy a nice house and a nice car. Nothing to big or fancy.
And I would quit my job, spend my free time volunteering and have me a couple of kids through artificial insemination. Maybe adopt a couple to but I have always wanted to have my own.
I'd buy a nice quiet home in the mountains, and a motorhome to do some traveling. I'd invest the rest of the money. I would definitely not donate any of the money. Although I would look for a good charity to the leave money to in my will. Because I sure wouldn't let any of my greedy rotten relatives get any of it.
