A young couple have shared how they have been “ostracised” by their family after refusing to share their Lotto winnings.
Posting in the popular “Am I The A**hole?” Reddit thread, the man posted his story about how he and his wife, both 24 years old, buy a lottery ticket every month just “for fun”.
They were both shocked and elated when they won the $5.6 million jackpot, and they began to plan what they would do with the winnings.
The couple paid off their personal debts, home mortgage payments, student loans and car loans, and had roughly $5 million left.
“In case you don’t know 70 per cent of lottery winners go broke after a few years. Me being in the financial sector, I didn’t want to be in the 70 per cent and also never have to work a real job again,” the husband explained in the post.
In order to secure the couple’s future together, they invested in a “combination” of mutual funds, real estate investment trusts and stocks to set up their future “for a very steady hands-off extremely low-risk solid return approach”.
“With the $2 million, we ended up buying a $5 million dollar apartment complex that cashflows and will give a high return with low risk,” he explained.
When the man told his family about the win, he expected them to be happy for him and his wife, but was met with a very different reception.
“When I told my family, I thought the first reaction would be excitement for me and how we were financially responsible with the money,” he said.
“But they started talking about a huge family trip, how I was paying for all their debts, and more. I explained $5 million is a lot but not enough where I will be giving it away to family and they got p****d.”
“They said I wasn’t welcome in this family and that I should never talk to them again. I think I’m in the right because I’m doing what’s best for me and my wife. So do you think I’m the a**hole?”
The man’s post was flooded with comments in support of his decision, with one person saying, “You’re no longer welcome in the family because you didn’t give them your money? The entitlement is nauseating.”
One person commented, “My husband and I have talked, jokingly, about what we’d do if we won the lottery and we both agree that our number one rule would be not giving money to anyone who had the audacity to ask for it.”
Another added, “Your family has shown you that blood is not thicker than money.”
Image credits: Getty Images
This article first appeared on OverSixty.