Archive for August, 2007
What To Do If You Win The Lottery
Aug 31st
Congratulations, you just won $330 Million in tonight’s Mega Millions lottery! Now what?
It’s all too often we hear about the multi million dollar lottery winner who squandered there fortune in a few short years and are back in the poor house. Here’s some ideas to help you out if you ever strike it rich, so your money will last as long or longer than you do. Please note, you should consult you’re financial planner, accountant and/or attorney before making any decisions and should not consider this article as legal or financial advice.
Rule #1 – Get professional help. This is a no-brainer, but many people fail to consult professionals for legal, accounting and financial advice after winning a large amount of money. There are many legal issues surrounding a sudden influx of money into your life that starts with how to accept your jackpot. There are several options including having a revocable trust formed to accept the money on your behalf, this also shields you from the immense publicity and endless phone calls that are common place for people with money. You are also going to need help on investing the money for the future and this is where a certified accountant and financial planner come into the picture. There are many more tax issues to be concerned with when dealing with so much money and these experts are trained in these areas and can save you many thousands or even millions of dollars.
Rule #2 – Take the lump sum. Most every lottery offers two options for accepting payment for a large lottery jackpot. You may elect to receive equal annual payments for a certain number of years (the total sum of those payments equals the jackpot amount) or you can choose to take a single lump sum payment. The lump sum is most commonly calculated by taking the amount of money needed to buy the annuity for the annual payment option. The reason most financial experts recommend the lump sum payout is because even the most average of investors can earn a higher return on the money than an annuity would pay out. Simply put, this means a lump sum invested with a higher return than the annuity would make your jackpot actually worth more than advertised at the time of the drawing.
Rule #3 – Don’t forget about taxes. One of the most important things to realize about that money you just won is that you aren’t the only winner… Uncle Sam wins too. Your multi million dollar win just vaulted you into the highest tax bracket and means you will have to set aside as much as half of your jackpot to cover any federal and state taxes you will be subject to. The government is a great entity to be because there odds of winning are not 1 in 176 Million like yours, their odds of winning every jackpot in the country is 100% every time someone collects.
Rule #4 – Live off an allowance. The easiest way to make that jackpot last for years to come is to put yourself on an allowance. Yes I realize this makes you feel like a kid living with your parents again, but setting up a realistic withdrawal rate from your jackpot means your money will last longer than just if you just spend like everyday is a party. The most commonly recommended withdrawal rate on retirement nest eggs is about 3-4% of the principal each year assuming it is invested 3 to 1 in stocks and fixed income. As long as you earn a respectable 6-10% return on your money, a 3-4% withdrawal rate plus about 3% inflation means your principal will likely last forever.
Rule #5 – Don’t expect to win. If you’ve read this far, great! You are now have more information regarding what to do if you win the lottery than most people, so don’t blow it. But this rule is the most important one of all. You are most definitely not likely to win the lottery. I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but its best that you not expect it or else when the numbers come up on the TV you’ll only feel disappointment. The odds of winning the Mega Millions are 1 in 176 Million – that’s like you being one of two people randomly selected from every man, woman and child in the United States… yikes.
Here are some more articles about the lottery that may interest you:
Unlucky lottery winners who lost their money
How to deal with winning the lottery
Powerball winner says he’s cursed
8 lottery winners who lost their millions
Technorati Tags: lottery, mega millions, powerball, lotto, shaun carter, attorney, accountant, financial planner, adviser, money, savings, investing, retirement, wealthy, rich, revocable trust, taxes
Mega Millions Lottery August 31, 2007
Aug 31st
So far the Mega Millions Lottery is up to $330 Million for the drawing tonight and could climb again based on larger than expected last minute sales. Ticket machines are sure to be buzzing all day as people hope to cash in on a near record lotto jackpot. The lump sum option would pay out $194.4 Million or the winner could take 26 annual payments of over $12 Million each.
The current record setting jackpot was won on March 6, 2007 and totaled $390 Million. If nobody hits all five winning numbers plus the Mega Ball tonight then the jackpot will surely come close to or exceed the previous record. I’ll be picking up some tickets today, and if I do win I’m sad to say I won’t be telling anyone… I will go into hiding.
Technorati Tags: mega millions, jackpot, lotto, lottery, lump sum, shaun carter, michigan
The Beginning of the Government Mortgage Bailout
Aug 31st
Today President Bush announced new initiatives aimed to help hundreds of thousands of homeowners with their subprime and high risk mortgages. I think this is the first step to a full scale government bailout for homeowners and the lenders as well. While I don’t agree with the government spending tax dollars to help people who were not financially prepared for home ownership in the firstplace, this move will strengthen the credit markets and help support the economic growth that many believe is waning because of the housing slump.
The quarterly GDP numbers came in very strong for the second quarter of the year and have led to fears that the Fed will not lower rates any time in the near future. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will be speaking at 10am today at the central bank’s annual conference.
Stock futures this morning indicate a higher open in the markets today in anticipation of Bernanke’s speech and news coming out of the mortgage lending industry.
Technorati Tags: mortgage, sub prime, bailout, federal reserve, chairman, ben bernanke, shaun carter, president, bush, annual conference, lending, gdp, gross domestic product, interest rates
What is a TRO?
Aug 30th
TEAM is filing Temporary Restraining Orders (TRO) all over the country against Quixtar and Alticor has come forward to discuss its position on the matter.
Temporary Restraining Order – “An order of brief duration that is issued ex parte to protect the plaintiff’s rights from immediate and irreparable injury by preserving a situation or preventing an act until a hearing for a preliminary injunction can be held” – Dictionary.com
That definition of a TRO makes it clear that the order is issued immediately on behalf of the plaintiffs until such a time that a hearing can be held with all parties present. TEAM is attempting to keep Quixtar from threatening IBO’s with suspension or termination from the business for being affiliated and participating in TEAM functions. These orders are being sought by individual IBO’s all over the country in preparation for the class action lawsuit filed in California by Orrin Woodward, Chris Brady and some other high-level TEAM executives. These TRO’s appear to be an attempt to keep the status quo within Quixtar’s rules and business practices until the class action is resolved.
The part of this whole saga that I don’t understand is that TEAM leadership is telling its members to “continue as normal” and yet they are suing, claiming Quixtar is an illegal pyramid scheme… now where is the logic in that? One of the recruiting tactics used within TEAM and utilized to solicit me at one time was the use of religion, well anyone who knows me knows that pressuring me with religion is the quickest way to get me to ignore you. My question to TEAM members is, how can a Christian person believe something is wrong, illegal, and overpriced and yet continue to market the products and opportunity to others and be so deceitful to these innocent individuals. It has yet to be determined in court whether TEAM’s accusations have any merit, but honestly if you think it is all those thing why would you promote that to others with a clean conscience?
TEAM Files Class Action Lawsuit
Technorati Tags: team, team of destiny, quixtar, alticor, amway, shaun carter, orrin woodward, chris brady, lawsuit, class action, michigan, ibo, meetings, california, mlm, network marketing
Is TEAM Brainwashing Its IBO's?
Aug 30th
I just read a funny post over at another blog and it pertains to the teachings of one particular TEAM group and it’s unfortunate implications. If you haven’t had a good laugh today, be sure to check it out.
For those of you not familiar with TEAM, they are a training organization for Alticor’s Quixtar/Amway network marketing business opportunity and is currently embroiled in a fierce legal fight to try to void their non-compete contracts.
Technorati Tags: quixtar, alticor, team of destiny, team, shaun carter, orrin woodward, chris brady, network marketing, mlm
CEO-To-Worker Pay Narrows
Aug 30th
Believe it or not, the average CEO makes 364 times as much as the average employee and this is a significant improvement over recent years. The average CEO earns nearly $11 Million annually. But the amazing statistic is the disparity of pay when comparing that of Private Equity and Hedge Fund managers to nearly anyone else. These executives earn an astonishing average annual pay package in excess of $650 Million, that’s more than a half BILLION per year! That equals more than 60,000 times the average worker pay and 61 times the average CEO pay.
But the party may be coming to an end for highly compensated fund managers as Congress works to change the tax code to increase the level of taxation on that income. Currently many Hedge Fund managers take their compensation in such a way that it is only taxed at the prevailing capital gains tax rate of 15%. But even if they were being taxed based on the earned income tax tables, it is an absolutely staggering sum. For example, the Mega Millions jackpot for this Friday is $325 Million. But to make the example more realistic we must use the lump sum payout amount of $191.1 Million. The odds of winning nearly $200 Million is 1 in 170 Million, but these managers are taking that home every four months or so. It’s like winning the lottery every day!
Technorati Tags: lottery, lotto, ceo, pay, hedge fund, compensation, capital gains, tax rate, taxes, odds, disparity, private equity, shaun carter
TEAM Leads Quixtar In Lawsuit Victories
Aug 29th
The Quixtar/Alticor PR machine is doing a magnificent job of misconstruing their level of success in the litigation with TEAM and it’s founders Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady. It turns out that TEAM has won 12 lawsuits nationwide versus 3 for Quixtar (all three of those in Michigan). Quixtar has also been spreading its version of events by confusing its TEAM affiliated IBO’s with threats of suspension and termination if they don’t do as they are told or they would be in violation of a court order.
Because of all the deception, the TEAM attorneys requested the judge who ruled on the Michigan cases clarify the terms of his decisions. It turns out Quixtar was reading a lot more into the decisions than they should have. Quixtar threatened legal action against IBO’s who attend TEAM motivational meetings, but in fact the judge ruled those are still allowed to take place without fear of retribution.
I’m sure there will be plenty more to come in the next few weeks as more cases across the country are decided. All these will lead up to the big class action lawsuit filed in California.
More Evidence of TEAM Termination
TEAM Files Class Action Lawsuit
Technorati Tags: team, team of destiny, quixtar, alticor, amway, shaun carter, orrin woodward, chris brady, lawsuit, class action, michigan, ibo, meetings, california, mlm, network marketing
Million Dollar Wiki Founder Update
Aug 28th
The other day the creator of the Million Dollar Wiki, Graham Langdon, announced he was leaving college to pursue his new web venture full-time. Well he has clarified his decision that he is not leaving UConn, but is simply cutting back his schedule and not living on campus as an RA.
This is good news and means Graham can continue to kill two birds with one stone – become an Internet millionaire and a college graduate in progress at the same time.
Technorati Tags: million dollar wiki, Graham Langdon, college dropout, shaun carter, bill gates, michael dell, steve jobs, larry ellison, website, idea, startup, entrepreneur, investment
US Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez Resigns
Aug 27th
While I don’t normally get into political discussions for obvious reasons, the news coming out today regarding the US Attorney General, Alberto Gonzalez, is long overdue. AG Alberto Gonzalez has submitted his resignation and President Bush has accepted it “with regret” after a Sunday meeting at his Crawford, Texas ranch.
The events that unfolded within our justice department over the last year have disgraced our country and lessened credibility of the system within our borders as well. The mass firing of “liberal” federal prosecutors by a very conservative AG has led to many resignations in the lower ranks already. This fiasco has sidetracked the justice department and is sucking up resources that could be better spent on serious issues facing this country.
Gonzalez has been pressured to resign by both Republican and Democratic senators and representatives of Congress, but he has resisted and President Bush has continued to back him. This resignation amid the scandals in his department will no doubt negatively impact the President’s reputation yet again because of his staunch support of Gonzalez from the beginning.
Technorati Tags: alberto gonzalez, attorney general, united states, president bush, george w bush, shaun carter, republican, democrat, congress, senator, resignation, reputation, crawford, texas, liberal, conservative
Shaun Carter dot Com Hits Number One on Google!
Aug 27th
Something that has bothered me since launching Shaun Carter dot Com is that when you search for my name in Google, the Wikipedia entry for Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) showed first with my site coming in second. Well I noticed quite an increase in traffic for the search term “shaun carter” the other day so I decided to check it out and to my disbelief, this blog now comes up #1.
This is obviously not a huge deal because the search term is the exact name of the domain and should rank first for that very reason, but it’s something that has been eating at me for months. I tweaked the meta keywords and descriptions two days ago and I think that’s what did the trick. There are many bloggers out there that do not update their blog description and keywords in their header file. This is something you absolutely must do to help your search engine inclusion and ranking.
Go into your header file right now and toward the top you will see something like this:
meta name=”generator” content=”WordPress <?php bloginfo(‘version’); ?>” />
meta name=”keywords” content=” ” />
meta name=”description” content=” ” />
—————————————————-
What you want to do is fill in your keywords related to your site in between the quotation marks on the keywords line and enter the description of your blog in the same quotation field in the description line. It will take about two minutes but could improve your SE rankings significantly.
Technorati Tags: seo, google, shaun carter, keywords, header, keywords, description, content, search engine, ranking, jay-z
