Big time dreamers, winners, and losers

By Dian Vujovich

Received one of those Publishers Clearing House “urgent, time is running out” packets in the mail last week. Not sure how I got on their mailing list but I am sure of one thing: Like many other money promise opportunities my chances of winning are truly out of this world.

It’s really easy to be seduced by dreams of winning $7,000 a week for your entire life but the reality is the odds of doing so are……drum roll, please….
1.7 billion to 1. That was “b”, for billion. Not “m” for million. Those “m” odds are those of our Florida Lottery.

So taking the time to find the precise stickers required to fill out the “Final Step” form, place them exactly to make sure the application is put correctly into the envelope– and money spent for the cost of a stamp to mail the PCH dream deal in– isn’t exactly time well spent. Except if you’re a dreamer.

Dreamers make all the wonders of the world possible. There are plenty of them. And I encourage all. However, there is a caveat every dreamer needs to remember: Many won’t see their dreams through to fruition. Or make any money from them. That said, don’t let money stop you from dreaming.

Take lottery winners, professional athletes and celebrities, for instance. After winning it big and getting their big fat payday checks, many are broke a few years later.

A recent CNBC.com story pointed out that 60 percent of former professional basketball players are broke within five years after retirement. Joblessness and divorce were the main reasons for the mismanagement of their wealth, according to Sports Illustrated info in that story.

Move from the hoops to the gridiron and the National Bureau of Economic Research found that 15.7 percent of National Football League (NFL) players file for bankruptcy 12 years after t retiring.

Nope, getting gobs of money has it short comings. Again, most are related to lack of money management skills that include, but are not limited to, understanding the value of a buck, the role taxes play in the wealth area and the high cost of raising a family and divorce.

A better scheme for a dreamer that may bring with it some modicum of common sense about money with it is going to college. And if you’re really smart, selecting one that’s a breeding ground for creating millionaires.

Wealth-X recently published a list of the 10 universities with the largest number of ultra-wealthy alumni. Not surprising, Harvard University ranks No.1 with 3,130 ultra-wealthy people among their alumni.

Behind it, four of the top five universities on that list include: The University of Pennsylvania; Stanford University; Columbia and New York University.

Bottom line: Keep dreaming. Realistically. For no matter what, there’s nothing quite like the mind-juices created once a dreaming mind is activated.