(Image courtesy of Washington’s Lottery)
The $1.5 BILLION Powerball jackpot might have you dreaming big, but a financial advisor tells Northwest Newsradio you should also plan for the future
Financial advisor, Tom Cock of Apella (formerly Vestory), says if you win the grand prize, “part of the money should be spent doing something fun, no doubt,” but Tom says you also need to run the numbers since you’ll likely take the lump sum of about $750 million. “You’re going to pay about 40% of that in taxes, which is about $300 million, so it’s a lot less than it sounds in many ways,” Tom says, “You’re going to want to pay off any debts you have, especially anything over 5% [interest], and then from there it gets a little tougher because you need to make decisions about where to save money, how to invest money and really kind of looking at the long-term future in terms of a plan, and that’s where professional advice could help.”
Tom says that pro advice should include 100% fiduciary investors legally-required to invest for your benefit and not theirs, a lawyer, especially for estate planning and a tax expert so you don’t overpay Uncle Sam and so you don’t blow all your money.
You can hear Tom Cock and Don McDonald on “Talking Real Money”, Saturdays from Noon to 2:00 on Northwest Newsradio 97.7 FM, AM 1000, 101.5 FM HD2, here at NWNewsradio.com, on the TuneIn Radio app or just tell your smart speaker “play Northwest Newsradio.”
