UNIT 8: MONEY AND FINANCE
My name‿ is Rita. My husban(d) buys one ticket‿ every Friday,│ an(d) curiosity recently led me to look‿ up the odds,│ which‿ are‿ approximately one‿ in fourteen million‿ an(d) therefore meaningless│ until compared with being struck by lightning.
The more‿ interesting question‿ is not│ whether we shall win but what happens to those│ who do,│ an(d) here the evidence‿ is largely anecdotal‿ and‿ uniformly depressing. Several studies suggest‿ a measurable decline‿ in well-being for‿ a significan(t) minority of recipients,│ an(d) the causes‿ are social rather than financial:│ relatives‿ emerge,│ envy emerges,│ an(d) the resulting‿ isolation‿ is harder to manage than the money. Conspicuous consumption‿ attracts people│ who would not‿ otherwise have telephoned,│ and‿ a windfall therefore requires careful handling that nobody has taught you.
Were‿ it to happen,│ I would tell nobody outside my immediate family,│ buy nothing for three months│ an(d) pay a professional to manage the rest. My husban(d) says he would buy a boat,│ despite being seasick‿ on‿ a ferry,│ which‿ indicates something‿ about the proportion‿ in│ which we would squander‿ it. We are not wealthy│ and‿ I am not persuaded│ that we would be happier│ if we were,│ but Ibud I would rather discover the answer than not,│ an(d) one ticket‿ is‿ a cheap way of keeping the question‿ open‿ indefinitely.