This week, the announcement by the National Lottery that a Roodepoort resident has won the R114 million Powerball jackpot, created quite a stir in the office.
It was confirmed that the winner has not claimed his/ her prize yet, and that the winning ticket was bought at a cafe in Florida, with R5.
The first thing everyone did was to put their colleagues through quite a tough cross-examination to find out if we had an instant multi-millionaire at our branch and, after it became clear that we were not so lucky (I miss the jackpot every week by about six numbers), we started discussing what we would do with that much money.
And, as all these questions and discussions were flying through the office, I could not help but think about how relatable Afrikaans singer, Lucas Maree’s song, Ek sou kon doen met ‘n miljoen was.
I thought about how I would react if I were to become an overnight millionaire, and what I would do with the money – if I don’t suffer a heart attack and die before I can spend it!
Yes, everyone would love to have an extra rand or two in their pockets to play with, to be able to do some of the things you don’t always have enough money for. Maybe go on a cruise, buy that new car, a new house or just splash some cash without worrying too much about tomorrow. There were also a few suggestions of paying someone to come in and resign on your behalf. For some, the possibility of buying a major share in the company was also quite appealing.
Then there were also suggestions of buying Eskom to alleviate our load-shedding woes but, to be honest, I do not think R114 million would even be a drop in the ocean as a rescue attempt.
One thing we all could agree on was definitely keeping the win a secret, otherwise you would be meeting many a your long lost relative (tannie Bettie van Tietiesbaai, jou ma se ma se suster se ouma se agter-agterkleinniggie) or maybe friends you never knew you had. (‘Remember man, we went to kindergarten together, we were best friends since we were in diapers!)
Personally, I would not change the way I live (that would be a dead give-away and I might meet some of those friends and relatives I never knew I had!). I would invest some of the money, and use some of it to help causes close to my heart; the elderly, animals and children, in an attempt to offer them some relief and maybe a month or two’s less worries.
But, on the other hand, I might just decide to use the money I wanted to invest, retire early, buy my huisie by die see and sip my coffee on the front stoep every morning, and live a happy and simple life.
What would you do with a million or two?
Until next week …
