Cooking the Books podcast: Why a Lotto win can ruin your finances

A sudden windfall can go wrong if you don't know how to handle it. Photo / Paul Taylor

Each week the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB's Cooking The Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's how to deal with an unexpected change in finances. Hosted by Frances Cook.

Listen to "Cooking the Books: Why a lotto win can ruin your finances" on Spreaker.

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Lying awake at night, dreaming of how things would be different if we won Lotto, is something all of us have done from time to time.

The house we'd pay off, the job we'd quit, the holidays we would take. I'm sure all of us can think of how life would be easy if millions of dollars just fell out of the sky.

But a sudden lump sum can actually do more harm than good, if you aren't prepared for it.

You can overcommit to a new flashy lifestyle, or even struggle emotionally, leading to bad, rushed decisions.

It doesn't even have to be a lottery win. A big enough change in your job, house value, or even an inheritance, can all have this effect.

For the latest podcast I talked to The Private Office authorised financial adviser Nick Crawford, who specialises in advising people who have come into sudden wealth.

We discussed the emotional impact, mistakes people make, and the better ways to handle it.

For the interview, listen to the podcast.

If you have a question about this podcast, or an idea for the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here and Twitter here.

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