This is so sad. People don't understand the basic principles of how money actually works.
The US dollar has lost over 97% of its purchasing power since 1913, and that's thanks to the Federal Reserve.
So those $1,000 weekly payments? They say 3% inflation like that's a safe assumption. It's not.
The official CPI average since 1960 is 3.8%. But real-world costs… housing, healthcare, groceries… they have inflated closer to 5-7% annually for decades.
And in just the last 4 years alone, cumulative inflation hit 23%. So 3% is the best case scenario. And even at 3% she needs to live 29 more years just to collect $1M in real purchasing power.
If she's 40 today, she has to make it to age 69. If she's 45, she's praying she sees 74.
At 23% inflation, which is what we actually experienced the last few years, she never gets there. EVER
The math is brutal:
- Her $1,000/week is worth $813 in real terms after just year 1
- By year 5 it's worth $355
- By year 10 it's worth $126
- By year 20 it's worth $16
Even if she collects for the full 20 years, she'll have received $1,040,000 on paper. But in real purchasing power? $222,488.
That's it. Less than a quarter million in actual value. In exchange for 20 years of waiting. Damn thats sad.
At 23% inflation, the maximum her payments are ever worth in real terms… even if she lives forever is $226,087.
The math literally caps out there. She can never reach $1M in real value. Not in any number of years.
The truth is the lottery didn't give her $1M. They gave her $226K disguised as a million, paid out slowly enough that most people never notice.
The lump sum was always the right answer. Not to spend BUT to put to work.
$1M in Bitcoin in 2020 would be worth over $5M today. In 2017, over $30M. Nothing has outperformed Bitcoin over any 4-year window in its entire history.
But the crazy part is the lottery isn't even paying her with money they have. They're paying her with the tickets you and I bought last week. It reminds me of social security lol. Collect from people today. Promise to pay others tomorrow. Hope nobody does the math.
They collect billions, pay out slowly over decades while inflation does the work for them, and pocket the difference. The money is never sitting in a vault with her name on it.
Brenda, I hope someone tells you before year 5. Because the system just played you… AGAIN.
