Gen Z Lottery Winner Chooses $1000 A Week For Life Over $1 Million Lump Sum So She Can Buy A House
She decided to invest in her future rather than spending all of her winnings at one time.
eldar nurkovic | Shutterstock A Gen Z lottery winner chose a less popular approach to her windfall, opting not to receive it in a lump sum. If time is on your side, like this young woman, it's not a bad plan, but choosing $1,000 a week for life is still risky.
20-year-old Brenda Aubin-Vega from Montreal was pleasantly surprised to learn that she was the newest winner of a $1 million lottery after haphazardly buying and scratching a Gagnant à Vie ticket. However, compared to past winners, Aubin-Vega decided that she wanted the money to be paid to her weekly so that she could actually invest properly in her future.
A Gen Z lotto winner chose $1,000 a week over $1 million lump sum so she can buy a house.
"I couldn’t believe my eyes! I checked my ticket over and over again," Aubin-Vega said while claiming her prize with Loto-Québec. Shocked at the sudden win of a lifetime, she called her father, then took the rest of the day off to let it all sink in.
Aubin-Vega had discovered three piggy bank symbols on her ticket, meaning she was now a millionaire. For winners of Gagnant à Vie, they can choose between a lump sum of $1 million up front or a $1,000 weekly annuity. Aubin-Vega decided on the latter and said she plans to use the steady income to eventually buy a home.
Most lottery winners choose the lump sum.
Usually, most lottery winners choose the lump sum, because at $1,000 a week, it would take 1,000 weeks, or 19 years, for Aubin-Vega to reach $1 million. If you were smart with your money, though, and actually chose to invest it, the weekly payments could double over 21 years. Either way, it's definitely a smart decision on Aubin-Vega's part, especially when you look at the number of lottery winners who end up going broke or having to file for bankruptcy.
A statistic from the National Endowment for Financial Education in America claimed that 70% of lottery winners go bankrupt within a couple of years, but that figure was grossly overestimated. There was another large-scale study from Florida that found that filing for bankruptcy was relatively rare among lottery winners, and it made no difference whether they won less than $10,000 or more than $50,000.
But, apart from the fact that Aubin-Vega's weekly payout eliminates the risk of losing it all right away, she has time on her side because she's so young. Using it to her advantage is smart and will help her break the curse of Gen Z not being able to afford a home. At the same time, it's proving the point that becoming a homeowner means needing at least $1 million to make the purchase and still feel secure afterwards.
Most Gen Z and even millennials can't afford to buy a house.
Nan Tun Nay | Shutterstock
According to the National Association of Realtors, Americans need to earn six figures to afford a median-priced home, which is currently more than $422,000. Because of that, a lot of younger generations, like Gen Z and millennials, have been excluded from the homeownership club because they just can't afford it.
Many Gen Z adults, in particular, have resigned themselves to the fact that they most likely will never own a home of their own. Unless, of course, they end up winning the lottery like Aubin-Vega.
Aubin-Vega might not be taking the most conventional route with her lottery winnings, but rather than rushing out to splurge on flashy items, she's thinking more long-term.
While Gen Z are often labeled "lazy" and "irresponsible," Aubin-Vega is proving that those stereotypes aren't the reason Gen Z aren't reaching the milestones their parents and grandparents might've reached at their ages. It's also proving just how messed up the economy is that the only way a young person can ever afford to own a home is to win the lottery.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
