How To Manage A Windfall

Views on money and its importance

Imagine that you just won the lottery, inherited an unexpected fortune, received a major legal settlement, or sold your business. What do you do with all that money?

You may think that your financial worries are over. The reality is, this kind of “sudden money” brings with it a host of emotional and financial challenges that most people never anticipate. 

Every day, regular people squander inheritances, salary bonuses, tax refunds, and gambling winnings. That’s because, contrary to popular belief, it’s hard to spend money well. A windfall is the unexpected receipt of an amount of money. But spending a windfall wisely is even harder.

Blowing away lakhs of rupees seems practically impossible, but these tales are not uncommon, say the experts.

“...there is a widely held belief that money solves problems. People think if they had more money, their troubles would be over. When a family receives sudden money, they frequently learn that money can cause as many problems as it solves,” says Susan Bradley, author of Sudden Money: Managing a Financial Windfall. She concludes “For many people, sudden money can cause disaster.”

There are people who are wealthy and unhappy.  There are people who are wealthy and very happy, with extraordinarily intimate loving relationships. But money is neither good nor bad in itself; it is our own relationship to it that will determine what it turns out to be.

Money cannot give what you do not possess - meaning in life, happiness, fulfillment, peace, good intimate relationships, a sense of belonging, etc.   Money may help these things happen but money cannot make them happen.

While there is great spiritual and emotional value in doing good things for others, it does not, by itself, guarantee a safe future.  Regardless of how “good” you are, your financial life will not take care of itself without effort on your part.  

You probably know many good people who have dedicated their lives to doing the right thing for others.  But they may still find themselves struggling to make ends meet.  

At first glance it would seem that “the universe” has not magically supplied all of their needs.  

Actually, “the universe” provides us opportunities, on a daily basis to help shape our own future.  Some of these opportunities include budgeting and saving.  If we fail to take advantage of these opportunities, it may seem as if the universe has failed us.  Actually we have failed ourselves.    

Certain “Money Scripts” are at the core of all of our financial behaviors. They are the internalized and typically unconscious beliefs we have about what money is, what it is not, what it can or cannot do, the role we play in it, and the role it plays in our lives.  They are formed during childhood and reinforced throughout our lives, often appearing as self-fulfilling prophecies.  

This is also a predominant script for those who work in the helping professions.  They tend to be underemployed and/or make ill-advised financial decisions in an unconscious attempt to “get rid of what we don’t deserve”.  That is why individuals who experience “sudden money” events are often back to their original level of financial existence within several years.

Personal life coach, Dr. Ted Klontz has identified some of the most common money scripts. He cautions that if left unexamined and unchanged, these could contribute to some of the most common self-destructive and limiting financial behaviors.
• More money will make things better
• Money is bad
• I don’t deserve money
• I deserve to spend money
• There will never be enough money
• There will always be enough money
• Money is unimportant
• Money will give me meaning
• Its not nice (or necessary) to talk about money
• If you are good, the universe will supply all your needs

Which of these is yours?

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Thought for the Week

“Here’s something to think about:
How come you never see a headline like
‘Psychic Wins Lottery’?”
Jay Leno
American TV Host
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First published in Gray Matter - The Hindustan Times