Mother-Talk blog tour: Money for Nothing

Do you tend to stick to the same type of book?

I do. Most of the books I read seem to follow the same type of writing, although since I’ve started reviewing books I’ve got to read some great things that I normally wouldn’t pick up at the bookstore.

Money for Nothing is one of those books. The author, Edward Ugel worked for a company who bought winnings from lottery winners. You know how when you win the lottery, you can get your payments in a lump sum or in annual payments? Well, believe it or not, when people get the annual payments, they often run out of money!

They money is coming, but not until their next payment, and they’ve already gotten used to a certain lifestyle or have bills piling up. So they would call the Firm and the Firm would give them money up front in exchange for their annual payments. Of course, the Firm made a lot of money of the winners that way.

This book was really fascinating to me. First, I have this idea of what I would do if I won the lottery (buy underwear!!) and it seems ridiculous to think that I would run out. But really it is no different than if you get a raise at work. You are doing fine making $75,000 a year. Then suddenly you are making $100,000. So instead of socking that $25,000 into savings, or your kid’s college fund, or your retirement fund, you increase your expenses and lifestyle to match the $100,000 income. It is no different for lottery winners in a lot of cases. Most people who win the lottery do not have a lot of financial background. We think about how we could be happy if we just had $20,000 more a year, but suddenly we have $520,000 more a year and it is still not enough.

This book could be a dull inquiry into the lottery and how it can hurt people, but it isn’t. Ugel is funny. He is very self-aware and talks about his own issues with gambling and women. In the end, you get the idea that he wasn’t much better off than some of the lottery winners he was dealing with.

Even if this isn’t the type of book that you’d normally pick up, give it a try. It is an enjoyable read which might make you think twice before picking up your next Powerball ticket. It’s also a rather interesting glimpse into the life of a man who wants desperately to succeed in life, but isn’t sure how far he is willing to go to get there.
Buy Money for Nothing here.

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