MONEY FOR NOTHING, by Edward Ugel

“What would you do if you won the lottery?” This standard bit of party talk has a far-from-standard answer in Money for Nothing, Edward Ugel’s fascinating memoir about his years at The Firm, buying lottery winners out of their winnings for pennies on the dollar.

What a lovely daydream, all that money just falling out of the sky to pay off your house, send your kids to college, and take the family on a cruise. But as rosy as the fantasy sounds, the reality is that cash windfalls bring their own problems, some of them devastating. Ugel does a great job explaining why: The typical person who plays the lottery is not already rich. They don’t have a circle of trusted financial advisers helping them navigate the lottery system, invest (or spend) their winnings wisely, or deal with the many charities, friends, and family members who want a piece of the pie. Trying to be smart about it, they choose annual payments over a lump sum, and blow through the first check or two like air. All too soon they are living a high-flying lifestyle while juggling massive debt, unable to wait for the next annual check.

Enter The Firm. Like other companies, The Firm offers to buy out the remaining winnings and give the lottery winner a drastically reduced lump sum, solving the winner’s debt problems and making a huge profit on the investment. Legal? Absolutely. Morally shady? You bet. Ugel lived for the thrill of the chase, hooking big winners and reeling them in with standard sales tactics that worked all too well.

Money for Nothing is also Ugel’s memoir of his own addiction to gambling, and how far he would go to support his habit. It’s a compelling look at a world I’ve never seen, and left me feeling kind of slimy by association. These are not nice people, and reading about them was enough to keep me away from the casino for a good long while.

Overall, “Money for Nothing” is a little rough around the edges. Ugel is not a professional or particularly gifted writer, but his story is an eye opener in so many ways. Above all I have learned to be careful what I wish for. And also? If I ever win the lottery? TAKE THE LUMP SUM! And while this isn’t really a good choice for a book club, it seems like excellent reading for a lot of the men I know, and my husband is already immersed in my copy. Thumbs up!

Comments

[Debra]

I know of three lottery winners in my town. One went Ugel's way. It was sad to watch. As a financial counselor, and friend, I tried to gently advise her, but she quit her job, bought an expensive house, baited her husband's jealousy by calling the winning "her's", and expecting him to continue supporting the household without receiving any benefit from the whole thing. After 3 years she is worse than bankrupt. She's still buying lottery tickets, trying to hit it big again.
The other two winners are truly that. They invested wisely and made no drastic changes.They splurge a bit, yes, but they have good money sense and strong support systems. They also buy a couple of tickets, now and then. but they know they were lucky, and stop themselves from excess.
Thank you for your book review. And good luck if you win the lottery!

[Roberta]

I just saw on television a show about the curse of the lottery. It was interesting the first couple of stories then I had seen enough. I thought there must be some people who didn't have such bad luck that did win the lottery. I'm glad to hear there are some same people in this world.

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