Struggling
Everyone dreams about winning the lottery. For many, it would be a means of not having to worry about finances for the rest of their lives. Others dream of helping their family and friends find a better life, while others use up every cent to buy everything they ever dreamed of.
But some don’t see a cent of their winnings. Either debt catches up with them, or they encounter other problems like taxes or people coming back to them for their money. Here, we share the story of Lamar Walker, who won the Powerball but encounters an unexpected turn of events.
Many Experiences
Lamar Walker hadn’t lived an easy life, having been born and raised in the Statesville slums of North Carolina. He hadn’t been off and was struggling to get the bills paid. Lamar had started running out of ways to earn money and had found himself in jail.
He would never have thought he would win millions of dollars years later. Lamar had spent his entire life searching for money to pay the next bill. They kept piling up, and he thought they would never end.
Forgot About It
Lamar was 34 years old when he struck big time. He had experienced much throughout his life so far, many of those adding to the struggles he had to overcome and grievances he’d had to endure.
He would never have thought that his luck would change within an instant. When he was younger, his mom often said, “What makes you laugh will make you cry.” He had no idea how soon she would be proven right.
Was It Real?
The day had started like any other. Lamar had woken up and gotten ready for the day. He needed to pick up something small from the gas station, so he drove to the one nearest to him.
He wasn’t one for buying lottery tickets but something about that day compelled him to. He had forgotten about it when he returned home but was reminded of it when he opened an unexpected email a few weeks later.
No More Worries
At first, he thought the email he received was a scam. It took him a while to remember that he had bought a lottery ticket before his eyes widened when he recalled the day from a few weeks back.
He had won a million dollars! It all felt unreal to him. He was by himself in disbelief as he re-read the email a couple more times just to be sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.
On Top Of The World
He felt a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He had spent so much of his life struggling and worried about paying off all his debts while still putting food on the table. He had finally found an end to all his worries.
He thought that it was too good to be true. He should have paid more attention to that thought because he would soon find out how true it was.
What Would He Choose?
He spent the next few weeks with a huge smile, excited about the thought of exchanging his Powerball ticket and claiming his one million. He wondered about what his money could get him. He felt like he was on top of the world.
But there was still a long way to go in figuring out where the money would actually go, and it may not be the way he would have liked. He needed to get the administration process out of the way to find out.
Two Years Ago
Once the process started, he was left to make an important decision. Would he take his prize as a lump sum that would leave him with $800,000 after taxes, or have the million paid out to him in smaller amounts every month for 30 years?
Lamar was eager to have his hands on the money and decided on the first option. He had been thinking about how he would spend it and was keen to get started. But his past would soon catch up to him.
She Found Out
Among many of Lamar’s past struggles was his long and challenging divorce from Elisha, his ex-wife. She had gotten custody of all four of their children.
They had been divorced for two years now, but that hadn’t ended all their arguing and disagreements.
Their Fights Were Too Much
Lamar had told her and the court that he didn’t have the means to pay any alimony or child support. But it wasn’t long before everyone knew about his fortune and his ex-wife started the paperwork. He owed her money, and she would do whatever she could to get her hands on it.
Any outsider would think him paying his ex-wife and the money for his children was the right thing to do, but they wouldn’t know that the story went much deeper than that.
Lamar Had Filmed Everything
As said, Lamar and Elisha’s separation had been long and difficult. And it seems that on occasion, their disagreements and arguments were just too complex to be solved through dialogue.
Elisha had accused Lamar of trashing some goods at her property during one of their fights while they were going through the divorce process. Was she telling the truth?
The Verdict
Apparently, she was. Lamar was found guilty of crashing a car registered to Elisha during a heated argument and throwing some of her jewelry into the Bogue Sound lagoon.
It wasn’t very difficult to prove these deliberate actions against Elisha’s property: Lamar had filmed himself while committing them and uploaded the videos to social media.
He Protested Against The Sentence
So it wasn’t difficult for the courts to find him guilty of these offenses, and he was ordered to pay for these items. In addition to paying the missed alimony and child support, Lamar now owed Elisha an amount of $770,000.
Doing the math, this left Lamar with only $30,000. Of course, this was much less than he initially expected.
It Wasn’t That Bad
Lamar, of course, wasn’t happy with the court’s decision. He launched a campaign on social media to protest against what he regarded as an unfair resolution.
However, he soon saw that it was best to accept what the judge said and pay his wife and children what they deserved, even if it cost him almost all of his prize.
Where To From Here
It wasn’t easy not to be bitter about how things turned out, but Lamar comforted himself with the knowledge that Elisha and his kids were now well taken care of.
By this point, Lamar had decided to just settle for his losses and be grateful to come out a little ahead. Given his life struggles, Lamar realized that having $30,000 left over wasn’t the worst situation to be in. However, this left him with questions about his own future.
People Were Still Hounding Him
Lamar was happy that his kids were better off now. He knew what it felt like to struggle and never wanted the same life for them. Unfortunately, while they were taken care of, Lamar still had to figure out his own future.
The cost of living wasn’t getting any lower, and the leftover money wouldn’t last forever. Lamar knew he needed a long-term plan.
Following The Money
Once news of Lamar’s lottery win began to travel, he realized how fickle people could be. During his worst struggles with trying to stay afloat, Lamar never remembered others being there for him.
He was starting to see why so many people chose to accept lottery winnings anonymously. Lamar was starting to lose his patience with other people. A call he received one afternoon was the last straw.
He Lost His Cool
Lamar couldn’t recall his extended family and friends calling him as much in the past. “I never used to get calls from friends and family. People tend to ghost you when things aren’t going well.”
Now his phone never seemed to stop ringing. When he received a call from his cousin Mike, Lamar was furious.
The Money Had Changed Him
Lamar couldn’t help but feel like Elisha had benefited the most from his good fortune. Cousin Mike, like so many others, called Lamar. “I hadn’t heard from him in years, and suddenly he’s calling me and being like, hey, we should get together soon.”
Suddenly everyone wanted to meet up or visit. Lamar was wise to people’s act now as he explained, “I lost it man, and basically told my own cousin to get lost.”
He Needed A New Start
Lamar regretted his past. His old behavior with Elisha had come back to bite him in the worst way. Lamar had been working on turning over a new leaf for a while now. He had made many past mistakes that he never wanted to repeat.
He knew now that regretting things never solved anything, nor did getting angry. Lamar felt like the lottery money had changed him, and it wasn’t for the better.
A Difficult Road
The actions of all his friends and family, who kept trying to get money out of him after winning the lottery, angered Lamar. He changed his number to avoid any more conflicts and began keeping to himself. At 34, Lamar knew he wasn’t getting any younger.
He needed to act fast to secure his future. Aware of just how many scammers there were out there, Lamar also knew he had to tread carefully with the last of his money.
A Fish Out Of Water
Lamar began searching for safe investments he could make or ways to grow his money and find a sustainable way forward. Lamar’s childhood lacked opportunities, and he never had a college education. This left him with only menial jobs whenever he could actually find work.
Most months, he barely scraped by. Having a golden chance to secure himself financially, Lamar now faced new difficulties.
A Familiar Place
Having never been in a position to explore opportunities to invest, Lamar hadn’t anticipated how complex this world had become. Solutions like cryptocurrency and forex trading were thrown at Lamar, and he sometimes felt a little out of his depth.
Lamar did not know how these things worked and was afraid of being taken advantage of. He needed to find someone that could help, but he wasn’t sure if there was anyone left that he could fully trust anymore.
An Old Friend
The longer Lamar sat with the money in his account, the more afraid and paranoid of wasting it became. One day, as he walked through his childhood neighborhood, he suddenly spotted a familiar building.
Lamar immediately knew that there he could get help there. He finally remembered that there was still one person he could trust.
He Was Home
Despite Lamar’s rough upbringing, Lamar remembered that there was one place his mother could always count on when things got desperate.
As he entered the building, he immediately found the person he was looking for. Time had aged him, but he still had the same kind face. Lamar wondered if he would even remember him.
A New Start
The place in question was an old church that Lamar’s mom used to take him to as a child. It was still run by Pastor David Holmes. Lamar was shocked when Pastor David immediately recognized him.
It had been many years since Lamar had seen him. However, when Lamar began speaking to him, it felt like not a single day had passed. Lamar was welcomed with open arms, and a strange feeling began to take over.
The Promise
That feeling was a sense of being home again. Lamar had been struggling on his own for so long; he had forgotten how much comfort the church had provided his family in the past.
As he explained his current predicament, Pastor David promised to help. By the end, the Pastor said he knew exactly who to put Lamar in touch with. It seemed that things were finally looking up.
A New Leaf
Keeping his promise, Pastor David later introduced Lamar to Mr. Morrison, who was a senior member of the church. Mr. Morrison worked in finance and used all his experience to help guide Lamar.
After helping to set up a portfolio for him, Lamar now had a small savings account that could slowly grow his money. Lamar could not believe how well it all turned out.
Gratitude
After trying for so long to turn over a new leaf and finally end the struggles, Lamar had finally found his new path. There was enough interest earned from his savings to give Lamar a small second income.
The rest of the money was used for long-term investments that could later grow into a retirement fund. There was just one last thing Lamar wanted to do.
Lamar was financially secure for the first time in his life. He began paying alimony monthly, and his relationship with Elisha and the kids improved. Lamar also began counseling church youth members so others could benefit from his life experiences.
Lamar donated the last $1,000 of his winnings to the church. He no longer needed it. The lessons he had learned from the saga became more valuable to him than the money ever was.