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Won the lottery at 16, broke at 22

Posted 5:00PM 09/03/09 Extracurriculars, Insurance, Family Money, Saving Money
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Back when she was a 16-year-old earning $7 an hour stocking shelves, Callie Rogers became the second youngest person to win the lottery in UK history.

She took home the equivalent of $3.67 million -- and promptly went on a "never-ending spending spree," she told News of the World. "I was spending a fortune on cocaine, a nasty evil drug which tears your life apart. I'll be honest, about £¼ million of my win has been wasted on it. Most of it wasn't for me, it was for my ex Nicky Lawson who was addicted to it." The story has also been picked up by The New York Daily News.

She also wasted money on lavish vacations, loser boyfriends and breast implants.

She's attempted suicide and has moved back in with her mother. She's afraid that her kids will be taken away from her.

It's actually amazing how common these stories are. Awhile back, BankRate.com ran a feature story on eight lottery winners who lost their millions. In a way though, it shouldn't be surprising: If you're too stupid to understand that lottery tickets are one of the dumbest things you can buy, you're also too stupid to hold onto millions of dollars for more than a few years.

These Lottery losers also expose a key global financial literacy shortcoming. Studies have shown that close to 80% of NFL football players are bankrupt or broke within two years of leaving the game.

So you have to ask yourself: If a huge chunk of people who accumulate a huge amount of money can't manage to hold on to it, what does that say for the financial futures of average people who never run into a windfall?

Of course, this story has its own moral: Stay away from lottery tickets, cocaine, loser boyfriends, and boob jobs.
Tagged: lottery

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