Hey, guys. Are you ready for some money rehab?

Wall Street has been completely upended by an unlikely player, Gamestop.

And should I have a 401k? Because then I- You don't do it? No, I never- No.

You think the whole world revolves around you and your money? Well, it doesn't.

Charge for wasting our time. I will take a check. I got an old-school check. You recognize her from anchoring on CNN, CNBC, and Bloomberg. The only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand, Nicole Lappin. Speaking openly about money is so taboo. It's super uncommon to ask people questions like, How much do you make it your job? Or have you ever been in debt? If so, how much? Have you ever been asked those questions? However, one money question that people aren't skittish about is asking what you would do with the prize money if you won the lottery. It's something we've all daydreamed about. So I wanted to talk to someone who did live that dream. So I called up Powerball winner Tim Schultz to hear more about what his experience was like. I wanted to get into the ways that winning the lottery changed his life, the amazing outcomes, and the challenges. Of course, any challenge after winning the lottery is a champagne problem, and not just any champagne problem. It's like a Dom Perignon problem. Winning the lottery is one of the luckiest, if not the luckiest, things that someone can experience. But you know me, I wanted to dig a little deeper and get the full story.

And talking to a lottery winner really gets to the heart of how money changes relationships and everything. Here's our conversation. Tim Well, welcome to Money Rehab.

Yeah. Thank you so much, Nicole. I really, really appreciate. Thank you for having me on.

Thank you for being here. So you're here to talk about the time that you came into a little bit of extra money. $28 million, I believe it was?

Yes, it was in 1999. I won the Powerball. And so it's one of the most life-changing, surreal, crazy things that's ever happened to me. And I was 21 years old, so it was really a life-changing thing.

Can you tell me a little bit about the day you found out you won the Powerball?

Yeah. Well, I was working at a gas station, and I sold myself the winning ticket. And so it's in a small town, Des Moines, Iowa. And so it was pretty big news that someone had won the Powerball back then. And I basically sold the ticket. Everyone knew that I had sold the ticket. And so my boss called and left a voicemail on the answering machine. I was living in my parents' basement at the time. And so my father knew, he heard the message that someone had won at the gas station, and he knew that I played the lottery fairly regularly at that time in my life. And so he went down and was banging on the door and said, Tim, get up, get up, get up. And someone won the lottery. Someone won the powerball. You might have won it. And so immediately I jumped out of bed and was just panicked. First of all, I thought that I probably had won it. That's just what my gut instinct was telling me. And so I started panicking, looking for the ticket. I was looking everywhere. And I had little pieces of paper scrunched up all over the place.

And I wasn't the most organized person at the time. And I finally found the ticket, and it was curled up in this little ball. And I unraveled it and ran upstairs and saw my father. And this was 1999. So the Internet is not what it is today. So we looked in a newspaper, and I'm aging myself here, but we looked in the newspaper and compared the numbers of the ticket with the numbers in the paper, and they matched. And I looked at it a few different times, and it was just really, really surreal. And we started hugging and jumping up and down. And it was very, very exhilarating.

I can only imagine. So how many times had you played the lottery before winning?

Well, I was 21 years old, and in that state, you have to be 21 to play. So probably for... This was February. My birthday was in a few months prior, so probably seven or eight months. And I played fairly regularly.

Were you looking at this as an investment, or were you really gung-ho thinking you were going to win?

I believe that I was going to win, but I was willing to accept it, of course, if I didn't win. And I was basically just having fun with it, which is my advice. I have a lot of advice for people that play the lottery, but that's one thing, is to have fun with it. And if it hurts you to spend the $1, the $2, If it costs to play, then don't play. But if you can afford it, know that you have a chance because you do have a chance if you play. And I played fairly consistently. And also working at the gas station, I was consistently selling tickets to people. So it was always on my mind to be playing, and I just felt like I need to be in it. I was in it to win it. But maybe it was just mere luck. But regardless, it was extremely It was extremely, extremely life-changing, and it really flipped my world upside down overnight.

I'm sure it did. And what are the other little pieces of advice you give people who are starting to play or are already playing?

Well, I would say that, of course, to only spend what you can afford to lose, but also to know that you do have a chance if you play. And if you do win, then really consider whether to claim a prize anonymously if you have the option because there isn't always, but there can be a darker side with people coming out of the woodwork and people really coming after you for money. And I know people talk about that all the time, about that thing, but I experienced a fair amount of that. And I didn't have the option to claim a prize anonymously. But if I had had the option, I would have considered it.

So you alluded to some of the darker things that happened to you, people coming out of the woodwork Can you tell me a little bit more about that?

Yeah, I have a stack of... I should have brought them here to show you, but from over the years, I have a stack of letters from people, please for money. Some people would say, You're going to be broke in a few years and you're 21. I just tried not to listen to that, but it did terrify me. So I did... I tried to be frugal and and have an understanding of how much I can and can't spend and understand that I can't just get whatever I want all the time or else I would go broke eventually.

And I'm assuming you're not broke now.

No, I'm not. I'm not broke.

From the financial standpoint, did you have a financial adviser or a planner that you went through?

I did, yeah. One of the first things I did was contact an estate attorney and work with some financial advisors And because I had no understanding, no concept at all of what to do with that wealth, with that money. And so that's one of the first things I did because of that. I mean, I don't think the average person knows unless you have a background in education and that thing. And so that's one of the first things I think you should do if you do happen to win a major jackpot, or it doesn't even have to be a major jackpot.

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Now for some more money rehab. I'm scared to ask, but what were your taxes like?

Oh, my gosh. Horrendous.

How horrendous?

I believe it was at least a third of the prize, possibly more. I mean, it was really high.

So you didn't get 28 million bucks?

No, I didn't get close. No, I tried to be transparent, but I didn't get anywhere close to $28 million.

And how did it change your friendships? Or I don't know if you went on to date and not be a bachelor. How did that change your experience with love? Did it change your family experiences?

Yeah, it really... I would not have anticipated this when... Prior to winning the lottery, but it really changed so many relationships. When it came to intimate relationships and that thing, I had a really hard time for a long time trusting people to date. And I think my dating life was much better as a bachelor working at the gas station for a little over minimum wage, believe it or not. I met so many people there, and I really had a thriving dating life. But after winning the lottery, and this is not what people would think, but after winning the lottery for myself anyway, it was very difficult to trust people. And so I couldn't really... I did date, but I didn't really give anyone a real chance because I didn't know... I had so many people coming to me hoping that I give them money or thinking that treating me like I was a walking, talking ATM machine. That's how I felt. That I just felt it was just very difficult to trust someone that they had good intentions, even if they did. And I'm sure most of them did. So it took a few years for me to relearn how to trust new people in my life because I had so many people that were trying to use me.

And it wasn't all awful. I'm painting it where it's this awful thing. But that wasn't easy, that aspect of it.

You talked about some of the amazing experiences you've had. What were some of those?

I was able to... I mean, I did traveling, went to Europe a few times, and I have been able to meet... I'm really into film and journalism and that thing. So I feel very blessed to be able to meet a lot of people that I respect in the industry that have really been very supportive. And I just I wouldn't have met those people probably had I not won the lottery. I mean, that's just one little aspect of it. But it really has opened a lot of doors and opportunities that I mean, I was able to pay for a college at a major university. I couldn't do that. I mean, I could have taken out loans, but I just feel very, very fortunate and blessed that I was able to do I don't take that for granted because I didn't always have that. So that's an amazing thing. If you value college. I mean, it's ridiculous how much they charge for people to go to college these days, in the United States, anyway, in my opinion.

And what have you learned through doing interviews with other winners that you were surprised by?

That's a good question. I think a lot of lottery winners are optimistic people. One thing that surprised me is that a lot of lottery winners do believe that they're going to win before they win, that not everyone, but a lot of them do. And you could argue that that's just when you wouldn't play the lottery if you didn't think you had a chance. But a lot of the people I've interviewed have had experiences that have led them to believe that they were going to win before they won. And I find that very interesting, whether it be, in my case, it was a dream, but I I haven't interviewed anyone else that's had a dream about it in the long run, but there are other people.

With other premonitions or something.

Yeah, that thing. And so I find that thing fascinating whenever I interview someone that's had an experience similar to that. But another thing that I really find very interesting and compelling with some of the people I've interviewed are how it's changed relationships with them because I compare it to my own. Some of these people also have had others come out of the woodwork and come at them for money, and they've had some negative experiences and relationships ruined and that thing. And I certainly did. Most of the relationships that I've had stayed intact and were positive, and people that really loved me and believed in me were supportive. But some of the closest relationships to me were ruined, including some family that were previously close to me. And And I don't name names or anything like that, but it was just... That was one of the most difficult things was we're having people that I loved and cared about want money and keep asking for money. But I had this understanding that I couldn't just give and give and give, or I would be in trouble eventually. But they didn't necessarily understand that. They viewed me...

One thing about winning the lottery, a jackpot, is that for some people, they will have less respect for you because they view it as you getting money, something for nothing rather than it being earned. And so that is real. That happens with some people. Luckily, thankfully, most people didn't view it that way. They're just happy for me and supportive. But some people, and some people that I was formerly very close with did view it that way. You get something for nothing, you just You just got lucky, so you should help me out more. And that can't go too far. If you want to be smart financially, if you want to keep anything, you can't just give and give and give. And your means really vary depending upon whether you win half a million dollars or whether you win 10 million dollars, or whether you win hundreds of millions of dollars. Your means really, really varies, but you do have a means. I mean, look at the famous sports athletes out there, too, that come across millions of dollars and then get in financial trouble. It's easy to do, so you have to be smart.

For today's tip, you can take straight to the bank. Don't be afraid to break up with your financial advisor. I know breakups are hard, and this breakup can feel especially difficult because as a client, you are probably hyper aware that your financial advisor makes money from your partnership. But don't forget that you are supposed to make money from your partnership, too. Your relationship with your financial advisor should ultimately be win-win. So if you don't think the relationship is working out, you have every right to move on to bigger and better things. We spend our money, money, money. Money Rehab is a production of iHeartRadio. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Our producers are Morgan LaVoy and Mike Coscarelli. Executive producers are Nikki Etor and Will Pearson. Our masc are Penny and Mimsy. Huge thanks to O. G. Money Rehab team, Michelle Lanz for her development work, Katherine Law for her production and writing, Magic, and Brandon Dicker for his editing, engineering, and sound design. And as always, thanks to you for finally investing in yourself so that you can get it together and get it all.

You spend my money, money, money. You spend.