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Financial Advisor Gives Advice To Lottery Winners

FORT SMITH (KFSM) – Even though the odds of winning the Powerball are slim, many people dream of what they could spend the money on. The jackpot on Wednesday (J...

FORT SMITH (KFSM) – Even though the odds of winning the Powerball are slim, many people dream of what they could spend the money on. The jackpot on Wednesday (Jan. 6) was $500 million.

“First of all, I’d probably help the homeless,” Larry Harrison said.

Jorge Schmitz said, "[I would] probably buy a house and pay off all my bills.”

“Well, that's everybody's dream come true,” financial advisor Carolyn Philpot said.

She has been a financial advisor for 28 years and in her time at Beall Barclay in Fort Smith, she has never had a client who won the lottery.

“Most of my clients aren't happy because they have a lot of money,” she said. “It's what they do with the money and how they conduct their lives on a day-to-day basis."

She said the best way to be a smart Powerball winner is to not allow it to change your life.

“I think that I would just not make any decisions for a while,” Philpot said. “And just go about my normal life and try to keep it normalized as much as possible. And then make decisions slowly and not let it be such an enormous change in my life.”

Even though Schmitz said he would get a new house and pay off his bills, he would follow Philpot’s advice, and not spend it all at once.

"Spend it over time,” he said.

"Think about it slowly, talk about it. Just make sure they're making the right decisions with it and just give it some time,” Philpot said.

She also suggests not announcing anything on social media, and keeping any winning tickets safe at home.

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