SECRETS OF A MILLIONAIRE POWERBALL WINNER!
A proud nurse-turned-lotto champ reveals how she’s spending her cash since winning the jackpot
As the lucky recipients of last week’s $160 million Powerball jackpot continue their celebrations, a previous winner has revealed all about her life as a millionaire.
The nurse from Sydney, who is a mum in her 40s, won $107 million in 2019 but, amazingly, didn’t give up her day job. In fact, she and her husband
– who have chosen to remain anonymous – went back to work the day after they discovered they’d won, at the time, the richest jackpot prize on record.
“I don’t know why people were so shocked,” says the winner. “We both love our jobs.”
The millionaire insists that making small changes in her life has been the best part of winning big, from upgrading to more expensive wine, enjoying regular purchases of fresh flowers and being able to afford to buy herself treats without worrying.
“I love books, and to be able to go into a bookshop and buy whatever book I want is amazing,” she says. “It’s things like that I don’t take for granted. Being able to buy fresh flowers is a luxury. That’s a lovely thing to do.”
EXOTIC TRAVEL
Another luxury for the winner is creating memories with her loved ones in exotic climes.
“Having the ability to travel with the children is incredible. We never thought we’d be able to afford that. It was always out of reach for us, so to have those memories is priceless.”
But she adds that neither her or her husband will be frittering their winnings away – they’re determined to use
their wealth to help others. “Paying it forward is really important to us because if you change one person’s life, you have the potential to change the whole community.”
After receiving the life-changing phone call in January 2019 and learning she’d won the jackpot, the lucky Aussie explains how she and her family have made some “really important donations” and are thinking about what they want to support next.
“We literally keep a notebook of causes we know we want to help on a grassroots level,” she says. “It makes you feel incredibly privileged, and it’s what we’ve always done anyway, but now we can do so much more.”
The family have bought a new house, which the nurse says still gives her a “pinch-me moment” every day she walks into it. “It’s going to be a family home for generations to come,” she says.
“That this is my house and I never have to move my family is something I will never take for granted.”
‘We keep a notebook of causes we want to help’
NO MORE IRONING!
And while she’s continued to carry out the usual household tasks since winning, like cooking and cleaning, this mum says there’s one job she’s been delighted to give up.
“I do have someone who does the ironing for me now. I’m more than happy to never pick up an iron ever again.”