Many of us have fantasised about how we would spend the money if we won the lotto, and for one lucky person in Ireland, those dreams are about to become reality.
The Euromillions jackpot of €250 million was won last night by a person in Ireland, with the hunt already on to reveal who it is, and where the ticket was sold.
Meanwhile, countless people up and down the country are likely straight back to thinking about how they'd spend that money, whether that's paying off the mortgage, booking a holiday or sharing it with loved ones.
But according to Personal Finance Expert Eoin McGee, the best advice is to "do absolutely nothing".
Having dealt with many lotto winners in his practice, the presenter and advisor joined Today with Claire Byrne to share his advice on what to do if you win the lotto.
Take your time
"You're not under pressure for time, bar signing the back of the ticket", he explained. "There's a couple of months before you have to claim this."
He suggested starting by ringing the lotto to confirm that your ticket is the winning one. "But more importantly, tell nobody", he added.
"I don't mean absolutely nobody but keep it to yourself, just keep it within your inner circle, to the people who you are likely to talk about it [to]. Don't make a decision today or tomorrow or any time soon whether you're going public or staying private, both of them have their pros and cons, but just keep it to yourself for the moment because, this is life changing.
"Any money that people win can be life changing, but this is particularly life changing and there's going to be a lot of media focus."
He noted that once the news breaks where the ticket was sold, "there'll be people looking across the table at each other, wondering, 'was it you and they haven't told me?'"
Keeping such a monumental win secret is easier said than done, particularly depending on your life circumstances. But, as McGee said, "once you open your mouth, you can never retract it".
Ground yourself
Tempering your expectations on the kind of joy such money is going to give you is wise, too, McGee said. Keeping a level head and grounding yourself is an important step.
"One of the things we try to get across, particularly in the first meeting when somebody has come into money - maybe it's they've sold their business, maybe they've won the lotto, or whatever it is - but you do need to remember that the things that made you happy before this win are the same things that are going to make you happy afterwards. You just have more time to do them now."
Although €250 million is an enormous amount of money, McGee stressed that financial mismanagement can upend even the largest wealths, with potentially devastating consequences.
"Don't underestimate that if you don't manage this properly, it can ruin you."
He explained that this is down to the pressures that could be placed on the winner of such a fortune, from asks from family, friends and acquaintances, to requests for support from charities and organisations. While accepting these can be a deeply fulfilling thing to do, you'll still need to think carefully about how this money is being spent - or saved.
Plan for the future
Although many of us will want to be generous with the win, McGee advised: "Make no promises."
Even with a win of that size, there are some people who will always expect more than what you're able to give.
"This is a time for celebration and joy being happy about it, but it's not a time for division", he said. More than that, he added, in the first six months, you shouldn't spend more than €10,000 on any one item.
To grow your fortune, McGee recommends investing some of it in moderate to medium risk investments. "You could take a million euro a month off it, and you'd never eat into the €250 million." Put the win into a bank account with 1% interesting and you'll have €2.5 million per year in returns, he explained. That's a little over 200,000 a month!"
To listen back to the full interview, click above.
