Careful Manitobans wouldn’t blow $5M
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/12/2010 (5486 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
PUT down the coffee mug and imagine holding a winning $5-million lottery ticket for a moment.
Flashes of a new car or a new home appear. Images of a sun-soaked, sandy beach next to a pristine blue ocean may surface, or maybe that expensive new fishing boat you’ve always wanted now has you sitting in it, next to the dock at your new cottage.
Feels pretty good, right?
Now imagine dumping that money into an RRSP with interest compounded annually.
Whoa. Slow down there, deep pockets.
A Probe Research-Jory Capital poll conducted for the Free Press says it appears most Manitobans would be content to just stay the course despite a sudden padding of their coffers. In the survey, which presented 1,001 Manitobans with several potential ways to burn off the extra cash, more than eight of 10 would invest at least half the multimillion-dollar windfall.
That investment does not include buying a matching set of Bentleys, by the way.
Along those same lines, 94 per cent of Manitobans said they would use the money to ensure some financial stability for loved ones. A thoughtful gesture, no question, but it’s one that suggests we might be a little conservative when it comes to retail indulgence.
“We’re not asking these people to spend the money — it’s a completely hypothetical thing,” said a surprised Scott MacKay, president of Probe Research.
“We expected people to go nuts on this, tell us what outlandish things they would buy, but they still wouldn’t budge”
Only one-third of people said they would instantly hand in their resignation at work, and fewer than 20 per cent said it’s likely they would bolt the province for greener pastures elsewhere.
Looking to use the extra money to start a new relationship? You’d be in the minority, as just three per cent of respondents told pollsters they would consider leaving their current spouse once the bank account expanded.
As expected, the numbers for the frivolous and the drastic do trend upward in relation to youth. Younger adults ages 18 to 34 were more likely to take a trip around the world than those aged 55-plus (67 per cent compared to 45 per cent), build a dream home (76 per cent to 30 per cent), or leave the province (28 per cent to 11 per cent).
MacKay figures Manitobans just enjoy the comfort of a safety blanket.
“There is a theory out there that people are hard-wired to favour security over freedom,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Western Canadian Lotteries Corp. says 80 per cent of Manitobans buy a lottery ticket at some time in the year, with ticket sales bringing in more than $202 million.
adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca