Lottery winner unknowingly drives around with winning ticket for a week

most people dream of winning the lottery, the new cars, the vacations, the homes. However, all of these shiny objects are things you should avoid. Here are five things you shouldn't do If you win the lottery. Take it from financial experts USA Today, CNN and 24 7 Wall Street spoke with I don't think you can win big and then up and leave your spouse without telling them. A woman tried this in 1996 after winning 1.3 million from the California Lottery, she was forced to hand over her fortune during divorce proceedings to her ex hubby. Don't jump for joy right away if the numbers match in 2013 a Pasadena, California, woman found out she held a winning ticket for a cool $360 million. Problem is, it wasn't a winning ticket because she bought it on our after the Powerball cutoff time. Don't be so generous with your new money. Word will spread fast and people in your life will be looking for a handout. The news will also attract people you don't even know hitting you up for investments, gifts and loans which won't be paid back. Some financial planners even recommend changing your phone number. The dream of winning can turn into a nightmare. If you brag about your new cash, USA Today says winning the lottery could make you a target for theft or murder. So keep things to yourself. Just because you won the lottery doesn't mean you're suddenly smarter about money. For many winning shows, they don't know a thing about having big bucks and taxes that come with those shiny new objects. Be smart and get a financial planner. Because the certified financial planner Board of Standard says nearly 1/3 of lottery winners declare bankruptcy. That doesn't take long to go from living on Easy Street to the poor house.

'It’s surreal': Lottery winner unknowingly drives around with winning ticket for a week

Updated: 12:56 PM EDT Jun 8, 2021

Video above: 5 Things You Shouldn't Do if You Win the LotteryTalk about delayed reaction.A lottery ticket that was left in a car for a week, when scratched won a player in South Carolina $500,000."I didn’t hesitate," said the winner. "I drove straight to Columbia to cash it in."The winner told South Carolina Education Lottery officials he had unknowingly been riding around with the ticket worth half a million dollars in his car for a week after purchasing it from a Stop-A-Minit in Greenville. The prize still has him shaking his head."It's surreal," he said of the $500,000 win. "That's the only way I know how to describe it."

COLUMBIA, S.C. —

Video above: 5 Things You Shouldn't Do if You Win the Lottery

Talk about delayed reaction.

A lottery ticket that was left in a car for a week, when scratched won a player in South Carolina $500,000.

"I didn’t hesitate," said the winner. "I drove straight to Columbia to cash it in."

The winner told South Carolina Education Lottery officials he had unknowingly been riding around with the ticket worth half a million dollars in his car for a week after purchasing it from a Stop-A-Minit in Greenville. The prize still has him shaking his head.

"It's surreal," he said of the $500,000 win. "That's the only way I know how to describe it."