The statistics
Over the years, the Finnish Lotteries has conducted studies on its former lottery winners. Just a few years ago in 2019, Veikkaus approached 155 winners for a survey. Each of these winners had won at least 500,000 euros, half of them more than 1 million euros. In the end, 78 of those approached ended up participating in the survey.
Surprisingly, 29%, almost one-third of those who had been working at the time of winning, continued working in the same job that they already had. Around half of this, 15% to be specific, decided to call it quits and enjoy their financial freedom to the fullest. Another interesting statistic is that 32% of the winners were not working in the first place. Most of these people were probably retired senior citizens who are also known to enjoy the Finnish Lotto.
The paradox
When people around the world talk about becoming rich, they often fantasize about having the financial freedom to do whatever they want to do. Surely, with 500,000 euros of tax-free winnings, it would be possible for winners to plan their lives in a way that they would not have to work another day in their lives. Read here for more about tax-free gambling wins.
In Finland, the average income is around 40,000 euros per year, which means 500,000 euros should last a person approximately 12 years. If this money were to be put in stocks or basic funds, it should help a person maintain their wealth for decades beyond this. Even so, Finnish people seem adamant about keeping going with their job—and not even changing to another, perhaps more desirable way to make a living.
The reasons
Why, then, are Finnish people opting to keep working even if they do not have to? There are many potential reasons why this might be the case. Next, we take a look at some of the more obvious ones.
1. Finnish people love their job
One reason to not quit your job is that you simply like it too much to do so. The Finnish people are known as somewhat quiet and introverted, which means not many people have that wide of social circles. Because of this, the importance of fellow employees may be elevated.
For many Finns, losing their job can mean losing a lot of the people around them, which may be one of the key reasons why Finns choose to keep working even after a major win.
2. Uncertainty about the future
While it is indeed technically possible to make a huge win last for the entirety of a person’s life by making smart investments, the future is always uncertain. Some Finns may choose to play it safe by continuing to work and sustain themselves even when they get a lump of extra cash.
3. Spending the jackpot
When a person wins a massive amount of money, their knee-jerk reaction may be to spend a large portion of it. In Finland, many of those playing the lottery make plans as to where they would put the money if they were to win. Buying a new house or a car can quickly deplete the person’s funds, which means they will need to keep working to pay for their basic upkeep.
4. Modesty
Finland is known as one of the most modest countries in the world. In some cultures, those who are wealthy tend to flaunt their wealth and talk about how proud they are of themselves. In Finland, on the other hand, things like this are often considered obnoxious. In other words, some Finns may choose to purposely hide their newfound wealth and keep working to conceal it.
Winning the lottery is a dream for many Finnish people. However, not all of the eventual winners might want to drastically change their lives. This is evidenced by the statistics.
HT
