You heard me right… Sudden Wealth Syndrome. 

This is a real thing!

Sudden wealth syndrome is defined as the distress that affects people who suddenly come into wealth. 

Examples of this are: 

• Lottery winners 
• People who receive large inheritances 
• Crypto gamblers 
• People selling their business 

You may be thinking … Don’t be daft If I had a big windfall I wouldn’t feel overwhelmed. 

Well let’s put it like this, you suddenly have this huge change in fortune, and you have let’s say £3 million in the bank.

Prior to that things were tough and you lived a life where you never saved, your pay check got spent each month and you couldn’t afford those luxuries. 

Now you have all this money and maybe not a worry in the world, but then these feelings start creeping in:

• You feel uncomfortably different from your friends and you're afraid to tell them how you feel about your new status. 
• Being wealthy makes for more guilt than pleasure. 
• Instead of feeling powerful and decisive, you feel paralyzed and unable to decide how to spend your money. 
• You can't stand the envy of friends and acquaintances -- you find yourself becoming more isolated. 
• You feel like you don't quite deserve the money and you can't believe it's really yours. 
• You suffer from "sticker shock" and become obsessed with watching the stock market. 
• You're afraid that you'll lose your money and your good fortune will simply vanish overnight.

One we have experience of is business owners when they sell and this is a whole other video 

Now let's look on the bright side… 

Here are 5 ways to avoid sudden wealth syndrome

Don’t spend it straight away 

It's all new to you and it's tempting to go and buy that shiny new car or throw the towel in on your job. Don’t do any of that just yet. Take some time to absorb what has just happened and think before you spend 

Surround yourself with the right people 

It's all too easy to just take advice from anyone. Assembling a team of trusted professionals who have your best interest ahead of their own can add significant value. Consider consulting and hiring financial, tax and legal professionals. 

Don’t let your bank control what you do 

As soon as that money hits the bank your now very friendly bank manager who had no interest in you before will be on the phone inviting you in to discuss this lovely windfall and how they can invest it for you. They will roll out the red carpet. 

They have no interest in what’s best for you. All they want is the nice pat on the back from head office for investing your money in an expensive poor performing bank managed investment portfolio. Trust me this will happen as we have seen it. They are like vultures 

Create a financial plan 

Find your self an adviser or planner who wont just talk about your money. You need someone who will talk about your long term goals, needs and aspirations. If they immediately start talking about the best return they can get or that offshore bonds are the best structure for you without asking you what really matters to you, run a mile. Don’t get me wrong investing the money correctly is important but no one should be talking about that until they have really established what is important to you and what really makes you tick 

Try and stay discreet 

This may seem a strange one but you will be surprised what happens when you win money. The people who come out of the woodwork who think you owe them something. People will turn up offering you the next best investment idea or business venture. It may seem tempting but don’t do it. If you do want to do it consult your professional team.

New wealth can be good but you need to do the right things to make sure it lasts for as long as possible.

So that is sudden wealth syndrome… a real thing!