Meet one of the winners of NerdWallet’s Debt-Free December sweepstakes.
We talked to Brennan Ackerman to find out how he feels about the win and what he plans to do with the money.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
A: My name is Brennan Ackerman. I used to be a product manager for a tech company but I quit that job at the beginning of the year because it was burning me out. I spent the first three or four months of the year traveling, which was a lot of fun, and I’ve just been hanging out and figuring it out since then. It’s taken longer than I thought to find a new job. I’ve been thinking, ‘Well, it’ll work out.’ And it did.
Q: What do you plan to do with the money?
I’m also working with a product development company to pursue this invention idea I have. I’m going to invest in that, which will hopefully turn into something, and I can be an entrepreneur.
Q: What have you learned from this experience, and what advice would you give to someone who feels financial progress is out of reach?
A: It kind of makes me appreciate how much money it actually is. It’s more than I’ve ever had on hand before — last year was the first time I ever made more than that amount in the entire year. I haven’t lived a lot of my life in the pursuit of financial progress. It can be incredibly slow and our brains aren’t that great at watching things grow that slowly. A lot of financial growth is not linear. It’s very slow, and you just have to let it sit and not let it take over all your motivation.
Q: What’s one moment you’ll never forget from this experience?
A: It’s definitely when I got the voicemail. I was sitting at this cafe in London, and I’d just bought a drink, and I checked my phone and it was like, ‘You won a bunch of money.’ Earlier in the day, my friend asked me, ‘What would you do if you suddenly had a lot of money?’ And I said, “Oh, I’d pay off my credit card debt,’ and literally later that day someone was like, ‘You won a ton of money.’
Each person will approach a windfall differently, but planning for the money — and refraining from spending it right away — are solid strategies that will work for everyone.
A windfall plan might include researching any tax implications associated with the money, prioritizing any existing debt you have, adding an extra cushion to your emergency fund, investing in your future and setting aside a portion for fun.
