She Won $1 Million at 20—and Turned It Down for $1,000 a Week

By Gaurav Bisht | Published January 25, 2026 03:30 am GMT

Million Dollars Now or $1,000 a Week for Life? Her Choice Sparked Chaos

A Scratch Ticket, Then Shock

During her break, Brenda bought two scratchers from a local convenience store. One of them revealed three matching piggy bank symbols—the jackpot.

She froze. Checked the ticket again. Then again. She called her dad, asked for the rest of the day off, and tried to wrap her head around the fact that her life had just flipped upside down.

That’s when the real dilemma hit.

The Million-Dollar Choice

Brenda had two options:

Take one million Canadian dollars upfront, tax-free
Or collect one thousand dollars every week for life

In Canada, lottery winnings aren’t taxed, so either way, the money was hers in full. Most people don’t hesitate. They grab the lump sum, enjoy the headline, and call themselves a millionaire.

Brenda didn’t.

The Decision That Broke the Internet

She turned down the million and chose the weekly payments for life.

Her reasoning was simple:
steady income felt safer, calmer, and more reliable than managing a huge pile of cash at twenty years old.

The internet lost its mind.

Critics mocked the choice. Others said she threw away a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Let’s be honest—when you’re twenty, a million dollars feels like endless freedom.

Even a Billionaire Jumped In

Months later, the debate got even louder when Changpeng Zhao, crypto billionaire and founder of Binance, publicly criticized her choice.

His take?
She gave up massive upside. According to him, she could’ve invested the million, spent one thousand dollars a week forever, and still ended up with millions left over.

He basically called it one of the worst money decisions he’d ever seen.

The Numbers Everyone Argued About

Here’s where opinions really split:

$1,000 a week = $52,000 a year
Over 30 years, that’s about $1.56 million
Over a lifetime, it could reach several million dollars
A modest 4% return on a lump sum changes the math fast

On paper, the lump sum often wins. But money decisions aren’t just math problems.

The Side No One Likes to Talk About

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: lottery winners don’t always live happily ever after.

Studies and bankruptcy data suggest:

Roughly one-third of lottery winners go broke
Some estimates push that number even higher
Most financial collapses happen within three to five years

Sudden wealth attracts scammers, bad investments, and “friends” with ideas. A quiet weekly paycheck doesn’t scream target.

As one commenter put it: if you don’t take the lump sum, the vultures don’t circle.

That’s not nothing.

Social Media Picked Sides

The internet split clean down the middle.

Critics said:

Inflation will eat away at $1,000 a week
She lost the chance to invest young
Long-term growth beats guaranteed income

Supporters argued:

Guardrails matter, especially at twenty
Most people aren’t ready to manage seven figures
Guaranteed income beats blowing it all

Plenty of people shared real horror stories of winners who paid off debts, helped family, spent freely—and ended up broke.

Honestly? Those stories are scary.

What Financial Pros Actually Say

Experts land somewhere in the middle:

Yes, inflation will reduce buying power over time
Yes, a lump sum offers more flexibility and growth
But steady income lowers risk, stress, and bad decisions

There’s real psychological value in knowing $52,000 shows up every year for life, no matter what the market does. No crashes. No risky bets. No panic.

For many people, that kind of stability is priceless.