The Washington State Lottery is currently running Department of Imagination adds with the tagline “What would you do if you won?” It works because everyone, even those of us who don’t play the lottery, likes to think about what we would do with such large sums of money.

There are smart things to do if you win the lottery- like don’t claim it until you’ve contacted a lawyer and a professional financial manager. Don’t tell the world, invest, don’t blow it all at once, etc.

But those things get in the way of our revenge fantasies and wild, wild dreams.

Have you always been at least a little smart about money, but not so much concerned with the future? Did you start saving for retirement in your late teens or early twenties, or were you only ten years away from retirement when you realized you had almost nothing set aside?

Today’s YM Thread asks: When did you get serious about money? Members share their personal stories. Don’t feel intimidated when you read about the members who “got it” when they were quite young. There are also plenty of us who took a little longer and even who are still struggling.