Sandra Hayes. Photo courtesy of STLtoday.com.

Life was not all smooth sailing after St. Louis social worker Sandra Hayes and 12 of  her office mates shared a winning $224-million Powerball ticket, according to this article in STLtoday.com.

People Hayes had never met sent her emails and faxes and even showed up at her workplace begging for money after she won in April 2006.

A friend she had known for years lied to Hayes, saying she needed money to pay back taxes or could lose her home. Hayes found out that was a scam.

Hayes bought a second home, cars for her kids, and took them on vacations, something she could never do on her her former $26,000 salary.

She also did charitable things, including donating money for dental work for a domestic abuse victim who had her teeth knocked out.

Still Hayes, 51, is continuing to budget and clip coupons because her lump sum payment of $8.5 million was significantly less after taxes were taken out. She also self-published a book about her experiences after winning the lottery that will sell for about $12 in stores.

“If I don’t budget right, I could spend my money by the time I’m 60,” she said.