I Blew It: From millionaire to broke

Have you ever heard of people becoming rich overnight and then losing all the money as quickly as they got it? If you think such stories are too strange to be true then you’ve clearly never watched I Blew It. The Mzansi Wethu series has shown viewers some of the most shocking rags to riches to rags stories.

It’s easy to think you’re the man when you go from getting a small salary to suddenly having over R1 million in your bank account. But, in the blink of an eye, the money is gone. So, how does this happen?

Here are some of the unbelievable stories you can expect on I Blew It.

An instant celebrity

One of the participants shares how he upgraded his lifestyle after his mother passed away. After her death, he received more than R1 million in his bank account. He explained that he first got a payout of R107 000 (her life cover) and then got R670 000 from her pension fund. He also received another payout from the hospital and just like that, he was rich!

The money gave him access to a lot of things that he was previously not exposed to, including fame in his community. He became a “blesser” and would buy people food, clothes and a lot of alcohol.

Working hard all your life and investing money of death covers so your kid can spend it recklessly on booze and ladies … people on this show always manage end up with less than they had before the money #IBlewIt

— . (@SaTbooze) November 10, 2018

But his fortune didn’t last that long and he quickly found himself running out of cash. He also learned that it’s true that friends are few when days are dark. Sadly, after losing all his money he had no one – not even the girls he was “blessing” – and had to pick up the pieces of his life.

Reckless spending

Another participant on the show details how he blew around R1,4 million. His fortune came after he was involved in taxi accident and received a hefty payout from the Road Accident Fund (RAF). The man went from living a modest life to eating prawns and attending glitzy events like the Durban July.

He admitted that he gained a lot of respect from the community after his financial status changed. His fortune attracted a lot of friends in an instant and he would blow over R25 000 on alcohol in a day. While the guy was spending money recklessly, his family tried to advise him on investing and saving some of it. Did he listen? No! He only started realising that he should have taken the advice after his money ran out. You’ll be shocked to hear him explaining that he spent around R700 000 on alcohol.

No money, no friends

For another individual on the show, a huge amount of money came after he was involved in a hit-and-run incident. He spent some time in hospital and even ended up in a wheelchair. A couple of years later he got a payout of about R444 000 from RAF. He shared that he spent some of it on drugs and bought some clothes for his family members. Oh, he also had bodyguards. Wow!

https://twitter.com/N2c2d/status/1066690209511813121

It’s crazy how he even went to Swaziland and came back with a new woman. Just like the many friends he had, the new lady in his life left after the cash was gone. He said he realised that his money was running out when he only had R25 000 remaining. He was left with no choice but to sell everything he had, and people started making jokes about him.

There are many other stories that will leave your jaw on the floor.