Boston Gal's Open Wallet

McHale said she bought two raffle tickets last year as a contribution to an Annapolis-based charity that was co-sponsoring the contest. The raffle venture came about when a mortgage broker teamed up with We Care and Friends, which helps at-risk youths, to sell his home.

A week after one of those tickets was chosen as the winner, McHale lost her job as a chemical engineer. Eager to sell the home before Dec. 31 to avoid paying about $300,000 in 2009 income taxes, she put it on the market in March for $799,000.

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Meanwhile, the six-bedroom, 4 1/2 -bath windfall, despite sitting empty, was accompanied by a hefty monthly bill: $600 to $800 in utilities and homeowner's insurance.

McHale finally sealed a $650,000 deal last month with Unity By the Bay, a church that has outgrown its quarters in a Severna Park strip mall. The church paid $450,000 in cash, McHale said, and she made a tax-deductible contribution of the additional $200,000 to stem the flow of her winnings to the IRS.

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All in all, McHale said, she will pocket about $200,000 after paying state and federal tax bills.

"It's amazing how fast you can spend it," McHale said, "but we're done now. We're back to normal."

A chunk of the profit went toward the mortgage on the McHale family's Colorado home. They also spent some of the money on a greenhouse to grow vegetables in a part of the country where winter lasts much of the year and a new Dodge truck to replace one that was falling apart.

One son, a budding chef, got a set of knives; another got help with his August wedding and honeymoon to Italy. At a recent lunch to celebrate the sale of the 6,000-square-foot Maryland home, McHale passed out $50 bills to a couple of dozen family members and friends.