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When the NY Lotto started decades ago somebody I knew casually called it "The Stupid Tax". That has alway stuck with me because that's exactly how I feel about it too: taking more money from working class mooks who are praying for lightning to strike them every week when that amount invested weekly over 20+ years in an S&P fund instead..... Hoping for magic instead of a boring sure thing.
Funny thing: about 25+ years ago there was a huge Powerball drawing making the news & for the first time ever I bought $10 worth & won about $125. I figured I would quit while I was ahead of the game & pretty much did... other than the occasional workplace pool for the "super" lotteries for fun.
So is financial investing [for the mathematically challenged].
Ummm... I have a math degree and became an actuary. I chose the investing route- haven't bought a lottery ticket in my life. Retired 5 years ago at age 61 with an enviable nest egg. Hefe's post above echoes my thoughts exactly, and reading follow-up stories on some of the winners is pretty heartbreaking. You have a different relationship with your money if you got it the slow way, a few dollars at a time.
And I know one actuary who was a consultant to Powerball years ago as a side gig!
My husband years ago got a scratch off and somehow thought he had won $100,000 and I watched him go through every emotion on this earth in about 5 minutes. When it was over and he realized it was $20 near as I can remember) I about died laughing. I just kept saying "Calm down honey, I don't think you did." He wouldn't listen to me as usual.
Oh, it must have been terrible when he realized that he hadn't. He not only didn't win but you were laughing at him.
Sometimes the lottery is the only way to get to the place you need to go. Say you want to buy the family farm. Your spouse doesn’t want to liquidate everything you have accumulated over a lifetime and move to another state. So you buy $82 worth of lottery tickets for the “Big Five” every month until the farm is sold.
So far, it looks like I’m never gonna own the family farm. But I’ll keep buying those lottery tickets until the auctioneer’s hammer falls. Heck, maybe I need to start doubling up every month...
When the NY Lotto started decades ago somebody I knew casually called it "The Stupid Tax".
If you bet with your head, it can be entertaining. When I do pay, which is every few weeks, its just enough to buy one of each of the three big drawing tickets, one Mega Millions, one Power ball and one for the state lottery jackpot. This way I have a "chance" of winning but I'm not breaking the bank doing it. While buying more tickets does increase your odds, it's not enough to justify spending my whole paycheck on lottery tickets.
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