What Would You Do?
My chances of winning the lottery are precisely null, because I never buy a ticket. Well, that’s not true; sometimes, when the PowerBall reaches over $10 million I suddenly develop this ‘feeling’ that I’m going to win and I head to the nearest store.
Normally I scoff at the idea of ‘feeling’ something’s going to happen, but I blame marketing. The lotteries people start pushing the “PowerBall’s reached $10 million!” hysteria, urging me to buy the $10 winning ticket and reap my rewards today despite the 1-in-14-million odds or whatever they are.
They also harp on about how I can take my (imaginary) kids to Disneyland. That seems to be the #1 fantasy. You never hear the actors dreaming of boosting their Super, dabbling in the market, paying off their hefty mortgage, sending their kids to Eton or bumping up their contribution to the homeless animals.
So I buy a ticket on the odd Saturday, feeling slightly foolish but still justified because it could well be my time to win. It isn’t. Within five minutes my numbered scrap of paper (”and the lucky PowerBall number is… not on your ticket!”) has become a scrap of paper.
When I give it more thought, though, I don’t mind never winning the lottery. I don’t really want for anything. I don’t have a family to feed, I’m not working five jobs to pay the bills and I don’t dream of Disneyland because I’ve been - well, to EuroDisney which is more or less the same - and the queues were eternal.
Do you buy lottery tickets? What would you change in your life if you won?
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Saturday, February 9th, 2008 at 9:59 am
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They say the lottery is for people who can’t do math. Many people who’ve won also say it has ruined their lives. But, I still buy an occasional ticket maybe once every year or two. Honestly, though, I’m not sure what I would do if I won. I would probably have to lay on a beach somewhere(Hawaii) and think about it.
February 9th, 2008 at 4:12 pmTo be honest I do not enter the lottery either. I just do not have a great need for the money, like yourself. If I had tons of money to spend it would not be on myself that is for sure. There are some college aged friends that I would help pay for their college. But I would make absolutely sure that they did not know that the money came from me.
Not to avoid the question but I would not change a thing because happiness does not come from money or wealth. Rather it comes from yourself. If you are a happy person then no matter how much money you have will not change this.
Basically I would just end up giving all the money away to people who need it more than I do.
February 9th, 2008 at 4:16 pmMy dad used to purchase a lottery every Sunday. Never won anything, far as I know. One time, we sat down and did some approximation of how much money he would have had, plus interest, if he had saved every dollar spent on lotteries. Kinda broke his heart…
February 9th, 2008 at 8:21 pmI played once. It was my first time playing the Megamillion lotery, and I thought I had to have all six numbers right, and since I didn’t, I threw away the ticket. A couple of years later, I found out that 4 or 5 correct numbers were also winners of some thousands (can’t remember how many numbers I got right, but it was close). I was very upset, because I was layed off my job, ended up losing my car and having to sell my home. I guess after paying debts and necessities of life, I’d give away money to charities and people who need it. Not the lazy and unmotivated bums though, but struggling people who are trying to make something of themselves and haven’t had the right breaks in their lives. If I had any money left over, I’d spend a couple of years traveling the US and the world so I could help others in different zip codes.
February 27th, 2008 at 5:54 amHey, I don’t really think the lottery works. If you need money though, I tried this, and it’s much better than a one in a trillion chance… These Guys, so maybe you should try it.
March 8th, 2008 at 9:06 amI used to buy them when I was broke, living with my parents, and in debt.
I knew the odds, but they someone has to win, right?
These days I have some financial success and independence, and it’s been years since I bought one. I’m not even sure I’d want to win. It means so much more if you earn your fortune.
Now I tend to lump the lottery into the same category as late night informercials. It’s all about making money preying on someone’s hopes and dreams.
March 19th, 2008 at 3:40 pm