Thread: I thought I hit the Mega Million

The lottery is a tax for people that don't understand statistics. Hoping to win the lottery is a sidewalker's strategy for wealth. Instead of wasting money on the lottery go and buy MJ's book, read it and do something that doesn't rely on dumb luck to change your life.

Originally Posted by Matt Williams

You've never spent $1 here or there? On a candy bar? A can of soda?

Sure and I get something useful in return for it instead of throwing money away on something that has less chance of happening then being struck by lightning.

I take it you haven't read MJ's book, it's worth the time and worth way more than 20 lottery tickets.

Hey I'll let MJ say it:

SIDEWALKING SYMPTOMS: ARE YOU ON IT?

You regularly gamble at the casino or buy lottery tickets.
“You gotta play to win right? Forget the odds—this time’s different, I just feel it.”

I am of the mind that it is ok to play, but, don't get distracted, and, don't be thinking you'll win.

I was in the lottery forum one time and the question was asked, "what would you do if you won XXX number jackpot".

When a women in that forum mentioned she needed to win because she had 2 special needs kids with handicaps, right then I realized we all got dreams, hopes, and, desires.

The lottery goes to who it goes to no matter what your ailment.

I was watching the tv show, "the lottery changed my life". A doctor won the lottery. She said, I can't justify my win, it is random luck....I don't need the money.
She bought a second residence, (an apartment in NY).

Here in lies the problem.

Read the two stories above again. See the contrast, realize you're not special when you play.

Originally Posted by domular

Hey I'll let MJ say it:

SIDEWALKING SYMPTOMS: ARE YOU ON IT?

You regularly gamble at the casino or buy lottery tickets.
“You gotta play to win right? Forget the odds—this time’s different, I just feel it.”

I think the problem isn't gambling, it's gambling and expecting to get a positive return. There's nothing wrong with spending a few dollars on lottery tickets/casino games/sports betting for fun in my mind - it's not going to change my financial situation by much.

My opinion: there's nothing wrong with spending $2-3 on tickets every now and then for fastlaners.. I think the slowlane mentality would be if you had 'this is the ONLY way to get rich' thoughts as you were buying the tickets..

I think fastlane 24/7 but if I see that jackpot over $100M, I'll play a few dollars just for fun...

OK, I waited a bit before posting this.

"Fun stuff" for me is investing. I love to dream about what to do when I invest, and build businesses.

I have not bought a lottery ticket in the past 30 years. I've been given a few.

I get nothing out of gambling (slots, roulette, blackjack, etc). Knowing the odds makes it a poor use of my time-- I feel like I'm wasting both my time and my money.

There's a reason I feel this way.

********

I have a friend whose mom has played the lottery for about 40 years (no joke, she started buying tickets in 1972).

She can afford it- never had her family go hungry, or without.

She always hopes for a big win, but never has. Just likes playing.

She's always made a decent living, so spending $20 a week might seem like a lot to you who are not making $100K or more a year-- $20 for her is like $1 for others (who are just getting started, and not making six figure salaries).

So here's the math:

39 years x 50 weeks/year x $20/week = $39,000

I showed, a few years ago, how she could have (instead) put $20 per week into saving for a rental house (remember, 40 years ago, the average price of a home in the US was $65,000)-- and, using loans, could have owned 3 rental properties by now, all worth about $80K a piece (since the renters were, in essence, paying most of her mortgages).

So: To all of you who tell yourselves "Ah, a buck a week ain't no big deal if you enjoy it".

Think of it this way:

It's not a buck a week.

It's how you look at the money in your life.

Spend it on low ROI stuff like lottery tickets (or other things), and you will find yourself spending tens of thousands of dollars over a period of years.

AND-- you spend hours and hours dreaming about what you'd do w/your winnings (total up those hours-- it's weeks of your life-- spent on what?)

It all adds up.

*******

Instead, if you were using every penny (or, many many pennies) to fund your investments, instead of "fun stuff"-- then, after a few decades, you'd have some real assets.

She would have had $240K worth of real estate by now (OK, perhaps $180K, if things went down when the RE bubble burst).

Even w/the depreciation, those 3 rental houses are a helluva lot more than a bunch of useless non-winning lotto tickets.

And perhaps the biggest lesson here is:

If you start looking at your whole life as an investment (ie, time, money, etc)-- then you'll be amazed at how much time and money you waste, every day.

It all adds up.

-Russ H.

PS I realize that talking about getting 3 houses over 40 years is WAY slowlane. I'm not suggesting any of you do it. My point is more this: Spending money on assets and investments (if they truly are that-- things that throw off cash, making your money work for you), is an investment strategy.

Buying lottery tickets and lattes isn't an investment strategy. It's a perfect way to be 65 or 70 years old, and sigh, looking back at your life and saying, "I remember when i was younger, I had this dream of being in the fastlane . . ."