Debt Free

Here is one of the most wasteful ways Americans spend their money; the Lottery. Some just use this as a form of fanciful recreation. On the other hand, too many use state Lotteries as an investment technique, and have an actual expectation that they could make serious money with them. Hopefully none of you reading Debt Free are so deluded. Here are some facts regarding the Lottery that may make you think a bit. 

1)      The odds are piss poor. In fact, if you’ve driven more then 10 miles in search of your ticket, you are far more likely to be killed on the road to buy your ticket tan you are to actually pick a winner. Actually the odds of dying in a traffic accident on a 10 mile trip are almost 3 times higher than the odds of you winning a Lotto jackpot.

2)      Over 50% of all lottery tickets are purchased by just 5% of those playing the Lotto games. Amazingly enough these same people actually could become rich the old fashioned way; saving and making regular contributions to their retirement accounts, investing in value and dividend paying stocks, and owning income producing real estate. You can fool some of the people…..

3)      Sadly, 25% of Americans are under the assumption that the Lottery is their best chance to become millionaires. In reality that’s far from the truth, but then, you already knew that.

4)      Many states don’t have your best interests at heart when they implement Lootteries. One report from Ohio indicated that the advertising for the state’s lottery was timed to coincide with the residents receiving their benefit and Social Security checks.

5)      The State of New Mexico actually spent taxpayer money on commissioning a study titled “A Critique of Lottery Critics” to explain why the critics of the state’s lottery are all washed up.

6)      A statistician from the University of Toronto discovered, after some study in 2006, that the winning percentages of sales clerks at places that sold Lottery tickets was much higher than for the general public. Some have even been arrested or stealing elderly customer’s tickets. Things that make you go mmmm…