In a brief bit of research into playing the lottery, I saw numerous comments to the effect of, "It's only a couple dollars, and it's cheap entertainment--I dream about what I'd do with the money if I won the jackpot. It may even start a conversation with family members about what they'd do!"
This left me incredulous and little ticked off, though it took me a moment to understand why. Soon enough, I figured out why that is one of the stupidest justifications I've ever heard!
Here's my explanation...You ready? Here goes:
DAYDREAMING IS FREE.
You don't have to buy a lottery ticket to daydream about what you'd do with the winnings! And even if wasting a couple dollars every so often won't hurt your finances--I can think of a grad student and blogger who would be happy to have those couple dollars! ;)
YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE IS FREE? TALKING.
Whether you're talking to family, friends, or accosting random people [who may think you're weird--but who cares? They're strangers!] on the sidewalk, talking doesn't cost a thing! In fact, 'shooting the breeze' is not only free--it's pretty much worthless (outside of any enjoyment you get from it).
Even more insidious is the "but I might win, so it's irresponsible NOT to play the lottery!" argument. Yeah, and an airplane might fall out of the sky and land directly on the building above my head--so it's clearly irresponsible of me not to commission an airplane-crash-proof, nuclear-proof, flood-proof, tornado-proof, everything-proof titanium bunker in which to sit for the duration of my life! Right? If you believe the first argument, the other one follows the same logic...
Here's the skinny:
If you play the lottery, you're guaranteed to throw money at the state government--which could be considered voluntarily paying extra taxes--every time you buy a lottery ticket! Even worse, the small cost damages the poor more than the wealthy (though the damage is not as severe as has been reported). In return, you have a vanishingly small possibility that you might get a significant payday.
Or even worse: you might actually win!
Don't play the lottery. Nothing good comes from it--even if you do win the jackpot! Playing the lottery is definitely NOT a part of the Millionaire Mindset!
This whole discussion of the lottery reminds me of one of my favorite commercials ever:
"I want to show you something. It's my shocked face."
Classic!
from a pretty good Psychology Today article here:
This left me incredulous and little ticked off, though it took me a moment to understand why. Soon enough, I figured out why that is one of the stupidest justifications I've ever heard!
Here's my explanation...You ready? Here goes:
DAYDREAMING IS FREE.
You don't have to buy a lottery ticket to daydream about what you'd do with the winnings! And even if wasting a couple dollars every so often won't hurt your finances--I can think of a grad student and blogger who would be happy to have those couple dollars! ;)
YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE IS FREE? TALKING.
Whether you're talking to family, friends, or accosting random people [who may think you're weird--but who cares? They're strangers!] on the sidewalk, talking doesn't cost a thing! In fact, 'shooting the breeze' is not only free--it's pretty much worthless (outside of any enjoyment you get from it).
Here's the skinny:
If you play the lottery, you're guaranteed to throw money at the state government--which could be considered voluntarily paying extra taxes--every time you buy a lottery ticket! Even worse, the small cost damages the poor more than the wealthy (though the damage is not as severe as has been reported). In return, you have a vanishingly small possibility that you might get a significant payday.
Or even worse: you might actually win!
Don't play the lottery. Nothing good comes from it--even if you do win the jackpot! Playing the lottery is definitely NOT a part of the Millionaire Mindset!
This whole discussion of the lottery reminds me of one of my favorite commercials ever:
"I want to show you something. It's my shocked face."
Classic!
***
Addendum, Sept. 2017: For the truth about lotteries, watch the following video, beginning at 9:10:
"The machines that are causing her such trouble are run by the state. A state which proclaims its lottery 'does good things.'"
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