In a recent poll commissioned by the Bank of Montreal, 34% of Canadians say they are planning to fund their retirement by winning the lottery. That has to be the most optimistic retirement plan I’ve ever heard of 😆
Most personal finance experts will probably tell you that buying lottery tickets is a waste of money and isn’t worth your time. And they would be right, if for financial reasons only. After all, the odds of winning the jackpot is something like 1 out of 14 million (O_o)
Well if 41% of British Columbians believe in winning the lottery then maybe they know something I don’t 😕 So lately I’ve been playing the lottery every week! #SoHardcore. This probably goes against the rules of personal finance but I decided to do it anyway. I joined a lottery pool which includes several other co-workers at my job. Here’s how it works. First we decided on the numbers that we all picked together. Then we used an online lottery website like playnow to set up automatic ticket purchases using those same numbers every week 🙂 The cost works out to just $2 per person each week. #VeryAffordable. It’s a good deal considering we’re entered into both Lotto 6/49 and Lotto Max 😀
Why I joined the lottery pool.
- Something to look forward to twice a week. Studies show hope and anticipation can generate happy feelings, yay! \o/
- Chance to win millions of dollars 🙂
- Imagine if my co-workers won some money, even a small amount like $10. I would feel so left out if I didn’t participate 🙁 #FOMO.
- Team building. Studies have shown employees are more productive if they build a rapport with each other. By playing the lottery we all share stakes, risks, and winnings in the system. No one can be blamed if we don’t win. But when we do win something everyone’s happy 🙂
- Social interaction. As an introvert who doesn’t have many friends at work I can use some extra socializing 😀
Overall I think that’s a lot of value I’m getting for just a Toonie a week 😀 Will I get rich from the lottery some day? Most likely not. But it sure makes my life more interesting now! #HighRoller #ExtremeLifestyle 😛
I know using discretionary money to play the lottery may not be the smartest financial choice, but at least it’s better than spending $100 on a tube of luxury toothpaste like the Theodent 300, the most expensive toothpaste in the world.
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Random Useless Fact: Cowboys held duels at high noon so the sun wouldn’t get in their eyes.
Hehe, I used to be in an office pool but we would only play when the big jackpot comes along. $5 here and there sure does add up over time. Since I switched jobs, I haven’t played much at all only but once.. in which I won a free play. Still waiting for the big jackpot before I use my free play! Good luck!
If you’re going to win, might as well choose the times when you can win big 🙂 We happen to play every week because we’re using an automated system.
I go against the PF crowd on the lottery as well. Do I think I’ll win? I highly doubt it. But you never know. I don’t play on a regular basis, just when the jackpot is really high. Now for the people expecting to fund their retirement from the lotto, um…yeah, sorry to tell you this but fat chance. Sure a few of that 41% might get lucky and win, but the vast majority won’t. I think that $2/week lotto pool is decent. It’s not a crazy amount of money and it’s got all the positives that you mentioned.
Yay, another fellow lottery player 😀 Maybe we’ll win with the same numbers one day and share the winnings!
Playing for $2 per week is not bad idea, but playing $100 per week is not. “Know your limit , play within”. Lotto is the chance for to become instant millionaire
Some say the anticipation of winning is enough to justify buying a lottery ticket. Others argue the disappointing feeling of not winning almost every time cancels out any hopeful feelings to begin with. As with other money matters, it’s mostly about the psychology 🙂
That’s crazy to think that a little under half of the people or a third of people are looking towards funding their retirement by winning the lottery. In reality less than 1% of those people will ever actually win the lottery! I don’t think I’ve ever bought a lottery ticket or even entered a pool. The only lottery I’ve ever really played is when someone gave me scratch offs as part of a gift.
Maybe you’ll get lucky in your office pool 😉
It’s sad how so many people delude themselves into believing their plan to win the lottery will actually work. In reality, they’re more likely to be killed in a terrorist attack while travelling (1 in 650,000), die of flesh-eating disease (1 in one million), be struck by lightning, or be attacked by a shark, than win the lottery lol.
big jackpot.. one of my favourite parts 🙂