The Lottery Could Have You Languishing Over Being A Loser Or Celebrating Some Much-Needed Mula

I don't like gambling. I see it as a precious waste of time and money and to some extent it bucks directly up against my personal and religious values. But still I have done it. Many times-mostly for other people. And still I see it as a precious waste of time and money. And here's why. First off, the supporters of the lottery lie. They say that if you spend the $1 and up price, that a portion of those proceeds goes to education. It doesn't. The truth of the matter is that it pads the pockets of crooked politicians whose interests lie in "entertaining" rather than "educating." Now, mind you, I do not blame the small mom and pop convenience store for this lie, I blame the state governments who permit their sales.

Secondly, since you know that your ticket does not translate into tending to teachers and supporting students, you must initially assume purchasing a lottery ticket is like throwing hard-earned loot into the trash. Why? Because your $1 and up is going nowhere (1) and (2) there is absolutely no guarantee whatsoever that you will see any type of return on your investment. In fact, statistics would dictate that more times than not, a person who purchases a ticket will see NO RETURN whatsoever. Now is that truly fun or smart in the end game? (For all you adrenaline rush junkies out there, the right answer is no-LIKE IT OR NOT).

Speaking of adrenaline rush, the third reason that lottery tickets are a "poor" investment is that the idea of winning and the thrill of the numbers is entirely too seductive for the wrong (or right-depending on perception) type of personality. The purchaser loses the first few times and yet still this perhaps financially struggling soul holds out some sort of warped hope that his or her next ticket will have him or her traveling to Tahiti. So the purchaser keeps purchasing and still sees no reasonable or worthwhile return. The purchaser starts to sink deeper and deeper into depression and rather than this ridiculous purchasing pattern ceasing, he or she proceeds with more and more purchases without someone stepping in. Sadly this then results in a raucous financial ruin that brands the purchaser as a "poor and penniless" church mouse or creates a depression that becomes so severe that the purchaser should seek personal counseling or perhaps a required regimen of rehab to reform his or her palatial "purchasing power."

But let's just say your lucky and your ticket has the numbers that should have you marching up to the counter to collect megabucks (PLEASE BE SENSIBLE and do not begin to purchase tickets based on this highly STATISTICALLY UNLIKELY ASSUMPTION-because at some point you will be sorry). Unless you have the ticket in toe, you might be "marching out" instead of "marching to the beat of all the drums that your money can buy" because the cashier will not believe that you mastered a way to make the megabucks or someone around you will "cheat you out of the cash" that you have every right to collect.

So, be wary and wise and resist the temptation to be tempted by tickets so that you don't risk losing the life that you love. But if you CAN collect, get all the dough that you are entitled to so that you can live your dreams and maybe make a few dreams come true for those that you admire and respect as well.

Learn more about this author, Courtney Caswell-Peyton.
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