I DIDN’T WIN, BUT AT LEAST I BOUGHT A TICKET

“God, I’ve prayed and prayed to win the lottery. Why haven’t I won?”

“Because, my dear sweet idiot child, you didn’t buy the ticket.”

Last weekend, Jene’ and I walked down to the convenience store and bought lottery tickets. Please don’t get all righteous on me, this is was my first time, I did it for fun and it only cost me a dollar. Besides, with my addictive personality, I can only gamble when I have accountabilty. Jene’ was with me and Jene’ will be with me if I ever decide to do it again. (That kooky Jene’… what a stumbling block! — Just kidding!) Heck, I matched ONE number, so that was thrilling. Tells you the state of my life when I can get a kick out of matching one number that yields nothing in return. :p

Even buying just one ticket I can see how people can end up spending WAY too much money on this. The rush of paying a small amount to gain a big amount must be a big draw, otherwise last weekend’s lottery wouldn’t have been worth over $40 million. Jene’ usually spends about $10 a year and makes about $12, so she comes out ahead and she has fun. I know people, though, who “invest” hundreds of dollars at the odds of a million to one that they’ll win a big payout. I call this an unwise investment.

Chances are, the lottery is not your answer. I do, however, hear many people say “when I win the lottery,” oh, how their problems will disappear. No more debt, no more worries about how they will pay for Junior’s college, no more worries about what will happen when their husband dies… And yet, one in a million wins… (and he only wins if he buys the ticket first).

I’m thinking this logic is flawed. I’ve been gainfully unemployed for over three years, and during that time, I didn’t buy a lottery ticket until Saturday. My addictive tendencies aside, the reason I haven’t played the lotto is because I know that such a financial windfall is not likely to happen to me, and I can’t wait for lighting to strike before I release myself from debt or plan for the future. Granted, I’m still in debt, and I have no savings… but it’s been a tough 3 1/2 years struggling to make ends meet. Despite the most erratic of schedules and earnings, each month, the money has been there for my most basic bills.

Would it be nice to win the lottery? I won’t lie — YES IT WOULD BE NICE. I’ve often thought of what I would do with a cash payout of $20 mil or so. Do I wait around to do all those things until I win the lottery? No. That would be such a waste of time. Do I think it’s wrong to play the lotto? Only if the money spent on chances could have fed your starving child or paid your light bill. If it’s “extra money” and not excessive, then why not? I just can’t be one of those people who waits around for something to happen to solve all their problems rather than being the solution to their own problem. I can still say that and laugh as I live in the stressed out arena of looking for a full time job. Day after day, my life has worked out without matching six numbers and a power ball.