What are the Chances of Winning the Lottery?
Millions of people play the lottery every single week, yet very few win. With such a miniscule chance of actually winning any money, what keeps us all playing?
You’ve played the lottery. I’ve played the lottery. Some people spend upwards of fifty dollars every single week playing the lottery. With the chances of winning being so tiny, we are more likely to get hit by a bolt of lightning than a sudden onslaught of cash.
Every single one of us is looking for the easy way out. We live in a time where money really does demonstrate your value to others, and there’s not a single person who doesn’t wish they had more. But is the lottery really the way to go? Do you even know a single person that has won the lottery personally? How many do you know that play?
Promises of millions of dollars is enough to make the average person do anything. You’ve played the game “what would you do for a million” at one point in your life. And it turns out when that number is blown up into the tens of millions you’re willing to throw away part of your hard-earned paycheque to have just the tiniest chance at winning. But what would happen if you saved the money up instead? Invested it for something with even the smallest return?
I know somebody who has put about twenty dollars every single week towards various lotteries for the last 25 years. Every single week, playing “her numbers” without fail. But what would happen if that money was instead saved up and invested at even modest returns?
$20 weekly, invested at a modest 3% return compounded monthly across 25 years is $38,750.65. It’s not millions, of course, but it’s not absolutely nothing like she has ended up with.
And just think, if you were to invest it taking on some amount of risk, it’s not absurd to expect as high a return as 8%. That same $20 a week invested at 8% becomes almost EIGHTY THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS. That’s enough to buy an entire house in some parts of the world.
You may not be spending $20 every week, but even considering something as small as $5 across such a long timeframe, you should really think twice before putting your hard earned money towards the lottery. You’re not helping anybody by making one random stranger rich. This is one occasion where you’d be better off being selfish.
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nice work guffin, Im not much of a lottery man, i like scratchies!
na jokes but good, interesting article.
Cheers.
I like the idea of getting “free” money from interest, rather than the chance of getting “free” money from the lottery.
Very good article.
makes sense. Wish all the lottery addicts get a chance to read your article.
This really puts on a higher perspective. All those lottery tickets can actually be invested into quite a bit.
Great article.
