This is something I read and thought was interesting.
Lottery
Odds
Lottery Odds
The concept of the lottery is so simple. Pay a dollar or so and pick some random numbers. If you pick right, you win big. If you don't, hey, you're only out a dollar.
Welllll ... there's more to it than that.
First, you're counting on false hope to lead you to prosperity when you play the lottery. Your shot at winning is ridiculously long. And lots of people don't just bet a dollar. They'll do 5 or 10. Each week.
On top of that, since the majority of people who play are struggling with money, that $20 or $40 a month really adds up. If a person of any income isn't doing a budget, they'll spend too much on the lottery and on bounced checks and overdraft fees.
The worst part is that, by investing that $40 a month over 50 years (you can play the lottery for that long) into a growth-stock mutual fund averaging 12%, you'll end up with more than $1.5 million. That sounds like a jackpot number to us, and it will happen every time instead of 1 in 800 billion gazillion.
Let's say you play a lottery where you draw six numbered balls randomly from a machine. The balls are numbered 1 to 56. The odds are 1 in 32,468,436 (we calculated it) that you will wind up with the grand prize. For some perspective:
You have about a 1 in 2,000,000 chance of being struck by lightning.
A pregnant woman has a 1 in 705,000 chance of giving birth to quadruplets.
Someone eating an oyster has a 1 in 12,000 chance of finding a pearl in it.
If that's not enough, here's a visual example. This one might seem a little out there, but bear with us.
Get a rope that is 59 feet long and lay it in a circle so the ends touch. Get a pair of tweezers and (we're not kidding) pick up a grain of sand. Toss it anywhere inside the circle that you want. Then pick up a second grain of sand and step into the center of the circle. Close your eyes and do something to disorient yourself, such as spinning around.
Once you are confused enough, drop the second grain of sand from a foot above the ground. Your odds of hitting the first grain with the second are roughly equal to 1 in 32,468,436.
Read how lottery winners don't really win anything when the smoke clears.
The reason people play the lotto is because they are greedy for something they can't or shouldn't have. They want a shortcut to an easy life so they can goof off. Pursuing that will lead you to ruin. Build your wealth the smart and slow way. Once you're rich, you'll be glad you did.
Source: Webmath, Saving Advice
The concept of the lottery is so simple. Pay a dollar or so and pick some random numbers. If you pick right, you win big. If you don't, hey, you're only out a dollar.
Welllll ... there's more to it than that.
First, you're counting on false hope to lead you to prosperity when you play the lottery. Your shot at winning is ridiculously long. And lots of people don't just bet a dollar. They'll do 5 or 10. Each week.
On top of that, since the majority of people who play are struggling with money, that $20 or $40 a month really adds up. If a person of any income isn't doing a budget, they'll spend too much on the lottery and on bounced checks and overdraft fees.
The worst part is that, by investing that $40 a month over 50 years (you can play the lottery for that long) into a growth-stock mutual fund averaging 12%, you'll end up with more than $1.5 million. That sounds like a jackpot number to us, and it will happen every time instead of 1 in 800 billion gazillion.
Let's say you play a lottery where you draw six numbered balls randomly from a machine. The balls are numbered 1 to 56. The odds are 1 in 32,468,436 (we calculated it) that you will wind up with the grand prize. For some perspective:
You have about a 1 in 2,000,000 chance of being struck by lightning.
A pregnant woman has a 1 in 705,000 chance of giving birth to quadruplets.
Someone eating an oyster has a 1 in 12,000 chance of finding a pearl in it.
If that's not enough, here's a visual example. This one might seem a little out there, but bear with us.
Get a rope that is 59 feet long and lay it in a circle so the ends touch. Get a pair of tweezers and (we're not kidding) pick up a grain of sand. Toss it anywhere inside the circle that you want. Then pick up a second grain of sand and step into the center of the circle. Close your eyes and do something to disorient yourself, such as spinning around.
Once you are confused enough, drop the second grain of sand from a foot above the ground. Your odds of hitting the first grain with the second are roughly equal to 1 in 32,468,436.
Read how lottery winners don't really win anything when the smoke clears.
The reason people play the lotto is because they are greedy for something they can't or shouldn't have. They want a shortcut to an easy life so they can goof off. Pursuing that will lead you to ruin. Build your wealth the smart and slow way. Once you're rich, you'll be glad you did.
Source: Webmath, Saving Advice
Tim West
Go
West Coaching
4-21-12
