Play the Damn Lotto!

One of the great sources of imaginary fun we have in our family is the buying of one lotto ticket. Whenever the lotto in our area has a jackpot above $100 million, we take $1 and buy 1 lotto ticket. When we share this fact with folks, many times we are greeted with looks like we have snakes coming out of our ears. "What? You guys play the lotto?" Yeah, Mr. and Mrs. WatchOurMoney do play it. After sharing our reasons, some people just shake their heads in disbelief while others say, "Yeah, I can see that."

Why play the lotto? That is the million (or multi-million) dollar question.

• Firstly, for $1, you get hours of fantasy time. We spend our $1 and talk about what we will do with the money ... giving some to this relative, none to that relative, walking into work after riding in a giant limousine and delivering the resignation notice while wearing a Hawaiian shirt, taking a trip up to the space station at $40 million per head, and so on.
• Secondly, for $1, you get a chance at a lot of money. Sure, the odds are incredibly slim like 1 in 175,711,536. But hey, that is better than 1 in 0, which is what the odds are of winning if you don't play.
• Thirdly, the anticipation feeling you get when you check out the winning numbers is pretty damn cool.
• Fourthly, it emphasizes the power of interest nicely. For every $1 million dollars you have put away, you earn about $50,000 in interest per year. Now imagine if you have $100 million ... that is $5,000,000 in interest per year!! WOW! Talk about having some fun with that!

Okay, so you elect to put your $1 away. Every $1 is a nickel of free money the rest of your life. I totally get that (and have posted many blogs on it).... but I am willing to forgo a nickel the rest of my life for the lotto when it passes the $100 million threshold. I recognize the odds, but for a buck, it is an easy thing to try. Hell, I pick up a buck on the ground in loose change in any given week, so I think it is okay to try my hand at the wheel of luck for a buck! Oh yeah, I put the rest away since I probably won't hit the lotto.