Here's the first 3 Money Management Tips!
1. Don't own a smart phone.
2. Don't have a car payment.
3. Don't smoke cigarettes.
And now for#4!
Money Saving Secret #4. I don't play the Lottery.
If you do play the lottery, please do not take offense to this, but instead just listen to my reasoning.
For years, I have stood firm in my belief that playing the lottery is one of the biggest rip-offs ever, and the people who play it (consistently) are not thinking clearly. Then I found in Dave Ramsey's book, "The Total Money Makover", the words that perfectly described how I felt!
"Myth: Playing the lotto and other forms of gambling will make you rich.
Truth: Lotto and Power Ball are a tax on the poor and people who can't do math.
Rich people and smart people would be in line if the Lotto were a real wealth-building tool, but the truth is that the Lotto is a rip-off instituted by our government. Studies show that the zip codes that spend four times what anyone else does on lottery tickets are those in lower-income parts of town. The lotto, or gambling of any kind, offers false hope, not a ticket out."
I wanted some math to back up my belief, so I talked to my sister, who works at a gas station. She sells a LOT of lottery tickets. She sees people drop big bucks on powerball tickets. She has people that consistently waste their hard-earned cash buying scratch-offs. And she feels the exact same way as I do, because she knows how much people spend, and she knows how much they win, and trust me, they are not making money!
She told me about this one guy, who buys $18 worth of lottery tickets every Monday-Friday on his way home from work. Let's do a little math here, if he spends $18 a day, 5 days a week, that's $90 a week. $360 a month! And $4,320 a year!!! Wow! And he dosen't win anywhere CLOSE to $4,000 a year! Imagine if, instead of spending that $18 a day on lottery tickets, he would put it in the bank (if he would put it in a mutual fund, or Roth IRA, he would be making good money on that money, but just for the sake of argument, we are
going to say that he puts that money into the bank). So, if this man puts his $4,320 a year into a Savings Account, (even without counting interest on it!) in 5 years, he will have a grand total of $21,600. TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! Isn't that the kind of money that people are trying to WIN when they play the lottery?!! If this man would one day scratch off a ticket, and happen to win $20,000, he would be ecstatic! But little does he know, that if he would just use a little restraint, and a little patience, he is GUARANTEED to end up with the kind of money that he is dreaming about winning (which he most likely never will!!!)!
So that is my little speech on the lottery...if you don't play it (clever person you!), then you obviously don't need to listen to this, but if you are a person who does, just do the math of how much YOU spend, and how much you COULD have! Maybe take all the money you would normally spend on lottery tickets and put them in a mutual fund! That alone could ensure that you retire a millionaire!!!
And there's Money Management Tip #4!
Only $25, or 3 payments of $10!!!
If you hurry and sign up before the end of June, you will be able to start July off with your brand new budget!*
~Nick~ (Age 24, Ohio)
Peace Love and MMM
Jess <3