Why Winning the Lottery is a Curse!

[Lynx122]

I heard about this 1.6 Billion dollar pot that everybody is so hyped about but I don't think winning the Lottery is a good thing.

The Lottery is a scam like all gambling

First of all playing the Lottery is gambling and that's already not already not a good way to try and get ahead in life. It shows you'd rather hope for a miracle instead of woring on yourself and trying to live your life in a good way even if it's hard.

The lottery has also been called a additional tax on the poor because the government always makes way more money than they pay out and it's mostly poor and uneducated people who play the lottery because they get lured in by the promise and don't see the reality.

In Switzerland where I live the profits from the Lottery go towards supporting sports. Since we're not the most sports focused nation at a professional level it's a good way to help support and promote more people getting into sports. There's entire sports centers built only with lottery money and that really makes you think who is really winning here?

Even if you win it's not good luck for you

But even if you win things get even worse then. People can't handle suddenly being rich and being bound by nothing. They don't need to work, they don't need to listen to anybody, they can do whatever they want! But people are not built to live in circumstances like that. If you can have anything you want all the time it becomes very empty and meaningless. What really makes us happy is to work hard for a goal and achieving it, not just getting it handed to us.

Also all the money makes you stop growing as a person because you don't have any incentives anymore. You're already rich so why should you learn new skills or challenge yourself? Just relax and have a drink. In the beginning that might seem fun but later you realise you wasted all that time when you could have been building towards something great. Most people need some incentives to get off their ass and if those are gone they turn into potatos.

Personally if I was handed 1.6 Billion dollars right now I would not quit my job. Because I like my job and I think it's the right thing for me right now. I still have a lot to learn and if I quit now I'm just throwing away a great opportunity. But many people are just waiting for the chance to quit. The question is if you hate your life and your job that much that you just want to throw everything away as soon as you can why is that? And can you do something now to change that instead of hoping for a 1/300 000 000 chance ? Work on the thing you can change yourself instead of having dollar signs in your eyes!

This idea that money solves all your problems is pretty widespread but it really bothers me because it's so untrue. Most lottery winners end up broke, some drug addicted, some scammed, some just waste their money on things they don't need etc.

After the NFL draft the rookies have to go to this presentation about the risks of the new money and fame etc. The guy tells them there's more future drug addicts in this room than future millionaires.

Because it's just a reality that most people can't handle it.

If you live your life well, you don't need money to be successful

I believe is those few people who actually don't blow their money and don't fall into the many traps that are laid out for lottery winners would have found success anyway. They didn't need the money from the lottery because they have the skills and the habits to live a successful life. Some people who have become successful say you could take everything they own and they could get there again. And I believe that is true. Maybe it would be very hard but it's not the money that's really valuable it's the skills, the knowledge, the decision making ability, and the habits of how you life your life that will decide how it turns out not random chance. We all have the chance to improve every day and that's worth more than any Lottery Jackpot in the past or the future.

P.S. When I put in the first song about money there was this line that popped into my head. Money money money is the poison potion. I couldn't remember right away where it was from but I figured it out. This song is so amazing! Especially the instrumental and the hook from Nate Dogg R.I.P. He was one of the most underrated artists. I still love listening to his music not just collabs but his solo stuff too. This song is also about fame and money and what it does to you so it fits perfectly here and it's so chill that it's a nice way to end anything. Peace.

#lottery #chosewisely #stopbeinggreedy #moneyisthepoisonpotion

[evm987]

Honestly... yeah. Money can be really dangerous. In my opinion, it's not a good idea to participate in the lottery.

However, if one were to win the lottery, there are smart ways to deal with the money and make it work for you. It's probably a good idea to keep your job, just to keep from being bored. I've had this conversation with a friend before, and she said she'd quit her job and buy a hobby farm, which is a pretty cool idea too.

There's also this thing I've seen on Pinterest/Tumblr that's a smart way to deal with it,, though i'm not sure how realistic it is.

Another thought... what if, instead of being big jackpots, the lottery was just lots of little $1000 jackpots? Then lots of people could profit, and I think it's a whole lot less destructive to have a sudden 1k then 1 billion. It's just enough to start to help pay off a car or a college loan or something

[TsundereMatrix]

Good take. Here in Canada, we don’t get taxed for lottery but the interest from it does. I worked at my local convenience store for a while that sold lottery tickets. There were people that played the lottery religiously, like it was a religion. They would get the same amount of tickets every week! My manager told me a story about a guy who won CAN$2,000. Once people found out that he won the lottery, they started asking to borrow some money for whatever and they never paid this guy back so he basically lost his winnings. I saw that guy one day at work and he told me “if you ever win the lottery, don’t tell anyone!”

[Juxtapose]

Oh please, anyone who can manage money even a little bit will be better off after the lottery.

This is just to make yourself feel better about not having a chance in hell of winning the lottery, you're rationalizing why it's *better* for you not to win so you're more comfortable with the outcome.

[Lynx122]

I don't even play the lottery. I know I have no chance to win that's why I don't play.

[Juxtapose]

Doesn't mean you wouldn't rationalize why you don't play, but good move, it's a waste to try the lottery due to the odds.

[Lance1965]

You wouldn't call it a scam if you actually won it and being successful in life is judged on what you have. Being simply a good person doesn't equal success.

[Lynx122]

Maybe other people judge your success by what you have but that doesn't mean you have to do the same. Setting your own goals and own measure for success is important, otherwise you're just running after what other people want all your life.

By living your life well I didn't mean being a good person, I meant taking care of yourself (exercise, sleep, diet etc.) being productive and working towards your goals. Learning new skills, managing your time well not wasting it or procrastinating a lot. Taking on new challenges and going out of your comfort zone. Just growing as a person. Of course you have to make some money to survive but it shouldn't be the only reason why you're doing what you're doing. It should be a step towards where you want to go.
All these things you can do without money and will improve your life more in my opinion than getting lucky especially in the long run.

[MrOracle]

Most lower and middle-class people know almost nothing about managing money bigger than their paycheck, but if properly invested and placed in a trust, that money could throw out millions of dollars a year FOREVER, with the principle continuing to grow.

The problem, as mentioned, is that people don't think about any of that - they rush right out to spend the money because that's easier and faster - but they usually burn through it in a couple of years, buying things that have on-going expenses (houses, cars, boats, planes) without even considering that. And it eats them alive.

I could easily take that money (of which, only $950M or so will be yours after taxes - and I'm not talking JUST the initial 36% that the feds withhold up-front) and invest it for a pretty reliable return of 5% or more per year. That's around $48M in interest the first year. Even if I disbursed $10 a year, the other $38M from the first year gets added to the principle, which means it will earn about $49M the next year, and so on.

It's not like anyone couldn't live on $10M per year - but this way, your wealth continues to grow.

[AngelaUK]

Like most things, it depends on the winner. Whether it's the lottery, a massive casino win, a big inheritance or some other significant windfall, all money does is give you one thing... choice. And choice generally equals happiness (or certainly most people's unhappiness is usually founded on a lack of choice). You can choose to work, or not work. You can choose to give it all away, or free up your time to do something constructive to society, or you could just enjoy living the high-life. If you're a dick to start with, then you'll simply be a rich dick instead of a poor one. I don't think it's a curse at all. It's true the money won't make 100% of people happy if they won it, but if they are being honest, most people would rather be miserable and rich, than miserable and poor. As for this idea that it will ruin people's lives, that's generally something people without much imagination tend to say. Also, the lottery is hardly a "tax on the poor". It's only a tax if you have to pay it by law. If people think it's prudent to spend their limited funds on lottery tickets instead of bills, then basically that's down to them, and would make me question why they find themselves in that position to start with.

[shades777]

Money is an inanimate object (does not think, does not move), it can neither be good or bad. it simply paper, metal, or digital number on a screen used as a "form of exchange"
- THAT IS IT.
How people use money is the problem or solution at hand. It's always been how people use anything that is the problem or solution to anything.

Winning or Losing the Lottery is not the problem or solution. You simply highlighted all the examples of people who were already bad at managing their money, hence wasting their money on lottery tickets.

If fact you can deduct that anyone would spends money on the lottery is bad at managing their money, but that's not always the case.

There are plenty of examples of people who won the lottery and used that money to generate more money, whether it be buying real estate, operating businesses, investing in munnies, or giving out loans.

As for you living life well part, well if that were the case we would not be having this discussion. The very fact people view spending their money on a lottery ticket as a viable option is the underlining flaw in their thinking.

That very money they use to buy a lottery ticket, could have went in so many other more viable ways, need examples?

owning a profitable business
paying off debt
learning a new skill
owning then leasing a profitable property
owning and/or leasing a profitable business
writing and selling a book
receiving royalties for a music, software, invention, book
affiliate selling, marketing, leasing, or owning
commission based off audience, sales, shares, investments

The mass majority of the people on this site earn income by means of trading time for money. When in fact there are 100's of ways to earn a income.

[MarkRet]

Winning the Lottery is only a curse if you don't have discipline and don't know how to deal with it. If heard that if you win some huge lottery, you should just immediately waste about $50,000 of it on whatever you feel like having, and once you get THAT out of your system, save and spend the rest wisely. Make sure you do something with your life, because if you don't, you won't live very long.

There are many positive things you can do with all that money. You could give to charities. You also have to be careful of con artists and gold diggers. Personally, I don't think I'd change that much. I'm not interested in owning a lot of things, belonging to some golf or yacht club, and the thought of caviar disgusts me. It's just a matter of having your head on right.

[WillyD]

A lot of the things you say are true. but to the degree they're true makes all the difference. Yes playing the lottery is gambling, but so is investing. So is crossing the street and eating out. yes i buy a lottery ticket every drawing. yes i know the odds of winning are astronomical but i don't look at it as i'm buying a chance at the jackpot. I'm buying the mental dream and the freedom it provides. To me that's worth a measly 2 bucks. i also NEVER buy more than one ticket because buying more than one really doesn't increase your odds.

[11dog22]

No chance to win? Your kidding right? If everyone have chance to Win it either be pennies or lucky enough a dollar.

That’s why it’s call lottery. I don’t expect to win. But if I try. There a very very tiny chance. Like finding large bill on the ground. It can happen.

So what if poor won. There resources to education winner.

Most people want the lump some. Which can be ok. But let’s face it. True not many would know. But there cases people have.

I personally would take 30 years course. You get pay check each month for years. In time you can learn.

Side effects. Taxes change so be aware.

If Lottie goes away. Well. No more. So choose wise.

It’s a gamble and true you hear bad cases. But in all. Look for people who did something with it. There many stories of positive.

[OnlyYouKnowThat]

Winning 1.6 billion dollars and never having to work for the rest of my life, and ensuring the financial security for myself and my family for generations to come, and being able to create my own NGO to provide emergency healthcare in developing countries. Traveling the world first class, enjoying my time practising photography, making short films for international film festivals. Paying for the education of disadvantaged youth. If all that is a curse then I'm fucking ready to be cursed!

[dreamstar72]

I agree with most of what you said however would you be writing this if you won the 1.6 billion? I almost certain you would not be. Lottery is a sort of a dream for some and most realize this and maybe spend 10 to 20 dollars when it got that high knowing very very... unlikely the dream will come true. So someone won big deal be happy for them, why should you try to make them feel that they are a foolish, wasteful and a outcast person. Just maybe they will handle they new found wealth very well. I'm sure several people who has great jobs spent well over a 100 dollars on tickets. Lesson don't make someone else feel bad or guilty because they won. Maybe someday you will win big and than you can write again telling us how great the lottery is, on second thought you will be out spending your riches. Don't say oh no I wouldn't take the money. Everyone has use for money one of my main use of money is to help the animal shelters. Sorry for the mistakes just to inform the Cyber police

[Rangers]

Money makes the world go around, the only way to have anything left over is to settle for a crappy place to live, even then, you'll have very little extra cash. Winning the lottery can allow one to enjoy the finer things in life and a ton of stress will be lifted from their life. If I want to go and drive a tank, I can, if I want to ride in a helicopter, I can, if I want to FLY a jet, I can, there's no end to what I'll be able to do, the sky is the limit. A massive contrast to my life now, that doesn't sound like a curse at all.

[sp33d]

The correlation is clear. It's far more likely for someone uneducated to win at the lottery (for mostly these people do the gambling in hopes of the Almighty shining a ray of light upon them or something poetic like that), therefore they don't manage their money well and end up being broke.

Win the damn thing, choose to collect monthlies instead of all of it at once. Being airheaded is a curse, rather. Winning the lottery's fine, won't happen all that often.

[Guanfei]

If you win, the best is to actually not telling anyone, moving from where you live in a modest place, and not show anyone you've won. Do whatever you want, but don't go full Richie Rich.
The less people know you've won, the less leeches you'll have on your back.

[Hispanic-Cool-Guy]

Winning the lottery jackpot is a curse to most people because the majority who play the lottery are poor people seeking a way out of poverty and poor people usually are poorly educated and generally not bright between the ears.

Moreover, being broke or having a couple of thousand dollars in the bank in savings to literally over-night winning millions of dollars creates a huge amount of responsiblity and stress which they can't manage, thus brings ruin.

[Gavyn]

"The lottery isn't a means of building wealth, it's a tax on the poor!"

- Dave Ramsey

"If someone has poor money management skills before they win the lottery, winning the lottery isn't going to help them. The money will be poorly managed until it's gone as fast as it came."

- Dave Ramsey

[Kenni]

*says that*
*wins the lottery *
*happiest man alive *

[Lynx122]

lol :D

[Logorithim]

I think I could handle Winning it. I'm disciplined and know how to manage Money.

[castratedwhiteguy]

So you would rater just continue to work at your mundane J. O. B. (just over broke) if you won the lottery? That's a very small minded way of looking at it. Personally, I'd invest the money wisely, live modestly, and do some charity work or maybe run for political office. Wealth = freedom while J. O. B. = wage slavery. Learn the difference!

[jennifer_bloom]

I totally agree. We were built for work and productivity and exercise - we weren't build for comfort and indulgence.

[TsubasaCorrupted]

I need money to pay my bills, my rent, to eat, medicine, medical care, insurance, school debt, future school tuitions etc.
With that money, I can pay all of that and work toward my future job without fearing a lack of funding, or choosing between a single textbook and being late on my rent. I don't need to exhaust myself working 50+ hours a week just to survive, while also trying to get through schooling. If a gamble could net net me economic freedom, I'll take the gamble.

[realperson02]

As a finance oriented person I think i can handle that big amount of money. But thanks for putting your points which allowed me to think more about how things happen after winning a lottery.

[SwoleCook]

This is exactly what I told my mom. 1 it’s impossible to win. 2 too much money is a bad thing. We should have what we need, not what we want.

P. s You won’t see many female comments on this my take because women are the most money hungry of all

[Rangers]

So, you think we're not supposed to enjoy our lives. You call that good advice?