I know several people who have won hundreds of thousands. The two that I was referring to won millions, and that does happen. But it's unlikely to happen for me, largely because I rarely buy a lottery ticket. Buying a lottery ticket can make sense if you're not spending more than a few dollars a month on tickets. Most people can afford to spend even $10 a month without missing it, and realizing that they're unlikely to win anything from it. But spending every available dollar on lottery tickets might enhance your likelihood of winning but the odds are still very much against it.
In 1994 when I won my $100,000, I got to keep $67,000 after taxes. They take about 1/3 in other words.
Wow, Ike Willis, that is fantastic...Hmmm 67,000 is like a years salary in a good job. Still, I would take it!! Free money woohoo! If you don't mine me asking, what game were you playing? Have you ever won any other sizable lottery prizes? Congrats!! I would be so happy.
In 1994 they had a game called "The daily game". The top prize was $100,000. I was the 100th. person in Iowa to win. Since 1994 they changed the game to make it harder and call it something else now. I seldom play the lottery anymore but have won a couple $20 prizes.
@Babs Hunt That's exactly my philosophy. I am definitely not going to win if I don't buy a ticket. I usually buy about $4/month in lottery tickets. If I win on those, I usually roll that back into new tickets, unless I win $10 or more, in which case I only spend a portion of that on new tickets. I like the smaller games where I might win less, but I feel my odds of winning are better than the huge jackpots where everyone who's never bought a ticket decides to plunk money down on tickets. @Chrissy Page It shouldn't affect your pension unless the pension is need based. If you qualify for some sort of assistance due to being low income, such as Medicaid, winning money could affect it, but otherwise you should be fine.
The actual operation of legal lotteries is ignominious: disgraceful, and if done similarly by private operation, someone would get tarred and feathered. For a given up-and-coming draw, the sales proceeds, after subtracting "Administration Costs", including 11% off the top (in AZ), returned to the ticket sellers, the remaining pot's contents is revealed for sale to the highest bidder, usually an Insurance Company. They have the dough behind them to absorb the cost of wins, if they occur. If there is no big winner, they keep the money, having bought it for mere pennies on the dollar. Crooked as hell, as far as I'm concerned. Payback to ticket buyers is claimed to exceed 50% or more of the gross sales, whereas the "Numbers Bookies" in our major cities only kept < 10%!
The problem is, the government is running it, and there's no one to oversee them, other than themselves. It probably wouldn't be any different if one of the large financial corporations were running it, their minions that we elect would cover up any improprieties, and get a cut of the action for doing so.
It's just like gambling, everyone knows the odds. If you spend within your budget, it's entertainment. You might even win though the odds are against it. I would say so far I'm ahead at the casinos, because I never spend much and when I win I quit. Plus I haven't gone more than about 10 times in my entire life. I don't buy lotto tickets too much either and haven't won much ever on those but I didn't spend much either and it was fun playing the what if I win game. There's a lot of things people waste money on and get nothing in return.
That's very true @Chrissy Page. I wish I had all of the money I've spent over my lifetime on alcohol and cigarettes, I'd be able to move out of here and buy a decent vehicle , and I stopped both of those expenditures on my own. I don't see as many down here buying huge amounts of lottery tickets the way I saw people doing back home, except in certain areas. There's a convenience store that is fairly close to the port and some industrial plants, and those workers buy an unbelievable amount of lottery tickets on Fridays, which I assume is their payday. I actually took some of the ones they'd put in the trash one time, just so I could see what the expensive scratch ticket games are like, and there was a $15 winner in the bunch. I rarely buy tickets over $2, except occasionally at Christmas, then I might splurge on a $5 ticket. These guys buy $20 and $50 tickets by the handful. I don't know if that means they're addicted to gambling, really hate their jobs, or perhaps a combination of the two.
I also spent a fortune a cigarettes before I quit, I knew they were bad for me even before all the hype against them began. Yes, they were addicting but addictions can be conquered so that's really not an excuse. People just don't think about the consequences of their actions and that's their fault. Only a very few are that stupid that they don't know the odds are against you. It's fun or it feels good is all they're thinking about. It's all about self control, will power and choices.
Yes, and ironically, when I started both drinking and smoking when I was (very) young, I did it to feel independent and adult. I kept doing it by choice, feeling as if I were in control, but ultimately, the smoking addiction (I've never been addicted to alcohol, just liked how it made me feel) is what ended up controlling me, and it was a hard one to break. People who are addicted like to think they're making a choice, so when others try to get them to quit, they rebel, and it makes them more likely to keep doing what they're doing. I just hope more people wake up to the health concerns, and ultimately choose to quit.
I know more are quitting smoking but I'm not sure about alcohol. I see very few smokers in California.
I see a lot of people smoking pot, rather than cigarettes. Apparently they think it's healthier than smoking cigarettes, but I don't agree with that. I still have friends who smoke, and they certainly know the risks, but so did I when I smoked. I think as many get older, they start thinking more about the repercussions of their actions, and when people start realizing some of their health issues might be related to their actions, they might quit. However, I have friends with COPD who still smoke, and I doubt they will ever stop. I had neighbors who smoked heavily, even though the wife had survived cancer. They're both dead now, but continued to smoke down to their last days, despite serious health concerns.
Besides my mother who just died because of emphysema, I was the only smoker in the family. I don't know anybody who smokes now. My ex boyfriend did but I haven't seen him in years. Did talk on the phone recently and he said he quit but who knows...he's my ex for a reason.
They smoke pot because it's cheaper than alcohol and cigarettes and they get the benefit of both for the same price. I smoke and have been doing so since I was thirteen ( cigarettes ) that's about fifty nine years now. I quit for over a year twice and went back to it. Not much sense quitting now do you think?