When we were little, we use to ask each other “what would you do if you win the lottery?” ALL the time.
It was the dream we all shared; it was THE WAY we will become millionaires one day.
“I will buy a mansion”
“I will end world hunger”
“I will invest some and buy an island”
“I will get a car and buy grandma a new sewing machine!”
Ever since I remember I could list a variety of gambling games that could make us rich one day.
Pick 3, horse races, slot machines at the casino, scratch-off games, bingo, Kino, raffles, domino, betting on the day puppies will be born.
Playing lottery was a way of life
If we remembered a vivid dream, we had a book to look it up that included the numbers to play for the day.
If it was somebody’s birthday, date of birth and age will be bet on too.
If there was a party, trip, or any special event coming up, more of a reason to play as the potential winnings could be used for the dress, the planning or the gift.
It was pretty much a daily thing to pick your numbers for the day and go to the lottery agency (that’s how we call the places dedicated to sell lottery); I honestly remember our town having one in almost every block.
And based on this you may think we were poor, and we thought the lottery was our only hope. But this wasn’t the case for my family; we had everything we needed and plenty more.
Playing lottery was ingrained in our culture; it was a common topic of conversation. It gave you bragging rights when luck was on your side, and it was one of the daily errands.
Watching the lotto show on Sundays was part of our weekly entertainment; I have many fun memories checking off number with my grandma as we intensely saw the balls coming out of the Kino machine on TV.
You played, you prayed, you dreamed because ONE day you may WIN!
And most of the time we lost of course. Here and there, somebody will win something and that was enough to keep the hopes alive.
No more lottery rush
Moving away from home changed lots of things from me; the daily lottery rush wasn’t an exception.
I moved to the US as a teenager so I wasn’t the one directly playing back home but I still felt part of it. It was around me all the time, everywhere, and I shared my dreams and hopes with everyone too. I even had a favorite triple digit number; I think everyone had one.
I knew the US had the lotto; my parents always played it when we travel on vacation before I permanently move to the states on my own. However, I rarely had any spending money when I was a student, so buying lottery wasn’t even on my radar.
I never felt I had to stop playing lottery because I never had a habit of it (at least paying for it with my own money); it was just something that faded away because I wasn’t around it any longer.
But you can’t win if you don’t play!
Usually, when there is a huge jackpot in the lotto, I get a message from back home to make sure I play. Somehow, they get the memo before I am even aware of the news. They hear about the stories of long lines everywhere around the country as players dream to hit it big, they think I should be in line too.
“Send the picture of the ticket so I know you bought it!” – oh oops! I read the text a bit too late.
“Seriously? Have you look at the odds of winning?”– an unwelcome reply I would give when people would try to pressure me to play
“But if you don’t play, you can’t win!” – oh yeah I can! In fact, I will!
We will win by always spending less than we make. Then, we will save and invest the difference consistently for many years. That’s how we are going to become millionaires one day.
It won’t be as sexy as winning the jackpot but we are OK with that.
And no, I may not get the mansion
Or end world hunger even though I wish I could
I won’t be buying an island either
I do make sure giving is a constant in our plan
I do invest and bought a car
And I hope grandma has a new fancy sewing machine in heaven as I didn’t get a chance to buy her one when she could still sew.
I bet the one she uses there is way cooler that anything I could have bought her though.
The statistics are really bad for people winning the lottery and actually managing to keep the money! So yeah, slow and steady seems like the way to go, rather than hoping for a quick fix.
Yes, I didn’t even dove into the statistics but roughly thought about the compounding effect of the daily lottery playing. It is crazy to think how much that money could grow with a sure chance rather than a gamble. Thanks for stopping by to read the post 🙂