Okay, grandkids, I want you to be financially successful in life (of course not over spiritually successful, but for this article, we’re talking financial), but you need to know winning the lottery isn’t a reliable financial plan for your life. I know it sounds fun, but beware, there are some dangers in the “scratch off ticket” mentality.  Selena Maranjian’s on a website called The Motley Crew had seven things you need to know about lotteries, so I’m passing them on to you. 

1. The odds are against you. Really, really, really against you. For some of the biggest jackpots, the odds you’ll win come close to 300 million to 1 — not too far off from just picking one American at random. Statistically speaking, you’re a whole lot more likely to get bitten by a shark, or give birth to identical quadruplets, than to win the lottery.
2. A guaranteed win would still ensure that you lost. Suppose you had enough money to buy every single possible combination of numbers, ensuring that you’d definitely win the prize. Alas, the difference between how much you’d make from that prize, and how much you’d spend buying the tickets, means you’d still come out deeply in the red.
3. Don’t listen to your lying brain. We humans tend to believe that stuff we see on the news, whether lottery wins or airplane crashes, is more likely to happen to us than actual statistics bear out. So when the news tells us all about the latest big jackpot winner, we’re more likely to think, “Hey, that could be me!” It almost certainly won’t.
4. We throw a lot of money away. In 2017, Americans spent nearly $72 billion on lotteries — or roughly $218 for every single person in the country. By comparison, in 2019 the nation spent just $35 billion on video games. (This is crazy!! 2 papa)
5. No. 5: You may not want to win a lottery jackpot

Winning a lottery jackpot may appear to be a dream come true, but for lots of winners, it turns out to be a curse. Many didn’t know how to manage their money and spent it all quickly. (If you’re hoping to win a jackpot, spend some time learning how to invest.) Many were swindled by ne’er-do-wells who were after their money. Less maliciously, friends and relatives often have their hands out, hoping for some of the winnings — and often getting some. Relationships change, too, often not for the better. One winner is said to have told his financial advisor, “Winning the lottery is the worst thing that ever happened to me.”

6. No. 6: Many winners never collect

Not every lottery winner realizes that he or she is a winner. Many winning prizes go unclaimed — as much as $2.89 billion worth in 2017, according to the research of Brett Jacobson. It’s not a great idea to buy a lottery ticket, but if you do, check to see if you won.

7. No. 7: You might build your own jackpot, over time

Instead of throwing money down the drain with lottery tickets, you can invest in stocks over meaningful periods and amass some hefty sums with far less risk. For example, if you’ve been a heavy lottery player, spending $1,000 per year on tickets, you might invest that in stocks instead. If those investments grow at an annual average rate of 8% over 25 years, they’ll end up worth close to $80,000! So you’d have spent $25,000 and collected $80,000 — for a $55,000 gain. That’s a much more reliable way to get wealthier than hoping for a lottery gain of $55,000 or more.