Don’t Play to Win the Lottery Until You Read This
What lottery players should expect after winning big money in the lottery
Don’t play to win the lottery until you read this is to your advantage, not mine. You’ll know why after reading this timely and helpful article from the beginning to the end, especially if you actually end up as a lottery winner.
Have you ever wanted to win the lottery? The lottery can change your life forever in a variety of ways. The options are in your hands for what will happen when you win the jackpot.
But first, what is a lottery?
A lottery is a chance or process game with a random drawing that selects winners. It is a type of game whereby tickets are sold to raise money. After raising the money, a prize is given to a winner according to a random selection of numbers as bought by the players or users.
With the advancements of technology, there are currently different online services that offer the sale of lottery tickets.
They are also a popular way of playing, which encourages players to pay a modest amount for a chance to win a big jackpot.
Lottery players everywhere dream of hitting a multimillion-dollar jackpot with a winning ticket. But there’s a dark side to coming into a windfall of sudden wealth if you’re not careful.
Here’s what it’s really like to win the lottery
Becoming substantially wealthier thanks to a tiny piece of paper with the winning numbers that would make your life so much better, right? In fact, recent research has suggested that lottery winners are more satisfied with life than those who lost the lottery and that this happiness is supposedly lasting.
Positive sides of winning the lottery
- Freedom — They say that money can’t buy happiness. But money can buy freedom: freedom of choice, freedom of travel, and many other freedoms.
- Diversity and Options — This term largely overlaps with the first one. The more money you have, the more of the things you can choose from.
- Relations and Contacts — Lottery winners often lose friends because of jealousy. It sounds paradoxical, but sometimes it is a plus. A rich person can choose a new environment of the rich and the successful.
- Pleasures and Fun — When you have a lot of money, you can have fun in all possible ways, starting with a shopping spree, even ending with space flights.
- Appearance and Shape — Have you noticed how Hollywood actresses/celebrities look when they are 50? If you think it’s all about good genes, you are wrong. The rich can buy many resources not available or accessible to the poor and to the rest of us.
Sure, everyone wants to win big at the lottery, whether they admit it or not. Going from rags to sudden riches in the blink of an eye is a fantasy that many lottery players can relate to.
It’s a life-changing event, after all — one that can transform someone’s life for the better.
What you might not know, however, is that winning the lottery can sometimes be more trouble than it is worth.
Sure, there are tons of upsides to striking it rich via the lottery, but the more money you have, the more potential problems could arise.
Negative sides of winning the lottery
- Say Goodbye to Anonymity — Most people don’t know this, but many states require that lottery winners appear in a news conference and hold up a big check. In other words, your days of anonymity might very well be over.
- Friendships Will Be Tested — Your friends might take advantage of your newfound wealth.
- You Might Have to Fend off Family — You might just have to fend off a long line of “family” asking you for free money — most of whom you haven’t seen in decades.
- Relationships Might Suffer — Over the years, many couples’ relationships have been left in ruins soon after winning the lottery.
- You Might Go Bankrupt — Winners suddenly have significantly more credit available to them than they ever had. That makes them more likely to make purchases on credit, rather than use cash.
If you spend your winnings carelessly, then you are more likely to go bankrupt sooner rather than later. Many lottery winners have fallen into this trap countless times before, and many more will surely follow.
- Scammers Will Hound You — When word gets around that you’ve come into a large amount of cash, not only can some people in your life turn into money-obsessed leeches, but you also become a target for scammers and other fraudsters.
- Robbers Will Find You — You might get robbed offline or online or both, sooner or later.
The Advantages of Winning a Lottery
Winning a lottery gives one access to the freedom to spend the money on reasons that suit their needs or wants. The lottery money can also be used as a means of investment such as starting a business.
The other benefit of winning a lottery is that one can spend their winnings for leisure purposes with friends and family.
Winning a lottery can also be used to pay one’s school fees or pay for any student loan.
The other use of a lottery win is that it can be used in a donation for charity purposes, thus improving the livelihoods of the community.
In as much as winning a lottery has several advantages, there are also disadvantages.
The Disadvantages of Winning a Lottery
- Winning a lottery may bring about a lot of financial burden, especially from your friends and relatives that may borrow or loan money at your expense for several reasons.
- Financial advisors may come all at the same time, persuading to invest in various options. This may cause a lottery winner to be confused due to the stress or information overload they get from these money gurus.
- Lack of or losing privacy since big lottery winners attract a lot of attention from different audiences, such as the media and the thieves.
- You might be bombarded with money requests from “investor” groups and scammers.
- Trying to win a lottery may be addictive. Therefore, one should be wise while getting involved in such.
- Some winners lose big time after hitting the jackpot, even faring worse than they did before.
The Positives of Playing the Lottery
- A Big Lottery Jackpot Sets You Up for Life.
- Lottery Sales Fund Public Education & Other Social Programs.
- Winning the Lottery Could Change Your Life for the Better Even with such low odds.
The Negatives of Playing the Lottery
- Low odds of winning.
- The odds of winning the lottery range from low to vanishing.
- The odds of landing a life-changing lottery jackpot are especially tiny.
Thoughts to Ponder
The lottery’s astronomical odds aren’t enough to discourage many people from playing. If that’s you, think about the cost of frequent lottery ticket purchases. Instead spend your money in foods/groceries for yourself or your family first, especially if you have no money for spare. Prioritize your needs before your wants — this alone can put extra money in your pocket!
The odds of winning a lottery prize big enough to change your entire financial situation are stacked up against you. You could buy multiple lottery tickets every day for the rest of your life and still have nothing to gain from it but smaller savings account balance after it’s all said and done.
A Reality Check
If you won big money in a lottery, listen! Everyone you know — parents, siblings, friends, coworkers — and everyone you don’t know — charities and complete strangers — will all ask for money handouts, sooner or later.
Many are going to expect it; some will demand it. And many people won’t be happy for you. You are a target. They’ll be jealous, so prepare yourself!
Steps You May Want to Consider if you’ve the Winning Numbers on your ticket
Your first step is to turn your winning lottery ticket into the local lottery commission. Winning is understandably a life-changing moment that can cause stress or excitement, which can lead to rush decisions.
But there are a bunch of precautions to take before you even turn in your ticket.
If you win a large jackpot, take a very deep breath, followed by hiring an attorney, a tax specialist, and a financial adviser. This financial dream team can help you make smart financial decisions and help you plan for the future.
For example, they can help you decide whether you want to receive payouts over a certain number of years, or collect the prize up front as a lump sum, which is considerably lower than the official jackpot amount.
Another thing to remember is that the jackpot’s dollar amount and what you will actually pocket are two very different numbers, because lottery prize money is taxed — the IRS will collect 24% of your lottery winnings.
Conclusion
Millions of Americans buy lottery tickets. A daily lottery routine is likely to damage your finances and personal relationships. But most players suffer no ill effects from their casual gaming habit.
Although the vast majority of those tickets are worthless, the lottery isn’t a great evil to avoid at all costs. I’d be a hypocrite to suggest otherwise. It’s fine as long as you treat the lottery as nothing more than a diversion — fleeting entertainment purchased with small amounts of money you can afford to lose.
The occasional Mega, Powerball ticket or scratch-off games can be fun, even thrilling. But keep your expectations low and don’t spend more than you can afford to lose.
Although playing the lottery, which is literally a game of chance, is fun and entertaining to many, it is also very damaging to those who cannot afford it!
Yes, dipping into your entertainment budget can affect your quality of life. Spend your money for the necessities first, before buying any lottery ticket.
Remember this: Materially speaking, if you command your wealth, you shall be rich and free; if your wealth commands you, you’re poor indeed!
Note: If anyone of you reading this has a gambling problem or a gambling addiction, please call the National Gambling Helpline listed here and here.
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