Most coupons provide opportunities to save money, and many provide nice little opportunities to save on things you need. Sure, you might be also enticed to spend money on something you might not otherwise buy. That’s a downside, to be sure. But at least you’re getting something of value back when you purchase most merchandise.
Well, I came across a different kind of coupon some weeks back: lottery coupons. These friendly, fun little coupons found their way to my mailbox somehow, along with the opportunity to save some money on certain purchases. Such as, buy one get one free on various purchaes.
Only thing is, these “purchases” are lottery tickets. You know, the type where you get a set of numbers, and if that highly unlikely combination of numbers is selected, you might win big bucks. And you know, the type that are also not likely to make you a positive return on your investment.
So with these coupons, you get an opportunity to save money on a miniscule chance to make money. This doesn’t seem like my type of deal. Why not take that same money and save it? Even in a low interest bank account, it will still have a higher expected return than a lottery. How about putting the money in the market? That will also have a higher expected value, right? One can spend time looking for other ways to save money. Finding good credit card deals might be one example of a better use of time. Or, trying to find other ways to save or make money.
Now look, I’m all about having a little fun – so there’s no harm in spending a dollar on a ticket, right? I say that even though I personally don’t buy these things. Again, for the reasons above – throwing away money and getting little or nothing back. When one thinks of how to invest in 2012, lottery tickets don’t exactly come to mind. But even though a dollar or two here and there isn’t a huge deal, it’s the idea that something like this could get people excited is what gets me shaking my head. I mean, you know that there were people who saw these buy one get one free coupons and just got totally excited about them. For some reason, lottery tickets have a magical effect on some people. Like I’ve said before, caveat emptor on opportunities to get something for next to nothing!
So in case it’s not clear, I will not be using these coupons for lottery tickets:)
It’s fun to think about what we would do if we won the lottery, but I guess it only matters if you actually play, right? You don’t have a chance to win unless you play! Not that you have much of a chance even if you do play, though.
Alright, you get what I think of this. Maybe I’m too rigid about this, what do you think?
My Questions for You
Do you ever play the lottery?
What do you think about playing such games vs other ways to make money?
Do you see this my way, that these coupons are a bit ridiculous?
I have a friend who likes to toss in a dollar in a box every time he gets the urge or a thought on playing the lottery. Every once in a while, he clears out the box and takes the missus out for a nice dinner.
I wouldn’t be using lottery coupons either.
101C – that’s one way to rationalize the expense! At least he’s getting a nice dinner (and some goodwill) from the deal, as opposed to a most likely value of zero from a lottery ticket.
We don’t even have these here in Canada. I am glad. They would just be another temptation for people that they don’t need.
Miss T – not having this expense temptation as an option is probably a good thing for many folks!
I never heard of that. Adiscount to play the lottery. In California, there has been a lotter for roughly 25 years. I think I spent $12 during the entire time. The prize has to be over $50 million to even get my interest and I am only willing to lose a $1. Hence I think I only played that few times.
krantcents – yeah, I had never heard of this either.
Wow… always a way to take money from people who can’t afford to give it up.
Doc – that’s a concise way to put it!
I rarely play. My dad had a gambling addiction and it negatively affected the meager standard of living we were already up against. No good can come of it as the people who spend the most money on these things often need the money the most.
First Gen – it’s particularly unfortunate to see those who really need money throw it away at chance.
I am now 25 “soon to be 26”. We recently moved “about a year ago”. And I was getting those coupons in our old house. But I can’t figure out how to get them here. I even won $1,000 on the lottery recently. And I believe I gave them this address. Does anyone know how I can start to get those coupons “buy three $2.00 tickets get one free”. I would really appreciate it if anyone helped me out on this. I even got one from my Pap who gets them. But I don’t see any return address on it. So I don’t know how to get them. Thanks to all who reply.
I have mixed feelings about lotteries. On the one hand, I’ve seen small towns in Florida get some wonderful new state-of-the-art school facilities using funding generated through the sale of lottery tickets, and that’s something I’d love to see here in Alabama. My state has long been resistant to the idea of a lottery, primarily on religious grounds, but our education budget it crippled and our schools are crumbling.
But lotteries are an addictive form of gambling. Worse, they’re relatively cheap, so people don’t notice how much money they’re throwing away. And of course, they’re primarily appealing to people who are already in rocky financial situations and don’t have a plan to improve their finances (or even know how to start formulating that kind of plan) — they start feeling like the minuscule chance of a big win is their best option to do better.
I know what you mean. They can actually help people in the big picture, through these facilities and such. That said, they can also be a money drain for people who simply can’t afford to be spending money on things like lotteries.