Lottery Mania

Well I have to admit, I caught lottery fever.  I bought a ticket $640 million dollars is certainly  A LOT of money.. So we will see what happens tonight, I am sure with as much hype around tonight's drawing and with millions of people spending a billion dollars or so on the game tonight.  SOMEBODY is going to win.  They say that the chances of winning no matter how many tickets you buy, is 1 in 176 million.  Actually, I don't have any real objections to the lottery, as long as people are reasonable/responsible about how they play. Spending one's entire paycheck on tickets is not reasonable or responsible.  I have heard of people doing that.  Or buying tickets instead of medicines, or food, or some other need is also unwise.

But buying a reasonable amount of tickets with money not needed for something much more important is not a problem in my book.  It does have some entertainment value, dreaming about what you would do with the winnings, joking with others about your numbers, and such.  Plus I saw a breakdown of where the $1. goes.  Something like this, .52 cents goes to the winner, .06 cents to the retailer, .09 cents stays with the lottery authority, with the rest going to some need in the state.  Here in Virginia, Education is the winner of that money. 

For me reasonable is buying one ticket, that's all I need, a chance...1 in 176 million. Not playing guarantees not winning. I did not stand for hours in a long line to buy it either.  Perhaps I will win one of the lesser prizes? I would be happy with $250, 000, or even $1000.  We shall see what happens tonight..

St. Patrick's Day 2012

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY. 

LUCK OF THE IRISH TO YOU!

Feeding the "Pig"

 The Story of my piggy bank.  As a child I always had a piggy bank, as an adult I have put the change from my pocket in a mug or cup.  A good habit to develop! When it got full, I would roll it and either deposit it to a savings or use it for something. Several years ago, I found a large size piggy bank on sale, and bought it.  I just kept "feeding" it until it was full, almost a year's worth of change.  (Also I never pass up a coin on the floor or ground, it feeds the pig)

I had been saving to buy a large screen TV for sometime, one was on sale, but also a surround sound and Bluray.  I did not have quite enough saved.  Then I remembered I had not emptied my bank in quite some time. You would think I hit the jackpot!  It held enough along with my savings and a paycheck with extra hours, to buy the TV, Surround, and Bluray! ALL ON SALE! It paid to wait, save, and time my purchase for the closeout sale. 

Since then, I keep feeding that pig, almost everyday.  Whenever I empty it, I think of that purchase and how even pennies add up to make a difference. Patience, discipline pays off.  So I happily feed the pig.