It's been almost a year of cutting my lottery spending and so glad I cut back

Reply #44

shyguitar — Sat, 04 Oct 2014 12:14:13 GMT

Hi IPlayWeekly,

That's great that you are cutting out playing MM and just focusing on PB and your state game. That's a 15 dollar weekly savings for you and every bit saved can make a difference. It seemes the longer I continue to stay on course for my lottery budget the better I feel. The way you and I are playing still keeps us in the game should a miracle occur and we win. Good luck to staying on budget.

Reply #43

IPlayWeekly — Sat, 04 Oct 2014 10:31:10 GMT

I just stopped playing MM, its been 2 weeks so far... right now I just play PB and RC (state game) I reduced my budget from $34 to just $19 a week.

Reply #42

PrinceRene — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 20:56:08 GMT

What are you talking about? It's not like lottery tickets are given out for free. People have to buy tickets with money they earned then they have to beat ridiculous odds. If you bought a ticket and beat 259 million to 1 odds in order to win a jackpot, you earned the winnings in my book.

Reply #41

THRIFTY — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 20:23:54 GMT

It is a place where lazy people like you want to win Millions without working for it.

Reply #40

MillionsWanted — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 14:33:21 GMT

Is this Lottery Players Anonymous

Reply #39

THRIFTY — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 16:07:41 GMT

PLAY THE LOTTERY SOMEDAY - IT IS OKAY TO DREAM

Reply #38

shyguitar — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 09:21:29 GMT

Hi Theox,

Glad to hear you are also cutting back on your lottery spending. We both agree even though the odds are better with scratch tix over the PB and MM it's just too hard being at the right place at the right time. You're right about how quickly the spending can add up when you say you were buying a few 5 dollar scratch tickets a day. Think you are smart about switching to the pick 5 game. My state doesn't offer that game. As I stated in my original post it's been great saving money by s... [ More ]

Reply #37

shyguitar — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 09:10:53 GMT

Hi pickone4me,

Thanks.

Reply #36

Theox- — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 03:51:35 GMT

I'm starting to cut down on my lottery spending as well. Over the past couple of months my lottery budget was quickly starting to creep up. It was primarily because of scratch off tickets.

The odds of winning scratcher top prizes is slightly better than winning a million dollars with Powerball. The only problem is that you have to be in the right store at the right time playing the right game. Knowing my luck, all the winning tickets are probably on the opposite side of town from me at... [ More ]

Reply #35

helpmewin — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 12:27:50 GMT

I thought you said you could read

Reply #34

helpmewin — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 12:26:14 GMT

You can't Win if you don't play so i guess them would be the odds

Reply #33

pickone4me — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 20:49:03 GMT

Nice job.

Reply #32

pickone4me — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 20:47:36 GMT

Wow....You really don't think much at all

Reply #31

LottoMetro — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 20:40:29 GMT

And the lottery is not

Reply #30

pickone4me — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 20:36:40 GMT

I would skip the stocks, it is ALSO good way to lose money.

Edit: word added due to someone taking comment out of context *face palm

Reply #29

haymaker — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 17:55:59 GMT

On friday I spent $3

$1 on JC5 that JP was 490G

$2 on pick6 for monday thursday current JP is $2,9 Mils. w/ a C/V of $2 Mil. - about 50% in tax= $1 Mil. yeah, I'll take it.

Won't even need anonymity, cause no one will notice.

Ok, back to the game.

Reply #28

AaronTheGreat — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 21:31:19 GMT

REALLY?!

Are we talking raffle or lottery

Reply #27

shyguitar — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 21:04:03 GMT

Hi OldSchoolHits,

Congratulations on making it for nearly 30 days without gambling. That's quite an accomplishment and you deserve to feel proud of yourself. I can only imagine the rollercoaster you must have been on for those 15 years. One of the reasons I had to cut cut out the scratch tickets a year ago was because I couldn't stand all the chasing tickets and winning nothing. I was pretty unhappy and wanted to get control of myself again. I understand that for all those years the addiction... [ More ]

Reply #26

shyguitar — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 20:52:20 GMT

Hi helpmewin,

Unfortunately having one person like myself playng far less doesn't really change the odds for you. If you think it makes a difference though, then all the best to you.

Reply #25

shyguitar — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 20:49:42 GMT

Hi maringoman,

Thanks for your kind words. I am feeling happier and more free since my reality is back in check, lol.

Reply #24

shyguitar — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 20:47:15 GMT

Hi music*,

I wasn't playing the lottery in either of those years. If Todd said that then he is a wise man.

Reply #23

shyguitar — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 20:43:30 GMT

Hi bigbear29,

Glad to hear you have cut back too. You are right about the odds being bad but that's why the lottery makes out so well. They are hoping people will keep spending money chasing a dream that for 99 percent of us will never come to fruition.

Reply #22

shyguitar — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 20:40:15 GMT

Hi Haymaker,

Good for you being able to cut back from 19 a week to 2 and 7 dollars a week. Playing your state game is smart because the odds are usually much better (even though the payout will not be the same).

Reply #21

shyguitar — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 20:25:31 GMT

Hi jjtheprince,

Glad to hear you will be cutting back. It will make you feel better to spend less. I am assuming your statement about California is in reference. To that state winning lot's of Power all jackpots. I agree about it being frustrating but the bigger states like California have a greater percentage of people who play so it's not surprising that state would have more wins. Wish I lived there because of the nice weather they have.

Reply #20

shyguitar — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 20:20:41 GMT

Hi Zinniagirl,

Thanks. Good for you having a budget of two dollars a week. It still keeps you in the game and like you say, you can still dream. I'm much happier being on my budget and feel a sense of relief. Before I started playing the lottery I was always realistic about my chances of wiinning the lottery and had only played a few times a year before 2010. I know understand how easy it can be to become addicted to playing the lottery.

Reply #19

shyguitar — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 20:14:09 GMT

Hi IPlayWeekly,

I really don'thave a good grasp on the stock market it seems like I'm aways expecting the worst to happen.I tend to be conservative with money (with the exception of my 3 years throwing money into the lottery and getting nothing back in return). Some people can do great with stocks so I am glad that you are doing well with stocks.

Reply #18

Scratch$ — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 16:30:41 GMT

Exactly!

Set a monthly budget you can afford and stick with it. Never play with money needed to pay bills. Never dip into your savings account/retirement account/life savings. Don't play until jackpots reach a certain minimum - perhaps $150 mill on PB or MM, and $200 grand on a state Cash 5 game. In states that offer both PB and MM, just play the one you like best and forget the other one. Just buy tickets/cards one day a week. If you're constantly running to the store every day, you'll be t... [ More ]

Reply #17

addai1516 — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 15:48:04 GMT

very cool , but i never cut back i play accordingly to my budget because i love numbers lol sometimes i spend $10 or 5bucks or $20 on paydays, numbers are my hobby lol. Am sure most people got hobbies and it varies from person to person. Some people are drug users , others are thieves some are bank robbers , or armed robbers , oh some prefer chasing women , womanizers , some prefer stealing cable.. My question now is missing lp member friends how long you all gonna hide out ? did you all win the... [ More ]

Reply #16

savagegoose — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 06:03:35 GMT

good on everyone for deciding , and succeeding in cutting back. i only cut back on keno, but still am keeping track of my annual lotto purchases,. Just so i know the amount and can look honestly at myself.

Reply #15

grwurston — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 05:01:19 GMT

Good for you, for realizing it and doing what you knew you had to do. Most people don't realize how much they spend day to day. A few $$$ here, a few $$$ there, they don't miss it, but it does add up. A few years back I saved all my losing tickets for an entire year just out of curiosity. At the end of the year I added them up and was amazed at what I spent. I did that 2 years in a row just to see if the first year was a fluke. It wasn't. Every one keeps track of their winnings but not their los... [ More ]

Reply #14

Astekblue — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 04:21:50 GMT

Reply #13

ThatScaryChick — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 03:14:53 GMT

That's great news, OldSchoolHits! I wish you continued success.

Reply #12

IPlayWeekly — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 03:07:41 GMT

Wow, I had no idea... stay strong man

Reply #11

LottoMetro — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 22:56:48 GMT

I'm glad to see someone post something like this, because there are many people who refuse to admit it.

I came close to getting addicting to the lottery but then I opened my eyes and started tracking just how much I was throwing away....after a year of this I discovered just how much it was and immediately all the things I could've 'better' spent the funds on came to my mind.

Lotteries aren't charity and they don't care if you go bankrupt giving them money; hard truth, but still truth.... [ More ]

Reply #10

bigbear29 — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 22:35:29 GMT

Good for oldschoolhits, if that makes you feel good, than keep it up.

Reply #9

OldSchoolHits — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 22:02:45 GMT

I'm looking forward to sharing in two more days that I've gone 30 days without gambling! I'm a gambling addict and played scratchoffs every day for 15 years. I hit rock bottom. Got tired of doing that to myself. Today is day 28, and I have money in the bank, got some new clothes, went out on the weekends, and have food in the fridge. It's embarrassing to admit that I didn't have those before. But I'm a gambling addict and it was out of control. No more. No more losing $200 in a day and feeling t... [ More ]

Reply #8

helpmewin — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 21:46:06 GMT

Good for you less people that play makes it better odds for those that do

Reply #7

maringoman — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 20:47:06 GMT

I think it's great that you were able to cut down on your gambling. More power to you

Reply #6

music* — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 14:56:50 GMT

I read in one of Todd's posts, It is all about timing and knowing when to quit . I paraphrased it and he said it in 2005 or2007.

Reply #5

bigbear29 — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 14:37:37 GMT

Yes, I have cut back also. The odds suck, the same places win, not very many people win and I still feel that it is not a truly random game.

Reply #4

haymaker — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 14:37:22 GMT

Shyguiter.

Yea, awhile back I quit the MM

Then I cut back on the PB to only when the JP got big, still doing that w/ the multi-plier

Then they recently changed the JC5 game matrix, I played everyday for years, same #set, now I play only 1 QP when the JP gets over 250G

and I happen to be at a store that sells tix.

and I still play my state's pick 6 game $1 a draw twice a week.

So overall I gone from $19 a week to somewhere between $2 and $7 a week.

Reply #3

jjtheprince — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 14:16:09 GMT

Yeah I'll be cutting back too, it's hopeless unless you live in California.

Reply #2

zinniagirl — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 14:04:40 GMT

Good for you! My budget is two dollars a week. Total of $104 a year.... Had to o thus for self control. Too easy to be enticed to spend everything you have to get nothing in return.... Still get to enjoy the fun of predicting what numbers are drawn. Can still dream....

Reply #1

IPlayWeekly — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 13:14:39 GMT

Nice, now put the money you're saving in the market. I've been on a stock buying spree.

It's been almost a year of cutting my lottery spending and so glad I cut back

shyguitar — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 11:32:41 GMT

Hi everone,

It's been almost a year of my spending way less on playing the lottery. When I first started playing in late 2010 I became obsessed with trying to win the lottery. I played too many scratch tickets and lost much more than I won. Started to realize that I could play the lottery forever and still never win a jackpot. When the new scratch tickets come out I buy 2 tickets and that's it until another new set of tickets come out. It feels great to be able to walk into any store and not... [ More ]