I understood the question, because sometimes I don't even have $6 in my wallet, but it doesn't mean I can't get $100 somewhere. I certainly would never go hungry and spend money on lottery tickets, but I've also skipped the bakery section or bought spaghetti so I could play my Lotto numbers on Sat. I definitely do not have a gambling problem either. I reread the original question, but I'm still going to keep what I wrote below, which might apply to someone else.
I agree with everyone who said that gambling, including the lottery, should fall to last place on your budget after food, rent/mortgage, and other staples. But I also agree that, if you win money, you can improve your financial situation tremendously and never have to face making that decision again. Just remember - even when the odds are 50/50 you still have just as much chance of losing than winning. The lottery odds are so much greater, so the lottery might possibly be the solution to someone's problems and answer all his wishes, but chances are - it probably ain't gonna happen. The reason I am mentioning this or even posting on this thread is something woke me up yesterday. My manager wrote an order and there were 2 of us present, so he decided to give it to one of us and flipped a coin. I called tails, it came up heads, and the other person got the commission. Actually, he never flipped it. He dropped it on the floor and then looked down and said I lost, but the point is, that could have been a nice bonus.
RJOh has the best suggestion. A good job that pays the bills and leaves a little extra to play is the answer when someone only has $6 at the end of the week. Just always hang onto what you've got until another one comes along. Take it from someone who didn't do that. (do what I say, not what I do!) In 2005 and 2006 I got into a really bad slump. Good jobs are hard to find around here and I did something really stupid in early 2005 that got me into a deep hole. Then I became very depressed. It's amazing how the months pass by and all your savings can quickly disappear. I now have credit card payments due to some emergencies and have a car payment to face each month as well. So suddenly my monthly budget has increased by hundreds. But I've always gotten myself out of jams before and kept my head above water, and 99 out of 100 times the solution has been to pick myself up and work my butt off, not to depend on a windfall.