Endymion
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Some people here in this forum put money into lotto tickets. They hope to make money. Even good ol' Endymion wants money too. But let's see what the real story is behind the Lotto.
According to the Virginia Lottery, the odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot is: 1 in 135,145,920. That means if you buy lotto tickets for one dollar, you may have to spend $135,149,920 (that's 135 MILLION dollars) before you win a jackpot.
If you buy one ticket per week for a Mega Millions jackpot every week for twenty years, you will have spent $1,040 dollars. Your chances of winning are almost zero until you start to spend near $135 million.
So for playing the lotto for twenty years (52 weeks times $1 a week times 20 years), your net cash gain is: $ -1,040. You lost over a thousand dollars on your investment. That's right, for each person here in AllDeaf, if you play the lotto at $1 per week for 20 years, you will lose $1,040.
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Fortunately, there's a way to earn more money than the $ -1,040 the lotto gives you!
I'm going to keep this very basic. Let's say you take your $52 (52 weeks times $1 a week) every year and you put it into an investment that yields 10% compounded annually for twenty years.
Through calculations, we find that after 20 years, you will have $2,978! You have over four thousand more dollars in net cash flow than you would have had if you bought lotto tickets!
Results for $1 a week:
Return on investment for Lotto: $ -1,040
Return on investment for 10%: $2,978
Difference: $4,018
But let's make this more fun. Let's say instead of investing $1 in a week, you put in $2. That means every year, you'll put in $104.
Results for $2 a week:
Return on investment for Lotto: $ -2,080
Return on investment for 10%: $5,956
Difference: $8,036
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The point? If you want to get money to buy your mother a house, invest it elsewhere. See a financial advisor about how to invest, they are VERY helpful! The more you spend on the lotto, the more you lose. The more you invest, the more you win.
And just for those who are curious, let's say you invest $200 a month ($2,400 a year) for twenty years, compounded annually at 10%. How much money do you have at the end of 20 years? $137,460! You only put in $48,000 over 20 years, which means you made $89,460! The power of the time value of money is amazing, isn't it?
According to the Virginia Lottery, the odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot is: 1 in 135,145,920. That means if you buy lotto tickets for one dollar, you may have to spend $135,149,920 (that's 135 MILLION dollars) before you win a jackpot.
If you buy one ticket per week for a Mega Millions jackpot every week for twenty years, you will have spent $1,040 dollars. Your chances of winning are almost zero until you start to spend near $135 million.
So for playing the lotto for twenty years (52 weeks times $1 a week times 20 years), your net cash gain is: $ -1,040. You lost over a thousand dollars on your investment. That's right, for each person here in AllDeaf, if you play the lotto at $1 per week for 20 years, you will lose $1,040.
--------
Fortunately, there's a way to earn more money than the $ -1,040 the lotto gives you!
I'm going to keep this very basic. Let's say you take your $52 (52 weeks times $1 a week) every year and you put it into an investment that yields 10% compounded annually for twenty years.
Through calculations, we find that after 20 years, you will have $2,978! You have over four thousand more dollars in net cash flow than you would have had if you bought lotto tickets!
Results for $1 a week:
Return on investment for Lotto: $ -1,040
Return on investment for 10%: $2,978
Difference: $4,018
But let's make this more fun. Let's say instead of investing $1 in a week, you put in $2. That means every year, you'll put in $104.
Results for $2 a week:
Return on investment for Lotto: $ -2,080
Return on investment for 10%: $5,956
Difference: $8,036
----------------------
The point? If you want to get money to buy your mother a house, invest it elsewhere. See a financial advisor about how to invest, they are VERY helpful! The more you spend on the lotto, the more you lose. The more you invest, the more you win.
And just for those who are curious, let's say you invest $200 a month ($2,400 a year) for twenty years, compounded annually at 10%. How much money do you have at the end of 20 years? $137,460! You only put in $48,000 over 20 years, which means you made $89,460! The power of the time value of money is amazing, isn't it?
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