I sell lottery tickets every day I work behind the Customer Service counter. It seems like the young to middle aged people spend the least. Older, retired folks spend 20 bucks a shot on one scratch ticket, plus an additional 20 bucks a shot on lottery tickets. The most I've experienced anyone winning was $500. The woman who won this on a $20 scratch ticket shushed me when I exclaimed, "You won $500!" She said that her husband was in the checkout lane near by and she didn't want him to know how much she had won because the last time she won he took all her money. Who could blame her then!
We sell lotto tickets, scratch tickets and pull-tabs. There are people who play everyday and come up to the counter at least five times. There are people who are serious about winning and want reports of the winning numbers to compare to their favorite numbers. There are people who want the losing tickets back so they don't choose those numbers again. There are also people who have plastic sleeves to keep their lottery tickets in to keep them organized. I'm not sure where they get these. Then there are the people who have their tickets so wadded up that it is impossible to put them through the machine to check.
What is the motivation behind these acts, to win enough money to be "Set for Life"? We all think how easy life would be if we won millions. However, I've seen those TV shows that show the lottery winners and how they are after winning. Most of them have lost it all within a year or two. They invested in bad deals or just spent it all away. There are jealous people who are mean to them afterwards. It creates tension between family members. You wonder, "Is it worth it?"
Most people want to "keep up with the Jones". Their friends have a Lincoln Navigator or a Cadillac Escalade, and they would do anything to have one to be of the same status. So, they refinance their homes or they take out loans. Some work three jobs, whatever it takes.
There are people who have bought brand new houses they couldn't afford to be with the "in" crowd. These people have a nice home with no furniture. They can't afford the furniture after they spent all their money on their house.
Greed makes people do stupid things without thinking. They commit crimes thinking they'll never get caught, only to get caught and end up in prison or lose their jobs. Then where did they get? Did they get ahead? No they just ruined their reputation. They ruined their good name. They shamed their families. They can't show their face in public again.
I know a woman from a nearby town who worked for a bank and embezzled thousands of dollars. She is running free now. But, the price she paid was a divorce. People who are in thousands of dollars of credit card debt or in foreclosure of losing their homes end up doing very stupid, desperate things, thinking they are helping the situation. There are companies that prey on these poor people. These companies are quick loan companies and debt elimination companies. Quick loans fix the problem temporarily, only creating more problems further down the road when these loan are due and they can't pay them back. Debt elimination companies promise to take all your problems away by paying your bill off, when in reality they take your money and never pay those companies a dime, thus, creating more debt and law suits.
Maybe staying at the status you are at is not so bad after all. You don't create debt you can't pay. Not keeping up with the Jones may not just be conservative, it may be smart too. Hard work should pay off. Working your ass off should get you somewhere in life. You shouldn't have to be old and retired to enjoy life and do things that makes you happy. Life isn't always fair. Sometimes we get the luck of the draw. Sometimes we get lumps of coal.
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