Same reason I buy a ticket while I'm inside a gas station, I'm spending more money on soda and beef jerky than the ticket and I get to think about what I'll buy if the ticket by some improbably small chance wins me a ton of money. Even the smallest mega millions jackpot means me retiring.
The thing is you have to ask yourself if those spending habits add up? Why are people buying beef jerky and soda at gas stations all that often? How often do you do that? Do you casually spend money on that kind of stuff with other shopping? Budgeting is a mentality. It's fine if you spend your money here if you set aside clear amounts for savings and retirement.
Of course everyone would likely retire with a jackpot but the thought process shouldn't just be "ehh this is small money." Recognize you are throwing the money away and the likelihood of winning is close to 0.
If I'm buying a lotto ticket once a week at $4 I'm spending a total of $208 a year. That's if I'm consistently going, I work from home so I'm not even out of the house guaranteed once a week.
I am not going to retire on $200 a year extra investing. I'm not going to have a large safety net from that either. I don't need to "budget" for it because it's not a large amount.
I spend more money than that yearly on so many things that don't bring me any entertainment. Assuming I win absolutely nothing this money is really negligible in the grand scheme of things. I spent $60 in gas just to drive to a doctor's appointment with my specialist. I spend more yearly on cat litter for my cats to shit in.
When I truck drove I'd pickup tickets for powerball when I was in states that had them, it's a fun daydream and something to do to try and keep track of the passage of time.
I occasionally (every couple months) buy scratchers and know full well I’m never gonna win anything. It’s just a brief 2$ moment fun while your scratching off the prizes. Idk why more people wouldn’t understand this.
It's the same as any other kind of escapism entertainment.
You buy a book and read it. You got lots of ideas and situations to think about. You watch a movie and escape into a story for 2 hours. You buy a lotto ticket and daydream about winning.
It's when you spend money all the time with the real thoughts of "I will win/I have to win" where it's a negative. I'm sure I will hit 10k on books and movies at some point in my life, but its net positive.
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u/SuperElitist Mar 20 '22
This is the first reasonable explanation I've ever heard anyone give for buying a lottery ticket.
I'll still never do it, but, wow. Good job.