The Lottery Won’t Be Your Christmas Miracle

Did you hear? The second largest jackpot in Nationwide Mega Millions history ($636M) will be drawn Tuesday night (Dec-17-2013). That’s about half of $1B. As it usually happens with the lottery, the bigger the prize, the more people get enticed to play.

This happens despite the enormous odds against winning. Recently the process has been altered to make it harder for anyone person to win. The odds have gone from 1 in 56 to 1 in 75.

This rush to play the lotto also happens in spite of the mostly terrible history of lottery winners. Winning a large amount of money can spell disaster for a person when they lack the wisdom to handle their finances in the right way.

So, why do people still try the lottery? I think it’s because deep down, we all want a quick solution to our problems. We want to lose weight without the proper diet and exercise. We want a great relationship without putting in the time to get to know the other person.

In terms of money, we all want that Christmas miracle that will solve all of our financial problems. If we are honest, we all have thought about what we would do with $1M. Imagine having the opportunity of winning $636M.

Now, I don’t play the lottery because I think it’s a waste of money and time. If you are planning to buy a ticket, it’s your money. But I want you to think about something else while you wait for the drawing.

Instead of playing the almost impossible odds of the lottery, why don’t you decide what you could do to improve your financial situation?

• If you want more income, what are you doing to make yourself more valuable at work? As someone has said, your salary increase will become effective when you become effective.
• If you don’t like your job, what are you doing to have a different career track 1 year from now, 3 years from now, 5 years from now?
• If you need more knowledge, what books are you reading right now?
• What are your money goals for 2014?

In essence, you can play the lottery and hope you hit the jackpot. Given the odds, it would be indeed a Christmas miracle.

But achieving financial success is not a matter of miracles. It involves determination, hard work, and persistence.

Question: What will you today to improve your financial situation for tomorrow?

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This post is also available in: Spanish