We Really Mean It: If Playing The Lottery Makes You Unhappy, Take A Break Or Stop

You’ve heard us say this before, but it bears repeating: If playing the lottery is making you unhappy or causing you stress, please take a break or stop completely.

We’ve heard from a few folks recently who are really unhappy with their lottery play and have definitely let us know that. Their inquiries were a reminder for me to revisit the issue here on the blog.      

We want you to know your limits, both monetarily and emotionally. Buying lottery tickets should never be a way to fulfill a financial need. Winning AND not winning are both part of playing the lottery. It’s not a source of income or an investment.

Lottery tickets are something you should buy just for fun from your discretionary spending. That's the money you have left to spend, invest or save after you've paid for necessities like food, clothing, and housing. From your disposable income, you can choose to buy things like movies, books, exercise gear – or lottery tickets.

The definition of "playing within your means" varies from person to person along with their income and circumstances. If you decide to play the lottery, determine in advance how much you want to spend and then follow that plan. When you do that, you're more likely to stay within your set limit and not overspend.

We keep a lot of tips and reminders under the “Play Smart, Be Informed” player’s guide on our website. Check out the details there to see how you’re doing in knowing lottery facts.

Comments

[Mary Neubauer]

You've asked a really good question about the top prizes in our scratch games, Tonya. I'm answering your question in the blog entry I'm posting today (June 25)!

[Tonya]

I totally agree with knowing when to quit, because when I tell you, I've spent thousands on lottery with no return, its sickening,but it's at my discretion but I would like to add that Iowa's lottery doesn't have prizes like other states,I havent seen a ticket that pays out more that 300,000 ever, where most states have prizes up to a Million, what's up @Iowa Lottery