Could the lotto be my retirement plan?
Do you think I will win the lotto? This might seem like a crazy thing to write about, especially considering the fact that I advocate investing in long-term investments (such as my ETF investments) and I’m generally not a risk taker. But this is real life!
Someone told me that he’d rather play the National Lottery than invest because in his mind, the South African markets (in fact many global markets) are not dissimilar to gambling. This sparked an idea for me as I’m sure many readers feel the same.
My National Lottery experiment
I decided to play R100 on a standard Lotto “quick pick” ticket at the beginning of each month and track my winnings (if any) and also compare this to having saved my money in a bank account and earned 5%. I’m only going to do this for 12 months as I don’t really feel that lucky and I don’t particularly advocate this as a good idea.
I’ve actually never played the lotto and don’t how to win lotto numbers.
The results
Here are the final results, and as you can see, I have lost big time in the lotto. Note that I tried smaller amounts per week (see January 2020) and also tried the instant cash win games on the site. This was due to suggestions from readers.
I’ve also been asked how many numbers to win lotto in South Africa, or what tricks there are. Sorry to disappoint you, but there are no tricks and no ways to improve your chances. It’s all just a gamble.
The “5% in Bank” column is showing the interest I would earn for the period and the final row is showing the running total had I simply left the money in the bank.
Thus, by the end of the experiment I have spent R1,199 on lotto tickets (and some of the quick win games) and my winnings for all of this was merely R144.20. Had I simply put my money in the bank I’d have R1,227.28.
Not a great lotto experiment!
What now
The experiment is done and I will certainly not be playing anymore. I’m clearly not a very lucky person. LOL
Some feedback that I have received about this is that the Lotto is a form of entertainment as it has an alluring factor. True, I guess.
The excitement of the “unknown“.
The excitement of the “what if“.
The reality of the lotto is that only 1 in 50 gazillion gamillion will ever win big.
However, if you play purely for entertainment that is okay; provided you budget for it accordingly.
You can lose it all!
Please remember that you can really lose all your money in the national lotto and that it is simply a game of chance. And, your chances are slim!
Play, have fun.
But don’t rely on ever winning anything in the National Lottery. If you do, lucky you!
Fascinating experiment…
Instead of actually spending the money, you could just have selected some numbers, and checked whether they matched that weeks number to establish your “winnings”. Payout sheets could be used to see how much you “pretend win”, unless of course you think you would have hit some jackpot in one year’s time. Take the money not wasted and invest it instead. 🙂
That’s a good idea but then what if I actually win? LOL – I think actually buying the ticket just makes the experiment more “real”
“The reality of the lotto is that only 1 in 50 gazillion gamillion will ever win big.” 🙂 Good luck. 😅
Great experiment. I’m curious what your conclusion would be if you win an inordinate amount of money…