Admit it. You were one of the millions of Americans standing in line last week buying a ticket for the highest-ever $550 million Powerball jackpot. If you were, you certainly weren’t alone, although you might have more cash in your pocket than the guy in back of you. According to a 2008 study from “The Journal of Risk and Uncertainty,” households earning under $13,000 per year spend 9% of their yearly income…almost $1,200…on lottery tickets alone!
We’ve all heard the saying that you’re more likely to die from a lightning strike on the way to the store than actually win the lottery. The actual odds agree. One website showed that your odds of winning a lottery jackpot are 1 in 175,223,510. So the next time you’re tempted to stop off and buy that lotto ticket, think twice and use the money to fill up your gas tank instead.