http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060109/od_uk_...conomy_wealth_1

Why didnt I think of that??!

lol...

Most telling part of the article:

"The poor were the most likely to say winning the lottery was the most practical way to gain wealth -- with 38 percent of those earning less than $25,000 a year choosing that option compared to just 9 percent of those earning $75,000 or more.

African Americans and those over the age of 65 were also more likely to believe winning the lottery was more practical than saving each month -- at 30 percent and 31 percent, respectively."

That is SOOOOOO not true. The best way to get rich is to play BlackJack.

headline should be 4 out of 5 Americans are idiots

I wouldn't say they were idiots.

The article makes me sad. People, particularly poor, don't think there's a way out of their situation, other than the elusive lottery and feel hopeless/helpless/desperate. And rather than shooting for "comfortable" they are hoping on "filthy rich".

I used to be one of these people. I thought you had to win the lottery, own a booming business, be one of those people in the "get rich with no money down" schemes, inherit millions of dollars from your uncle that owns lots of oil, hitting a jackpot in a casino or falling down and breaking a leg, arm and collar bone at Walmart to get rich in this country. I live in a low to middle income family. My mom and dad worked so hard for money. My Dad worked 18-20 hours a day to get money for bills and put food on a table for a family of 6. That is two full time jobs Bills werent getting paid (i.e. electricity, water and mortgage). 3 years ago i was lucky to land a job in I.T with no certifications or a degree and very little experience. I would help with any bills my Mom and Dad need help with. By being uneducated about money im in bad shape. My credit is terrible, i have no savings and im not enrolled in my company 401k that matches $1 for $1 up to 6%

Thats before Creditboards. I know now that it is possible for somebody like me to be wealthy. I understand how credit works and how to save money. I currently have two checking accounts: one is for my personal things and the other is for my bills. My paycheck is direct deposited to both of the accounts. I have two savings account: one is with INGDirect and the other an EMERGENCY FUND. I made myself a budget and im sticking to it. I enrolled in my company's 401k @ 10%. Im learning how to invest my money instead of just throwing it out. Im only 24 and i should of been in better shape than im in now. But after educated myself with the help of Creditboards IM confident enough that i will be a millionaire in the next 30-40 years or close to it. hehehe

Unlike my Dad and Mom. MY MONEY will work hard for me instead of im working hard for money.

P.S. I love my Mom and Dad. They sacrificed a lot for me and my sisters.

I absolutley agree. When you are very poor, there is no money to save. Period. You can't save money when you are struggling to feed your family and keep the heat on. To those the suggestion of "put 10% in savings" is as realistic as winning the lottery.

Sure, one could say "take that $2 you spend every week on tickets and put it in a savings account", but really, how long before it will even feel like you are building anything worthwhile. If you are in a constant battle to stay fed, housed and clothed, it would be so much easier just to pick the right six numbers.

I grew up very poor, coming home from school to find utilities shut off and eating top ramen for weeks on end. There were no savings, money was lifeblood and we didn't have any to be stickin' away!!

I don't condone it, I just understand it. My mantra is enroll in school! Educate yourself, that is the real lottery. One class at a time......

Flipster...You've come a long way and have much to be proud of. It would be cool if creditboards had its own t.v show...to counteract the myth of the "lottery". get rich quick schemes, pay day loans, and other predators, etc. Poor people just don't have as much access to the internet...

I also have family that could greatly benefit from the info on these boards. But, to be honest, they don't take the whole credit/money management thing seriously. I expect they'll ask me about the board again, when they get turned down for that mortgage, car, or cc.

I like it! Ever consider adding it to your signature

This seems to coincide with the mentality here at the credit boards. Look at the 20 million dollar thread. Most of the people think that fate, luck or some other mysterious force will bail them out. They keep waiting for ED McMan, the powerball, or something similiar to help them along. It is call external locus of control...a direct opposite of personal responsibility. It's amazing what kind of luck $50.00 a month compounded over 20 years would bring. Nobody wants to hear it, they want the Heratio Alger stories with no work! Sometimes I hate being the Grinch, but reality is reality and lightning striking you 20 times is about your odds of powerball bringing your ship in.

damning an entire board is not called for.

it is Friday...have a beer and relax! LOL

Anna Nicole Smith had an interesting method for immediate wealth, too. Unfortunately, she had to deal with step kids. For my next mate I'll try and find a rich, childless old coot.

For a lot of people in that survey, the lottery may be the only way to get rich, If you're 65 and aren't rich now, how are you going to build a fortune? If you don't have marketable skills or thepotential to develop them, you won't get rich on wages, especially if you're feeding a family.

Having said that- the rich uncle/Ed McMahon/lottery scenario isn't the answer. There are plenty of stories about how lottery winners end up squandering it and somehow end up less happy than they were before. My ex-husband inherited $300,000 from his mother in 1984. While $100K of it went into the down payment on our house, he bought a new car, $6,000 worth of audio equipment, a $6,000 watch- I could go on. When he lost his job and stayed around the house drinking instead of finding another one, the rest of it was drained away to pay living expenses. I was working full time but my income didn't cover all the expenses, especially the way he spent money. After the divorce, he walked away with $100K from the sale of the house, and all his debts paid. He was living in a homeless shelter in less than 2 years. I also got $100K. I put a down payment on another house and sold it at a profit of $200K 7 years later. That went into the stock market in 2003 (didn't need it when I moved to a cheaper area). The rest is history.

It's all in how you manage your money.

What in the hell are you talking about. First of all, nobody here advocates throwing control of your fate to a third party.
CB's very existance is based on helping consumers regain control of their finances, not hand control over to a powerball ticket.
Second, that 2-million thread is full of people showing generosity, giving large chunks of their new fortunes to worthy causes and investing for future needs, not people patiently waiting for their presumed ship to come in and bail them out.



Link me one thread where the OP's stated goal is to tread water until they pick the right numbers.
One.

Your presumption that this is a board full of people digging huge financial holes on the premise that one day a lottery check will bail them out is about the worst pile of BS I've seen lobbed this way yet.
Knock it off.

What I find objectionable with lotteries is how they are marketed. If you notice much if not all lottery commercials have a slant that is directed to the lower income facets of our society. When studying economics in college, the point of lotteries came up. Basically, lotteries can be viewed as a regressive tax along with sales taxes. The people that pay them at the lower income levels do so with a larger percentage of their income than those who are wealthier. Without getting too political, state governments should be ashamed of themselves for acting like what I feel as being akin to the local drug dealer for the poor.

what's the old joke?; lotteries are a tax of people who don't know probability theory.