Lottery discussion

if you invest $200/mth (which is what you are spending on lottery tickets) in a mutual fund, in 30 yrs you can have:

at 5%/yr yield - 146K
at 10%/yr yield - 323K
if really good investment and lucky (which is what you are going for)
at 15%/yr yield - 766K

 

Did your friend drop out of school, or did he go to another school to escape the hounding?

I'd rather my sons finish school than win a lotto and drop out of school.

 

Just to give you an idea of what you are potentially throwing away.

Assumptions:

10% annual return on money (historical market return during its existence)
$200 deposit once a month every month for 40 years.
No withdrawals during the 40 year period.
Reasonable fees.

Given the above, in 40 years using a Time Value of Money calculator you would have approximately $1,265,000 dollars in that account.

Just an example of showing the power of savings and compounding.

 

Actually, its $1,062,223.20 to be more accurate.

Using the formula FV = PV(1+i)^n.

But you are right, compounding your money will net you a good amount of cash if invested properly.

 

FYI, I used the following calculator. I can't vouch for its accuracy.

http://www.zenwealth.com/businessfinanceonline/TVM/TVMCalculator.html

 

OP. Invest your money. Read Mr Money Mustache

 

I'm putting $200/mo, but dollar cost averaging over 3 funds that I expect to yield 7%.

I'm quite impressed with those numbers above.

 

Lol I like what this thread has turned into.

 

Inflation tho

 

On top of that, the Federal Govt taxes your winnings. The government is the real winner

 

Or maybe he got really bored.

 

You don't invest in lotto. You gamble in lotto.

 

another mustachian! that guy's blog has changed my life.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. We've been able to get rid of all our debt that has interest and will be completely debt free by the end of the year. Time to start reading up on stuff like this.

 

Mr money mustache is a great blog. If you want a similar one, i also recommend http://livingstingy.blogspot.com.

 

Someone got the jackpot from Florida.

It's always either from Florida or California.

Where's the Texas love?

 

Jvu needs to buy more tickets

 

This guy's blog is much better than Dave Ramsey, although Ramsey is good for beginners. MMM takes it to the next level.