Dear Dave,
I've been playing the lottery a bit lately. I'm a Christian,
and I was wondering what your views are on this. We've
been struggling financially, and it seems that a chance
to win millions is worth a buck or two. Your advice and
opinion on this would be cherished.
Dawn

Dear Dawn,
You're kidding. Do you really want my opinion? I don't think
you do, but here goes. I'll tell you ahead of time-it's not going
to be pretty!

Basically, you've told me that you're having money troubles
and at the same time you're throwing money out the window.
You can tell yourself that it's only a buck or two if you want,
but that little bit of money represents a lot of financial
irresponsibility in your life. You're thinking somebody has to win,
right? Well, let me tell you something. You're more likely to be
hit by lightning five times and survive than you are to win the
lottery. Five times! How many people do youknow who have
been hit once by lightning and survived, much less five times?

You're not going to win, Dawn. Think I'm just being negative?
No, I'm not. I'm being positive. I'm positive you're not going
to win! Stop placing your hope in the wrong things.

Honestly, as a Christian, ask yourself if you believe God
thinks this is a good use of your money. The lottery is a tax
on poor people and people who can't do math. How do I know
this? Because these are the only people who play the lottery!
-Dave

(responsibility leads to wealth)

Dear Dave,
Why is it that some people have enough money for
pizza, lottery tickets, cable television and cigarettes,
but they don't buy something as inexpensive as
renter's insurance, and then they expect someone
else to bail them out when a fire destroys their home?
Keith

Dear Keith,

This kind of behavior falls into the Stupid Tax category. It's
an aggravating thing, but at the same time there's some-
thing about fire that elicits sympathy from me. Even if there's
stupidity involved in what happened, it's such an emotionally
devastating event. But I think it's important to talk about
what you've brought up.

Let's put it another way. Why are there people who get mad
at others for building wealth, or expect other people to bail
them out after they've behaved irresponsibly? Ninety percent
of America's millionaires are first-generation rich. They started
with nothing, and instead of buying lottery tickets and smokes,
they saved money and bought things like renter's insurance.
They kept things like car insurance and health insurance
in place, so that if they totaled their car or had to have an
operation, they could pay for it instead of filing bankruptcy!

In other words, they were responsible. They stayed out of
debt because they were mature enough and responsible enough
to delay pleasure, and then after years of living this way, they
looked up and discovered they were millionaires. That's how it
happens. You delay bits and pieces of fleeting pleasure for a
quality life in the future. Now, you don't trade away all
momentary pleasures. You don't have to completely give up
fun to win with money, but you trade impulsive, immature
decisions and purchases for the reward of a better life later.

Most poor people delay none of the pleasures. They live only
in the moment, and that's why they stay poor. If they want
a better washer and dryer, they'll rent-to-own instead of
saving up for a little while and buying a decent, used combo
in the classifieds. I understand that bad things sometimes
happen to good people, and you can end up broke that way,
too. But I firmly believe that in most cases, it's not that they
don't have the money, it's more a case of they don't have
a vision for the future. They surrender a great life down the
road for "Thank God it's Friday. Oh God, it's Monday!"
-Dave

For more financial advice, please visit www.davesays.org.

How to Cut the
Food-Budget Fat
Dave fans offer
suggestions for saving
some money but still
eating well.

The situation: A particular family of 2 parents and 2
kids spends a whopping
$1,000 each month on
food! Needing some quick
advice to get that number
down, the wife went to the community forums on My
Total Money Makeover.
com and asked for advice.

Here's some of the advice
this family received:
Leave Some for Next Time
We try to make meals that
will feed more than our
family of 4. This gives me
leftovers for lunch. I make
a lot from scratch and limit
the amounts of desserts
and such to buy. Also,
are you using cash? Our grocery/dining bill went down
20% just by using cash.

Lesson learned: Cooking
2 meals at once can keep
you from eating out because
you get home from work and
your meal is already there
waiting for you. It also never
hurts to spend with cash—
wait, yes it does. That's why
spending with cash is best!
For more...