How to not overspend on the lottery

Buying the lottery can become an addictive habit, since there are a few draws weekly for 4D, Toto and Singapore Sweep. If you are not a conscious spender, you could end up spending too much on the lottery without keeping track of it.

Here we recommend some tips for you to not overspend, so you are aware of how much money you are putting into the lottery.

1. Using Apps to monitor your winnings

There are many money management apps on the App Store and Android market with basic functions to record your expenditure and earnings for different avenues. Some examples are Expensify, Mint, Wally, Pocket Expense and Money Wise. These apps are useful in creating weekly records, colour-coded charts and tables to show how regularly you have been spending on certain items.

If you have been using such an app, you can create a “Lottery” category to keep track of how much you have been spending on weekly lottery tickets and whether your occasional winning ticket covers the costs of your spending. Perhaps this could be a reminder to cut down your spending on the lottery if you realize that you have not been winning after three years of religiously buying every draw.

2) Set aside a Piggy Bank for the Lottery

One tip is to set aside loose change for the lottery in a piggy bank. You would be less likely to feel the pinch if you are to spend dollar coins on lottery tickets than dollar notes at a time. You can put a piggy bank at a convenient spot in your house (like near the door or on your dining table) so that you can dump your spare change from your pockets whenever you need to.

Perhaps on the weekends, you can use part of this amount to buy the lottery depending on the amount of coins you have. Some of my friends do this and call this their “lucky money”, and you can tap on that fund for small gambling rounds with friends for mahjong or blackjack too.

3. Split the Ticket with your Friends

If you are aiming for a big prize, chances are that sharing your ticket to buy more combinations would increase your chance of winning. For example, you can gather a group of friends to buy a System 12 ticket together such that the cost will be split equally among everyone.

If you happen to strike the top few prizes averaging a million dollars, that would still be a satisfying amount even when divided amongst the group! However, if you guys win a smaller sum, it would suffice for a good meal or karaoke gathering that would cover the costs of your entertainment and make everyone happy as well.

Some people are more passive punters when it comes to buying the lottery as they can’t be bothered to queue. One advantage of sharing that ticket with your friends is that your enthusiastic friend would often be the one to initiate the sharing and get the ticket for the group. This saves you the effort and gains you plus points for socializing if you are lazy to buy your own ticket.

4. Only buy on Special Occasions

Another way to manage your lottery habits is to only buy when you have a meaningful occasion coming up, such as a birthday or an anniversary. On these days, you can allow yourself to buy a ticket if you are feeling exceptionally lucky and special.

Other auspicious occasions such as the Chinese New Year or commemorative dates of worship for deities are also popular for punters since you might have an unexpected blessing from higher beings as well.

This might make buying the lottery more meaningful than monotonously purchasing a ticket every draw, since a rare occasion might signify your auspicious moment as well!

Visit the Nestia app to get the latest lottery updates!

(Image Credits (from top): howstuffworks & recoveryhotline, Business Insider, CBS Local, cashcrate, Cool Hunting)

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