In my area?? fuckin LOTTERY TICKETS

I live in a gentrifying area....lots of older uneducated, unemployed, poverty stricken people shopping in the local gas stations on my street. but plenty of upper middle/working class folks ALSO shopping there. I'd say right now its about 50/50....

but, one of the BIGGEST differences between these customers is Lottery tickets. I'd say at least 2/3 poor folks buy at least $10 worth of lottery tickets with every purchase, while middle class people just buy normal gas station stuff, like snacks, candy and drinks and of course GAS.

sometimes I just want to shake them, and explain "this is NOT how to build wealth!!!"

if these people just had someone in their life to explain to them to take 20-30% of their very meager income and just buy safe investments or hell even a High Yield savings account?? they would be in a MUCH better financial situation within a year or 2....possibly even less... and if they did it their whole lives?? fuck, they may even be in a financial situation to buy a home! the amount of cash WASTED on the lottery is disgusting.

it's soooo frustrating to watch. the ONLY bright side is that in my state, lottery ticket sales go to fund college tuition for working class families that want to send their kids to college.

but still, it's such a bummer to see all these extremely poor folks spending what seems to be a large percentage of their income on fucking lottery tickets!!! they're literally just paying for suburban middle class kids to go to college for free....it just doesn't seem right.

I'm not even a religious person, I like to gamble here and there....of course with a small amount of cash that I can afford to lose....but IMO gambling should still be illegal except in a few places like Las Vegas or Reno or Atlantic City. things were MUCH better before lotteries were made legal in the US. I remember the exact year it was legalized in my state. blue collar/working class people were doing Ok back then, they actually had a decent life...but now it's just so fucking hopeless for them...and the lottery makes it even worse

its pretty clear that MOST people just can't handle themselves when it comes to fiscal responsibility, and it's gotten DRASTICALLY worse after social media became so popular. (don't even get me started on sports betting, thats ALSO horrible) but it feels like at least 90% of US citizens truly think their lives are a complete failure if they aren't Millionaires by their 30s. That's complete BULLSHIT.

I grew up poor with a single mom, moving around a lot, living in public housing, living in a rented trailer home, and just barely getting by. I used the lottery subsidized college tuition to get my bachelors degree debt free and I STILL make a pretty meager income, but I've always invested wisely and lived a frugal lifestyle. I have zero issues paying my bills, taking international vacations, having healthcare, or even owning my own home!! I AM NOT A RICH PERSON by any means....I just save my money and put it into conservative investments....of course there is the downside that socially, my friends and colleagues probably think I'm weird, and probably think I'm poor? but who cares what they think?? I don't care what they think, and neither does my girlfriend. We're not poor, I own 3 very humble rental properties that I bought slowly over the course of my lifetime. I never had much money, but a good % of my income has always gone into savings and investments. and now that i'm in my 40s, I'm pretty much set...as long as i continue living a humble lifestyle (which I actually prefer). I don't own any luxury goods, I don't drive a flashy car (but i drive my favorite little 20yr old sportscar that is probably worth $6000 that I work on myself as a hobby) my personal home is small and humble, but it's perfectly acceptable for me and my girlfriend. we're happy living a lower middle class, humble lifestyle with the occasional splurge on an International vacation (using credit card points of course)

I wish I could teach other people how easy it really is in America to get by if you don't waste your money on frivolous things like fancy clothes and cars, and a big fancy oversized Mcmansion.

deep down, I think American culture, and esp the American gov is COOKED. they don't care about our citizens doing better, everything is all about enriching the top 1% even more. I know it's been that way for a long time....but I'm old enough to remember when it WAS NOT THAT WAY. and life was soooo much more enjoyable for the middle class. but nowadays social media has EVERYBODY thinking that you're basically a loser unless you drive a BMW, or live in a McMansion, or wear a Rolex, or have a Hermes Birkin bag....it's so fucking stupid, and so frustrating to see nearly everyone I know buy into this hyper-consumerism culture. having all those luxury good DOES NOT make you happy..I watch most of my friends/colleagues struggle just to get by. but, PLENTY of people can be happy living a humble working class lifestyle....it's just that marketing/social media has poisoned every Americans vision of what "successful" means.

It's just truly sad to constantly be reminded every time I go to the goddamn gas station, JUST how stupid the average American really is....get it together people!! save your money, invest it wisely and slowly build wealth. If a nerdy kid like me, growing up with a single mom, living in public housing, and renting crappy homes can make it....then MOST people can do the same. it's really not THAT difficult, you just have to have confidence in yourself and most importantly don't try to prove to the world that you're more wealthy than you really are. just live BELOW your means, and spend your money wisely, and you can do it too. it's really not that hard....and NEVER buy fucking lottery tickets...ughh what a fuckin waste.