Everyone’s Eyes on the Jackpot
If there’s one thing we’ve all been dreaming of, it’s certainly winning the lottery. In fact, some people have taken the extent of actually planning what to do with the jackpot money in case they win. If truth be told, the prize is ridiculously huge enough to afford one a retirement fund for other family members. And as of October 2, the PCSO Ultra 6/58 Lotto prize stands at P835 million. By this, who wouldn’t be enchanted to place their bet on it right?
On a practical standpoint, putting your money in lotto isn’t a good idea at all. Statistically, your chance of winning is very remote. You can use that money for something else and that might even provide you better utility and although it’s never the same as winning the lotto jackpot prize, it’s certainly more practical and achievable in a lifetime.
Catch me in my live training events! (quick plug)
The heart of why I do this seminars is I want to build a generation of Filipinos with the right foundation in stock investing. I want to bring smart investing to every Filipino around the world! If you would like to know more on how you could time the market checkout the trainings below.
Stock Smarts General Santos – October 6 – 7, 2018
Stock Smarts Cebu — October 27 – 28, 2018
Stock Smarts Taiwan – November 3
Stock Smarts Davao — November 10 – 11, 2018
Stock Smarts Dubai — November 16 – 20, 2018
Stock Smarts Singapore — November 28 – December 2, 2018
Stock Smarts Manila — November 24, 25, December 8, 9 & 15
Top 10 Stocks for 2019 — December 15, 2018
Out of all the possible digit combinations, what are the odds of you getting the winning ticket? It’s safe to say that it’s almost close to impossible. And to be more specific, it’s actually 1 in 28,989,675. What are the odds! While every Filipino hopes that they get to be the lucky lad to bag the P835 million, it is a complete waste of time and money. The lottery is only a mechanism used by the government to pool funds.
Okay let’s sit this through and be practical. First of all, let’s consider the statistics. Based from the data given above, do you think you’d be the one out of the 29 million? You have a million contenders in the line and there is a remote chance of you being picked. Second, it’s a complete waste of money. Yes, a ticket only costs you P24.00 but if you could take the sum of that in a week, a month or even a year, you’d be able to buy it for something useful. The game is based on luck and obviously, it is what keeps the public excited – the uncertainty.
Since the release of this year’s inflation rate, the BSP has used its key policy rates as a contractionary measure to control money supply. Probably by now, this question has crossed your mind: How does the BSP control the money supply using its interest rates?
A deep understanding of the matter will somehow help us predict future monetary policies to be used by the BSP and protect our investments from the market changes brought about by it and as the saying goes: An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
So, Central Banks, in general, uses its key policy rates as a contractionary measure. If it may be explained in simple terms, the interest rate referred herein is that rate which banks borrow money from the government. So, in order to compensate for the interest charged to banks, they naturally charge higher rates to the public. If the BSP decides to increase its rates, the banks have no choice but to increase their rates as well. If this happens, the public is discouraged in borrowing money. This means consumer spending drops and inflation slows.
Lotto vs. Investment
If you’re able to spare even a small amount of money every day for a lottery ticket, I don’t see why you can’t spare some for investing. You see, people have this misconception when it comes to investing. They assume that investing involves a huge amount of money and that it’s complex because of the numerous securities to choose from and varied returns, but in all honesty, it’s not.
In fact, people should understand that investing starts from savings and this savings doesn’t have to be a hefty amount to get started with. Why should you start investing? Prices of goods and services are increasing. Your savings account cannot even cover the net effects of inflation. Why place your chances on a lottery that you may not even win in your lifetime than that of actually expecting returns on a certain date? Remember, don’t let money go to waste.
