I have never bought even a single lottery ticket in my entire life, not even when the jackpot is super high.
Once when there was a record jackpot, I listened to some talk show DJs saying that the jackpot is so high, that if you had enough money to buy every possible combination of numbers, so that you would be guaranteed to win, you would win more than you lost. What they failed to take into account is that you would very likely have to split the jackpot with one or more co-winners, plus you would have to pay taxes on the the money you won back.
Playing the stock market has a much higher probability of making you a millionaire.
Actually some have caused their own homeless problem after doing things repeatedly even after relatives have tried to help. This is from personal experience.
Actually you can write off gambling losses on your taxes so you COULD theoretically buy all the combinations of lottery tickets, win big, and come out ahead. There are a couple problems. You mentioned that someone else would be likely to win part of the jackpot with all the people buying tickets. So, if there was a jackpot where you could win $600 million and there are 292 million possibilities, you would basically write off $292 million if you bought all the combinations and only won on one ticket.
The other problem is that there would be no way in reality to actually buy all the possibilities. The system isnāt setup that way and you simply couldnāt buy all the tickets and have them printed in the time required. It would take so many people going to so many different locations and logistically it just isnāt possible. That is the real reason why you wouldnāt do this.
Iām guessing he lost his wallet or forgot money, and was frantically searching for spare change enough to get home. This is not strange behaviour, just a bad guy. I would have asked if he needed help. Or took a chill pill and waited my turn in the next line. Itās a bit dramatic to say it was a dangerous situation.
Yeah splitting a couple million lottery winnings with someone else reminds me when my nephew said āI hate pretty flowersā. You can only deduct losses to offset winnings, not more. So if you spent $100,000 for tickets and won a million, youād still owe tax on $900,000. I donāt buy lottery tickets but the way I come out ahead is when I win some money, I try to buy a new tool or something I want before I lose it.
Please donāt make excuses for inconsiderate jerks who inconvenience the rest of society
The guy didnāt care that he was making people behind him wait for absolutely no reason
He could have easily cleaned his van in the main Costco parking lot, before or after he got gas. It was 5:30 in the morning, and there was plenty of room for him to do his thing
The gas station is not the place to decide to clean your vehicle, especially if there are people waiting behind you, and you have no intention of actually getting gas. Like I said, at no point in time did he have the filling nozzle in use
Suffice it to say, I am in complete disagreement with you
I am not an enabler. Making excuses for people indirectly condones their unacceptable behaviour and allows them to take advantage of more considerate people
At one point, he looked back and SAW me waiting in line behind him
And then he got right back to cleaning out the van
And at no point did he make a move towards the filling nozzle
And all the other pumps also had a line of cars waiting
So itās either wait forever for him, or move to another pump, and be at the back of a different line
heās a total jerk, with not excuse whatsoever
As I said just earlier today, the Costco main parking lot was completely empty. He had all the space he could possibly want, just a few yards away
In my neck of the woods, thereās lots of people filling up at 5:30AM. Lots of people have to be at work at 6 or 7, and may want to fill up before hitting the road
Long ago in small Mississippi towns that I delivered to myself and other delivery vehicles straddled the center line and unloaded directly in front of stores and if cars crowded the curb in front of the receiving store the store owner would go out and move a car using the keys that were left in the ignition. And if it started raining store owners would go out and roll up the windows on vehicles out front regardless where they were shopping. Now these days that sounds strange.
I wonder if Marchettaa would feel the same way if the person messing around in the back of their van was making her late to deliver the morning papers.
As for myself I usually refuel at Sams and after doing so I pull away from the pumps to a place on the lot to reset odometer and readout settings
I had to pull into the pump in front of a guy before he came out of the convenience store, In my mind sorry, but there is room for you to get around, I left plenty of room so he would not have to back up to pull out, I guess I do not have a complete understanding of the situation.
My embarrassing moment at the gas pump was when there was a line behind me, I had filled the tank and when I tried to start the van, the battery was completely dead. A couple of people got out of their cars and helped me push the van out of the way. When AAA came out to start the van, the battery wouldnāt even take a jump, so they towed it to my house. Everyone in the line was understanding and even offered to give me a lift to where I needed to go.
Several times when I have been standing in line with only two or three items at the checkout line at the grocery, the people in front of me with a shopping cart full of groceries offer to let me go first. I decline and tell them that I want to read the tabloids so I have some news to tell my wife when I get home. One woman once asked me, āDo you know who any of these people are?ā. āNoā, I replied. āBut neither does my wife, so when I get home I tell her what I learned at the grocery store and then she thinks I am intelligentā. Most of the time, people in my part of Indiana really go out of their way to be courteous to others.
Well who keeps track? The thing is if you get over $1200 at one time, they submit a W-2G (like a 1099) with the winnings to the IRS. Then you can only subtract your losses from these winnings, or other winnings you report. You canāt deduct more than your winnings on gambling anyway. Maybe you are thinking passive losses versus passive gains and carryover amounts or something. At any rate never, never, never underestimate your income. You can argue deductions but not income.
@bing I probably owe the IRS for my unreported gambling winnings back in 1987. My wife and I went to Las Vegas via Amtrak. It stopped at the Union Plaza hotel where we were staying. After we got off the train and my wife went to the womenās room and I was watching our luggage I spied a penny slot machine. I couldnāt resist. I dropped in a penny and it returned seven cents. I always heard that if you get ahead when gambling, you quit. I decided to quit while I was ahead. The trip was fun-food was cheap because you are supposed to gamble. I still wonder if the IRS may come after me for the tax plus interest I owe on the 6Ā¢ I made.
If they do come after you, you have a perfect defense. Simply tell the IRS inspectors that their boss said ānot paying taxes makes me smartā. Case closed as a result of an unimpeachable defense!
