Wealth is a Habit

The local lottery is reaching a fevered pitch as the jackpot has not been won for the last 6 months, with 3 draws per week. People who haven't made bets started doing so (including me!) for the hopes of beating the 1:29Million odds.

In the midst of this, it crossed my mind how many of the past winners actually ended up poorer than before they won. There are no actual statistics that show how many of them ended up better or worse, but I think it's fair to say that the publicized failures are just a small portion of the rest. Not to mention those that ended up somewhere around where they were before they hit the jackpot.

In most cases, the sheer size of the pot provides some level of security that if you just had some sense in you, you'll get to keep it for a long long time. You can even make it grow without much effort. Nevertheless, the fact that you can lose it shows the need for an effective way of handling one's finances even for the lucky ones, and especially for us who have yet to win the jackpot.

What would this effective way entail? I see some obvious ones:

1. Perspective - realizing that what you have can't probably afford half of what you ever wanted to buy

2. Goal - having a clear idea of what you want to achieve financially

3. Knowledge - being aware of what you have right now and what to do with it

There are still some more, but the fact is that effectively handling one's finances requires investment in time and experience in handling it, a sort of Catch-22 which may not be available to someone who have just gotten his first windfall in life.

So it's always a good day to start getting prepared. Especially when I feel that jackpot is going to be mine soon.

Have a wealthy day!

Update: The jackpot was won. It wasn't me :)