Many of us are in financial bind. The coronavirus has put many Americans in a terrible financial predicament. The uncertainty has caused some to make impulsive and desperate financial decisions. While unemployment Is skyrocketing, companies like Ladder Advisors have been flooding the market with unrealistically low interest rate offers through direct mail. Ladder Advisors is also known as Carina Advisors, Corey Advisors, Jayhawk Advisors, and Pine Advisors.
While lottery tickets are a gamble, everyone loves buying them because the offer seems too tempting to resist. You could be one of the lucky ones that gets to walk home with the $64 million prize. However, should you spend that money with your credit card? Can you even buy lottery tickets with credit cards? Here is everything you need to know about it:
Cashiers don’t usually accept credit card payments on lottery tickets. This, it turns out, is because of state law. This is the case because a lot of states prohibit using your credit card for lottery tickets. In some states, it’s completely outlawed. Hence, you should think twice before buying lottery tickets with your credit card. Why is this though?
How Much Do Americans Spend on Lottery Tickets?
The average US millennial spends nearly $1000 every single year on lottery tickets. That seems like a lot, but it’s the truth. The allure of the lottery still stands today as it once did. In this day and age when so many are wishing to get rich or simply just get by, it’s understandable. You have the chance to get wealthier through chance and all you need to do is spend a couple of bucks. However, very few people understand that there’s a smaller chance for you to win than to actually win an Oscar.
You can see the numbers on the lottery broadcast, but unless you have a stroke of luck on your side, you won’t ever see your name there. You have a better chance if you buy a couple of lottery tickets. However, there’s no guarantee. Therefore, there are a few factors that can determine whether you should buy lottery tickets with credit cards.
First of all, you have to consider the state you reside in. In other words, do you live in one where you can buy lottery tickets with credit cards? There are six states that don’t sell lottery tickets at all since they don’t have state lotteries. They don’t participate in multi-state lotteries either. These states are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada and Utah.
On the other hand, the following states allow you to buy lottery tickets with credit cards.
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Delaware
- Indiana
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New York
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Vermont
- Washington
However, there are still some constraints in these states. The state legislatures have complicated the matter through the ages. For instance, if you want to use your credit card for buying lottery tickets but the merchant refuses to use it, you can’t buy them. You can’t buy lottery tickets with credit cards if the merchant doesn’t accept that mode of payment. Safeway is one of the merchants that doesn’t allow it. Some retailers and states even prohibit the use of debit cards for purchasing lottery tickets.
Why Shouldn’t You Buy Lottery Tickets With Credit Cards?
So, we’ve established that apart from a few restrictions and constraints, you can buy lottery tickets with credit cards. The question now is, should you? That’s a financial and practical question rather than a legal one. There are some reasons you should avoid buying lottery tickets with this payment medium. The reasons are numerous, and they include sound financial advice that you should follow to the letter. This is about being financially responsible with your hard-earned cash.
You Don’t Earn Rewards
The most obvious reason you shouldn’t buy lottery tickets with credit cards is that you won’t yield rewards. The main reason people get credit cards is for their rewards and cashbacks. If you are going to buy lottery tickets with your credit card, then you should at least check if it allows yielding points.
You Can Take on Debt for Financing Gambling
Buying lottery tickets is akin to gambling. It is no different than putting money on horse races or on blackjack since they’re all games of chance. It has an easy promise of riches that allows you to lose money. Hence, you will most likely end up in debt collection.
You Have Better Options
If you invest in stocks or oil futures, or high yield savings accounts, you have better chances of getting returns. Just 18% of Americans have an emergency fund. While nearly $1000 goes to buying lottery tickets per millennial every year. That’s astounding and sad. Thus, if you actually want to buy something with your credit card, it should be insurance or stocks.
You should invest in something that, no matter how small, can get you guaranteed returns. If you invest in the stock market, you can win small or big or vice versa. Returns depend on how well you study the market conditions and how well you invest. In a lottery, everything is out of your control.
If you invest in things like gold or precious metals and oil futures, you also have a better chance of returns. Hence, don’t buy lottery tickets with credit cards.
Bad Odds
As mentioned before, you have better chances of winning an Oscar than actually winning a lottery. This is because the sheer number of tickets printed and the people that buy them are in the millions. You have a very slim chance of actually winning that prize. Hence, it’s a foolish investment that, as has been said earlier, is akin to gambling.
The other thing about lottery tickets is that if you do win, there’s little chance you’re going to transform your life. It has been seen with lottery ticket winners that their lives don’t get better afterwards. They may blow their entire stash on unnecessary things.
It’s not savvy to actually invest in lotteries at all. It’s five times more likely for you to have quintuplets than actually win the lottery. So don’t put that charge on your credit card.
These should answer the question of whether you should or should not buy lottery tickets with your credit card.