Why You Should Keep Your Personal and Lottery Money Separate

Whether you’re a serious lottery player, or you only play once a week for fun, perhaps less, there are many perks and benefits to making sure you keep your personal money and your lottery money as two totally separate entities, as well as a few warning signs that you should certainly follow in order to not fall foul of pitfalls along the way.

Your Personal Money

When we refer to your personal money, as opposed to your lottery money, we are of course talking about the bulk of your wages or salary. The money that you need to pay for your bills, rent, food, social life, that kind of thing. This is the money that you can’t be gambling away, this is the money you need to live.

If you go spending your electric money on a scratch card or lottery ticket, yes, you may win and double, even treble your personal money stash, but equally you could lose and be down in pocket for the amount it cost to put the lottery on in the first place, no matter how small.

Basically, your personal money, the money you need to survive, should be kept firmly to one side and not used for any other reason than what it is intended for.

Your Lottery Money

Now, nobody said that life has to be boring, and if you have a hobby then of course you should dedicate some of your hard earned cash to that particular pastime. If your hobby is your endeavours to win the lottery and hit the jackpot, or even just hit a little bit of a win, then of course your hobby is just as important as any other.

There is a fine line between doing everything you can to chase your dreams, in this case winning the lottery, and going a little OTT. I guess it all comes down to common sense. Make sure the amount you budget for your lottery fun is realistic, and not excessive.

So, How Can You Keep Those Two Money Types Separate?

Basically, you’re going to have to budget. Boring, I know.

From your wages, you need to work out how much money you need to live, and by that I mean the money you need for bills, debts, food, car, general daily life, and the grind. Once you’ve put that to one side and paid out everything you need, work out what you have left. Don’t go spending all your spare cash on your lottery plans, but work out how much you want to dedicate to it per week, or over the month if you get paid in that way.

Make sure you stick to this plan, and there’s no reason why your personal money and your lottery money can’t co-exist side by side in total harmony, without one leaking across the border into the other.

Is It Really That Important to Keep Your Personal Money and Lottery Money Separate?

Put simply, yes.

If you don’t budget and separate things up then you’re just going to get into a mess and get really confused – neither scenario is preferable, especially when you realise that you can’t afford to pay the rent in full because you put a few extra lottery tickets on last week and you didn’t manage to hit any winnings!

Playing the lottery is about moderation, and the moment you start using other pots of money in order to fulfil your needs, then you need to think about why you’re doing it.

What If You Win Something on the Lottery, No Matter How Big, Should You Keep That Separate Too?

Yes!

Basically, anything you win on the lottery should be put towards either a) paying off debts to make your life overall easier (if it’s a large amount especially), or b) enjoying yourself. We are of course talking about the scenario where you win some lottery money, but you don’t win the major jackpot, because in that scenario you would probably be packing work in and living the life of luxury.

If you manage to win something, something small or slightly substantial, then the money you earn from your job should still be kept as your personal money, the money you need to live, and your lottery money can then be used guilt-free to enjoy your life and your spot of luck. Basically, you’re free to treat yourself and your loved ones.

Put simply, keeping your personal money and your lottery money separate will make your life much easier, and allow you to play without feeling guilty that you should be paying some other bill or issue with the money you’re using to put your ticket on.

Follow this advice, and you can live and play the lottery without major money problems.