One of the most invisible taxes on the poor is the Lottery. One set of statistics on the State and Provincial lotteries of the over 70 billion dollars in lottery sales last year only 38 billion dollars were awarded in prizes. I do admit when the lottery is doing the over 100 million dollar thing even I will invest a dollar or two but that is it. Five, Ten or even more is a true waste. That is not truly going to improve your chances of winning. The lottery commission is counting on your investment.
According to a credit counseling service most of their clients spend $10 to $20 dollars a week mostly in scratch off tickets. That adds up to between $520.00 and $1040.00 a year. And, when you are looking for “milk money” that is a good place to look.
Another place to look for lost money is… it is only $19.95 and if you call in the next ten minutes we’ll double the offer… Television Infomercial impulse buys. According to the Electronic Retailing Association the infomercial industry brings in in excess of 400 billion dollars a year with most of the gadgets and gizmos just taking up space in the cabinets and drawers.
Many people in dire economic straights will often spend over $200.00 per month just on Infomercial impulse buys.
In our house we have learned to circumvent some of the infomercial effects by watching our TV on the internet. You can get the same programs online without the infomercial crush.
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