Like a lot of people in America, you might have been disappointed when you didn’t win the recent Powerball lottery, which was at a record breaking $1.6 billion and could have gone to a single ticket holder. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2016/01/14/powerball-thursday/78779006/

The United States was in a frenzy the days leading up to the drawing of the Powerball, and more people than ever were purchasing lotto tickets. Among those who bought tickets were college students, hopeful to pay off student loans and perhaps live a comfortable, “stress-free” life. 

However, this is rarely the case for lottery winners. College students should take comfort in the fact that because they did not win, they are going to learn how to be financially responsible and potentially end up more successful in life.

“The New York Times” recently published an article of mini-profiles on past lottery winners, and some of the results of winning a large sum of money were bleak. Several winners were murdered, and countless others died early in life with little money to their name, having spent their fortune too quickly. Some spent all the money in a few short years and were left working menial jobs, having declared bankruptcy. Many turned into alcoholics and yet another winner wished he could “give it all back”. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/14/us/lottery-winners-whose-lives-were-ruined.html.

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/why-the-lottery-isnt-the-answer-to-your-problems/

Many people believe that they would be different, and if they were to win, they would be wise with the money and never have to work a day in their life again. However, this is rarely the case with lottery winners. Without the right knowledge of how to handle such a large sum of money, many winners are completely unable to find reasonable uses for their newfound fortune. They never learn how to be financially responsible, because they believe they are going to be wealthy forever. Many don’t understand the amazingly vast responsibility it is to have so much money. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/08/jackpot.asp. 

It’s hard to find a balance between living in luxury and daily life after winning so much money. No one knows exactly how to live with that much money unless you have experience with it in the past. It could be near impossible to maintain a normal life after being shoved into the world of enormous luxury. Money is power and a lot of the times it can change one’s whole life beyond recognition.

Most college students struggle with maintaining a weekly budget. As everyone knows, most college students are not made of money. It’s hard to stick to a minimal budget each week as we have many expenses besides just tuition including: food, books, other school supplies, and living expenses all while trying to have some money left over for a social life. And yet still, many students occasionally make a purchase that is not wise. 

With a larger pool of money to be drawing from, the unwise purchases would likely still happen, just on a larger scale. And the winner would be none the wiser to the fact that the lottery money could one day run out.

At this stage in life, college students are not equipped with all the knowledge about finances they would need to remain a successful lottery winner, because they have not yet been fully thrust into the real world of jobs and responsibilities. 

When college students get jobs and learn the value of hard work and start to make and spend their own money, it teaches them responsibility in ways that just learning about finances could never do. A job requires someone to adhere to a responsible work schedule, earn their own money, file taxes and pay bills. This is especially true if you are living on your own, and completely at the will of your own paycheck.

So while it is a dream of many college students to win the lottery someday and have all their hearts’ desires, it would be wise to consider not winning the lottery a blessing in disguise. You can continue to work hard in school, get a job and learn incrementally how to handle money responsibly. You will also learn the value of hard work and the value of a dollar and will end up more successful in life than if you had squandered lottery money away.

The chances of becoming successful through hard work are much higher than the chances of finding long term success from winning the lottery. Students should take refuge in the fact that they may not have a huge fortune yet, but could possibly acquire one themselves in the future.

Courtney is a sophomore in LAS

[email protected]