--- description: Via the documentary Lucky: Every year Americans spend $7 billion on movie tickets, $16 billion on sporting events, $24 billion on books… and $62 billion... title: Would Winning the Lottery Solve All Your Problems? image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4301dad4bb054630/698761c42dce01e3229db09e/lottery-balls.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Psychology](/tag/psychology/) ## Psychology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Would Winning the Lottery Solve All Your Problems? by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 21, 2014 4:01 AM CUT  Lottery Balls Lottery BallsGetty Images by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 21, 2014 4:01 AM CUT Via the documentary [Lucky](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JM5S9I/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004JM5S9I&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"): --- > “” --- People have a lot of irrational beliefs when it comes to the lottery. Many believe if they give a lottery ticket away [it’s more likely to win](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/02/if-you-give-away-a-lottery-ticket-is-it-more/ "undefined"). What if you educate people about the statistics showing the odds are stacked against them when they gamble? [Doesn’t change their behavior one bit](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/05/does-learning-about-the-mathematics-of-gambli/ "undefined"). And if you believe that winning the lottery will solve all your problems? You might be a little irrational too. **Are lottery winners happier than paralyzed accident victims?** Yes… but [not by as much as you’d guess](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/11/who-is-happier-lottery-winners-or-paralyzed-a/ "undefined"). Some time after winning their money, lottery winners weren’t all that much happier than people who hadn’t won — and accident victims weren’t anywhere as unhappy as the researchers had assumed. Shouldn’t lottery winners be ecstatic and paralyzed accident victims be miserable? No. What the authors of the study found was that: --- > “” --- **But you still want to be rich, right?** There’s no denying it: Yes, you would probably be happier if you were rich… [but not by much](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/01/would-you-be-happier-if-you-were-rich/ "undefined"). Past about 75K a year, [money doesn’t bring very much extra happiness](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/12/at-what-annual-salary-does-money-stop-making/ "undefined"). Think about this for a second: --- > “” --- And this: --- > “” --- Via [Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1439190763/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"): The [downtrodden of Calcutta are far happier than you’d think, given their circumstances](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-the-slumdwellers-prostitutes-and-home "undefined"). How can these people possibly be happy? The problem isn’t with them, it’s with us. We’re falling prey to what’s called a “focusing illusion.” All we’re thinking about is money and living standards and not the other factors that are often more responsible for happiness than we give them credit for: religion/meaning, family, marriage and friends. **Can you tell me the best way to play the lottery or not, Eric?** So back to the lottery. Can research give you any help on the best way to play the lottery? Actually, yes. [Buy your tickets as early as possible](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/08/should-you-buy-lottery-tickets-as-early-as-po/ "undefined"). Because what you’re really buying is a chance to dream. And the smartest thing to do is to prolong that enjoyment as much as possible. **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/11/winning-lottery-solve-problems/ "undefined")**_._** **Join 25K+ subscribers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD "undefined"). Related posts: [Cross your fingers and read this post – How to make yourself luckier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/09/cross-your-fingers-and-read-this-post-how-to/ "undefined") [Here are the things that are proven to make you happier.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/here-are-the-things-that-are-proven-to-make-y/ "undefined") [How can the slumdwellers, prostitutes and homeless people of the poorest place on Earth be happy?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/01/how-can-the-slumdwellers-prostitutes-and-home/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3525232/winning-lottery-solve-problems/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3525232/winning-lottery-solve-problems/"},"headline":"Would Winning the Lottery Solve All Your Problems?","datePublished":"2014-10-21T04:01:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:49:47.086Z","description":"Via the documentary Lucky: Every year Americans spend $7 billion on movie tickets, $16 billion on sporting events, $24 billion on books… and $62 billion...","url":"https://time.com/3525232/winning-lottery-solve-problems/","keywords":["Psychology","Lottery"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4301dad4bb054630/698761c42dce01e3229db09e/lottery-balls.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4301dad4bb054630/698761c42dce01e3229db09e/lottery-balls.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Lottery balls","caption":"Lottery balls","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3525232/winning-lottery-solve-problems/","name":"Would Winning the Lottery Solve All Your Problems?"}}]}] ```