AntSaint

Giving Up the Lottery Fantasy

Do you play the lottery? Why? I don't, and it's based on my two main memories of the lottery...

• Virginia set up a scratch-off system when I was about 9 or 10 years old (I think). My dad bought me a ticket with $1 of my allowance. I won $3, and bought 3 more lottery tickets. I lost. It hit me - this is just a way to get you to throw away money on false hope. Well, I probably didn't think of it exactly that way. But it was pretty close. I haven't bothered with the lottery since.
• A family comic strip called "Hi and Lois". Their oldest plays the lottery and says, "Dad, this is going to change my finances!" "It already has," his dad says. "You're down $1."

And that brings us to this great post: The Art of Nonconformity � Giving Up the Lottery Fantasy.

"I am now anti-lottery for reasons that have nothing to do with moral qualms. My reasons are even more personal: I am thrilled with the life I am building. I do not want the state of Washington, or any other government entity, to give me my ticket to happiness. I want to earn it"

Indeed, why play the lottery? Why bother? You can save minuscule amounts per week, and still come out farther ahead than you ever will by plunking down dollar and after on lottery tickets.

Oh wait. Unless you hit it big.

But here's the short and simple: You won't.

Save your money instead.

Video Poll Results for Email Marketing

Polls like this are good because they remind email marketers what not to do. Want to put a form in your email? Go for it... just don't expect it to work. Same with video. And that really cool javascript thing you got coded up. Don't put that stuff in email, it just doesn't work consistently. Put it on your website, and have the email get people to go there:

Link: EmailKarma.net: Video Poll Results.

"The results are in... with a limited number of respondents I'm not sure how scientific this is, but the results did show a number of very strong trends"

$15 Every Two Weeks - Getting Started in Saving & Investing

Think you can't save for the short-term or long-term? Baloney. Think you could set aside the equivalent of a couple of lattes (or a couple of pints of microbrew, or a few gallons of PBR), once every 2 weeks? If this guy could do it, so can you.

Link: Vanguard − Saving for retirement: One investor's success story.

"He started small, contributing 1% of his salary. "$15 every two weeks," he recalled."

Preserving the Summer - Canning 101

Enjoying all that summer harvest goodness? What's that? So much produce you can't eat it all? Time to start canning. Here are some basics:

Link: Canning 101: The Basics | Lehman's Country Life.

"What do you plan to do with the extra that you can’t eat or enjoy at the moment? Preserve your extra produce for use in the fall and winter! Whether you freeze, can or dry your food depends upon the space and equipment you have available and what your personal preferences happen to be. This article will focus on the safety issues and canning basics."

Cafe Maroc Open in Downtown Eugene

A Moroccan/African-themed restaurant in Eugene? Sure, why not. And when it comes from Adam Bernstein of Adam's Place, hey, it's going to be a neat concept. We're looking forward to trying the place out:

Link: Eatery serves taste ofNorth Africa: The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore..

"Cuisine remains the bottom line for Adam Bernstein, but the Eugene restaurateur wants his latest venture to be known for something more.“It’s more than just dinner; we try to make it as much of an experience as we can,” says Bernstein, who opened Cafe Maroc this month, next-door to his Adam’s Place restaurant at 30 E. Broadway in downtown Eugene"