Buying Lottery Tickets ISN'T Investing

It's fascinating (and annoying) that people want to get rich quick. The bad news is it's easy come and easy go. People do all sorts of crazy stuff trying to get rich quick. Back in 2022 while repairs after the Odette disaster were done, I wrote an article about not investing while having a gambling addiction. Some people may have pulled their money out of the index funds and played Axie Infinity trying to make a quick buck. Some people got into cryptocurrency with the same hopes of getting rich quick fast. Before cryptocurrencies and Axie Infinity, the lottery ticket was treated like a "golden ticket". When I mention "golden ticket", some people may have seen the classic Willie Wonka movie where each child had a golden ticket. Only one of the children could inherit the main character's candy factory.

It makes me laugh (and cringe) that people waste their money on a lottery ticket. A wife can complain about her husband buying lottery tickets instead of spending the money on their needs, saying the Return On Investment (ROI) will be better. Calling buying lottery tickets an investment is a huge insult, even if it's not directed at my face. I recall fighting with a working scholar, who mentioned her sad situation. She didn't only waste my time. She gave her sob story, mentioning that her father would buy lottery tickets, hoping they would no longer be poor. I replied, "Isn't it any wonder your financial situation is like that?" I didn't have high financial literacy during that time. I didn't know I could invest in stocks via UITFS at that time. However, being raised by frugal parents (though they too had their own mistakes) gave me that important insight. As my frugal parents will say, "Don't rely on the lottery." It's because the lottery is a gamble. It's not investing at all! How many people win the lottery vs. those who lose it? It's like a raffle draw where you can't hope to win the car. You win the car, you win it. You don't win it, you don't win it! In short, it's a gamble or a game of chance.

As I learned about investing in stocks via UITFs (and take note, I never learned it in school), here's a quote from Peter Lynch. His advice is to never treat stocks as lottery tickets. Behind every stock is a company. A Jollibee stock is a piece of Jollibee, and Jollibee is a company. In those UITFs, there are multiple companies under them. My recent investments are with ATRAM's international stocks. The consumer trend fund focuses on companies feeding that sector. The technology fund focuses on companies feeding that sector. The ATRAM Global Equity Opportunity Fund invests in different companies in different sectors. The PSEi index funds invest in the 30 best companies on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

True, some stocks do fail when the company fails to perform well. However, stocks from companies like Jollibee and Apple are bound to appreciate in value. One thing I learned about UITFs (and any seasoned investor beat me to that) is that investing in stocks won't get me rich overnight. Instant gratification is non-existent in buying a stock or investing through the UITFs. I could invest PHP 5,000.00 in Jollibee, and I have to wait. I may want to buy more Jollibee stocks when the value is lowered during certain seasons. I could buy into the PSEi with an index fund. I invested this amount toda,y but shouldn't expect to get rich quick tomorrow. Stocks aren't a gamble but a long-term investment. Some people even hold their stocks for five or even 10 years.

The lottery offers instant gratification when one wins. What do most people do with the lottery win anyway? Most prefer to do "happy-happy" instead of investing the money. It's the same feeling when people win a gamble. People would gamble the wins from the gamble. Maybe, we should call it "re-gambling" the money because it's so addicting. It's the opposite of reinvesting when someone reinvests the money. I would reinvest the money market interests into a stock-based UITF. The interest coupons still have that addictive feeling. However, the addictive feeling isn't deadly compared to the instant gratification of lottery wins.

That's why I don't buy lottery tickets. Lottery tickets should be treated like mahjong cards or playing cards. Nobody reall gets rich sustainably through gambling. It's because the shortest road often leads nowhere.

Honoring the Recently Deceased Jose de Venecia Jr. in a Business/Economics Perspective

That's right. Jose de Venecia recently passed away yesterday. As an advocate for reform, it's sad but true that de Venecia didn't win because he was boring . It was easy to think of him as a boring guy. I remember the time when he was called in ISPUP as Yoda De Venecia (after the Star Wars character). I was just a clueless college student at that time when the ISPUP episode was shown. I was only 13 years old when de Venecia ran for president. It was also that era when Joseph Estrada (who's now 88 years old) ran for president, and it was that time when Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr. (who turned 90 last year) became the chief justice. Just recently, I found this eulogy for JDV. I will not post the whole eulogy, but only the one from the one that would "fit better" for a business-economics blog: He helped advance policies that enabled major infrastructure projects through public private partnerships, converted former military bases into thriving economic centers...

Yes to Filipinas Marrying Foreign Men, No to 100% FDI Shares Ownership?!

Today is Valentine's Day. I feel Valentine's Day is plain overrated. Some people just get a date for the sake of it--even if it means enduring that materialistic girlfriend or abusive boyfriend! Isn't romance a year-round thing? A few Valentine's Day ago, I wrote about Filipinas marrying foreigners and that FDI doesn't include Filipinas dating foreigners . This time to add some comedy, I wrote this post. It's something to say, "Yes! Somebody is married to a foreigner!" It's the hype to get job opportunities abroad or to marry a foreigner. Blossoms Why do Filipinos want to marry foreigners? The Blossoms blog writes down the following: Love and Affection: Love is often the primary reason for marriage, and Filipinas who marry foreigners may do so because they have fallen in love with someone from another country. Financial Stability: Some Filipinas may marry foreigners because they believe a foreign husband can provide financial stability and secur...

Facts vs. Gossip: Did Vietnam (According to Filipino MARITESes) Develop from Its Own Treasury Before Opening Up to FDI?

Vietnam Youth Union It's been 80 years since Vietnam achieved its independence in 1945. Some time ago, I wrote about how Vietnam's Doi Moi actually disproves the Trust Me Bro School of Economics . I wasn't too accustomed to researching Vietnam's ironic economic miracle . Vietnam is a one-party state ruled by the Communist Party of Vietnam. The word Communism would evoke fear and terror. What I find funny is that some people are using Vietnam as an excuse not to open up the Philippine economy (read here ). Such misinformed people think that Vietnam "won this revolution," supposedly self-industrialized from its own treasury before opening up to FDI. In short, some people either believe that (1) Vietnam is an example of how a highly protectionist economy works, or (2) that Vietnam made itself rich before opening to FDI. Both of them are lies. I'll focus on the second point for this new blog post! Right now, some people say that I'm just another marites...

China's Real Great Leap Forward and Economic Cultural Revolution Under Deng Xiaoping

Nobody can dare deny that China has become a big superpower. I remembered I went to China last 2007 (which would be more than 10 years ago). China had become such a huge metropolis of power that I'm amazed at it. I was thinking about how Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing were truly magnificent cities before the pollution problem (which should call for eco-capitalist measures). I was thinking about how I never realized China was once dirt poor. Did you know China used to be so dirt-poor? The "economic legacy" of Mao Zedong was a disaster with the so-called "Great Leap Forward". It was a great leap forward all right--a great leap forward to ruin. Mao seeking to avoid the use of foreign resources to launch China proved disastrous. The 1970s would see a dramatic change when Deng Xiaoping finally took over the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The beginning of the rise of Communist China under Deng's new political policy would pave the way to China becoming a great s...

Going from Tet Offensive in 1968 to Doi Moi in 1986

Foreign Trade University The Lunar New Year isn't just celebrated by the Chinese. Chinese New Year is one form of the Chinese New Year. Other forms of Lunar New Year follow the Chinese New Year cycle, such as the Tết Nguyên Đán of Vietnam, the Japanese Lunar New Year, and the Seollal in South Korea. There's also the Tibetan New Year and the Mongolian New Year. I remember when talking about Vietnam celebrating the Lunar New Year together with the Chinese, my fellow Chinoy made the squity-eyed gesture to talk about most Vietnamese looking like Chinese. Should we even be surprised that there's a Vietnamese student who looks like the deposed Alice Guo, aka Guo Hua Ping? What was the Tet Offensive about? Right now, I want to talk about the infamous Tet Offensive , which was a Lunar New Year attack of January 31, 1968. The Western concept would prefer to talk about it on January 31 instead of the Lunar New Year. A Filipino would probably say, "So what if it was Lunar Ne...

Business & Economics Perspective Blogger

Search This Blog