You Can't Win If You Don't Play The Game

This summer was the summer that wrecked my savings.  I was purportedly being money-wise as I began a house hunt, but instead of penny-pinching, I managed to drain my previously well-maintained savings account with furniture, brake replacements, and an impromptu trip to Canada.  My summer job at the Gap paid almost nothing, and my real job didn't restart direct deposits until this past Friday.  To illustrate my financial state most clearly, I very recently put off buying laundry detergent because there was less than thirty dollars in my checking account.  To make matters worse, most of what I spent my money on this summer wasn't even fun stuff.  It was things like oil changes and bills.  Being an adult sucks sometimes.

The result of this impending brokeness and the corresponding stress it created was a hurried mental search for ways to earn more money and restock the savings account I had so easily burned through in a mere two months.  I signed up for an extra hour of aftercare each week.  I started putting in reimbursement requests for everything at work, even the cheap stuff.  I clipped coupons.  I even imposed a 24-hour purchase delay rule for myself so that I had enough time to talk myself out of buying things (or hope I forgot about them).  Scrooge looks a high-roller compared to me.

This week, I went a step further.  At the Saints preseason game on Thursday, one of the commercials advertised a contest for Superbowl tickets.  That particular contest would probably cost me money if I won, but it gave me the idea to start entering sweepstakes online: Winn-Dixie, Best Buy, NFL, HGTV...  If they have an online contest that either pays or gives me football tickets, I'm entering.

My old roommate, Sidney, will probably make fun of me for this because I have, for the last 3-4 years, given her repeated lectures on the very slim chances associated with the lottery.  I once clipped a section out of the paper on events more likely to befall a person than lottery winnings: lightning strikes, shark bites, drowning, becoming president, and my favorite: being crushed by a vending machine.  Yes, my friends, it is more likely that you will be crushed by a metal box filled with high fructose corn syrup than win the Powerball.  Obesity kills.

There is one major difference, of course, in my mind between the lottery and these contests, though, and that is the total lack of monetary entrance requirements.  Well, except for the church raffle tickets I'm buying next week, but that's a donation I was going to make anyway.

Truth be told, I don't know what my odds are in all of this.  I have a history of pretty mixed luck.  I won a wall clock at a charity event once.  I find pretty good parking spots on the regular.  I won my very first game of darts (because darts is a game of luck for me).  On the other hand, I've also lost $20 in a cab, been ticketed for driving 32 miles per hour, and had a glass casserole dish break my toe as I walked into a friend's birthday party.

It's a toss up.  In the end, I will most likely only have the money I've earned and an inbox full of spam.  You never know, though.  You never know.

In the meantime, I'll keep you updated...and I'll steer clear of sharks and vending machines.