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Could have, should have, would have, didn't

March 12th, 2016 at 03:20 pm

I admit it--I play the Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes every day. I am well aware that I have a better chance of being struck twice by lightning than winning any jackpot prize. However, recently I've been thinking about how my life could have been very different (financially speaking), as there was a time when I was so close to winning but I didn't know it. Let me explain....

From May to August of 2009 I was in Alaska. My sister, who is in the Air Force, was getting ready to deploy to Iraq, and she needed someone to help my brother in law with their 3 kids. One day I was playing around on my sister's laptop, and just for fun I went to the Publisher's Clearing House website (www.pch.com). There was a game on there where you had to click on some cards to turn them over, and if a card had a prize you would win that prize. The big prize for this particular game was $1000 per week for life. I had x amount of chances to try for a prize. For some odd reason my eyes were drawn to this one particular card, but I kept ignoring it. It turned out that all the cards I had clicked were duds, no prize. I had used up all of my chances to win a prize, so I clicked on the card I had ignored, and there it was--$1000 per week for life.

Ah, regrets, don't you just love them? If I had followed my gut instinct I would have won that big prize. I wouldn't have lost everything and been "couch homeless" from 2008-2013. I could have kept my condo, my car, literally everything, and been able to stay in Colorado.

I still play the sweepstakes, mainly just for fun, but also to see what would happen if I did enter every day. If I win, that would be nice, but (more likely) if I don't, well then that's nothing to worry about.

Posted in Personal Finance | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Could have, should have, would have, didn't”

  1. creditcardfree Says:
    March 12th, 2016 at 04:45 pm 1457801136
    1457801136

    I can understand the draw these games have over people. I don't play any of them. I can tell you that savings do add up. It feels really good to have an emergency fund and retirement savings that we earned from our hard work and diligence. We respect the money we have so much more than if we won it by luck.

  2. rob62521 Says:
    March 12th, 2016 at 10:01 pm 1457820100
    1457820100

    That's the draw of these types of sweepstakes and games...it makes you feel like you are missing out and then you wonder what if you won and if you don't play, you can't win.

    Like creditcardfree, we don't play these games or the lottery. We save up for things, we try to find ways to cut costs, and find satisfaction in other ways.

  3. Jessica Rupe Says:
    March 13th, 2016 at 03:27 am 1457839625
    1457839625

    I know. Like I said, I do it for fun and don't expect to win anything at all. If I do, that would be nice, but I'm not counting on it. If I want something I do save up until I have the money to pay for it.

  4. Thrifty Ray Says:
    March 13th, 2016 at 07:12 pm 1457896329
    1457896329

    Jessica- Dreaming (when its free) is fun- I know I do it a lot. So long as you have your focus on your real financial goals and continue to make progress, which it sounds like you do, and its not costing you anything, dream away! Just don't get drawn into anything that takes away from your financial goals. Smile

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