It’s all the rage today. The Powerball lottery is expected to hit $1.3 billion (from USA Today)…oops the Powerball site now has the jackpot at $1.4 billion so interest seems to be growing.

Clearly, this current event provides a great opportunity to have students complete the NGPF lesson on Playing the Lottery (in our Financial Pitfalls unit). In this lesson (created by NGPF team member, Jessica), students will learn:

• Why people play lotteries,
• Analyze the financial implications of playing the lottery vs. saving for retirement and
• Envision how they would spend their lottery winnings and then reflecting on what this says about their money values.

Oh, and for the statistically minded among you, here is a statistical look at the probabilities and expected values involved from a PBS NewsHour article.

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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