My mother-in-law has a friend who works at a gas station, and her friend has an indicator on when gas prices are truly getting high:
She doesn't think gas prices are high yet, because people are still buying lottery tickets and soda pop after filling up their tank. When they stop buying the lottery tickets and soda pop, then gas prices will be getting high.
This makes a whole lot of sense, and it's already being seen elsewhere. Fuel costs will crowd out discretionary entertainment expenses first, and that includes lottery tickets and soda pop. Though it probably isn't true that low-income people purchase the most lottery tickets, middle-income people have been shown to spend more on lottery tickets than high-income people, and those people will be more sensitive to fuel costs than the rich. So one might expect to see a noticeable drop in lottery ticket purchases as gas prices go higher.
Other discretionary expenses will trail off too, but lottery tickets are often purchased at the same places that gas is sold, so people's wallets will be a bit lighter right there, so lottery ticket purchases will decline sooner rather than later.
Well, i don't think this is true at all. Lottery is an addiction. The poor use public transportation and so you can rule them out of the equation. Lower Middle class workers spend the most on lottery tickets and either take public transport or have a car. But either way these are the big spenders of lottery tickets, and if a majority are taking public transport than this will not be a good indication of high gas prices. In case u were wondering where I'm getting my info from, my dad owns a convenience store and I work their once a week.
A lottery is just a tax on people that can't do math. High gas prices wont make them any smarter.
I think lottery sales may increase, but snack and soda sales will decrease.
the more desperate people are, the more likely to grab for straws … and buy lotto tickets.
Lottery tickets are not "entertainment", they're an "investment". 🙂
Seriously, I agree with Maria. People may become more desparate for money to counter high gas prices that they'll foolishly pay for even more lottery tickets.
I buy lottery tickets once in a while. I can do the math, I know it's a horrible bet, but I like to dream.
My logic is it's becoming cheaper to play the lottery. When gas was $2/gallon a fill up cost $30. I'd buy two tickets for $2. I was adding about a 6.7% tax to my gas purchase.
Now that gas is $4/gallon, it costs $60 to fill up. Lottery tickets still cost $2, only 3.3% of the purchase.
Lottery isn't about being a good bet, it's about buying a dream of winning. There's some hope of a payback on that $2. The $60 for gas is never coming back.
Interesting theory, but I think the opposite will be true. People will look for escapes. I bet movie attendance goes up, too.
I can see the rationale, but I don't support it. People who are willing to throw money away on the lotto tickets consistently aren't the ones who are watching their financial bottom line. They only notice that their fill-up price is higher and that must be the source of all their woes, it couldn't be their spending habits.
Lotteries are very popular in hard times.
People will cut spending on soda, but desperately look for ways of making extra money.
Great times for crooks are coming.