The Money Mustache Community
Around the Internet => Antimustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy => Topic started by: Honest Abe on December 23, 2013, 01:37:24 PM
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An edict has been issued by the family elders that in addition to the ridiculous consumerism practiced at Christmas that EACH person should purchase $10 scratch-offs to exchange with others. I find this sad and offensive on so many levels that I don't even know where to begin, yet if I don't participate then I'm a grinch. /rant
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Time to find a new family!
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Instead of passing out scratch off tickets, maybe cards with a certificate that says a donation has been made in their name to The Human Fund -- Money for People.
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Could you suddenly develop a "religious objection to gambling"? Or, failing that, "catch the flu" and miss the festivities altogether?
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Sometimes you just gotta suck it up, IMO.
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You could fund a few kickstarter projects instead and give those away. At least then you're not funding billboards.
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I read your post and wanted to say you should develop a moral objection to gambling, then I saw Rural beat me to it.
You could just avoid your family. Let your cell phone battery die, don't answer the door, trade your car in for a new one so they don't recognize it, and get a haircut (or toupee if you're follically challenged).
Or just lighten up and have some fun with it. Pick the goofiest scratch off lottery ticket they have available and hope they win big and leave you alone.
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There's an old saying, "Funerals are for the living".
I would add to that, holiday spending is for them, not you. Just be glad it's only 10 bucks. It's stupid, but not enough to make a rift in the family over.
Dividend mantra had a good article about this sort of thing recently: http://www.dividendmantra.com/2013/12/embracing-consumerism-for-christmas.html
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You could just say you bought them, scratched them off, and that no one won anything. Now you've done all the work for them!
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I know I'm being a grump, and obviously I won't be causing trouble over $10.. I just needed a place to vent and this is the only place I can do it. :)
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Give someone $11. $10 as a substitute for the ticket and $1 to simulate winning something extra, which has a high likelihood of being more than they would have gotten otherwise.
Seriously though, I'd say I have a personal problem with lottery tickets. Not so much the gambling, but the whole idea of them bothers me, especially as Christmas gifts. At risk of being called a grinch, I'd probably have to stand up for this one were I in that position.
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Give some prank lottery tickets.
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This reminds me of this HORRIBLE commercial that has been on the radio constantly the past month:
http://www.calottery.ca.gov/LotteryHome/happenings/lottery-tv/event-videos/?v=holiday-radio-commercial-1
Give service personnel scratchers as tips! It's the only possible way out of a life of menial labor! Yup, only way. No other possible ways.
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My grandmother used to put scratch-off tickets in everyone's stockings. I'm not sure if she still does, but probably! She's a bit of a scratch-off fiend. Slot machines, too. And you know what? She has repeatedly won more $10,000 a year from these endeavors. I remember a pretty bitter phone call when she announced that she won $10,000 in one casino trip; at the time, that was how much I earned per year teaching at a university.
I never won big from the stocking scratch-offs, but it was always fun scratching them all off together to see if anyone would.
I think it sort of kills the fun by REQUIRING the purchase and sharing of tickets, though!
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Anything that is "required" for the holidays ruins it.
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haha, I just got a $1 scratch ticket from my fiancee's aunt for Christmas along with some other gifts from her. It was fun scratching it with them family talking about what we each would do with $2500 if we win. My fiancee's dad won $1 of out the 20 tickets she passed out to everyone. I guess the "intrinsic" value of the scratch tickets is worth more than the $20 she spent because we had a pretty good laugh and a bit of day dreaming over it.
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You could just say you bought them, scratched them off, and that no one won anything. Now you've done all the work for them!
LOL. That would be my course of action. For sure.