Should you buy your lottery tickets early or on draw day? We reveal the time to avoid the biggest problem
WHEN do you buy your tickets for the next game?
BUYING EARLY
Some players buy early in the week. They have these reasons for their decision:
The buying chore is now out of the way.
They won't get sidetracked and forget to buy before the draw.
They can relax and enjoy the lead-up to the draw time.
Others will buy on the day, as close to the draw closing time as possible. For them, it adds to the excitement of playing.
Remember, it won't make any difference to your win rate or winning odds by either buying early or late.
It won't affect anything about the tickets or the draw.
But there are other problems you might face when you either buy tickets late or early:
BUYING LATE
An advantage of buying late is the same reason that banks take days to transfer your money. They make money by using your funds right up to the last moment.
So you gain by keeping your own money available until the last minute.
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That way, if you are on a budget and something unexpected happens before then and you need the money you set aside for the lottery, you'll have it available to use.
The downside to buying late:
Sometimes in a big draw everyone else will buy late too and cause a holdup.
Or like Joel Ifergan above, you might be given the wrong information that stops you from buying before the deadline has passed.
Or you may run the risk of bad weather holding you up. It only takes one snowstorm or road flood.
Don't leave it until the last minute!
A lot of the fun of playing the lottery is the expectation of winning big.
So when you buy early, you can use the time to think about how the prize money can change your life.
It makes sense to enjoy these positive thoughts for as long as you can.
If you play weekly, then why not buy your tickets for the next game when you are in the store checking your tickets, or collecting a win?
That way you have a full 7 days to enjoy the anticipation and dream about the possible financial windfall.
Talk about it with your friends or family and let your imagination go wild.
OUR ANSWER?
There are upsides and downsides to buying tickets late or early. Our advice is to buy early.
You reduce the risk of missing out and increase your time to enjoy the anticipation of a giant win.