Even for expats like me, gambling is easily accessible via the web. Poker, forex, futures, sports, financial spread betting online, pick your poison and do a Google search.
My personal weakness is spread betting. Choose an event, determine on which side the win (or loss) will fall and calculate how much the win or loss will be. The amount you win or lose will be determined by how accurate your guess is. Once I was introduced to the concept, my life changed.
It starts small. You are waiting for a crosswalk light to change and decide to cross on the red. Getting hit by a car is a serious risk but you know that it is unlikely. And, you will be able to turn waiting time into something valuable, like getting your coffee sooner. Plus, our time on this planet is the only valuable thing we really have so we should make the most of it, not just stand on the corner of a street waiting for an inanimate object to tell us what to do. I give it a negative 2 for death but a positive 5 for the other stuff.
It gets bigger. You choose between a three-year-old $10,000 car and a brand new $20,000 car. You know that you will have fewer problems with the $20,000 car but is it worth spending your time working to make the extra $10,000? Of course, the benefit of being seen in a nicer car will boost your overall image which could result in any number of positive outcomes, financial and female. A negative 10 for working extra but we are now talking about attracting women so that is a positive 1,500. Note: The male mind is incredibly gullible when it comes to automobiles and females.
And bigger. You decide to have a child. It is estimated that a child in the US will cost over $200,000 to raise to adulthood. While there is no financial reward (normally) for having children, there is the intangible benefit of pride and happiness that comes from having a great kid. How do these intangible benefits fit into wager calculations? Is the difference between having a good kid and a “certified” good kid worth an extra $50,000 or more in risk capital*?+
Now that I have admitted to my addiction to spread betting, I believe the next step is to replace it with something that is less intrusive to my personal life. I am thinking horse racing…..
*College tuition.
+No spread can be printed here as the risk of getting whacked by my wife is incalculably high.
