Someone Won $1 Million Playing The Mega Millions In Florida

It's official. Another Floridian just won it big playing the Mega Millions in Florida landing $1 million in winnings. 

Last Thanksgiving, I stopped by a local gas station. The gentleman in front of me had bought a few scratch-off tickets. No judgment, but he had bought half the roll only to skip playing the game completely. He went straight for the barcodes and scanned them all without even scratching one single game.

Someone just won $1 million playing the Mega Millions in Florida hitting 5 out of the 6 numbers correct. Their numbers were 24, 46, 49, 62, 66, and Mega Ball 7. After watching Project Almanac last night, this got me thinking, In the movie, High School time travelers go back a day to win the Mega Millions lottery, but only got 5 of the 6 numbers correct. Was this guy traveling through time or just lucky? We're not sure, but The Florida lottery has yet to release the official statement on where the ticket was bought.  

But, we do know there were 3 other $1 million winners in California, Texas, and Virginia. The jackpot is still up for grabs and has climbed to $977 million from $893 million.

The next Mega Millions drawing is slated for this Friday. According to the Associated Press, the jackpot for the Mega Millions has only reached this level 6 times, including this drawing. There have only been jackpots with more than $1 billion 5 times with winners in 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2023 (2X).

Although lottery games like the Mega Millions might be impossible to figure out, scratch-offs are a different beast. We tallied together the scratch-offs with the best odds at winning top prizes to test your luck.

If your plan is to win the lottery and retire early, you might want to weigh out other options. For the Mega Millions, players have a 1 in 302.6 million chance at claiming the top prize. You’re more likely to get eaten by a whale at 1 in 1 million than winning the Mega Millions. But hey, you know what they say, “The lotto a day keeps the doctor away.” The people at 7-Eleven seem to certainly believe so. 

If you're looking to win the Mega Millions in Florida, make sure to grab your tickets before Friday at 11 P.M. eastern time. 

Do you ever feel like you're working hard but don't have the money to show for it? It's a common sentiment. Well, the good news is that today, there are some ways to make extra money right now that can really add up. Now, there's no "easy" solution to making more cash. But, we've researched some ways that people are making extra money, and they're simple.

Before we get into ways to make extra money, let's start with saving money. NerdWallet.com has some really simple tips for saving cash. A big one is to prepare for grocery shopping. That's so that you aren't grabbing a bunch of stuff that you don't need on a whim. "A little work before you go to the grocery store can go a long way toward helping you save money on groceries," they state. Prepping also means that you can maximize any coupons that you find for items you'll be purchasing or knowing about loyalty programs ahead of time. The big one is to not impulse by. I've done that so many times, when I but cinnamon rolls or something else that I don't really want just because it looks good at the time.

Another savings tip from NerdWallet.com is to restrict online shopping. Boy, that's a good one. It's so easy to sit there on your phone, saving items that look cool in your online cart. Then, all you have to do is hit "order," but often, you're ordering a bunch of stuff that you don't really need. They suggest that, "Instead of saving your billing information, opt to input your shipping address and credit card number each time you order. You'll probably make fewer impulse purchases because of the extra work involved." Good idea. Find more tips on saving money from NerdWallet.com here. Forbes has some good advice, too, in suggesting to do real meal prep. It helps avoid eating out too much, which can really add up.

Now, let's get into easy ways to make extra money.

This option has been there since the advent of the garage sale. If you have items sitting around that you don't want or need anymore, sell them. It's a quick way to make some cash. You can put them up for sale on eBay, a Facebook group or elsewhere online, or you can go the old-fashioned way and hold a yard sale.

I've house sat quite a bit, and I personally love it. It's very peaceful to watch over someone's house. Duties-wise, it can involve anything from watering plants to just staying there so that nobody breaks in during a long vacation. Pet sitting is also a great way to make a little extra money. While you're at it, try being a dog walker, too.

Being a mystery shopper is a real thing. You can shop, either online or in person, and get paid for reviewing your experience. But, watch out for scams. A great way to find legit mystery shopper jobs is by looking on job sites such as Ziprecruiter.com or Indeed.com.

You can make money by simply taking online surveys. It's not usually a lot of money, but it's better than nothing, and you can do it during downtime. A few major survey sites include Swagbucks and Survey Junkie. Find more via NerdWallet.com here.

Self-publishing has never been so easy. If you are very knowledgeable in an area that people want to know about, why not self-publish an e-book? Using Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, you can sell your books via the Kindle store. Publishing the book is free, and you can earn an upwards of 70% of each sale in royalties. You can even try your hand at a wild novel and see how it does, if you don't want to write a practical book.

A quick way to make some cash during your off hours is by delivering groceries or food. Services such as Instacart and Shipt use independent contractors to deliver food to clients. Also, services such as Uber Eats and Doordash are often looking for delivery people.

It might seem odd to open a new credit card to try to make money, but it can help. Many credit cards offer new client deals, so if you spend a certain amount after signing up, you could get some cash back or other bonuses. Also, you could find a cash back card, where you get cash back on everyday purchases, such as gas or groceries. Say you don't want a new credit card? You could also open a new bank account at a bank where they are giving cash-back offers for starting business with them. Also, to get the most for your money, look for a high-interest savings.