Need cash and lots of it? There are two popular ways to get cash. Both can produce impressive results.

First, you can buy a two-dollar lottery ticket and win a multi-million-dollar drawing. That win is before heavy taxes. All you must do is to pick five numbers from an array of sixty-nine and one Power Ball number from an array of twenty-six. Or you can allow the lottery computer to pick the numbers for you and the odds of winning remain the same. Picking a string of your lucky numbers does not improve your odds either. If there is no winner of the drawing just completed, the odds of winning the next drawing remain the same; exceptionally long.

The odds of winning Power Ball are 1 in 292,201,338. Also, keep in mind that if there are multiple winners, you will be forced to split the winnings evenly. The lottery is a gamble. However, it is affordable at a couple of dollars per play, and it takes just a couple of minutes of your time to play.

Then there is the lawsuit approach to raising money. The settlement of your lawsuit, if favorable, could result in a nice cash pay-off. Usually, cash settlements in a lawsuit are smaller but the odds of winning are better than a lottery. A few in our society make a lucrative career  of filing lawsuits. They win some, lose some, and always move on to the next.

There are many types of lawsuits: medical malpractice, personal injury, employment, property,  civil, and more. Filing a lawsuit is only the first step in what can be a long resolution process. You will need to make personal disclosures and may have to stretch the truth in the telling. Plan on spending lots of time on your case. You will need to hire and pay an attorney (win or lose).

A surprisingly high percentage of lawsuits, as high as 90%, end in a settlement before going to trial. However, both sides usually must give some things away in this process. Of course, you could avoid a request from your opponent to settle and insist on getting your day in court.

Then there is always the class action lawsuit. The dollar awards are small. However, there are no significant legal expenses or personal time commitment. Just watch television ads sponsored by a  shyster lawyer who encourages you to dial their “all nines” phone number “if you or a loved one may have suffered _________________.” The real winners in class action lawsuits are the lawyers.

Note: I should mention a third option for making money. You could always work for it.