Buying Lottery Tickets, Money wasted: $71.8 billion
You have essentially the same chance of winning the lottery whether you play or not, but that didn't stop Americans from spending $72 billion, or $220 per person, on tickets in 2017, the most recent year for which data was available. That's more than we spend on movies, video games, or concerts, yielding far less entertainment value. According to research by online lender LendEdu, residents of Massachusetts spent the most per individual ($737) and North Dakotans the least ($35).