Finns firmly believe in winning the lottery – According to the survey, it is the best way to get rich

Danish Bank The Financial Peace of Mind survey says that 29 percent of the respondents mention winning the lottery as the “most accepted way” to get rich. Only 22 percent of respondents consider entrepreneurship to be the most accepted route to wealth.

According to the same survey, 39 percent of respondents consider winning the lottery as the most likely way to get rich. 37 percent of the respondents trust the wealth-enhancing power of regular saving and spending discipline.

The modest monthly income of Finns can partly explain their strong trust in the lottery. The median salary and bonus income was only 3,160 euros in January 2024, calculates Statistics Finland.

The general prosperity of Finns is nothing to brag about. Based on Danske’s survey, almost half of Finns (43%) have less than 5,000 euros in so-called liquid assets. About a third have less than 1,000 euros.

Based on the survey, a large part of the population does not even believe that they will become prosperous.

The elderly trust the lottery

The results of the survey are surprising, because a million-dollar lottery win is extremely unlikely. The odds of winning the jackpot are about one in 18 million.

There has already been a discussion about the results of the survey and especially about the possibility of winning the lottery, the general tone of which has been wonder. Senior Strategist at Danske Bank Kaisa Kivipelto points out that the lottery is especially trusted by older people.

“In the younger age groups, they believe that hard work, diligent study, saving and investing lead to wealth.”

According to Kivipello, the younger generation is braver in their economic thinking than the older generations.

“Fewer and fewer young people believe in winning the lottery. Taking control of one’s own finances has risen to the center of the conversation, as young people prepare for the future.”

The investment did not inspire

9 percent of the respondents think they can get rich through entrepreneurship, while 16 percent of the respondents think they can get rich through a well-paid job.

The message of the banks that even a small monthly investment will generate significant sums over decades does not get through.

The survey also reveals that 14 percent of Finns feel that they can become wealthy by investing less than 500 euros per month in shares or securities.

“Younger people more often than others believe that entrepreneurship is a way for them to get rich,” says Kivipelto.

Many people don’t think they will get rich

Danske Bank also asked how possible prosperity is generally considered to be. As many as 64 percent of the respondents estimate that they do not believe that they will get rich in their lifetime.

The majority do not invest due to a lack of money, because there is no financial buffer.

This is supported by another survey. About a quarter (24%) of consumers are stuck in a chronic lack of money, according to the extensive consumer survey commissioned by the Swedish Consumers’ Association.

“The situation in Finland is that there are more citizens who do not invest than there are investors. In addition, less than 20 percent of respondents say they invest to get rich,” says Kivipelto.

Inheritance amounts are increasing

Although more and more Finns inherit money or real estate, only 18 percent of Finns consider inheritance an acceptable way to get rich.

According to the survey, even fewer consider it an acceptable way to get rich if the family and the family accumulate wealth through advance inheritance.

However, in 2020, almost 5,000 Finns received an inheritance of more than 200,000 euros, but typically the inheritance is less than 15,000 euros.

Wealth accumulates and accumulates, so for this reason the amount of inherited property will increase for decades to come. Even the taxman’s data proves that the average value of inheritances has risen clearly in recent decades.