In your heart, you know you are going to win a lotto jackpot eventually. Or else why do you buy lottery tickets? Here is some advice for your head and heart while you get ready to win.

Don't make promises you don't intend to keep. It really is easy to tell someone: "If I won the trusted lottery dealer, I would pay off your mortgage" or "When I win the lottery, I will buy you a brand new car" Such statements, even meant as sympathy for another's plight, can come back to haunt you. You could forget you said it. Yet when you do win the lottery, that individual to whom you uttered your promise will remember vividly and anticipate to collect their "due" And if you pay off the mortgage or buy that car, it does not mean as much if it had not been "expected" or "promised"

Do not trust anyone to hold your lottery tickets prior to the drawing. When large sums of money are involved, it is surprising how a long-standing friendship or family tie may become meaningless. Be forewarned: Buy your own lottery tickets -- or at least have them in your own safekeeping before the drawing takes place. Being an extra precaution, sign the back of your winning lottery tickets immediately. After the drawing, possession is 99 percent of the law.

Stick to a budget. Don't play with money you are afraid to lose. Scared money seldom wins. Keep it fun in order that your attitude remains positive. Enjoy it with others by pooling your money with friends, family or colleagues. Not just is it more enjoyable playing with others, but it also stretches your lotto budget. When you pool your hard earned money with others, you may afford to use the larger lotto wheels.

Have your lotto pool sign a Pooling Agreement. Pooling your money with others to talk about in more lottery tickets is a great idea, but do not pool your hard earned money with anyone with no signed agreement. You might think you are risking just a few dollars. But should the lottery ticket wins, you have put at risk potential millions.

Don't be afraid to skip a drawing. To further stretch your lotto dollar, play a large wheeling system once a month and skip the additional drawings in between. Or use the money you might have spent (but didn't) on some other form of entertainment. Should you have a multiple prize win, you can afford to spend more on lottery tickets next time, for example playing two or even more lotto wheels. You could be on a hot streak. Whenever you don't win, stay on a self-imposed budget until you win again. But be aware of, there is one thing all lottery jackpot winners have in common: They all bought a lottery ticket!

Keep your lottery tickets safe. Keep your lottery tickets in a safe place and check them just after the drawing. Collect your small prizes (under $600) right away before the expiration date. Most states give you only 30 days to claim small wins from lottery agents. Next, you must mail them in or visit a claim center.

Save your losing lottery tickets. Save all of your losing lottery tickets given that they are tax deductible, dollar for dollar, against your lottery wins. Receipts for other gambling losses also can be deducted against lottery wins. Whenever you win even a second prize, you will be glad to have those deductions at tax time.

Play some low-odds games. If you want to start winning sooner rather than later, invest the greater portion of your lottery budget on the cash-5 game offered within your state. You will win more prizes more often whenever you play the lower odds pick-5 games. Top prize may very well be only a hundred thousand dollars or so. Even so, I guarantee that when you win one, you will be very, happy!

Trust your hunches. Although my strategies are scientific, based on mathematical probability, I am a good believer in playing hunches, too. If you feel strongly about the specific number, play it. Your inner conscious mind becomes stronger as well as more accurate when you use it. Even your hunch muscle has to be exercised to work efficiently. It is crucial to think of yourself as a lucky person -- to think of yourself as a winner.

Practice saying, "No," before you win the lottery. The most critical word any jackpot winner can learn to say is an emphatic "No!" Many jackpot winners have gone bankrupt while they allowed freeloading friends, family members, neighbors, as well as others to bleed them dry. If you think you do not possess the backbone to harden your heart against endless sad tales of need and greed, then do not accept your lottery win in a lump sum. Opt for the annuity payout and collect your lottery win in annual installments.