The Thrifty Mama's Guide to More Life for Less!

I know some people think I am lucky, I have a highly domesticated husband, fancy cars at my disposal, investment properties, a business instead of a 9-5 job, an exclusive breed of cat and beautiful clever children (well I suppose we all have them don't we?).

First of all none of this is as glamorous as it sounds but that is beside the point here which is that we had to work hard to get the luck to happen. If we had sat around doing the same thing everyday and moping about not being lucky, doing nothing more than buying a lottery ticket every week and complaining about those who have "all the luck" we would have none of it.

Some of it is down to a bit of luck but it is being in the right place at the right time by ensuring we are often in the right place! Our lovely Devon Rex was $80 from a cat home rather than $800 from a breeder but we regularly visit cat homes so we are on hand to meet any unusual breeds should they pop up so it's not so much lucky as fairly likely we would find him! Our fancy cars were bought (for our business) by researching daily what was on the market and chasing every opportunity, our properties were good buys at the right time (not always... but you live and learn). The business was hard graft and chutzpah rather than luck, we started with nothing and built it from scratch but people see the surface and assume it's "luck".

Luck is finding a $20 note on the ground when on a walk... luck is having good weather for your wedding in a wet spring, finding bargains and buying well to enhance your life takes a bit of dedication.

One of favourite books is The Tightwad Gazette By Amy Dacyczyn which is actually a collection of newsletters she published herself in the 1990s. She is a great one for making her own luck and through hard work, research and dedication she ended up with a farmhouse, minor celebrity status through her books and newsletters and a thriving business she built from scratch as well as a house full of antiques and an ability to dress her six children for US $50 a year (this was the 90s and the American dollar had some value then...)! The "secret" to her luck was sometimes extreme. She would plot "Yard Sales" (Garage Sales) on a map, start early in the morning (really early) with a few snacks and a thermos, pre-dress the child she was taking the night before (so she could pull them out of bed and go the next pre-dawn morning) and methodically peruse each sale, bargaining and buying clothes to suit her children, those that didn't fit yet were filed in archiving boxes. She was often told she was "lucky" with her Yard sale finds- luck had nothing to do with it!

So when you think that some people are lucky with what they have in life remember that they probably put in some hard yards to get that luck be it researching the best catalogue buys for the week's groceries so they have more money for their holiday fund or tracking down the best price for the Porsche they drive. Also remember the odds of you winning the lottery are very very slim and most people aren't happier or even much richer a couple of years after a win...they have blown it all (because they didn't work for it maybe?).

So if you aren't feeling lucky, go out and find ways to make your own luck... I did and it worked. Oh I didn't tell you how I managed to snare a domesticated husband did I? ... Now that was just luck!