We’ve got one of my favorite holidays, St. Patrick’s Day, coming up next week. I thought I would focus on luck today. Have you been lucky in your financial life? Was it your smarts or your luck (or something else) that got you where you are today?
Looking back over my life, I can’t really pinpoint a single lucky incident or event that has catapulted me into financial success. I didn’t win the lottery or stumble upon a fantastic business idea. However, I do feel like I’ve lived a blessed life.
Richard Wiseman did a small study on luck back in 2003 where he concluded this:
“although unlucky people have almost no insight into the real causes of their good and bad luck, their thoughts and behaviour are responsible for much of their fortune.”
Do you attribute your financial success to luck or something else? And if you feel like luck can be created, what are you doing right now to create your own luck?
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
One of my favorite quotes is ” Luck is where preparation and opportunity meet.” I’ve had accidental financial luck but couldn’t sustain it as I wasn’t making the right financial decisions at that time in my life. Now we’re actively creating our own good fortune through hard work and prudence.
@Mrs. Frugal. Love that quote. That’s a good point you bring up about making luck count when it happens to you.
Most people who are lucky don’t realize it unless they win the lottery. I can play the lottery 100 times. The chance of matching 2 numbers is 9:1. I think I win a dollar once out of 50 tickets. Hard and smart work and good solid financial planning will get you where you need to go.
My financial success, eh? I think that’s a loaded question to begin with!
That said, I do count myself lucky. I have a supportive family who have helped me out when I was unable to take care of myself — financially and emotionally. And now I have a wonderful husband who wants nothing more in the world than to find a way to bring in a stable income for his family.
But luck with money… That’s a different story completely.
I was taught from a young age to save. And I was taught to be cautious when spending money. So in that sense, I perhaps made my own luck, since I was able to be a landlord at a young age. Once I sold the house, I was able to pay off my student loans, pay my mom back some money she had lent me, and still had some funds to live on for a bit.
That was about as lucky as I’ve been with money. I win $1-2 off scratch tickets from time to time. Since I rarely buy them, I couldn’t give you much of a statistic. I think the most I’ve ever won in a casino (and only on slots, mind you) was $150. Which I considered awfully lucky.
So I don’t think money is magically drawn to me. But I do think that I’m lucky enough to know how to use it (or not) in the most advantageous way possible. And that’s a sort of luck, I think!
i think that in order to achieve financial success, you have work hard and stay focused on your end-goal objectives. Hopefully, with a little luck, they will come to fruition earlier than expected. I don’t think success comes exclusively from luck; however, I do believe that people do need a ‘few breaks’ here and there -which can be in the form of luck. (I don’t know if what I just said makes any sense but…anyway, it is what it is!)
PS. I thought this was an interesting question, so included it in my roundup. Hope to see some more responses as this is a cool topic!
I attribute my financial success(Don’t know if I’d call it success….yet:) ) to my faith #1, smart/hard work #2, and determination #3.
@Abigail – Thanks!
I can’t attribute my financial success to luck. i don’t believe in luck, instead i believe in hard work.
People create their own luck. The harder you work, the more opportunities open for you.
I started to say there is no such thing as luck….. but that’s not entirely true…. speculators and gamblers are often more lucky than good. Anyone with a real financial plan who systematically invests is not lucky, they are prepared and disciplined and are playing the long-term odds to get the full return of the financial markets.
My so-called luck doesn’t exist when it comes to my finances. Careful planning re: frugal spending and staying focused on paying down debt and patience with savings are to my advantage. Sometimes, however, it isn’t always easy or within one’s control….to a point.
Getting laid off and being unemployed for 1.5 years wasn’t easy. That is how I incurred debt. But I controlled it by applying for employment anywhere they were hiring. I guess this is where luck can prevail, because I was at the right place at the right time. The retail manager approached me while I was browsing, asking me a few non-personal questions. One thing led to another and next thing I know, I am hired. I’ve been working ever since.
This job I have is my niche; it is where I am happiest, and with careful planning I’ve been able to take control of my finances and put myself in the position I am in today. Hard work also goes a long way. Just some thoughts.
Thanks for sharing, Jo.