Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Not a millionaire yet

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August 12: Julia A. Keirns “Have you ever had a windfall of some kind, and if so, how did you choose to spend it?”

For those who may not know, I’m a trivia tragic. “Under The Pump” is my team name. I might not be able to cook or sew or clean, but I can tell you the capitals of every state of the United States of America. I bet lots of Americans don’t know the capital of their own state. Oh, I’m being judgemental here.

And that’s not all I could tell you. I remember geographical and historical facts that I learned at school as well as science, maths and nature. I’m not so great with sport and entertainment and I suck at pop culture. I never read women’s magazines.

Winning only gives us a $50 voucher for meals or drinks the following week, but the jackpot is $500 which we’ve won twice. They were lucky windfalls.

The most unexpected windfall quizzing was the $32,000 I won on The Chase. Not to be sneezed at. Not enough to put a deposit on a house but enough to pay rent and bond for a year. That money kept the wolves from my door.

Just last year, my mum passed. She was in her 99th year. I never expected to inherit money at all. My brother had moved into the care home where Mum was living just the week before so I assumed her room would be signed over to Phillip. I was happy about this as he really needed to be in care. Living in an old beat-up caravan, he was totally unable to look after himself.

I have two brothers and one sister to share what money was left. Mum had already given me an amethyst necklace — that’s a story in itself — so I was satisfied. I’ve never been a person to rely on money from anyone — I value my independence so when almost $160,000 was deposited in my bank account while I was in Europe, I was shocked and pleasantly surprised. That was indeed an unexpected windfall.

I briefly dreamt about buying a motorhome or a little French village house, but decided I’d use the money to renovate and build an extension on Keeley and Carl’s little home so that I can live in my own space when I get too old to look after myself. Little did we know how much that would cost! Quotes were anything from $280K to $350k. Already the costs have added up. There’s very…