Have you ever won a major prize in a competition / raffle?

Yes. I won a bicycle, which was too big for me. I tried to sell but there were no takers, so I ended up giving it to my cousin. I also won an acupuncture mat last year. I tried sitting on it but it felt like I was on a bed of needles. The biggest prize I’ve won was probably $200 cash at a Christmas party. One can never go wrong when it comes to gifting cash.

Do you play the National Lottery (if you have one in your country).

There is no national lottery here. The lottery is managed and funded by each state. Since gambling is illegal in Utah, the closest I go to play the lottery is either Idaho or Wyoming. I can reach either state in about an hour drive, so it’s not too bad.

If you were to suddenly benefit from a financial windfall of say £100,000 or $100,000, how would you use it?

I will probably invest all of it – in stocks, in bonds, in ETFs.

If you asked me this question a year ago, I would’ve probably told you I would pay off my debt to my mom and aunt but now, the more I think about it, the more I feel like my life will not change even if I paid off my debts. My mom will most likely still be here, living under my roof rent-free with no financial assistance to me. My aunt will also probably be here, lying in bed all day long. So why should I bother?

Do you consider yourself to be in a better financial position than your were ten years ago?

Yes, I do consider myself to be in a much better position financially than I was ten years ago. Ten years ago, I was working a remote translation job. My mom was my co-worker and it was a non-stop hassle. Other than the hours spent in school and at my part-time job, I was either doing homework or working at this remote translation job. Even after 2 jobs, I still could only barely pay my school tuition. In the end, I funded my entire second college degree with no help from the bank or my mom.

Now, ten years later, I’m more than 8 years into my current job, which pays… decent but won’t get rich with this job. I can afford many of the things I want and can, at times, indulge myself to an outside lunch when I’m in the office. I’m still a penny-pincher at times but that’s because it’s baked into my nature after being told repeatedly by my mom that we’re poor while growing up. Still, I think I’m in a much better spot.

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