Merepeka Raukawa-Tait: Hold on to your money: We've won

Would a big Lotto win change your life? Photo / File

Interesting to watch the repeat documentary of winners of New Zealand's Lotto over the years. Those interviewed included the very first Lotto winner from 1987. All said it hadn't changed their lives significantly. They remained pretty much the same as before their win only their winnings had made things easier. They paid off mortgages and, in many cases, the mortgages of their children too.

One retiree admitted he couldn't get used to having money. He never had much all his life and still looked for specials at the supermarket although he could afford anything he wanted these days.

But as he said: "What more do I want?" He has his own house, still the same old friends, continues to drink at the local RSA and is happy with the way things are.

The interviewees were all older people and you could tell they had always worked for a living. None had left their jobs and they continued to work even though they didn't need to. And their families had benefited from their winnings.

It must be fantastic to get a windfall like winning Lotto. To be able to sit down and decide you'll wipe out everything you owe, including mortgages and debts and then contemplate what you'll do with the rest.

The Lotteries Commission provides specialist financial advice for those who win Lotto.

A fool and his money are soon parted, as the saying goes, so the commission wants to help those who find themselves in the enviable position of sudden wealth overnight from going down the same track.

A gambling specialist I know - I never use the sanitised word gaming - travels overseas each year continuing to research the gambling habits of other counties. She tells me it is the same the world over - people gamble hoping to win - to be lifted out of their current situation. Whatever that might be. New Zealanders have always liked a punt.

We pour money into buying raffle tickets, betting on horses, pokies and gambling in all of its various forms. Chances are our numbers will turn up trumps one day. Yeah right. We live in hope dreaming that winning big will make a difference to our lives. And it would. But going by the previous winners, apart from paying off debts and money owed, what else is there? Will we then be more content with what we have? Perhaps counting our blessings from time to time might be a good thing. Being grateful for what we do have right now.

Waking up in New Zealand every morning must surely be something to be grateful for.

When we see the conflicts and killings happening in so many countries around the world we can thank our lucky stars we don't experience that horror. Our children will grow up never having been exposed to terrorist bombs exploding around them and sniper fire within earshot. Never have to live for years in refugee camps.

We can turn on the tap and drink water that isn't contaminated. And we haven't had to walk kilometres to collect it either. Our houses won't be shelled and will still be there in the evening when we return home. We can get hospital treatment when we need it and medical supplies are readily available. We have good quality education. And youth job training is available when students leave school. We can get work and wage rates are improving all the time. We can visit our beaches and lakes knowing that these remain clean and unpolluted. And those in need of restoration are getting the attention they deserve.

We can all live in hope of striking Lotto. And of course it would make things easier all around. But while we're marking time waiting for the "big win", why not be grateful for what we do have in our lives?

It doesn't get any better than living in New Zealand. Cultivating an "attitude of gratitude" means we are not dependent on a Lotto win. We have it all now.

• Merepeka lives in Rotorua. She writes, speaks and broadcasts to thwart the spread of political correctness.