6785824

At the time of writing, one euro is worth 2,14 ytl. I am never too interested in matters of finance, but a friend pointed out to me that the value of the euro is rising quickly. True: not so long ago it was, I guess, something like 1,70 ytl. So when I get 70 ytl from the ATM , now only about 33 euros are debited from my Dutch account, whereas before it was something like 39 euros  – just one example from this week. To be honest, I was moaning to this friend about my earnings this year, which just didn’t reach the goal I set at the beginning of the year. He laughed at me: stop complaining, you spoiled woman. You earn in euros and spend in ytl, that’s a windfall. After which I was very ashamed of myself, both for whingeing about money and for my total lack of knowledge about international exchange rates and their effect on my life. And today, I am a bit ashamed of something else. I bought a ticket for Turkey’s Great National End-of-Year Lottery. As if I’m not yet rich enough, compared to many others in this country. But, well, the man in the white hat with Milli Piyango (National Lottery) written on it was just standing there in the rain, you know, with all his tickets fluttering in the wind. I walked past him and felt it at once: this man will sell me the winning ticket. Number 6785824. The first prize will be paid in Turkish lira’s, not in euros. But I promise I will not complain about that.