I Used to Spend $20 a Week on Lotto Max—Until a Tiny Tomato Plant Changed My Life

Brian, 39, lives in Burnaby.

A father, a husband, and a regular office worker—just like many of us.

Every Friday after work, like clockwork, he’d stop by the local 7-Eleven. Pull out his wallet and say the same words every time:

“Two Lotto Max tickets, please.”

Week after week.

$20 gone—not for groceries, not for savings—but for “hope.”

“Who knows,” he’d joke with his wife, “maybe this is the week I win $70 million.”

But deep down, he knew the truth—his chances of getting struck by lightning twice were still better than hitting the jackpot.

And then something unexpected happened.

One early spring afternoon, as he sat scrolling on his phone waiting for the draw results, his 8-year-old son Tommy came running up, holding a tiny pot.

“Dad! My teacher gave me tomato seeds! Can we grow them?”

Brian chuckled,

“Of course, buddy. But honestly, why bother? Tomatoes are like few dollar for a pound at the store.”

Then Tommy looked up and said something that hit Brian like a thunderbolt:

“But this one… I want to grow it with my own hands.

Not like the money you spend every week and never get anything back.”

Boom. That was the moment.

That night, Brian couldn’t sleep—not because he didn’t win, but because his son had just shown him something he hadn’t seen in years.

So he did the math:

Over a thousand dollars.

With that, he could:

Turn a small balcony into a thriving garden that feeds his family year-round

Buy organic soil, pots, seeds, compost, even a drip irrigation system

Grow real food, teach his son life skills, and reconnect with nature

Experience true joy—not the thrill of a ticket, but the peace of nurturing something real

Three months later, instead of standing in front of a lottery machine, Brian stood in front of his tiny home garden—watching Tommy jump with joy at their first ripe strawberry.

And that’s when he said:

“I used to spend money chasing a dream that was never mine.

Now, I wake up every day and walk through a dream I grew myself.”

You don’t need $70 million to live a rich life.

You just need to start something meaningful.

Stop wasting your hard-earned money on hope that isn’t real.

Instead, invest it in something you can grow—with your hands, your heart, and your time.

Turn your windowsill, your balcony, or your backyard into something beautiful.

Plant food. Plant joy. Plant a future worth waking up for.

Here’s your challenge:

Skip the lottery ticket.

Take that same $20 and come visit us at DH Garden Centre.

Bring it home. Start something.

Not to “win big,”

But to realize—you already have everything you need to grow a life that matters.

Because life doesn’t bloom by chance—it blooms when you plant it.

And who knows? The sweetest reward might already be in your hands—just waiting for you to sow the first seed.

If this story spoke to something inside you, share it with someone you know who still buys lottery tickets every week.

You might just help them wake up before another year slips away.