A north-east couple have said that, despite winning a near £58 million lottery jackpot, they still can’t resist a bargain.
Fred and Lesley Higgins, from Laurencekirk, hit the EuroMillions jackpot last year – but say they will shun the idea of a holiday home in Monaco or the Caribbean and will continue to enjoy mini-breaks in their native Scotland.
Mr Higgins, 68, retired as a warranty administrator for Audi in Aberdeen just 18 months before the life changing win.
He said he had never stopped believing his numbers would come in, despite the taunts of colleagues who questioned his optimism.
He told the Sunday Post: “I was confident I would win. I always did believe that. I didn’t think I would win as much as I did though.
“I told my colleagues ‘someday I am going to win the lottery’ and they pulled my leg about it. But he who laughs last, laughs loudest.”
Mrs Higgins, a former account manager with the Montrose Port Authority, said despite the multi-million-pound haul, she still found it hard to break old saving habits and still kept her eyes peeled for bargains.
She said: “I was always the type of person who stalked a thing before I bought it in the sale.
“I am a wee bit more relaxed now, but I still look at things and think ‘I can’t justify spending that’.
“I can’t resist a bargain. I bought a jacket recently that was down to £50 but I wouldn’t have paid the original price which was nearer £300.”
The couple’s win last August was almost marred by a tear in the ticket.
Regular player Mr Higgins would build up a backlog of unchecked tickets in his wallet and when he handed the winning one to the cashier at his local shop, the till assistant unthinkingly tore it in half.
But luckily the numbers on the two halves were clear enough to claim the windfall.
Mrs Higgins said the sum was being carefully looked after.
She added: “We have our 36th wedding anniversary coming up but we don’t know what we are doing for it. We have never been ones to plan lavish affairs.”
