I was the oldest of five children and I wore hand-me-downs from the neighbors. A huge treat was getting two new outfits for school every year. I loved visiting my grandmother, who worked for Buffums Department Store (I'm dating myself here) because she usually took us shopping for something yummy and little girlish. We had plenty to eat and saw the doctor when we were sick, but we really never had any extra.

I raised my kids the same way (except for the clothes... they all got new clothes TWICE a year!!!) Like my parents, I was doing the best I could with the money mindset I inherited.

After my divorce, I decided it was time to do something different. I started to study the energy of money.

I learned the Universal Law that says, "what you focus on, you bring more of into your life." So, if you focus on how broke you are, you invite more "brokeness" into your life. If you focus on the happy flow of money, money gets really happy about flowing through you. It gets so happy that it flows in ever increasing amounts like the Spring runoff that fills the creeks and rivers as mountain snow melts.

This is why gratitude is such a great practice. When we take the time to notice and be truly grateful for the good things in our lives, our mind begins to focus on those things. And as we focus, we draw more of those things to us.

One of my favorite practices is to add money miracles to my gratitude list. To ramp up your money magnet power, try this simple technique: each evening sit down and make a list of all the money miracles that happened to you that day. At first, it might be hard to find the miracles. The more you look, the more you will find; and then, they start finding you and getting bigger and better.

A money miracle is un curso de milagros that puts money in your pocket - or your bank account.

Examples of money miracles:

1. Finding change on the ground. I always pick up money I find on the ground. Even just the pennies. They remind me to be grateful for all the abundance I have in my life, and all the abundance that is coming. At the end of the year I roll all my coins and count it. Some years I've picked up over $100 in change that others have stepped over.

Today I found these two pennies in two different places on my run. It took me less than a second to pick each one up. One cent for a fraction of time is a good rate of pay! The Universe is sending a message about more abundance coming my way. I'm opening the door to it now!

2. When a client pays you. You may be expecting this, but it is still a money miracle to celebrate. You have clients, they love you and they are willing to pay you. Double the gratitude for those that never pay late!

3. When someone buys you lunch. Especially when it's someone you enjoy eating lunch with.