Karma, Fate, luck? What is it?

Due to recent incidents, I've started to wonder whether luck is real. Well, is it?
We all seem to refer to it but do we really believe in it? Or is it just a coincidence that you're experiencing an one off bad week?

For some reason, I felt that Hermz's been having a pretty rough year. Yes, I said year.
I distinctively remember mum telling me that Hermz and her will experience some obstacles this year, when she was watching some fortune telling/animal horoscope chinese show.
After this week, I'm starting to actually believe in it. I know, it's ridiculous, but hear me out.

For the most of this year, Mum has been sick on and off, with headaches, cramps, back pains, the flu etc etc. But it's not like this year has been crazily cold or the flu was an epidemic. Yet, at the most randomness times, mum will fall ill.

Hermz, on the other hand, has been consistently refused internship jobs. I have friends that are in their penultimate years getting interviews and acceptances in major investment banks and companies. Whilst Hermz is sitting dunce. Not trying to fuel his ego, but I would've thought he would have the marks and the qualities these companies would look for. Then there's the Iphone incident where they are insisting he owes 3G network $13, 000 for the download usage. What a load of bs is that ey?!? For heaven's sakes....
Everything's settled now but you still wonder whether it was what mum said early this year.

So, now I'm really worried. Will I have bad luck next year when I'm overseas? Currently, I'm already getting a very negative vibe from the current economy, with the exchange rate slumping to L0.388/AUD. I've lost more than 20% in monetary value, and don't think it's gonna stop falling anytime soon either.

I don't want to believe in luck but it's starting to get me worried especially in the light of what's been happening to Hermz.