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Original poster

What do you consider to be a "life changing" sum of money?

146 replies

HaaaaaveyoumetTed · 03/12/2021 14:56

Just that really.

Inspired by another thread where someone won on the pools, and people saying "if it's a life changing sum?"

So what would be a life changing sum to you? I think for me, it'd be enough to pay off my mortgage, which is sizeable.

OP posts:

Libertaire · 03/12/2021 18:46

A couple of million. Enough for both of us to retire on, and to be able travel the world for however long and in whatever level of comfort we wish.

ufucoffee · 03/12/2021 18:49

Half a million would pay off mortgage and let me not worry about work.

FreeBritnee · 03/12/2021 18:54

Hundreds of thousands would be life changing. Tens of thousands would be wonderful.

Wrongkindofovercoat · 03/12/2021 18:56

A million would be totally life changing, but honestly 10k would have such a massive impact I would be very happy with that amount.

Cattenberg · 03/12/2021 19:01

£60,000 would enable me to buy a house with a third bedroom, which would change my life somewhat.

£1,000,000 would hopefully be enough for me to give up work and do whatever I wanted, so would change my life enormously.

itssquidstella · 03/12/2021 19:09

£500,000 would pay off our mortgage. I'd be happy with that!

Secondtimemama31 · 03/12/2021 19:13

£10-20m

Camomila · 03/12/2021 19:18

200k to use as a deposit would be nice!

(Cheapest 3 bed house within a mile of where I live is 400k, we could get a mortgage for the rest)

MeanderingGently · 03/12/2021 19:36

A relatively small sum would be perfectly acceptable for me. £30,000 would allow me to stop working....I'm in my 60s and do find work difficult these days. I still have a couple of years before I can have my state pension but I wonder how I will make it that far! I could live on a very small amount per month and would love to retire now....

Supertree · 03/12/2021 19:39

We inherited around 95k in our twenties and it was completely life changing for us. The relative also left us a house which needed around 80k paying off (which was the majority of the mortgage as it’s a cheap area). We went from renting/living hand to mouth to becoming mortgage free homeowners. I’ve never stopped feeling extremely grateful and lucky. The money left over paid for a couple of qualifications and driving lessons, which meant I could get a full time job. Previously, my husband had been working a minimum wage job mostly during evenings and weekends but without a fixed rota so there was no way to work around it and we were kind of trapped, unable to improve our situation. I landed on my feet with an amazing boss who has increased my pay to well beyond what I expected for my experience level in a role with no stress or managerial responsibility and complete freedom to complete tasks however I like. Once I found work, my husband managed to find a part time job which worked around my job (as my lovely boss allowed me to alter my hours slightly on his working days) with overtime available within school hours. This is also a job with prospects so there’s the possibility of gaining qualifications and earning more money. It’s worked out so that we don’t have to pay any childcare costs and can share a car between us. Our commutes are 10/15 minutes. I don’t think I could have planned it better if I’d tried.

We’d still be considered low earners by mumsnet standards but our outgoings are so low that we put at least £1000 into our savings every month. We’ve built up a lot of savings so we’re financially safe and secure. None of this would have been possible if we hadn’t received that money and our life is now unrecognisable. More money, more time together and now we have options and security rather than worry and treading water.

I was an unemployed single mother on benefits for a while before I met my now husband and the difference in my life now compared to then is shocking. Obviously, it takes a much smaller amount to be life changing if you’re starting with less. Sometimes I spend money on something I just fancy! We take the kids on days out and pay for them to do hobbies and activities. I can see the amounts the people upthread were talking about and I don’t know what those amounts would give me that I don’t already have. The downside of it is that a much loved relative died to in order for all of this to happen. I sometimes feel guilty about it, but I know that it brought our relative great comfort to know that they were going to be able to make such a big change to our lives. I was pregnant with my second child when they died and that money made a huge difference to the life and future we’re able to provide for him.

hivemindneeded · 03/12/2021 19:41

@Supertree - what a beautiful, uplifting post

Babyroobs · 03/12/2021 19:52

We inherited quite a large sum and paid off the rest of our mortgage ( which wasn't huge). It hasn't really changed our lives except to mean that I could escape a very stressful job and do a job I love but which is lower paid. This has been the best part of being financially secure. We are not extravagant, dh is still tight at times, the 50 year old stair carpet still hasn't been replaced four years on.

Thelikelylass · 03/12/2021 19:58

£1million.
This would enable me to spend it on champagne, dogs (yes dogs, not drugs) and younger men. Then I'd probably waste the rest.

stmw123 · 03/12/2021 20:20

100k

FindingMeno · 03/12/2021 20:28

500k.
Could buy a place to live, see my dc's through their education, and provide a deposit for them.
Any over would be invested.

Hen2018 · 03/12/2021 20:31

£20,000 would make a difference. £50,000+ might mean a house move.

To really be set up for life, it would take £1,000,000.

SkankingMopoke · 03/12/2021 21:24

£500k to make us noticeably more comfortable, a minimum of £5m to be truly life changing (pay off mortgage, rest invested to give an income)

honeylulu · 03/12/2021 21:25

£1M.

Could max my pension and retire imminently. Put youngest into private school without a second thought.

Uni, driving lessons/ first car, chunky house deposit for each child (2).
And enough to live comfortably with couple nice holidays a year. (My pension will be pretty decent if I manage to get the maximum contributions in.)

As others have noted its all relative. I'm a high earner (enjoy my career) hence a life changing amount of money would have to be substantial enough to justify to myself stopping working earlier than I'd planned.

Figgygal · 03/12/2021 21:29

A million

Kite22 · 03/12/2021 22:03

It so depends on what stage of life you are at.

I know quite a lot of young adults for whom £20K would be completely life changing, because it would be a deposit to buy a house as opposed to renting. They can afford the monthly payments (as are paying more than that in rent) but can't save much as they are paying rent. That deposit would make ALL the difference, so yes, 'life changing'.

Some of the families I work with, enough to pay off debt and just start with 'zero' would be completely life changing.

Like a pp, the equivalent of dh and my salaries until our retirement would be life changing for us - now that is going to be very different for different people depending on your age and also your salaries.

Obviously a multi million ££ amount would be life changing for everyone, but most of us could have our lives changed with a much smaller amount

knobblykneesandturnedouttoes · 03/12/2021 22:23

Enough to buy a few gifts for Christmas would change my life right now. £100. Long term, enough to buy a house so not spending all my wage on rent. Around here, a simple 3 bedroom property would be £125k. I'd be ecstatic.

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