If you won 500k.. how would you spend it?

[Tickledpickled]

I have a mortgage of just under 300k, so I think I’d probably pay that off. As our house needs renovating, a further 200k could easily be swallowed up there. That’d be it - gone! Wouldn’t take long 😮
How would you spend it?

I'd buy a house. As I hurtle towards retirement I am desperate to have a secure home that I can't be kicked out of because my landlord decides to end my tenancy.

A tiny house with a garden in - and removal costs to - SW France, new glasses, dentistry, might go crazy and get my roots done too. All v rock and roll.

I reckon £100k to DC towards houses and the rest I think we would use to help ease into retirement in style, maybe top up by about £30k a year.

Buy next door £250k.
Architect/builders costs to combine both houses £100k
New car for us, cars for both adult children and driving lessons for one £50I
Savings £100k

Mortgage and school fees plus a safari holiday for us and my parents when the kids are a bit older.

Body modifaction, not Katie Price level but teeth and eyes (laser)
Buy the house next door and knock through .
New car
Holiday

Then invest what's left .

I'd pay off the mortgage, put 100k into my pension and then split the rest between our combined DC. It would give each a lump sum which would make a big hole in a house deposit, especially as sDCs are in areas where property is much more reasonable priced than here.

£300k towards a nicer house.
A couple of extravagant holidays that we would not normally go on.
Dh would quit his job that he hates and retrain.
Private fertility treatment.
Save / invest the rest.

I would buy a bigger house. We have a £170k mortgage on a house worth about £300k so we could buy a house worth up double that (although would probably be more likely to go for a mortgage free £500k house)

My fil walked in our house the other day and told us if he had got number 30 on the lottery and not 31 he would be £800,000 richer and he would have given us the lot ! Wish he had never told us as obviously I couldn't help but think what we could have done with it. Now me and DH never argue , he is very laid back but we really don't have anything to disagree on. That evening I asked him to give me his top 3 things he would have spent the money on , his 3 things differed completely with mine , in fact we both really disapproved of each other's ideas ! You can see how easily it could cause people to fall out ! Mind you that money would have been nice 😀

I’d spend £300k doing up the house and save the rest for the kids. Boring!

I'd be tempted to move house to get one with bigger bedrooms but sensible me would probably pay off the mortgage on this one (about £170k), get the driveway done, American road trip that we were meant to have but was cancelled due to Covid & now we can't afford, I'd take my parents away for a holiday & pay for my brothers hol next year, bit of money for treats then put the rest away.

Pay off the mortgage & stick the rest away in investments for the dc. Use the extra income each month that currently goes towards the mortgage for fun money - big hols etc.

We have about similar in savings.

I’d pay off the mortgage (about 280k), put some into DS’ account (5k), about 25k for a holiday or two & invest the rest.

I’d pay of our mortgage, a friend desperately needs some working doing on his home due to being ripped off, so if he allowed me I’d fund that. The rest would go to our local temple and foodbank. Due to being mortgage free we could afford to not use the leftovers for savings as we could put our mortgage amount into savings each month.

Pay the car off, redo the kitchen, have the whole house decorated, save the rest. Probably give something to the children and grandchildren, although they’ve already had house deposits and weddings funded.

Buy our forever house, buy a truck for dh and probs pay off my sister's mortgage.

I'd buy a flat for our son and another one for our daughter and her partner.

I would divide it five ways - £100k each for me and my three DC and £50k each to be put away for my DGC. Mine would be spent on my house and the rest for savings.

It would not be enough to live on, of course, so I wouldn't stop work or anything.

I would use it to pay off debts, have our house decorated, put some away for a pension or a rainy day fund and then use the rest as a means to be comfortable.

Fantasy: I'd have a swimming pond built. No chlorine and a reed bed to filter the water. A lovely cedar deck all around. Shady trees and a swim-up bar. <sigh>

Reality: Pay off the mortgage and put the rest in pensions.

Put it in an account and take so much out a month to cover household and car costs (around £1800)
We're in the middle of selling and buying, so maybe use some to increase our deposit and reduce the repayments.
Encourage DH to jack his job in and do the training he's wanted to do for years so he can pursue the career he wants.

Everything else will stay the same I guess.

Pay off mortgage - 70k
Money to siblings, 20k each - 60k
New cars, book a couple of amazing holidays, some home improvements - 100k
Local charities - 50k

Remaining 210k to investments and our pensions

Enjoyed pondering this!!

200k flat for one DC
200k flat for another DC
100k to pay of mortgage on third DC’s flat.