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Original poster

If you are wealthy what do you day dream about?

117 replies

Cocteautriplet · 13/05/2023 15:07

Every week I have my little ritual of buying one lotto ticket looking at the jackpot and daydreaming what I’ll spend it on: a 4 bed detached house in the New Forest, less stress for my partner, private school for my three children, a round the world trip etc…

I’m realistic that I’m very unlikely to win but the daydreaming and planning gives me a lot of joy and entertainment. It got me thinking if you have your material needs more than comfortably met what’s on your imaginary wish list … do you dream of working less, of being healthier or having a better body, romance or are your dreams more outward facing … an end to world conflict, better economy etc?

This is not meant to be a goady post … I acknowledge that most people work extensively hard to afford a comfortable lifestyle and good on them … I just want to know how my focus /daydreams will change when I win the lottery this evening 😉

OP posts:
pbdr · 13/05/2023 15:13

I'll be completely honest here.
We are fairly wealthy - wealthy enough to afford a £550k house (in a LCOL area so that buys a lot), private school for 2 kids, I can afford to work just 2 days a week, we can afford plenty of luxuries etc... but I still daydream about winning the lottery. I think as you get more, your aspirations for the life you want for you and your family stretch, and you end up always wanting a bit more than what you have. I look at the lovely £800k plus houses and imagine them. I think about having enough money that we could just go on a luxury family holiday whenever we wanted without having to budget for it. I think it's just human nature.

Peanutbutteryday · 13/05/2023 16:36

Following as interested in responses! Also depends what you mean by wealthy? We live a reasonably nice life in London, but we have to go to work for it. I’d love to be able to live this life without working. I don’t feel I actually need anymore.

Also I have noticed I struggle with spending money more than my husband. Even though we can afford things I still get anxious spending. I think it’s routed from when I was younger? And I’ve noticed it has got worse while on mat leave (even though we comfortably can spend this 12 months without my income). So I’d also like to be able to spend money on this lifestyle (which we can afford) without feeling guilty!!

WonkyFeelings · 13/05/2023 16:38

Flying by private jet. What I wouldn’t give for no having to deal with people at airports.

SpringNotSprung · 13/05/2023 16:50

Living in a smallish modern house with just my husband, probably in central London. Sitting in the same room as him more than once a week. Having not much space to keep tidy.

No sprawl to maintain and rota of workmen, no need for a labelled key box for all the doors and windows, no cleaner or gardeners to organise, no complex insurance, no visitors or other entertaining. Ditto the same thing abroad but with pool maintenance as well.

I appreciate the diamond shoes and they don't pinch but the organisation of it all is exhausting.

I never plan to give up work.

Twerpsichore · 13/05/2023 16:51

£180m on Euromillions 😁

ThatFuckingPaddington · 13/05/2023 17:12

My plan is to buy the Cadbury’s factory and reintroduce Mint Wispas.

belowdecks · 13/05/2023 17:16

@ThatFuckingPaddington Love that! Bit isn’t that just a mint aero?!?!

belowdecks · 13/05/2023 17:17

Reasonably well off… but I dream that I never developed long covid so I could be as active as I used to be.

ShakingAfterAllThis · 13/05/2023 17:23

I dream that DC1 recovers from injury to not need wheelchair and not be in pain.
I dream that DC2 recovers from MH issues to live an independent adult life.

Money isn't everything. It helps but it can't solve these things.

Chatillon · 13/05/2023 17:38

I have all the wealth I could possibly want; happiness, experience, big family, health and that 'money thing'.

I dream of being young again. Of going to university, something I never did. I dream of being the geek that finds cures for cancer. Or maybe I could become the agronomist who finds ways for communities in Africa to prosper. I dream of dating again in those days when I walked to a red telephone box to talk.

I dream only of having another 75 years again.

ThatFuckingPaddington · 13/05/2023 17:41

belowdecks · 13/05/2023 17:16

@ThatFuckingPaddington Love that! Bit isn’t that just a mint aero?!?!

No. Absolutely not.

Nestle chocolate is muck.

Drowninginoptions · 13/05/2023 19:43

I am comfortable financially but I dream of giving up work. I couldn't do nothing, so would love to have the time and the money to spend on charitable work in a field close to my heart.

LimitIsUp · 13/05/2023 19:45

We are wealthy and don't worry about money.

I dream of my daughter being carefree, happy and able to meet her potential rather than hamstrung by ADHD and autism

popsockon · 13/05/2023 19:53

@pbdr I wouldn't call the way you've described your lifestyle as wealthy.

Jeannie88 · 13/05/2023 20:05

Well the most obvious would be not having to work! A bigger house, ĥoliday hime or deluxe camper home, hey maybe both! The best thing for me though would be to share it with loved ones and people who have been good to me, open an animal sanctuary and help charity groups close to my heart. To have enough wealth. Yes the material objects would be amazing but sharing and helping others without having to worry about having enough would be out of this world! Ah, lovely daydream 😍

Ohfgsjon · 13/05/2023 20:24

No matter how wealthy I was, I'd never fly by private jet. I want a big commercial airline with commercial pilots who fly week in and week out. Much safer!

Tauranga · 13/05/2023 20:28

I sometimes dream of winning the lottery and being able to help people who really need help and never get it, for eg I'd help all the child carers in my area.

DustyMaiden · 13/05/2023 20:35

I don’t dream about anything. I plan, I don’t think that’s changed since I had no money. Maybe it’s why I do.

weegiemum · 13/05/2023 20:42

We're definitely in the wealthy bracket - my husband is a GP.

Every day I wish I wasn't disabled. I can't feel my arms below my elbows, or legs beneath my knees. My face is numb too and I have no balance if I don't have my eyes open (can't get dressed etc standing up). I have really poor sense of where my body is at (proprioception) and my energy is very low. I go into hospital every 4 weeks for a drip which improves things - a bit - and at least means I'm not getting any worse.

So I'm not wealthy but I have a huge amount I hope for, though it's never going to happen!

BarbaraofSeville · 13/05/2023 20:48

ThatFuckingPaddington · 13/05/2023 17:12

My plan is to buy the Cadbury’s factory and reintroduce Mint Wispas.

Mint twirls were everywhere when I was out and about today.

BarelyLiterate · 13/05/2023 20:50

We are financially comfortable rather than wealthy, but we do live in a nice cottage in a nice village, drive nice cars & have nice holidays. We both work FT and being able to afford to give up work is what I daydream about and the reason I buy lottery tickets.

AmniMajus · 13/05/2023 20:52

I would want staff that didn’t require managing, house keeper, chef, groundskeeper, building maintenance, financial advisor all managed by a PA who I tell what to do as and when, yet knows me so well I don’t actually need to tell them
what to do, it’s just done. Life admin is such a time suck.

BillyNighysWife · 13/05/2023 20:55

I know it’s a cliche but it is 100% true. Money can’t buy happiness. I wish everyone truly understood that.

I grew up poor. My parents both had to work two jobs for most of my childhood and they still struggled to pay basic bills and rent, never would have been able to buy their own place. As a child I really envied people who had enough money to buy nice things and I imagined they were really happy.

DH and I have professional jobs and DH unexpectedly inherited quite a bit of money a few years ago. Our lives are very comfortable materially. I could dream of a bigger house or a swimming pool. But I don’t. I dream of a time when we don’t have to worry about DHs health, DSs addiction and our unpleasant in laws.

Think about all the celebrities you know, or members of the royal family. They honestly aren’t happier than anyone else. Winning the lottery would be fun for a couple of months. After that your life would be neither happier or unhappier than before.

Rich people dream of what it would take to make them happy. The same as everyone else does.

pbdr · 13/05/2023 21:01

popsockon · 13/05/2023 19:53

@pbdr I wouldn't call the way you've described your lifestyle as wealthy.

There's no exact definition of "wealthy", it's a relative term. We are in the top 2% of household income in the UK, so compared to the majority of people we are relatively wealthy. But I certainly wouldn't consider us rich/loaded, and if the word wealthy means the same thing as that to you then I suppose we wouldn't be. The OP described their fantasies of being wealthy as involving a nice 4 bed house, private school education and travel, which are within our means so I thought I might be able to answer their question relevantly.

Bumdealoftheweek · 13/05/2023 21:05

We're comfortable but not wealthy. I do fantasise about giving up work etc. However, if I was really rich i.e. Euromillions rich, I'd invest in our local schools, build sports facilities and help develop a long-term strategy for lour local community to thrive. I often think about how if go about this.