How much money would you need to win for significant change in your life?

[AgualusasL0ver]

Was buying a random lottery ticket and thinking about how much I would need to win to feel it had had a real impact. Within each of these there would be a few treats, but commensurate to the prize, plus saving some.

I expect answers will differ based on stage of life etc.

• We are mid 40s
• We rent, I don't expect to buy but to help our DC make better decisions
• DC are 20, 18 and 15 (so a house with a big garden, whilst lovely is no longer a big priority for me)
• We live in a very expensive area, but my elderly parents are now settled nearby and need my help and we have a really wonderful community that I wouldn't be keen to leave
• I prefer experience to things so my only reason for buying a property below would be security of tenure, but I would rather have something that is just enough and have regular breaks by the sea/or whereever than have a big house

£25k pretty much clears some debt and starts me back at zero
£75k probably allows one of us to rethink our job for a few months
£150k would allow us both to rethink out jobs for maybe 6 months
£250k would get us on the modest property ladder where we live, but with our nice new jobs that we have taken time to find and suit us
£500k gets us property ladder with a smaller mortgage - this is where earlier retirement might start to become an option
£1m either outright buys a quirky/decent sq ft flat or a very small house. I would buy somewhere smaller outright and use some to take 6m-1y off work to travel (I have a largely land based Europe to Mongolia plan), this includes paid time to find a new job. This is my sweet spot - managing it carefully and investing well, I think we could live well, but not totally give up working forever, just change direction, help our kids and parents over time and enjoy our lives but still have to give some thought to things.

Anything more than this and I feel a bit dizzy - I hope I could give to charities etc in the above, but more than £1m is where I would start a charity and almost give away most of it and help out slightly beyond immediate family.

p.s. I probably shouldn't buy the lottery when I have debt, but I really only buy a ticket once in a blue moon

It’s funny how some amounts can change things and also how quickly attitudes change.

For various and unrelated reasons we have unexpectedly acquired £100k+ three times recently.

We have no debts and are mortgage free already.

That sudden influx opened up our choice in healthcare beyond our normal BUPA options… it really is a two tier system and there are some fantastic new developments now. DH started the removal process for all his mercury fillings with a biological dentist this morning.

We don’t need to think about food choices in the same way and eat organically where possible now.

It also made life much easier with a few key purchases.

Perhaps strangely it didn’t seem enough money to look seriously at investing for retirement so we continue to develop our business as a steady income stream.

Oh and fingers crossed that lottery ticket comes through.

@stayathomegardener exactly that, £25k would fundamentally change a great deal as I wouldn't be covering debt each month. I am chipping away and can afford more than the minimums so it is coming down and is not forever, but £25k will make me instantly in a better position for choices.

It will definitely snowball for you once the debt is gone.

It also sounds like your life is pretty rich in other ways with perhaps good health, a large family, close to your parents and a lovely community. More valuable than money I think.

Oh 100%. I have a really good life, even the debt, providing there are no total disasters will be clear in 9-12 months all being well. It just made me think, that some of that stuff, like taking a break from work to travel is still on my list but I just have to save hard for it once I am paid up, I am very lucky that it will be achievable in maybe 3-5 years in some form or other.

£250k as it would clear our mortgage and that would be life changing. I wouldn’t turn down any amount though! 😅

I agree. Clearing the mortgage would have a life changing impact for me. It would allow me to take a lower paid and less stressful role in the education sector whilst still enjoying all the benefits of a term time only job 🙂 (DH loves his job so he’s happy just to drop a day in this hypothetical situation!)

200k because that would pay off our mortgage.

Any amount would be very well received, but I think in order to be "life changing" it would need to be several 10s of millions of pounds - enough for me to set up (and pay people to run) a meaningful charitable foundation of some kind that would gift money to worthy causes or to people in need.

My money went up £2000 a month post divorce and it has been life-changing. It didn't take much to completely change our lives as a family unit.

I wouldn't say no to half a million. That would be just perfect. Set the family up well, and there's a couple of charities I feel very strongly about so it would be nice to help them out with a decent chunk each.

100k is the magic number that would literally change my life. Everything that stands between me and a life of fulfilment and a manageable pace can be achieved by this figure. I would finally live mortgage free and be able to jack in my job and retrain in a different profession.

That’s fantastic, do you mind saying how you managed to make your post divorce finances work out so well?

£10k would clear all our remaining home improvement debts and we would be better off each month.
£200k would clear the mortgage. I would start to plough more from monthly income into a private pension. And save up and finish the remaining house renovations over a few years.
£350k, clear the mortgage and finish the house.
£500k+ I don’t know! For some reason my dream figure to win is always £200k.

I think probably £500k? At that point I could retire. It probably wouldn’t be particularly good for me but I’ll take that risk.

About £2m to provide lifelong care for my severely disabled son (based on a modest inflation linked £40k) per year for care costs.

It's a good question OP.

Financially we're doing really well, no mortgage, own two cars outright, we can save monthly (because we're not paying a mortgage!) and buy whatever we want within reason.

I would really love to take a year off and see the world though.

In order to do that and have a cushion for us to get a job when we come back & keep up with house maintenance - probably 100-150k?

I've probably got another 20 years of work to go though. Early retirement would need £1-2m I reckon so we could live mostly off the interest but with a drawdown of the capital over time

200k would be lifechanging. Which is funny when you think how much money millionaires make and it’s nothing to them, yet it would turn someone else’s life upside down

I am 57 and retired and don’t really need any more money. I’ve massively helped one DC buy a place already and have money put by for my other two DC when they decide to leave home. So any money I won on a ticket I’d divide by three to help each DC some more.

In some countries £1000 or much less would change someone’s life.
I donate to a charity that performs cleft palate operations and I can’t get my head around such little money for an operation can have such an impact on people’s lives.

We both really enjoy working and our jobs, so £500k just pay off the mortgage and get some breathing room would be enough. £1m would be nice 🤣 but I don’t know what I’d do with it as I don’t want to move house or give up work. Nice holidays I guess? Retire early? Buy the kids property?

Perspective changes everything. I’m equally shocked when I read about food wastage- you could feed all starving countries with the food developed countries throw away

No amount of money could give me what I really want, a cure for my M.S. At 59 we have no mortgage, live in a large 3 bed detached in a lovely area with fantastic neighbours. A large ish win would allow my hubby to retire and buy a house and car for our daughter. We could upgrade on holidays and get the garden professionally landscaped, other than that we’re good. I’d love for my hubby to retire sooner, that would be great for both of us 🤗

I don't really have a huge desire to give up work, but I would like a nice long travel break with a buffer and the ability to find somewhere I really want to be.

I don't even want a property very much, that just seems sensible, but it would be modest, no desire for a sprawling sort of space. But no chance of that where I live anyway, even a shed requires a mortgage.