to think a large sum of money would give you life long happiness we can't even imagine

[SillyBud]

Just pondering on the person who win the 109 million last night and think that yesterday they were just like us-stressed about so many things that could be eased/abolished by money-mortgages, rent, work,health and fitness,appearance...

Can you actually imagine waking up today to discover you are 109 million richer and free from so much the rest of us are prisoner to?

@SillyBud

For those of you saying none of your problems can be solved by money, you are coming from a place of privilege

This. People say they have no desire for wealth or have plenty then have never struggled and don't understand poverty and its restrictions or just being in a very stressful career that they don't like.

Totally agree. It's blind to the effects of poverty in the uk and even more in the world as a whole. Girls dragged out of school after a few years education because of poverty, high proportions of babies dying from malnutrition or simple, curable diseases due to poverty. 1000s of Hours of unpaid labour for women washing clothes by hand due to poverty. Stuck in cycles of deprivation for generations , because tiny amounts of seed money aren't available to set up a new system or start a new business. Forced to borrow at exorbitant rates that end up enslaving you due to poverty.

The idea that your health outcomes aren't affected negatively by poverty - even in this country - is laughable and insulting.

Yes, once you are lifted out of money hardship and stress, the gains to happiness are more incremental. But suggesting that having to worry about whether people love you for yourself is an equal 'substitute worry' to the grinding effects of poverty is ridiculous.

If you really believe that, then hand over all your money!

I think I could do a lot of good with that sort of money by helping those locally whom the system has let down. DH works for a charity, I have done voluntary roles in both charitable and public sector and we, as a family, have in the past benefitted from a charity where public sector services failed to provide.

Apart from buying a house for DS and maybe having one holiday of a lifetime I don't think I'd know what to do with it. I have never had any desire to buy anything other than a car that gets me from A to B, designer clothes don't interest me in the slightest, and the hobbies we have are cheap. I don't think millions of pounds would change that - in fact it would probably keep me awake at night worrying about it.

I know I'm in a fortunate position of being old enough to have paid off the mortgage and not worry about where my next meal is coming from but we are far from rich and I can't think of anything less appealing than a 'celebrity ' lifestyle.

@shilohh

There's 3 types of problems.

1. problems which can be solved by throwing money at it.

1. problems that can't be solved with money but can be eased / reduced / make life a bit more easier.

1. problems where no amount of money in the world can solve.

Where do most of your problems lie? Get rid of problem no.1s and ease all probs in category no.2. You're left with dealing with no.3 problems which is part of human life anyway.

Agree. And there are very very few problems that are genuinely in number 3 category, because almost all bad things are far less likely to happy to you if you are rich.

People keep talking about terminal cancer. Cancer doesn't generally start terminal, it becomes terminal because it is not caught early or because treatment fails to stop it. The likelihood of it not being caught early is far less if you have private health care, with regular check ups, and if you can buy your way out of waiting lists. Better treatment options may well be available or accessible faster once your cancer is discovered. If you have been leading an economically privileged life already, you are more likely to go into battling your cancer with lower stress levels and better overall physical health. You will also be able to stop work and focus on fighting the disease, with attentive preventative and reactive care..... and if the worst happens and you still become terminal, you will die in comfort, without the misery of knowing your family will struggle.

It simply isn't the same, depending on your financial state.

Surely the covid outcomes make clear how much economics affects health? People living in more crowded accommodation, with less private open space, working manual jobs that they can't do from being a computer screen, or can't afford to stop are much more likely to catch and therefore due of covid.

Who do you think is more likely to die in a fire? The people who are forced to live in high rises with dodgy cladding, or who can't afford to do the safety checks, fire alarms, professional electrical upgrades etc that richer people can.

To dismiss as 'superficial' the idea that money makes you happier and doesn't make a difference to life/death/health is totally insulting.

@SquirrelG

I would hate to win that amount of money, I'm sure it would be a burden more than a joy. Of course I would like to win money, but a far more modest amount.

As to bringing life long happiness, in the most wealthy family I know the father is in a home with severe dementia, and he isn't that old. Nothing their money can do to fix that.

No he will still have dementia, but I bet the care home he is in is really nice, with high quality care so he is not only comfortable but getting the medicines and stimulation that helps to delay the disease. And the family will have more choices about how to care for him and see him too.

The joy for me about winning a massive sum is the options that it gives me. I can afford to upgrade my life, still work but dh can go part time or open the consultancy he's always wanted to.

Knowing that I can afford to take my family on holiday and not worry about the cost. Just upgrading small things to make our life a bit easier rather than massive luxury spending.

At our time of life - we are mostly retired, have no mortgage or children - winning that sort of money would be a bit of a headache tbh. Our nephew’s parents have told us we are not to leave him money in our will as he will be quite well provided for by them. We’d have to set up some sort of foundation I suppose.

Our nephew’s parents have told us we are not to leave him money in our will as he will be quite well provided for by them

quite silly really as the nephew's parents really do not know what lays in store in the future, as the saying goes money comes money goes.

And of course as that TV series proved money doesn't necessarily fix relationships or family issues, usually makes any fracture much worse

it didn't help that the mum hid the win from the family.

YABU, money can't buy you happiness, it just makes misery a bit more tolerable.

@DdraigGoch

YABU, money can't buy you happiness, it just makes misery a bit more tolerable.

And who wouldn’t aim for more tolerable? I would. Everyone would.

*But suggesting that having to worry about whether people love you for yourself is an equal 'substitute worry' to the grinding effects of poverty is ridiculous.

If you really believe that, then hand over all your money*

Agreed I recall talking about winning the lotto with mates and 1 mate, a privileged homeowner after his parents gave it to him it in London and in a very lucrative job told me I was silly to want to win the lotto and he wouldn't want to as if I was unreasonable for wanting it.

I was renting a box room and working in a much less lucrative job and because of family circumstances and health reasons would never be able to work in a job like his. It really irked me but I am seeing a lot of this privilege perspective in this thread.

Yes they say money is not an issue and they don't need wealth because they pretty much have it all already and are oblivious to a less than privileged lifestyle of no job security, no security for old age and generally being a few pay cheques away from financial ruin.

Reminds me of that ep of Friends where their incomes cause a wedge in the group and Ross said he never thought money was a problem or issue and Rachael pointed out ''yes because you always had it.''

To dismiss as 'superficial' the idea that money makes you happier and doesn't make a difference to life/death/health is totally insulting...If you really believe that, then hand over all your money

Agreed I recall talking about winning the lotto with mates and 1 mate, a privileged homeowner after his parents gave it to him it in London and in a very lucrative job told me I was silly to want to win the lotto and he wouldn't want to as if I was unreasonable for wanting it.

I was renting a box room and working in a much less lucrative job and because of family circumstances and health reasons would never be able to work in a job like his. It really irked me but I am seeing a lot of this privilege perspective in this thread.

Yes they say money is not an issue and they don't need wealth because they pretty much have it all already and are oblivious to a less than privileged lifestyle of no job security, no security for old age and generally being a few pay cheques away from financial ruin.

Reminds me of that ep of Friends where their incomes cause a wedge in the group and Ross said he never thought money was a problem or issue and Rachael pointed out ''yes because you always had it.''

"Yes that amount of money would be life changing but it can't fix health issues for example if you get terminal cancer that's it and if you have a massive stroke and die having 100 mil in the bank won't do shit"

As said poverty affects health outcomes, so it might not prove to be absolutely terminal. For those of us whose adult children rely on them for childcare, or who have adult disabled children, having £1million in the bank on death would be a blessing.

" I know the father is in a home with severe dementia, and he isn't that old. Nothing their money can do to fix that."

I've worked in dementia homes. Life is better for everyone if the families aren't going into burn out because their relative is subject to DWP budgets and them having to work full time, as well as being on watch of said relative.
The only circumstances that it wouldn't rectify is a death of a child. But being able to source MH support and being able to pay for practical support would make your quality of life better.
I know someone whose child was seriously ill, then dying. They had to beg on FB for lifts to the hospital. For funds for train travel, for accommodation when going to other hospitals/hospices.
I'd buy properties and market then at a fair rent. Then do similar with disabled friendly holiday homes. As well as powered wheelchairs and hospice support. So it would be a case of only around £20 million spent personally.

£9 million split between family and friends. Rest to charities, particularly smaller ones. That way it’d change a lot more lives than just mine. Only thing I’d really like to own is an electric car, and maybe a detached house so I don’t have to listen to my neighbour clumping about in the night :)

The people who say they'd give x amounts to away to charities, friends etc can say it easily when the money is just a castle in the sky. But if the dream/win became a reality then they might feel/act very differently.

It's a bit like saying you'd do x,y and z when raising your children but it's very different when you actually then become a parent.

@lockthedoor36

My friend and I were in very similar situations, both in debt, really struggling on benefits. We both played, agreed to share if we won.

Well she won! The first thing she said was she wasn’t sharing. Now I get to hear about her brand new house, brand new car, brand new whatever. And if anything my situation is now worse. Didn’t even get a nice gift for my birthday lol

I don’t think it brings you happiness, I think you have to be happy already but I do think so many many people would be happier without all of life’s pressures, which a lot of the time come down to money so of course a huge win would be the cure to all that. No more burden of bills, housing costs, childcare costs, travel costs etc

I think many people would be happy with the life they have if they just had enough to live a nice little life, cover their bills comfortably with a few treats, be able to take their family on holiday, be able to afford to spend time as a family rather that ships in the night tag-teaming to their jobs etc

I remember when we got slightly better off, it was just so nice to be able to go out for a meal as a family without having to choose between eating out or paying our gas bill.

I grew up in poverty and it was tough but we were happy. Dh and I have struggled with money throughout our life together but we’ve always been happy together.

Winning such an amount would be unfathomable wouldn’t it? I would get such a buzz through helping out my closest family and friends. I wouldn’t be able to start buying ridiculous things though because of how I grew up, I’d obviously treat myself but could never justify spending say 5 grand on one piece of clothing, I just find that vulgar when other people can’t afford to eat.

I’d want to get a house in the middle of nowhere, be quiet and spend real quality time with my family. I’d also really love to travel and show my children the world.
I think I’d probably be a bit of a rubbish lottery winner as I wouldn’t suddenly be going out to buy a Lamborghini or something

I do have a list of people though who have helped us out throughout our lives at times when we’ve really needed it and they will be gifted with a lump sum if we ever won. They probably wouldn’t even realise how much their small actions meant to us.

I would swap all of that for not being in pain every day and being able to walk without a walking frame.

Money can't buy me good health but I'm not daft enough to think it would do nothing for me - I could put the heating on and pay for help.

*My friend and I were in very similar situations, both in debt, really struggling on benefits. We both played, agreed to share if we won.

Well she won! The first thing she said was she wasn’t sharing. Now I get to hear about her brand new house, brand new car, brand new whatever. And if anything my situation is now worse. Didn’t even get a nice gift for my birthday lol*

Agreed people can be Mother Teresa with their money when they don't actually have it. How much she win?

In fairness, the only way you can ensure it's shared is to do a syndicate and keep it documented. I do this with my mates and we whatsapp our tickets to each other in a group but I'd never expect for a second that it would work through just an oral agreement.

DH and I have vowed that we wouldn't tell anyone.

I would continue to work or volunteer in some capacity but I would anonymously gift money to people and charities I would like to help. I think we'd upgrade the house and the cars but nothing ostentatious. I'd treat friends to lunch every now and again.

It would be lovely to go for a massage or see a physio to sort a problem without worrying about whether we could afford it.

I'd invest the money and make sure it went to good use when I depart for good.

I grew up in poverty and it was tough but we were happy

then it wasn't poverty.

Just over a million. I’m happy for her but equally wish I could have that kind of financial security!

Money would make a lot of things easier and open up new possibilities, but I'm positive it would bring some worries of its own, things I probably can't foresee. All the money in the world can't guarantee happiness, certainly not lifelong happiness. You have only to look at the world's wealthiest to see that. I've heard that people who win the lottery very often find that it doesn't make them happy at all, in the long run.

I've heard that people who win the lottery very often find that it doesn't make them happy at all, in the long run

I recall reading an article somewhere where they were celebrating Camelot's anniversary and loads of the winners were interviewed and said their lives had improved.
Of course the highest profile cases in the media are the bad stories like the winner 'king of the chavs' who is now a bin man but it's these type of stories that give it a bad rep like it will bring you doom and gloom.

I also don't get why people here keep referring to celebs as a reason as to why money doesn't make you happy-I don't see any of them packing up their jet set lifestyles and moving to a caravan park or a council house in Wigan.