Tell The National Lottery what you’d do with a fantasy £20,000 - £250 voucher prize draw! NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

You may have heard recently that The National Lottery's Lotto game is changing this autumn and is introducing a new Raffle where 50 players will win £20,000 in each draw. To celebrate this, The National Lottery have asked us to find out what Mumsnetters would do with (a fantasy) £20,000.

Here's what The National Lottery say: "As of 5th October, Lotto is changing, offering more ways to win more money. The prize for matching three numbers will be increased from £10 to £25, the jackpots will be bigger (£2.5million on Wednesday and £5million on Saturdays) and there's a new raffle where 50 players will win a guaranteed £20,000 each draw. Tickets for the new game go on sale on 3rd October and cost £2 per line. We would love to hear about how Mumsnetters would spend £20,000 if they were to win the raffle prize!"

So what would you do if you were to win £20,000? Would you go on a huge spending spree, or would you be more careful with your winnings and put it aside for a rainy day?

What have you always wanted to do, but have never managed to justify the cost of? Dine at a Michelin-starred restaurant? Buy a piece of designer jewellery? Maybe you'd splash it all on a round the world holiday? Or perhaps you'd save it to make life easier for you and your DCs if they decide to go to university? Or would you take the opportunity to clear (some) debts or pay off a chunk of the mortgage?

Whatever it is, The National Lottery would love to hear about it.

Everyone who shares their thoughts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £250 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

I would also buy DD a marimba and get new flooring for the lounge and dining room. Then I would buy a certain baby some more clothes and keep some for randomly helping out MNters who are in need of a pick me up treat.

To be able to buy our own home would be amazing. £20,000 would be a decent deposit.

Or I could just buy loads of chocolate

Towards a house definitely!

Half of it would go to a college fund for DS
Rest for a family trip to America with lots of shopping

I would donate £20,000 to ageuk - a charity organisation that looks after old people. With the winter soon upon us and the cost of heating and bills set to rise again, I would like to see the money going to help the elderly live in warmth and comfort.

I know it sounds dull but I would probably pay off a big chunk of my mortgage.

Oooo, £20k!

Hmmm, torn between a holiday of a lifetime to disney, or a 2nd hand VW Transporter if webhave a 3rd DC.

In reality i'd probably be dull and save it or put it in the mortgage.

I'd hire a top of the range motor home and drive round America till my money ran out!

I'd pay off my £7k debt, spend £5k on a new secondhand car, keep £3k in savings and spend the rest on a holiday for the whole family.

do my house up and a little holiday for me and the dc.

Half off the mortgage, a bit to charity and the rest on a fantastic holiday to South America/Asia.

Galapagos and Amazon boat trip, coming home via Indonesian to see Komondo Dragons in the wild.

total make over on our back garden, and a luxury holiday

Would add it to my house-deposit fund, where it still wouldn't be enough.

Or I'd buy a musical instrument that I've long wanted, which costs a fortune, and sign up for regular lessons.

I would put it towards a loft conversion so both our little girls could have their own lovely bedroom rather than the smallest one being shoehorned into the box room .

Debts plus getting someone in to do the repairs and chores I can't face doing myself. Bliss.

Finish all the jobs that need to be completed on our house - there are more than I like to admit.

Very sensible and probably not terribly interesting. I would pay off our debts. That does mean, however, that i would sleep better and feel lighter of spirit...priceless

There is a small area of woodland for sale near us. I would love to buy it so that so my son can build dens & treehouses with hubby & we can camp out in summer.

It would probably be a big debate between doing up the house & paying off some of the mortgage. Mortgage would probably win, unless we could find a savings option with a higher interest rate than the mortgage. If we managed to reduce the mortgage we'd increase our donations to the charities we support, regularly pay a little into savings for the DC & start saving up to sort the house out!

I would find a better car than mine, which wouldn't be remotely hard at all. I want to weep when I think I am going to have to go through another winter with my unrealiable crap car.

I would also use the money to improve my home. I have limited funds to pay for nice new things that I desperately need like carpets and a new sofa.

The rest I would put either put in savings or pay off some of the mortgage and maybe treat myself and my DS to a holiday.

I would finally finish the house off from an extension that the building work was finished on over 7 years ago. Half painted kitchen, smooth plastered but unpainted hallway walls. Chipboard (yes chipboard) floor in the kitchen my nightmare would become my dream. Any left over would take my girls to Disney land florida some thing they would love but we have never managed to justify the expense.

Assuming all debts were paid off I'd buy DH a campervan, a fixer upper for use on his days offer the DDs and I can get on with doing girly things without feeling guilty about leaving out DH.

In reality, DH and the DDs would probably spend their spare time tinkering with the campervan leaving me to do girly things myself :)

A little extension, so ds has room for more than just a bed in his room! And a shower, as this would save us money in the long run.

However, if the extension cost more than that, I'd re think and put half away for emergencies and spend the other half on a shower, a holiday, decorating etc.

I'd also get a mobility scooter for my mum.

Spoil the kids (2yo and 3mo) book a holiday, buy passports for us all :o
Deposit on a house. Spoil DP and let him build his dream computer rig (he's a complete geek but I love it)
Buy myself a new laptop as it died last week. I'd probably have a bit left over, so would pop 2k in each of kid's bank accounts, and put the rest in a savings account.