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

[MaureenMLove]

I'd have a holiday straight away and then put the rest towards my retirement home abroad.

[Elainey1609]

Pay off debts and small bit to put towards a house deposit
Boring I know but responsible I'm afraid
I just can't justify the big holiday I want to Florida with no house and lots of debts at the moment
I can still dream though lol

[ClaraOswald]

Learn to drive, buy a car, have a holiday and treat my mother to a shopping trip.

Anything left would pay bills and go into savings.

[NonnoMum]

Art.

[FrequentFlyerRandomDent]

A donation to WA.

A complete set of Thomas the tank engine complete with sheds and troublesome trucks for the DCs.

A real piano for DD1.

A new bike for DH, with reflective tyres.

A Christmas tree for Christmas.

A big blackboard on the balcony for DCs to draw on.

Pay a childminder to allow me to return to work.

[Patilla]

I would buy a camper van and keep the rest towards funding holidays with it.

Apart from a little bit to buy DH a nice coat as he goes without so much for his family I'd like to let him get something of quality that would last.

[Theincidental]

Move house and stick a chunk in savings for Ds.

[Stopanuary]

I'd buy my husband the cycle he dreams of but won't buy for himself... and I'd enroll myself on a Masters course.

[pongping]

We're just about to move to a house which needs a new kitchen £20,000 would be the difference between a kitchen that does the job and the one that appears in my dreams... .

[flatbellyfella]

I would buy some carpet to cover my bare floorboards throughout my house, replace my cardboard boxes with a real table,& cupboards,get a modern electric consumer unit fitted, have a new door & window in my kitchen ,buy a sofa to sit on, rather than plastic garden chairs, have a nice bathroom fitted,& if there was any left,the kitchen is 1950s,& in need of updating.

[letsgetreadytoramble]

Pay off debts, put some aside for a deposit on a house and use some of it to spread a bit of happiness amongst family and friends too

[Kveta]

We'd probably put some towards a holiday, and the rest towards a loft conversion so that the kids can have their own rooms one day!

Although realistically we'd probably just put it into the mortgage to try and pay it off faster

Adulthood isn't as exciting as I thought it would be :o

[Ethlinn]

I'd use half of it to pay off our debt.
The other half... My sister is having a baby in October. We (me and OH) were lucky enough to get loads and loads of stuff from our friends and family few months ago when DS was born. My sister and her DH live thousands miles away from here and are totally skint atm. So I would use some of the money to buy stuff for her baby boy (instead of giving her clothes etc used by my DS). She was ttc for 15 years and I know how much this would mean to her.
The rest of it:
Season ticket for OH (can't afford with me still on maternity and he's gutted, football season just started...)
Ridiculously expensive handbag (for myself, of course)
Charity
And perhaps weekend away for us...
And loads and loads of toys for DS

[BreakOutTheKaraoke]

Pay off mortgage, debt, and have enough left for a fab holiday. Maybe to tour America, finishing with a shopping spree in New York? Fun!

[FairPhyllis]

17k for a deposit on a flat. Boring but it would mean I would have a place of my own.

Then I'd go to a really good cosmetic dermatologist to sort out my skin. And with anything left over buy some small treats for my parents and me.

[CreatureRetorts]

Ah where to begin?

New carpet for the stairs - half the stairs are exposed after it was ripped up to do emergency work last year.

Finish redecorating the hallway.

Stick some in DCs savings.

Get a haircut.

Go on holiday.

Buy new clothes.

£20k only seems a small amount versus the jackpot but actually it would make a huge difference!

[theboutiquemummy]

i'd use the money to travel the world for 12 months with DH and DS so he could gain a world education, trip of a life time

[rcs19]

I'd like to pay off the last bit of my mum's mortgage so that she can retire.

I'd also do some work on the house. Put in a downstairs loo and shower room for when the dd's are teenagers, so we don't all have to compete for one bathroom.

[ohmeohmyforgotlogin]

Pay off mortgage, car, lots of travelling Inc Australia, Mexico, Canada, Malaysia etc etc till the money ran out!

[eteo]

i want to go back to singapore to visit family and see my twin nephews who born two months ago. Also visit my dad and grandma tomb as they had passed. My dad's anniversary is next month.

[QueenandKingMum]

I would use £20000 as a down payment on a house, it would be the only way I'd be able to get onto the property ladder!

[Happiestinwellybobs]

My dreams are a little dull in all honesty. I would pay the money towards our mortgage or use it to convert our loft, so we can have more room for DD.

[Kahuna]

I would use it to get a loft conversion so that I could foster more children. (only one spare room at the moment, so currently limited to 2 siblings ; would be able to do 2 x siblings or even maybe a larger sibling group.....the possibilities are endless )
Anything left over would go into my DS's University fund.

[sealight123]

I have a small step-by-step list of what I would do-

1. I would tell no one when I first get told...so I can plot and plan
   
2. I would buy/arrange my families passports and call their workplaces to inquire/request they can have time off
   
3. I would call them all together to discuss something very important (in a serious tone of course)
   
4. I would have packed all of their suitcases and have them turn up to the house in a taxi/minibus
   
5. I would then reveal that we are all off to Florida, revealing a backpack for each of them with personal goodies
   
6. We would spend 2 weeks in Orlando having the time of our life
   
7. On our return the rest of the money would be put to good use...a bit towards doing up bits and bobs in the house...some put away in a savings account for my daughter and then some just to sit there quietly in my bank account acting as a little safety net :)
   

It sounds quite cliched and perhaps a bit boring but, by gosh, if I won, this would most definitely happen :) xx

[keepyourselfalive]

I would spend the money on driving lessons and a car, as I'm expecting DC 4 and I really don't know how I'm going to manage the school runs in the mornings, getting to 2 different schools, a nursery and work