“A Life Changing Sum”

Watching some crappy quiz show on Sky at the weekend (“Don’t Forget The Lyrics”…I wasn’t watching it really, I was at my computer), they used the phrase “life changing amount of money” regarding their top prize of £250,000. I thought this was a strange phrase, because “life changing amount” can mean a lot to different people.

I asked my Twitter people what they would consider to be life changing, and here are their responses:

pmsumner: For me, enough to pay off debts and leave me able to do something I want to rather than have to for work. So maybe £75-£100k?
feebeestar: anything from 15000 upwards
thebuxt: 250,000? well I would say it could be life changing but i think it all depends on how much you have before & the life you live
spiky_simon: half a million to make a big difference, I guess. Though wouldn’t turn my nose up at less!
laurakalbag: a few grand. Enough to rent our own flat would be life-changing for me.
nickbrompton: to completely make me change the way I live would take 5 mil I reckon. Cos then I could give up working for money
adurbe: how much money is lifechanging depends what you spend it on
jlancashire: I think I would need a few mil, maybe 5?

For me, I think quarter of a million would be enough to clear all of my debts and buy a nice house. Pretty life changing, I’m sure you’ll agree.
But I would still have to think about bills, and still would have to work.
A more “life changing” amount would be closer to a million pounds (at least) – I wouldn’t have to worry about work, and bills could be paid straight away. I’d be able to pay off my dad’s mortgage, and give my sister some money towards a house. I could treat my friends without thinking about where the money for that would be coming from.

I guess I’d better start doing the lottery a bit more often then.