If you suddenly became rich, how much would your life change?

[nanook12]

I don't really want to be rich. I actually like and care very much about equality in society.

[Stormspark]

Wouldn't change much. I'd just replace Work with more Videogames.

This is the main difference for me. However, one thing I would do if money and time weren't an issue, is do a little travelling.

[Nerovar]

I'd buy a house somewhere secluded at the sea. Not too big but big enough to invite close friends and family. Maybe tend to a garden, spend time cooking, reading (especially this as I rarely have the time/peace of mind to do so). Apart from that I don't think that anything would change drastically. I'd still attend university and maybe be less stressed.

[Darsithis]

There are a lot of changes that would occur:

1 - Less stress from debt/worrying about making ends meet
2 - More stress from having the money, such as worrying about friends and family and feeling burdened and obligated to help with everything, from the important to the petty
3 - Difficult friendships with those who are less fortunate, or legal battles with those who will try to take advantage of you
4 - A struggle to maintain your empathy and compassion in the face of being able to throw money at your problems at a level most people never get to

I would never want to win the lotto, which is why I don't play it. I would love to erase our debt from putting my partner through school, but that can be accomplished through creative spending and hard work, not by suddenly waking up millions richer. I don't want the stress of having that kind of "fortune", from friends & family to worrying about losing it all. No, I'm much happier as I am.

Of course, I am middle-class, so it's easier for me to sit here and say "gosh, I'll be fine" when millions around the country have to decide between affording toilet paper or milk this week. Still...

[Witchblade77]

not too different, but still different. more so for my parents, but nice for us as well

would pay off our and my parents mortgages. get some renovations done, probably install a solar roof I've been drooling over. buy a car.. or 2 (used, but not super old). we could use a truck, given where we live, and backup sedan couldn't hurt either. get the power tools both SO and I have been drooling over for a while. add the rest into our savings. (yes, there would be savings leftover, assuming the money we'd actualy get would be a mil, rather then a mil before taxes)

[Deleted]

Say you suddenly win the lottery or a distant relative dies, either way you wind up a million dollars richer.

How would your life change? Would it be so different from how you live now? When you buy a new car it's new and exciting for the first week but after that it's just a car, wouldn't most things be like this?

I'd buy a nice place to live with an ocean view and decent climate. And thats that, I'd just chill out for the rest of my life, maybe travel abit.

Have no need for luxuries or adventure, I'd rather just live relaxed without economic worries the rest of my days.

And yes, that is how much money a million dollars is :P Hell you could live your entire life without any economic worries for 300k dollars here.

[Gracin]

Just 1 million? I'd probably still be working my job for a while longer. Most likely I'd buy a couple hundred acres to start running cattle, I'd also build me a nice little starter house on said property. With just a million, it kinda limits how much things change with my life sadly. Now if you bump that up to 5, then I buy more land, more cows, quit the job, hire a couple hands, and take more vacations!

[Mystrome]

One million won't be enough to drastically change my life, but a couple would. So let's say it's a couple in stead.

My big dream is building a house in or near my city that's about as self-sufficient as money can buy:

To be able to live freed from rent, mortgage and (most) monthly bills is the objective. Producing my own energy via solar or (geo)thermal solutions will allow me to be independent, selling any excess back to the grid. The best insulation money can buy will be used, to minimize energy needed to keep it warm in winter and cool during the summer. Obviously some things (like a good internet connection, local taxes, sewer connection, etc.) will still cost money, but assuming enough electricity being generated on-site, those costs could be cancelling each other out. I'm not interested in making money off of it, it just needs to get as close to a zero-cost home as possible. The fact that it'll be eco-friendly is a nice bonus.

The house itself wouldn't be a huge mansion or anything, but definitely on the larger side with enough space and rooms for having guests. As for luxury stuff, the only above ground luxury would be a cinema room big enough to fit a dozen or so people. A large basement under the entire house with a garage, indoors swimming pool and man cave are also on the wishlist.

The way I see it, even if I completely screw things up and burn trough all my money, I'd at least have a (free) roof over my head for the rest of my life.

[Natrii]

I would buy a decent apartment, pay off any of my debt, and just go to college for no other reason than I like to learn.

[Kithelle]

I get a better place, put the majority of it in the bank and work on my future as a million dollars isn't going to last my entire life even if I'd be more frugal than many with that kind of money.

[Goondicker]

If it's a million, not too much different. I would invest nearly all of it, so I wouldn't have a lot to spend.

If it were a big-lottery, $250M or something, it would change a lot. Yachts for everyone!

[Nathreim]

Well I would have a lot less stress in my life.

[Katie N]

That is a lot of money, I could live the rest of my life without having to work. xD

[Cronovey]

First things to do:

• Purchase a house. I have two kids now and a small apartment feels very cramped, especially if we wanted to get a dog (which my daughter wants very badly) so a nicer location to live would be a great change, especially since it's something I could pass on to our children at a later date.
• Repair our car. It's not a bad little beater car (2000 Saturn) but could use a few things. A new coat of paint, a new radiator (small leak in ours), maybe a new set of tires/windshield wipers/brakes.
• Talk to an investment banker. I'm not qualified to look into prudently investing some of the money, so I'll talk to someone who is. Work on turning that leftover money into even more for the future.

Overall the quality of life for me would be very improved, but I wouldn't stop working or anything like that. I might take some time off to find a "better" job or learn a new trade with some of the money in an attempt to turn that into more money in the long run, but it would mostly be simple stuff.

[Sorrior]

Not too much

Pay off my debt(and my parents as well as their house)

Buy a bigger place then live off the rest as it accrues interest doing what i can to keep to a 2-3k a month cap bar soecial occasions

[Armourboy]

If it's only a million probably not too much. Would pay all the bills off and get myself a new truck ( my current one is 21 years old) and buy a house. Remaining cash would go into retirement funds. I might be more picky about where I work though, with no bills at all and my retirement set up pretty well already I could afford to make less money at a job I enjoy working the hours I want to rather than what I kind of get stuck with.

[Karaoke]

Say you suddenly win the lottery or a distant relative dies, either way you wind up a million dollars richer.

How would your life change? Would it be so different from how you live now? When you buy a new car it's new and exciting for the first week but after that it's just a car, wouldn't most things be like this?

My life wouldn't change. My wife and I have created a plan to retirement with a certain dollar amount in mind, so we'd take the money and invest it in the stock market. It would definitely help us get there sooner, but $1m in your early 30s isn't going to be life changing for 'lifetime' goals.

Edit: I forgot to mention, I would not tell ANYONE we came into that amount of money. That's only asking for problems.

[endersblade]

I'd stop working. I'd stop living paycheck to paycheck. I'd pay off all of my debts and actually be able to LIVE.

Edit: Wait, only a million dollars? Sorry bro, that isn't 'rich' anymore.

[Adamas102]

That is a lot of money, I could live the rest of my life without having to work. xD

Cost of living in Ho Chi Minh City is low but it isn't THAT low...

ONE million dollars would be great for taking care of some debt, bolstering a savings or retirement account, or buying a house. It is NOT enough for someone currently in their 30's or younger to retire unless they plan to live a VERY simple life.

[Armourboy]

I'd stop working. I'd stop living paycheck to paycheck. I'd pay off all of my debts and actually be able to LIVE.

Edit: Wait, only a million dollars? Sorry bro, that isn't 'rich' anymore.

Yeah agreed. Now if you hit the Powerball for 500 million, that is life changing because work is only something you do if you choose too and pretty much anything you want to buy is at your disposal.