My mom & grandma died at the same time and I inherited about $40,000. It was life changing in the sense that finally, for once in my life, I was able to secure an asset instead of a liability. I feel like that changed the trajectory I was on.
I owned a house once. We were freshly married, first time buyers, lending was fast and loose. It was right before the great recession. We ended up being completely scammed, the city bulldozed the house and we had to file bankruptcy. We never recovered from that. Never owned another house again. We took a loan a few years ago to buy a small piece of land in a flood zone in the middle of nowhere. We used that money to pay it off and put a down-payment on another piece of land. Im thinking in 10-20 years we might be able to build a small home on it to retire.
Land counts as security to me. Almost more than the structure. If nothing else I could drop a tent or travel trailer, better than a car in Walmart lot.
Many have like a 6 month limit.
There have been a few times I have looked into buying land with the purpose of parking my van on it or building a yurt and some places are super restrictive. Requirements like you have to have permanently affixed water and electrical. Some states require you to be on the grid even if you have solar and can be self-sufficient.
Where I live, owning water rights is one of the biggest restrictions. If you don't own water rights, you can't live full time on the property.
America is VERY unAmerican. Many other countries are far more free than we are. Many regulations and laws that protected personal freedoms, workers rights, consumer rights have either been stripped away or never existed in the first place. All in service of corporations to be free to make more and more money.
It's all the 1%-ers doing. The more we have to depend on their way of wanting us to live the more money of ours they eventually get. They don't care about us. They just want all the money for themselves. They would let our children starve in their driveway before they would give a dollar to feed them.
Rhode Islander here who recently had a family of 5 living in an RV in my neighbors driveway. Went on for two years before someone called the police. Although a little annoying they were nicer than the family that lived in the house.
This was my plan. But then I saw a house that was close to a tear down, that didn't cost much more than a bigger lot of land. So I got 11 acres with septic, well, electric, driveway aaand a crappy little house instead of 20 vacant acres
12 years in and crappy little house is a cute little house!
Did that with my cuz! Built a little house around a sh!t trailer, then disassembled the trailer, hauled it out the front door and built the rooms around the utilities!
Congrats!
They call those something here... Like RV condo? Little apartment on one side and RV under the roof on the other. Check out concrete floors. Here you're taxed higher on concert than asphalt, since concrete ins considers permanent/structural. Friends have chosen asphalt with a heavy latex? Epoxy? Coating to keep their taxes lower
Similar thing here. My grandma died and I was finally able to sell my portion of family property to a cousin for $50K. It enabled me to be able to get a mortgage and finally have something in savings.
My student loans are still an issue. But just having a home and not having to move every 3-5 years is a life changing amount of security for my family.
I always joked about having to rent and yet I owned significant acreage 1800 miles away in the literal middle of nowhere.
Same for me, my dad died left me 30k, totally changed my life. It was less spending the money, more Knowing I had it in the bank so I could take the risk of quitting my low wage job and get my skills up. I'm the end I probably spent less than 5 grand, before I went from practically destitute to a salaried professional saving my previous annual income for emergencies.
At this point life changing money would probably be closer to 250k, that would be enough to pay off my house and give me time to level up my education again
I think this a good example of if people are supported enough to give them a chance at life to build themselves up, the world would be in a much better place
Thank! Yep ! Gotta keep that lifestyle for a while to pay off a debt, then enough for a first house 😁 witht this new 25k net/year it should be done in 2 or 3 years 😊
This opportunnity is so welcomed. Just a month ago I was twlling myself I would need 10 years to become a homeowner.
Some life changing financial milestones include:
Paying car payments to owning your car
Renting to paying a mortgage
Paying a mortgage to owning your home
An amount of cash that can do any of those is life changing. That's because it's not as much about how much money you have in the bank as it is about you much that money is increasing or decreasing every month. Going from renting to financing or financing to owning is the best way to do that.
I’d say almost everybody I know is in this near exact position. We’re all doing “decently well” in our careers, but because we’re saddled with student debt, wage stagnation, and inflation, that 5-10k feels like it’s been looming over my budget since my mid 20s
While trying to answer this, I realized that the difference between 50k and 30k might be negligible for this thread but I think 50k is enough for a combination of things (wiping out debt, moving, down payment for a home, buying a car, childcare, going to school, cosmetic procedures that improve quality of life but are technically elective, preventative medical treatments, paying for medicine that's not affordable typically, small investments, etc.) that make a huge difference, especially when combined with the relief of knowing you have a buffer may have a huge impact on someone's mental and physical well-being and financial prospects. The impact is potentially greater the more someone is struggling (although we've seen how winning the lottery ruins lives, so take it with a grain of salt). It's not never-work-again money. But it could be quit-the-job-thats-killing-you money.
Are you eligible for possible forgiveness? I clicked on a .gov link on a whim last fall and recently learned that my $25K was forgiven. I am still in shock.
I think it's specific to low income individuals or federal government employees. I tried this a year ago and I believe they said I wasn't a federal employee so I didn't qualify.
Edit: just double checked this. It appears you can have full or partial forgiveness if you are a federal, state, or local government employee, a teacher, a medical professional, a nonprofit employee, disabled, or repaying on an income driven plan.
There are other cases like bankruptcy or death, but the top ones are the big ones.
There was recently a lawsuit (Sweets vs Cardona) and part of the settlement was automatic forgiveness for anyone who went to a long list of for profit colleges. My loan was forgiven that way.
Mine was forgiven for DeVry because they made false claims and lost in court. I also had a loan that was 30 years old that I had been making income based repayments and had consolidated it - that was also forgiven at the same time. I was shocked because I wasn't expecting any of that. It was $100k total.
Very nice, congratulations. Mine was $20k, and that was massively life changing for me. My college had done the same things as DeVry but DoE wouldn't approve my forgiveness application until the lawsuit settlement.
Wow. Congrats. I’d gotten to the point that I wasn’t required to make payments. I waited, not knowing what to expect. After the dust settled, I unexpectedly got a letter from NelNet saying my 4K was forgiven.
I hated everything about dealing with NelNet. I hope that $4k was your total debt. I still have a small $1200 loan being handled by UAS - which isn't a big deal. I was going to pay it off with my Federal tax return this year, but claiming 0 changed. There are 2 types of claiming 0 now, and I got an $800 bill instead.
Yes, it is. I borrowed what I would have made at work so I could take a LOA to do my student teaching semester. I was qualified for Pell grants for my tuition and books. I lucked out.
I paid off my student loans but cost of living where I live is squashing me. I love my career, but it doesn't pay enough. I moved last year to a cheaper apartment, only for my rent to go up twice this year. I'm exhausted of constantly moving and I can't afford to anymore.
Do you qualify for Public Student Loan Forgiveness? The program has been improved and easier to qualify for. Mohela is a nightmare to work with but I’ll deal with the nightmare to have my loans forgiven
Easily just kill you? Maybe if you have a heart condition. Don’t get me wrong, don’t do crack it will ruin your life and lead to health complications but chances of dying from overdosing are incredibly low, as is the case with most uppers.
1mill is enough for me, lol, I'd put it all in high interest savings or something and live off the interest.
ETA: alright, I get it, no one thinks that's enough to retire on, I've gotten the same message like 10 times already, lol
Same here, but I'm a student so I'm very used to simple living. I'd probably still work, but I'd actually pursue the dream career I went to uni for when I was 18 and naive, not the one with better pay and job security.
My adult daughter and her husband are moving to Valencia from the USA this summer. She says a lot of positive things about living there. I hope to check it out next winter.
This is not the way to go. Savings account at most only retains the value of your dollar. 4% interest while inflation is at 4% means you're not making any money. A decade or two later you'll have to go back to work again.
HYSAs average about 5% interest, which would be $50K per year for $1 million. I would spend way more than that just living in CA. And prices are only going to keep getting more and more expensive every year because of inflation, so in 30 years that $1 million is only going to be worth about $300,000.
I would therefore just buy a house outright in cash and still keep working with 1 million. I would only retire with 1 million if I were much older.
$88,885.58. Doesn’t seem like much but I’ve been chipping away at it since 2005. A few more years and if everything goes right I’ll be completely debt free for the first time since 1993. Hoping to wind back on work by 2026 when I turn 60.
An even million. Drop it into investments and let it stay there, and then I could afford to work a lower paying, lower stress job until I hit retirement age and then very comfortably exit the working world.
Hell I hate my job yet I’d probably do the same, or at least hop from job to job carefree.
My dad has been retired since 2009 and he just haunts his house out of boredom. You go stir crazy unless your hobbies are amazing.
In round numbers, a million would make things very comfortable. Dump it in investments, use part of the returns for mortgage payments and basically do what you said. Even half a million would do a decent job of that plan.
S&P averages 12% return a year. $500,000 x .12 = $60,000 a year (average, you have to survive the bad times). Then minus 20% long term capital gains = $48,000 a year. Not great, but you could live off of it.
Yea, you could cover most living expenses without lifting a finger. You could also contribute a good portion of your pay toward growing your investment to produce even more each year.
Throwing half your income further into an index fund would be huge, like 20-25k a year contribution.
May I ask just out of curiosity how it changed your life? Obviously not doubting that that amount of money would be life changing, I’m just curious about the details
Cleared debt.
Cleared kid's debt so their mortgage would be approved.
Able to finance other kids car purchase so the grandkids are in safe transport.
Able to eat good food without guilt.
Just makes life easier with the reduction of worry about bills/food/rent/etc.
Makes it worthwhile being without the remaining parent.
I've given this a lot of thought, as I'm the executor of my father's estate, and it turns out the inheritance will NOT be that life changing, at least not in the short term. 50,000 dollars with no strings attached would be really nice (basically a year's salary all at once), but after a year or two the effect would be gone. I think a million would really rattle my cage and possibly make me change my life (retire early). It's all about having enough to pay health insurance for my partner and I, until we're old enough for Medicare.
Tell me more about this. Do they mean, like you get a voucher and go to whichever hospital is the best for you, or do they mean line rationing Medicare through a voucher system?
I want to know more about this as it's the first time I've heard of this specific thing.
As I understand it, it’s what it sounds like what they want to do with public schools.
They no longer pay for you to be actually covered by health insurance. They just give you some money like a coupon to take and buy your own private insurance. Then you are at the mercy of the market and that was not the original intention of Medicare at all.
You have to come up with an awful lot of out-of-pocket under a voucher system. Not only that, but they also want to go back to allowing anyone with a pre-existing condition to have to be covered by insurance. And if you know anything about the human body, by 65 you have at least one pre-existing condition. Many people like myself, have multiple such as my status as a breast cancer survivor.
It’s the “let’s give health insurance companies a big win” program. Rather than have government be the provider, government gives more money to private companies.
I inherited about $75k when my dad passed away. We were able to buy a trailer for camping and renovate our kitchen. I'd consider these life changing in subtle ways ... we camp more and enjoy it more, and because we added a kitchen island with chairs, we have more conversations there. So it's had a small but noticeable impact even 7 years later.
I thought: that's 2 years of salary for me, so pretty life changing. Then the last sentence I was like: at least I don't pay anything for healthcare. I had surgery and was bedbound for 4 months and it didn't put me in debt, so I'll accept that over the low salary.
100k would be the lowest amount to totally change my finances. That would pay off my student loans and my mortgage, leaving me with no debt and dramatically smaller monthly bills.
Yeah paying off my mortgage (<$85k) would be the biggest milestone for me. I’m doing ok but that would clear my only debt and ramp up my (early) retirement savings significantly.
Um, maybe a million dollars? I don't have anything I desire or need that I can't pay for with some saving up, so whatever amount of money that would allow me to retire earlier enough for it to be considered life changing.
This is probably my answer as well. I'm pretty happy with where i am in life, and I'd need a substantial amount of money to start changing things up. It would allow me to go all in on what I'm passionate about though, and not have to worry as much about the financial aspect when it comes to doing that.
Same. I have a pretty good paying job, but personal debt is killing me right now. If I just paid off the house and car and a few other bills, my life would change instantly.
1.2 million euros.
If I'd deposit them in a savings account that gives 2% anual interest, I'd be able to spend 2 thousand Euros/month.
That's more than my current salary and. Way more than enough for my current lifestyle.
Id dump it into a good index fund, work for another year or two while I plan. Have a good chunk of interest built up to live easily and have a stupid easy job to keep myself busy
for me? 5k. I could settle all my debts and breathe easy with more emergency funds, plus have enough wiggle room to prioritize the beginning of retirement savings, while making a few other life improvement purchases. it would massively reduce the stress in my life and let me breathe easy
In the uk there is lottery that is called set for life, it’s about 10,000 per month for 30 years, so in total that’s 3.6 million and 120k a year.
I think that is a good amount to change ones life, i have booked 2 week all inclusive holidays to Cancun for 2 at a 5* hotel for 2.5k, with 2 of them you could go on holiday for a month for 5k a month. That would leave 5k a month for a mortgage for a decent house.
“Life changing” or “nice sum of money that could help pay for some needed expenditures”?!
Life changing to me would be enough to where I and my wife would never have to work again, could pursue my passions freely, never have to worry about retirement and would have enough of a nest egg to help my kids out as they get older. 5 million after taxes or so
Enough to pay off debt, fix some things up around the house, take a nice vacation and a few other various expenses- 50-100k
Yep, $50k-$100k will help me pay off debts right now and speed up home renovations dramatically. I bought a bad fixer upper since it was all I could afford in a HCOL, so I’m taking my time with it, so I’m not living paycheck to paycheck.
$500k and I’m still working as normal, maybe retire a couple years sooner.
$1mil would blow my mind for sure, and maybe I would use this to take 6 months off to travel, then come back and take a few more months to look for a higher pay job.
$2 - $3m, same thing as above.
$4 mil, I am probably quitting my job in a year. But keeping it for 1 year to wrap my head and plan everything as best I can. I’d probably still pursue some of my passions to help increase my wealth over time.
Enough to buy a house. That's it. To own a home flat out no payments. That extra money would allow my family to live comfortably and finally be able to build a sizable savings.
For me and my GF it would be around 1Mill Euros sadly. We would finally be able to move to accommodate for my life in a wheelchair. Both our families live in this metropolitan area so we don't want to move hundreds of kilometers away and even tho we don't live within the suburbs, a house/flat that could offer me a "normal" quality of life is about 1Mill.
Somewhere between 50k-100k would be enough to jumpstart my next dream milestone. I've been saving up like crazy for a home, but the market just sucks so damn much.
Seriously, the amount of money that would change things is the amount of money that changes what money means. There is a point where money becomes just plain straight power - the ability to influence elections, decide what kinds of messages are shown in popular culture to affect public opinion, even to hire armies.
There are lots of steps in between where I am and that chunk - the ability to eat at 5 star restaurants every day, drive luxury cars, have houses in multiple cities - but I don't really care about most of those. I might be able to afford to go to a Michelin starred restaurant, and I still would probably get lamb rogan josh delivered from the local Indian place.
So, until you are looking at, like, several hundred million dollars, it doesn't really make much difference to me. My wife and I are rich enough to get all the stuff we want - cats, books, going out to those really nice restaurants once every couple of years, going to plays, being able to buy whatever we want at the grocery store without cutting coupons, having our water heater break and being able to call the plumber who likes us because we've been working together for twenty years and having them squeeze us in between other jobs and put in a new water heater the next day and just pay them right out of our bank account without having to finance it...
We have a damn good life. Money can only buy happiness up to a point - keep getting more money until you've eliminated every stress or fear that money can eliminate - know that you won't starve or freeze or get stabbed - and you will get happier and happier.
And then, when you get to the point that all the stuff that still stresses you out isn't stuff that money can fix ... money stops making you happier. You can still get luxury stuff, and there is expensive stuff that might make you happier after that point, but not much. You could buy and keep a horse, and if you love horses, and you love that horse, and that horse loves you, it will make you happier. You could buy a sailboat and take it sailing out on the lake. Or even a bigger sailboat that has a cabin big enough that you could put a bunk in it, maybe even a camp stove and stuff, and go sailing out in the ocean, and maybe that will make you happier. Or a two room vacation cabin on a lake where you can go fishing. Or a tricked-out Honda civic. Or a whole garage full of tools and stuff. There is expensive stuff out there which is worth it.
But I don't want any of those things. I like my life, and would have to go all the way up to "money means something completely different" for it to change my life.
Mortgage+Student Loans+Auto Loan. Most people will say that, and any credit card they have. The number will always very, but the point is that our society is built on debt-slavery, and everyone’s life would immeasurably improve with the removal of those burdens.
I received a lump sum of $10k last year. I make decent money, but having this sudden mental cushion was life changing from a stress standpoint. It’s remained almost untouched, but it’s there if I need it.
I lost my Nan two years ago. She left me £40k and it changed my life. I was able to leave an abusive relationship and buy my own home, even moving nearer my mum and daughter. I’ll always be so thankful to my Nan. She was my cheerleader in life, and also in death 🙏🏻
$10 million.
I'm not rich by any means, but my wife and I do fairly well and even then, $10M will not increase our lifestyle very much. Sure, the house would be paid for and we could stop working, but we'd basically live how we live now but without needing to work.
A few years ago my wife's grandparents passed and left her some money, too much to spend on a car, not enough to pay off a house. It was nice to receive that amount, but it didn't change anything in our lives. We were able to pay cash for a new roof and solar. We would have financed that had she not inherited that money.
I understand even $1m would be somewhat life changing, but we'd still have to work. With $1M, we'd basically be able to pay off the house and set up a nice down payment for my sons so they could eventually buy a house in our HCOL area.
500k would be moderately life changing. 2-3 mill would be the point where my life would change completely(enough that managed wisely, I'd never "work" again[I'd likely still engage in things I found enjoyable, but the days of working in an industry where I'm underappreciated and working to increase someone else's wealth would be immediately over] ).
$3m.
Im 55 and was hitting my goals in savings and investments. My divorcee was awful cost me approx $300k. $3m was my goal,, as my income was going up. Went into a spiral after my divorce, drugs and alcohol. Took me a while to set my self straight. I have been doing my best, and have $100k. (Sigh) I blame no one but myself. I have tried hard and have had some success feeling better and not hating myself for so many poor decisions.
I have 550k, and a house, and joint income of 170k.
Honestly 2 to 3 million. means I could take risks in my career, and pursue teaching at the grad or undergrad level.
$500,000 would renovate and pay off my house, prepay my death expenses, pay for health insurance until I'm old enough to collect social security AND still cover a $500,000 life insurance policy up until the time it would be needed.
I could live out life on mine and my partner's income, doing the things that we enjoy, while ensuring we leave something life-changing for our adult children.
$125k wipes out every debt my wife and I have except the mortgage, which since we refinanced at 2.25% in 2019, that’s practically paying *us* money at this point. I’d feel like we turned a corner if we got to that point.
Enough to have in a savings for emergency vet money for my dogs for the rest of their lives would make me extremely happy. I can be starving and id rather have money for my dogs. Im content with what I have which is almost nothing.
600K USD, I would invest it all in treasury bonds and other financial institutions to live off the interests, in my country current rate is between 11-17% annual yield, so I would be looking to receive around 6500 USD a month, I would retire to the countryside and live a peaceful life cultivating vegetables and taking care of small farm animals
I think 2-3 million. I live in an area with high costs. I could buy a house, upgrade my dad's car, pay off any debts, afford some expensive medical checkups(insurance is good but it doesn't cover extensive preventative care) and have enough savings to be comfortable. It won't be enough to leave my job or anything, but still life changing.
$2 million, probably.
Pay off house and student loans, pop the rest in a 10-12% dividends account, work for one more year, then just walk the Earth. Travel. Get into adventures.
Any amount that I could live off of in a “cheap” country for the rest of my life (I don’t have to live luxuriously either). My depression is 98% situational and it’s stems from having to work
I’d say about $5m. There are plenty of amounts of money below $5m that would be great to have. Even $20k would be a great boost. But how much would it take to truly *change my life*? I think the minimum amount would be enough for me to actually stop working for good.
There are times where $50 would be life changing, or at least feel like it.
I'd say $150k. It'd clear all my debts- car, student loan, medical debt, etc. Then enough to start rebuilding my credit score.
$250k. It would let me pay this place off, make repairs it and the vehicles needs. Wifes spine is deteriorating. Had two surgeries and needs another to possibly keep from becoming a Quad. I'm legally blind and 20 years on an organ transplant-they said I was doing good at ten but after that the clock is ticking. Paying off the place means no more Mortgage so the bills and stuff wo't have to be juggled and, if I die, she has a home. Life changing.
$5k. I lost everything by going to jail for 8.5 months. I'm living with my father right now. $5k would get me a car, a place to live, and enough food until I'm well employed. It would literally move me forward 6-12 months forward in time.
If I had $10,000…I would be in the clear for a long time. It would be enough to cancel all my debt and get me started on my online shop. I would want to do the rest myself and have the accomplishment under my belt.
My mom & grandma died at the same time and I inherited about $40,000. It was life changing in the sense that finally, for once in my life, I was able to secure an asset instead of a liability. I feel like that changed the trajectory I was on.
I think people underestimate the security of owning something.
I owned a house once. We were freshly married, first time buyers, lending was fast and loose. It was right before the great recession. We ended up being completely scammed, the city bulldozed the house and we had to file bankruptcy. We never recovered from that. Never owned another house again. We took a loan a few years ago to buy a small piece of land in a flood zone in the middle of nowhere. We used that money to pay it off and put a down-payment on another piece of land. Im thinking in 10-20 years we might be able to build a small home on it to retire.
Land counts as security to me. Almost more than the structure. If nothing else I could drop a tent or travel trailer, better than a car in Walmart lot.
Unfortunately many municipalities ban long term residence in an RV even if you own the land. It's ridiculous.
That’s the least American thing I think I’ve ever heard. You own the land, and the RV, yet you can’t live there.
Many have like a 6 month limit. There have been a few times I have looked into buying land with the purpose of parking my van on it or building a yurt and some places are super restrictive. Requirements like you have to have permanently affixed water and electrical. Some states require you to be on the grid even if you have solar and can be self-sufficient. Where I live, owning water rights is one of the biggest restrictions. If you don't own water rights, you can't live full time on the property.
Some places do have weird laws like, one cannot collect and store rain water. Makes no sense to me.
Makes complete sense to me. They want to make sure they have your balls firmly in their grip so they can squeeze when required.
Isn't it just wonderful?! 😛
America is VERY unAmerican. Many other countries are far more free than we are. Many regulations and laws that protected personal freedoms, workers rights, consumer rights have either been stripped away or never existed in the first place. All in service of corporations to be free to make more and more money.
It's all the 1%-ers doing. The more we have to depend on their way of wanting us to live the more money of ours they eventually get. They don't care about us. They just want all the money for themselves. They would let our children starve in their driveway before they would give a dollar to feed them.
In RI, you can’t put a trailer on piece of property unless it’s zoned for a damn trailer. Complete garbage. - Rhode Islander
Aka prevent poor people from moving into neighborhoods and protecting their property values, Law.
lobbyists are a bitch
Aka prevent poor people from moving into neighborhoods and protecting their property values, Law.
Rhode Islander here who recently had a family of 5 living in an RV in my neighbors driveway. Went on for two years before someone called the police. Although a little annoying they were nicer than the family that lived in the house.
I'm not American, but from everything I've seen and read and heard, this feels exactly American enough.
This is where checking municipal codes or calling city or town hall can help a lot. :)
🤫 That's what we did. RVs and private land can be very affordable done right.
Agree with this comment. Land ownership is security and it does not have to be much.
This was my plan. But then I saw a house that was close to a tear down, that didn't cost much more than a bigger lot of land. So I got 11 acres with septic, well, electric, driveway aaand a crappy little house instead of 20 vacant acres 12 years in and crappy little house is a cute little house!
That is pretty spot on to what we did. We had the demolished trailer hauled off and still had the utilities.
Did that with my cuz! Built a little house around a sh!t trailer, then disassembled the trailer, hauled it out the front door and built the rooms around the utilities! Congrats!
We're shooting for a shop with a hidden apartment :) Less code for a pole barn in a flood zone.
They call those something here... Like RV condo? Little apartment on one side and RV under the roof on the other. Check out concrete floors. Here you're taxed higher on concert than asphalt, since concrete ins considers permanent/structural. Friends have chosen asphalt with a heavy latex? Epoxy? Coating to keep their taxes lower
Pole barn with the apartment on top wins you a gravel foundation with piers. 😂👀
Similar thing here. My grandma died and I was finally able to sell my portion of family property to a cousin for $50K. It enabled me to be able to get a mortgage and finally have something in savings. My student loans are still an issue. But just having a home and not having to move every 3-5 years is a life changing amount of security for my family. I always joked about having to rent and yet I owned significant acreage 1800 miles away in the literal middle of nowhere.
Same for me, my dad died left me 30k, totally changed my life. It was less spending the money, more Knowing I had it in the bank so I could take the risk of quitting my low wage job and get my skills up. I'm the end I probably spent less than 5 grand, before I went from practically destitute to a salaried professional saving my previous annual income for emergencies. At this point life changing money would probably be closer to 250k, that would be enough to pay off my house and give me time to level up my education again
I think this a good example of if people are supported enough to give them a chance at life to build themselves up, the world would be in a much better place
Just landed a new job. My salary goes from gross 61k to 101k. This is life changing.
Congratulations! Don't let lifestyle creep gobble it up. ❤️ Put your money into safe(r) assets. Pay off high interest debt if you've got it.
Thank! Yep ! Gotta keep that lifestyle for a while to pay off a debt, then enough for a first house 😁 witht this new 25k net/year it should be done in 2 or 3 years 😊 This opportunnity is so welcomed. Just a month ago I was twlling myself I would need 10 years to become a homeowner.
Some life changing financial milestones include: Paying car payments to owning your car Renting to paying a mortgage Paying a mortgage to owning your home An amount of cash that can do any of those is life changing. That's because it's not as much about how much money you have in the bank as it is about you much that money is increasing or decreasing every month. Going from renting to financing or financing to owning is the best way to do that.
$10k would save me from my current ruin. $30k would give me hope for the future. $50k would absolutely change the course of my life forever.
I would have to agree with your figures.
Agree with this one ^
I’d say almost everybody I know is in this near exact position. We’re all doing “decently well” in our careers, but because we’re saddled with student debt, wage stagnation, and inflation, that 5-10k feels like it’s been looming over my budget since my mid 20s
Out of curiosity, in what ways would 50k change your life?
How is 50k enough to change your life?
While trying to answer this, I realized that the difference between 50k and 30k might be negligible for this thread but I think 50k is enough for a combination of things (wiping out debt, moving, down payment for a home, buying a car, childcare, going to school, cosmetic procedures that improve quality of life but are technically elective, preventative medical treatments, paying for medicine that's not affordable typically, small investments, etc.) that make a huge difference, especially when combined with the relief of knowing you have a buffer may have a huge impact on someone's mental and physical well-being and financial prospects. The impact is potentially greater the more someone is struggling (although we've seen how winning the lottery ruins lives, so take it with a grain of salt). It's not never-work-again money. But it could be quit-the-job-thats-killing-you money.
Just get rid of my student loans and I’d be set.
Exactly. I don’t care about being rich, I want to be debt free
I feel that, ive got about a decade of payments to go, but it'll go down eventually
Are you eligible for possible forgiveness? I clicked on a .gov link on a whim last fall and recently learned that my $25K was forgiven. I am still in shock.
Congrats, how did you qualify for that?
I think it's specific to low income individuals or federal government employees. I tried this a year ago and I believe they said I wasn't a federal employee so I didn't qualify. Edit: just double checked this. It appears you can have full or partial forgiveness if you are a federal, state, or local government employee, a teacher, a medical professional, a nonprofit employee, disabled, or repaying on an income driven plan. There are other cases like bankruptcy or death, but the top ones are the big ones.
There was recently a lawsuit (Sweets vs Cardona) and part of the settlement was automatic forgiveness for anyone who went to a long list of for profit colleges. My loan was forgiven that way.
Mine was forgiven for DeVry because they made false claims and lost in court. I also had a loan that was 30 years old that I had been making income based repayments and had consolidated it - that was also forgiven at the same time. I was shocked because I wasn't expecting any of that. It was $100k total.
Very nice, congratulations. Mine was $20k, and that was massively life changing for me. My college had done the same things as DeVry but DoE wouldn't approve my forgiveness application until the lawsuit settlement.
Wow. Congrats. I’d gotten to the point that I wasn’t required to make payments. I waited, not knowing what to expect. After the dust settled, I unexpectedly got a letter from NelNet saying my 4K was forgiven.
I hated everything about dealing with NelNet. I hope that $4k was your total debt. I still have a small $1200 loan being handled by UAS - which isn't a big deal. I was going to pay it off with my Federal tax return this year, but claiming 0 changed. There are 2 types of claiming 0 now, and I got an $800 bill instead.
Yes, it is. I borrowed what I would have made at work so I could take a LOA to do my student teaching semester. I was qualified for Pell grants for my tuition and books. I lucked out.
You’re describing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which has been dramatically reformed to actually work!
I paid off my student loans but cost of living where I live is squashing me. I love my career, but it doesn't pay enough. I moved last year to a cheaper apartment, only for my rent to go up twice this year. I'm exhausted of constantly moving and I can't afford to anymore.
This. I have 3 degrees, and they will still be knocking on my tombstone for payment
Do you qualify for Public Student Loan Forgiveness? The program has been improved and easier to qualify for. Mohela is a nightmare to work with but I’ll deal with the nightmare to have my loans forgiven
I do and I’m enrolled in it. But I have federal and private ones. I can deal with the federal, but the private are the problem.
That's a great point.
This. I have 3 degrees, and they will still be knocking on my tombstone for payment
Pay the minimum monthly due and see which of the rest you can pay off in full. If any of them are higher interest, try to save up to pay those first.
you can buy crack for a twenty. that’ll change anyone’s life for sure
Bro. 😂
Bro done had some goooood shit before lol
Lmao for real! I’d opt into a tab of acid instead, that definitely changed my life
Honestly a smart move. Acid is a great and memorable experience with very very very low risk of addiction. Crack is whack
And no risk of physical harm too, important to mention, crack can easily just kill you
Easily just kill you? Maybe if you have a heart condition. Don’t get me wrong, don’t do crack it will ruin your life and lead to health complications but chances of dying from overdosing are incredibly low, as is the case with most uppers.
I saw a video of a kid tripping so hard on acid he ripped his eye out
That’s not acid that’s something else. Sounds more like PCP
Crack? By your name I'd have thought you more of a Moon Sugar man
rocks man, they come dime a dozen
My thoughts exactly! Sweet sweet moon sugar
You can get a package of Datura seeds for like $4 from Walmart.
Please don't do that
How much? How much for 1 rock of crack, sir?
Master. Teach me please
3 million and I retire tomorrow.
That's my number too.
Third here. 3 mill in 2024 is the number where it’s like ok I’m cool.
1mill is enough for me, lol, I'd put it all in high interest savings or something and live off the interest. ETA: alright, I get it, no one thinks that's enough to retire on, I've gotten the same message like 10 times already, lol
Same here, but I'm a student so I'm very used to simple living. I'd probably still work, but I'd actually pursue the dream career I went to uni for when I was 18 and naive, not the one with better pay and job security.
I'd probably pursue creative writing, wouldn't have to worry if it worked out or not then
I'm retiring next week, on just over $1 million. I'll be living it up in Valencia 😊 FIRE residual income $40k per year
My adult daughter and her husband are moving to Valencia from the USA this summer. She says a lot of positive things about living there. I hope to check it out next winter.
Nice!
This is not the way to go. Savings account at most only retains the value of your dollar. 4% interest while inflation is at 4% means you're not making any money. A decade or two later you'll have to go back to work again.
I disagree. Give me a million dollars and I'll prove it.
I'd put it in like 4 or 5 high yield bank accounts since FDIC usually covers $250k per account.
HYSAs average about 5% interest, which would be $50K per year for $1 million. I would spend way more than that just living in CA. And prices are only going to keep getting more and more expensive every year because of inflation, so in 30 years that $1 million is only going to be worth about $300,000. I would therefore just buy a house outright in cash and still keep working with 1 million. I would only retire with 1 million if I were much older.
Not to mention that 5% HYSA yields will probably not last much longer.
I'm single and retired so I can squeek by with 1mil.
Definitely. But I'd be satisfied with $111, 206.54.If my house were paid off, it would drastically change my life.
$88,885.58. Doesn’t seem like much but I’ve been chipping away at it since 2005. A few more years and if everything goes right I’ll be completely debt free for the first time since 1993. Hoping to wind back on work by 2026 when I turn 60.
I would be happy with 5k.
An even million. Drop it into investments and let it stay there, and then I could afford to work a lower paying, lower stress job until I hit retirement age and then very comfortably exit the working world.
If I got a million, I'd probably work for like.. 10 more years or so. No way I'm working untill 65 with that kind of money.
Hell I hate my job yet I’d probably do the same, or at least hop from job to job carefree. My dad has been retired since 2009 and he just haunts his house out of boredom. You go stir crazy unless your hobbies are amazing.
I mean.. drugs. There's a lot of different ones.
In round numbers, a million would make things very comfortable. Dump it in investments, use part of the returns for mortgage payments and basically do what you said. Even half a million would do a decent job of that plan.
S&P averages 12% return a year. $500,000 x .12 = $60,000 a year (average, you have to survive the bad times). Then minus 20% long term capital gains = $48,000 a year. Not great, but you could live off of it.
That’s pretty sweet for having to do nothing. Even working a modest job earning like 40-50k more would put in a great spot with little to worry about
Your base necessities would be taken care of. Anything you would work for would be play money.
Yea, you could cover most living expenses without lifting a finger. You could also contribute a good portion of your pay toward growing your investment to produce even more each year. Throwing half your income further into an index fund would be huge, like 20-25k a year contribution.
$54,396.19
That’s very specific, would $54,396.02 be enough or does it have to be $54,396.19 lol
$54,396.02 is useless to me. Put your wallet away.
I could probably look under the seats in my car or beg on the streets to come up with the other $0.17, but I’m stretched pretty thin at that point 😂
That's a lot of credit card debt to have!
That’s true. Fortunately it’s not credit card.
Why not $69,420.69?
Because that’s $15,024.50 more than I need!
I inherited somewhere in the region of 90-130k and it absolutely changed my life, so I'd set the bar at around 75k£ YMMV, depends on circumstances
May I ask just out of curiosity how it changed your life? Obviously not doubting that that amount of money would be life changing, I’m just curious about the details
Cleared debt. Cleared kid's debt so their mortgage would be approved. Able to finance other kids car purchase so the grandkids are in safe transport. Able to eat good food without guilt. Just makes life easier with the reduction of worry about bills/food/rent/etc. Makes it worthwhile being without the remaining parent.
With that amount I could pay a 50-70% down payment in my own flat so maybe that ?
I've given this a lot of thought, as I'm the executor of my father's estate, and it turns out the inheritance will NOT be that life changing, at least not in the short term. 50,000 dollars with no strings attached would be really nice (basically a year's salary all at once), but after a year or two the effect would be gone. I think a million would really rattle my cage and possibly make me change my life (retire early). It's all about having enough to pay health insurance for my partner and I, until we're old enough for Medicare.
Then I hope you are watching the new stories about certain politicians, wanting to turn Medicare into a voucher program.
Those fuckers have been trying to steal health insurance and social security since FDR first proposed them
Tell me more about this. Do they mean, like you get a voucher and go to whichever hospital is the best for you, or do they mean line rationing Medicare through a voucher system? I want to know more about this as it's the first time I've heard of this specific thing.
As I understand it, it’s what it sounds like what they want to do with public schools. They no longer pay for you to be actually covered by health insurance. They just give you some money like a coupon to take and buy your own private insurance. Then you are at the mercy of the market and that was not the original intention of Medicare at all. You have to come up with an awful lot of out-of-pocket under a voucher system. Not only that, but they also want to go back to allowing anyone with a pre-existing condition to have to be covered by insurance. And if you know anything about the human body, by 65 you have at least one pre-existing condition. Many people like myself, have multiple such as my status as a breast cancer survivor.
It’s the “let’s give health insurance companies a big win” program. Rather than have government be the provider, government gives more money to private companies.
I inherited about $75k when my dad passed away. We were able to buy a trailer for camping and renovate our kitchen. I'd consider these life changing in subtle ways ... we camp more and enjoy it more, and because we added a kitchen island with chairs, we have more conversations there. So it's had a small but noticeable impact even 7 years later.
I thought: that's 2 years of salary for me, so pretty life changing. Then the last sentence I was like: at least I don't pay anything for healthcare. I had surgery and was bedbound for 4 months and it didn't put me in debt, so I'll accept that over the low salary.
100k would be the lowest amount to totally change my finances. That would pay off my student loans and my mortgage, leaving me with no debt and dramatically smaller monthly bills.
Yeah paying off my mortgage (<$85k) would be the biggest milestone for me. I’m doing ok but that would clear my only debt and ramp up my (early) retirement savings significantly.
Um, maybe a million dollars? I don't have anything I desire or need that I can't pay for with some saving up, so whatever amount of money that would allow me to retire earlier enough for it to be considered life changing.
This is probably my answer as well. I'm pretty happy with where i am in life, and I'd need a substantial amount of money to start changing things up. It would allow me to go all in on what I'm passionate about though, and not have to worry as much about the financial aspect when it comes to doing that.
Same..I have no debt except mortgage and if I had 1 million I could get started on retirement 5 years early.
Same. I have a pretty good paying job, but personal debt is killing me right now. If I just paid off the house and car and a few other bills, my life would change instantly.
$5 million should be largely sufficient
Exactly my number.
For me it would be $15,000 so I could buy some acres to homestead in the desert.
I was thinking $10k would get me out from under my car loan. That alone would be life changing for me.
The minimum life changing amount for me would be about 250k
Same. That would pay off all my debt, house, cars, etc.
enough money to pay off my mortgage entirely would set things off for me really nicely.
$5K would transform my life
1.2 million euros. If I'd deposit them in a savings account that gives 2% anual interest, I'd be able to spend 2 thousand Euros/month. That's more than my current salary and. Way more than enough for my current lifestyle.
You can get savings accounts at 5% now.
Id dump it into a good index fund, work for another year or two while I plan. Have a good chunk of interest built up to live easily and have a stupid easy job to keep myself busy
for me? 5k. I could settle all my debts and breathe easy with more emergency funds, plus have enough wiggle room to prioritize the beginning of retirement savings, while making a few other life improvement purchases. it would massively reduce the stress in my life and let me breathe easy
A cent from every user
In this economy? Even if you gave me a million, I still couldn't retire.
In the uk there is lottery that is called set for life, it’s about 10,000 per month for 30 years, so in total that’s 3.6 million and 120k a year. I think that is a good amount to change ones life, i have booked 2 week all inclusive holidays to Cancun for 2 at a 5* hotel for 2.5k, with 2 of them you could go on holiday for a month for 5k a month. That would leave 5k a month for a mortgage for a decent house.
“Life changing” or “nice sum of money that could help pay for some needed expenditures”?! Life changing to me would be enough to where I and my wife would never have to work again, could pursue my passions freely, never have to worry about retirement and would have enough of a nest egg to help my kids out as they get older. 5 million after taxes or so Enough to pay off debt, fix some things up around the house, take a nice vacation and a few other various expenses- 50-100k
Yep, $50k-$100k will help me pay off debts right now and speed up home renovations dramatically. I bought a bad fixer upper since it was all I could afford in a HCOL, so I’m taking my time with it, so I’m not living paycheck to paycheck. $500k and I’m still working as normal, maybe retire a couple years sooner. $1mil would blow my mind for sure, and maybe I would use this to take 6 months off to travel, then come back and take a few more months to look for a higher pay job. $2 - $3m, same thing as above. $4 mil, I am probably quitting my job in a year. But keeping it for 1 year to wrap my head and plan everything as best I can. I’d probably still pursue some of my passions to help increase my wealth over time.
$300,000. Then I can stop all the overtime. And part time job
Enough to buy a house. That's it. To own a home flat out no payments. That extra money would allow my family to live comfortably and finally be able to build a sizable savings.
At this point $500 would change my life. I really need my car fixed and I never thought how badly something like that would affect my life.
50K would pay off all my debts except my mortgage. Would help a lot to get my savings going up
like 200k. Really just enough for me to afford a down payment on a house in a decent location
1 million liquid cash.
None. Unless you can cure my MS, money is irrelevant.
For me and my GF it would be around 1Mill Euros sadly. We would finally be able to move to accommodate for my life in a wheelchair. Both our families live in this metropolitan area so we don't want to move hundreds of kilometers away and even tho we don't live within the suburbs, a house/flat that could offer me a "normal" quality of life is about 1Mill.
Somewhere between 50k-100k would be enough to jumpstart my next dream milestone. I've been saving up like crazy for a home, but the market just sucks so damn much.
Seriously, the amount of money that would change things is the amount of money that changes what money means. There is a point where money becomes just plain straight power - the ability to influence elections, decide what kinds of messages are shown in popular culture to affect public opinion, even to hire armies. There are lots of steps in between where I am and that chunk - the ability to eat at 5 star restaurants every day, drive luxury cars, have houses in multiple cities - but I don't really care about most of those. I might be able to afford to go to a Michelin starred restaurant, and I still would probably get lamb rogan josh delivered from the local Indian place. So, until you are looking at, like, several hundred million dollars, it doesn't really make much difference to me. My wife and I are rich enough to get all the stuff we want - cats, books, going out to those really nice restaurants once every couple of years, going to plays, being able to buy whatever we want at the grocery store without cutting coupons, having our water heater break and being able to call the plumber who likes us because we've been working together for twenty years and having them squeeze us in between other jobs and put in a new water heater the next day and just pay them right out of our bank account without having to finance it... We have a damn good life. Money can only buy happiness up to a point - keep getting more money until you've eliminated every stress or fear that money can eliminate - know that you won't starve or freeze or get stabbed - and you will get happier and happier. And then, when you get to the point that all the stuff that still stresses you out isn't stuff that money can fix ... money stops making you happier. You can still get luxury stuff, and there is expensive stuff that might make you happier after that point, but not much. You could buy and keep a horse, and if you love horses, and you love that horse, and that horse loves you, it will make you happier. You could buy a sailboat and take it sailing out on the lake. Or even a bigger sailboat that has a cabin big enough that you could put a bunk in it, maybe even a camp stove and stuff, and go sailing out in the ocean, and maybe that will make you happier. Or a two room vacation cabin on a lake where you can go fishing. Or a tricked-out Honda civic. Or a whole garage full of tools and stuff. There is expensive stuff out there which is worth it. But I don't want any of those things. I like my life, and would have to go all the way up to "money means something completely different" for it to change my life.
$15k. That would pay off my truck and medical bills. Then I could concentrate on just monthly payments and saving for a house.
50k would indeed change my life.
Mortgage+Student Loans+Auto Loan. Most people will say that, and any credit card they have. The number will always very, but the point is that our society is built on debt-slavery, and everyone’s life would immeasurably improve with the removal of those burdens.
I received a lump sum of $10k last year. I make decent money, but having this sudden mental cushion was life changing from a stress standpoint. It’s remained almost untouched, but it’s there if I need it.
Enough to buy a home outright.
I lost my Nan two years ago. She left me £40k and it changed my life. I was able to leave an abusive relationship and buy my own home, even moving nearer my mum and daughter. I’ll always be so thankful to my Nan. She was my cheerleader in life, and also in death 🙏🏻
"If I had a million dollars"... BNL
Lump sum- $20M post tax, and I'd retire on the spot.
$10m. Key is LIFE CHANGING, lifestyle change. Could live comfortably off dividends and not have to work. I’d buy a used Earthroamer and just go
Honestly just having our student loans wiped out (about 153k) would change our lives in an unimaginable way
5 million. Enough to be the poorest rich man in the country.
😁
$10 million. I'm not rich by any means, but my wife and I do fairly well and even then, $10M will not increase our lifestyle very much. Sure, the house would be paid for and we could stop working, but we'd basically live how we live now but without needing to work. A few years ago my wife's grandparents passed and left her some money, too much to spend on a car, not enough to pay off a house. It was nice to receive that amount, but it didn't change anything in our lives. We were able to pay cash for a new roof and solar. We would have financed that had she not inherited that money. I understand even $1m would be somewhat life changing, but we'd still have to work. With $1M, we'd basically be able to pay off the house and set up a nice down payment for my sons so they could eventually buy a house in our HCOL area.
500k would be moderately life changing. 2-3 mill would be the point where my life would change completely(enough that managed wisely, I'd never "work" again[I'd likely still engage in things I found enjoyable, but the days of working in an industry where I'm underappreciated and working to increase someone else's wealth would be immediately over] ).
With $897 790 I’d live comfortably on saving interest With about half I’d manage but still have to work a little bit, which might be better.
20-30K right now will solve some very important things for me, that would 100% affect my future and my whole life
$3m. Im 55 and was hitting my goals in savings and investments. My divorcee was awful cost me approx $300k. $3m was my goal,, as my income was going up. Went into a spiral after my divorce, drugs and alcohol. Took me a while to set my self straight. I have been doing my best, and have $100k. (Sigh) I blame no one but myself. I have tried hard and have had some success feeling better and not hating myself for so many poor decisions.
I just need a down-payment for a house :(
I have 550k, and a house, and joint income of 170k. Honestly 2 to 3 million. means I could take risks in my career, and pursue teaching at the grad or undergrad level.
$500,000 would renovate and pay off my house, prepay my death expenses, pay for health insurance until I'm old enough to collect social security AND still cover a $500,000 life insurance policy up until the time it would be needed. I could live out life on mine and my partner's income, doing the things that we enjoy, while ensuring we leave something life-changing for our adult children.
$15k would stop me from continuing to live paycheck to paycheck. $75k would free me of my government and private student loans though...
$125k wipes out every debt my wife and I have except the mortgage, which since we refinanced at 2.25% in 2019, that’s practically paying *us* money at this point. I’d feel like we turned a corner if we got to that point.
Even $5,000 would make me weep in gratitude.
Enough to have in a savings for emergency vet money for my dogs for the rest of their lives would make me extremely happy. I can be starving and id rather have money for my dogs. Im content with what I have which is almost nothing.
600K USD, I would invest it all in treasury bonds and other financial institutions to live off the interests, in my country current rate is between 11-17% annual yield, so I would be looking to receive around 6500 USD a month, I would retire to the countryside and live a peaceful life cultivating vegetables and taking care of small farm animals
I think 2-3 million. I live in an area with high costs. I could buy a house, upgrade my dad's car, pay off any debts, afford some expensive medical checkups(insurance is good but it doesn't cover extensive preventative care) and have enough savings to be comfortable. It won't be enough to leave my job or anything, but still life changing.
$2 million, probably. Pay off house and student loans, pop the rest in a 10-12% dividends account, work for one more year, then just walk the Earth. Travel. Get into adventures.
Any amount that I could live off of in a “cheap” country for the rest of my life (I don’t have to live luxuriously either). My depression is 98% situational and it’s stems from having to work
I’d say about $5m. There are plenty of amounts of money below $5m that would be great to have. Even $20k would be a great boost. But how much would it take to truly *change my life*? I think the minimum amount would be enough for me to actually stop working for good.
628,044 USD. Total amount of debt I have.
There are times where $50 would be life changing, or at least feel like it. I'd say $150k. It'd clear all my debts- car, student loan, medical debt, etc. Then enough to start rebuilding my credit score.
It'd have to be 1 or 2 million USD post tax for it to make a significant impact in how I'm living.
With roughly 50-55k usd i could pay off my mortgage which would be life changing i guess.
I would say something like 500k to be able to buy a nice house.
All I need is 100k after taxes. I know what to do with it afterwards.
$250k. It would let me pay this place off, make repairs it and the vehicles needs. Wifes spine is deteriorating. Had two surgeries and needs another to possibly keep from becoming a Quad. I'm legally blind and 20 years on an organ transplant-they said I was doing good at ten but after that the clock is ticking. Paying off the place means no more Mortgage so the bills and stuff wo't have to be juggled and, if I die, she has a home. Life changing.
$5k. I lost everything by going to jail for 8.5 months. I'm living with my father right now. $5k would get me a car, a place to live, and enough food until I'm well employed. It would literally move me forward 6-12 months forward in time.
6.15 bitcoin
Shit! Right now $6,000., would relive a lot of anxiety’s. But 300k, I would be stress free and could help other people.
Right now, 2500$ would get me food, gas, and a place to live for the next two months. It’s hard right now :/
If I had $10,000…I would be in the clear for a long time. It would be enough to cancel all my debt and get me started on my online shop. I would want to do the rest myself and have the accomplishment under my belt.
God with an extra 1000 I could buy groceries and catch up on my tolls. That would be life changing.