How much money would it take to change your life?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Or, rather, how little money…?

OK, technically I suppose even a quarter could change your life if, say, you found one on the sidewalk which, added to the two quarters in your car’s ashtray, gave you enough to vacuum out your car with one of those high-powered coin-op nuumbers that give you three minutes of suction for 75 cents, and while you were poised, butt in the air and head halfway under the passenger seat with hose in hand, you noticed a slip of paper that revealed something about your SO that he/she never intended for you to know…

You get the picture.

But I don’t really mean that.

I mean, if the Magic Money Fairy were to land on your head and offer you as much money as you needed to change your life in the way you wanted, with two main caveats:

a) You only get as much as you need–you don’t get to just throw a number in the air without a specific plan as to how to use it, and

b) You have to do something with it–you don’t get to, say, ask for enough money so that you can quit your job and live off the interest if all you’re going to do is sit on the couch and watch Regis and Kelly (you can stay at home to raise your kids (or somebody else’s kids), or write your novel, or throw pottery, but you must be productive of something besides gas)

… how much would you need?

Me? About $50,000. That’d give me enough $$$ to pay off enough of my debt (student loans + credit cards + mortgage), so that I could afford to teach again (which would involve a pay cut that I can’t afford right now), with summers off.

And then I’d be poised on the cusp of a couple of months of freedom right now (I can’t help it; I’ve been at this job for almost three years now, but whenever the summer comes, I just feel like I shouldn’t be working).

Heck, I could probably get by with $35,000 or $40,000.

How about you?

2

Smallest amount needed? About $11,000. That way I could pay off every debt I have, and just work like I am now. I’d be able to get back into school eventually, and get a real job and a real life. (I want to be a teacher, too.)

Inflated, just a bit? Well, I would say about $40,000. That way, I could pay off my debts, get a car, and put a down-payment on a house, so that all the rent money I pay would actually go for something.

3

Change my life…hmmmm…I would say 250,000 bucks. So, maybe I’m looking at 400-500,000 bucks pre-tax.

This is about what it would take for me to afford a vaction home (or enough to leave me a manageable mortgage on the vaca home and and pay my mortgage off. )

I would say that having a second home is “changing my life”.

I could find 20g’s, and buy a classic car…but that isn’t 'changing my life" other than letting me pursue a hobby/interest.

4

I would need about $550,000 for it to do anything significant. I would also pay off my mortgage and buy a new BMW because mine is getting a little older. There are some construction projects around the house that will take about $60,000 or so to do so I could have those done right away and be done with the restoration. I would put $30,000 or so in a college fund for my daughter that is about to be born so that is taken care of.

The one perfecto thing that would do with the money that is left is buy a good used airplane. I could spend about $70,000 or so on a pretty good one. I need to hold a little money aside for maintenance because the original payment is the easy part.

Oh crap! I ran out of money. Tell that little genie to come back here. I need at least another $100,000 to finish up.

5

$1.

Yea, that’s right. For one measly dollar you can change my life. So if all 20,000+ of you would just send one dollar to the following address…

runs

6

Congratulations on the impending fatherhood, Shagnasty! Maybe the genie will grant you a second visit in light of this. :slight_smile:

7

I live in a very idealized place, so answering this is difficult. I have a high-paying job, but feel saddled with so many expenses, and my job security in this economy being what it is, I would have to agree with about $500,000, but I swear, I feel like it would take a lot more to rid me of all of this fear and anxiety.

8

$120000 would do nicely. That would be enough to pay off all debts including a new truck for me, and a good start on my dream home. Okay, if you gave me $180000 it would be even better. Then I could GET my dream home without mortgage, and everything else I earn would go toward a happy, travelin’ lifestyle.

9

Wow, my answer is going to be pretty different.

Maybe 10,000, max. Of course, more would be incredibly acceptable.

I’d be able to move out of my parents house, and would be able to afford rent and food and everything for about two years (or maybe more), and since my parents would help me anyway, I’d probably be able to finish my whole Bachelor’s degree without needing to work part-time while going to school full-time.

10

It would take roughly $100,000. I would be able to pay off my school loan debt. That would leave me with about $700 more dollars a month and then I could afford to buy a new (used) car and wouldn’t worry constantly about making ends meet.

Tibs.

11

Hmmm. About $255,000 would pay off all of the debts, including mortgages. That would be huge, especially with the hubby’s continuing state of unemployment. That would mean his current pursuit of ramping up his own company would be that much easier to manage, which would be truly life changing for him. My life would be much closer to the desired “anxiety-free” zone, as well.

Really, other than the less-income-than-we-used-to-have bit, my life is pretty good, financially and otherwise. It’s been shocking to realize that our income is such that in spite of one of us being out of work, the bills are still getting paid. The luxuries have dropped off, but they are not what I would call truly life changing

12

I need $324,000 or $75,000 if she was going to be really nice the larger figure would purchase the building next to mine, if she was going to be stingy I’d need the later figure to pad my account for a loan to do the same thing.

13

One of the things I love about my life these days is that I am not in the “Anxiety Zone” in terms of paying my bills. Sure, I’m broke most of the time and can’t afford most of the kicky new Spring clothes I want, but:

a) I am embracing my poverty, as a catalyst for creativity. :D, and

b) My bills are paid (hence my poverty), which means I’m not up nights worrying about anything being repossessed/cut off, and when the phone rings I know it’s not a Bill Collector Shake Down.

However, having once been in The Anxiety Bell Jar, I can certainly relate to how freedom therefrom (is that a word?) can mark a significant change in one’s life!

Life’s no fun without some kind of anxiety, however, so my new Bell Jar is the “I’m in the wrong career” bell jar. :rolleyes:

Hey, Stuffy, where y’at in Oakland? I used to live on Alice Street, near downtown and right by the Alice Arts Center.

14

$125,000 would accomplish my 3 most immediate life goals: pay off my debts, pay for med school if I’m lucky enough to get in off the waiting list (cross your fingers for me everyone), and allow me to live someplace other than my parents house while I’m in school.

15

$120,000 would pay off law school and allow me to pursue other career options that pay less but are more satisfying.

16

auntie em said:

Do you know where that nice display of XMas lights is near Mills college, two blocks long all the neighbors in on it? I live on the very next block over. Or Just below MacArthur but above Foothill near Seminary Blvd on Mason.

17

Lovely! So when you buy that building (with help from The Money Fairy), are you going to decorate it with Christmas lights? :smiley:

And what’s this I hear about Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles being GONE? :eek:

18

$175,000 would make us totally debt-free (that includes our mortgage, my car, and student loan).

But just to change my life a bit? Heck, $12,000 would do it.

19

Is this money from the Money Fairy tax-free?

If so, I would say $2.5 million.

20

20,000
Downpayment so I can start house hunting and finally stop being an apartment dweller. Had a bit of setback in the ole savings department when I was laid off for 4 months. And I’m still applying my current savings to reducing my cc debt (even though I’m not massively in debt, I KNOW if I increase my housing cost right now, I’ll be lucky to pay it off before I die. 20,000 would be just the right amount to allow me to pay the 20%, and therefore keep from paying the extra loan insurance, and I can stop looking at the repossed houses, and start looking at ones with floors and stuff.
Either way, I’ll get there in a few years. (Sooner if the class-action lawsuit against my previous employer wins, but I’m not holding my breath.)

Alternatively, I’d like about 100,000, to pay for 4 years back in school.

A couple of my friends and I were talking about what we’d do if we won the lottery (I know, I know…) and I was actually suprised to find that after thinking about where the summer house should be, and where I’d travel…my next thought was “Wow, I could go back to school for ANYTHING!”

I know people do it without the money all the time, but for me debt is so anxiety producing, I spent my whole time in school just feeling sick about my finances (which were always non-existent), and actually managed to work myself into a pretty decent depression.
I don’t know if it was that, or just brain chemistry/timing, but I’m scared to go back to school on the cheap because emotionally it feels like that’s what brought on the whole depression thing I spent 2 years digging out of…