What ‘Life-Changing’ Money Means to 10 People — and How They'd Spend It

What amount of money would change your life?

It's a question you've surely considered at one point or another. Everyone has: What else were 19th-century prospectors thinking about as they stood panning in streams during the Gold Rush?

You may think you have an answer ready — perhaps the cost of some bucket-list thing, or maybe a nice round number like $1 million — but your mindset tends to shift the more you think about it. At least, that's what happened in the hours of interviews Money conducted with 10 people about this topic.

One man, for example, initially said $10 million would change his life, only to revise his answer downward when he realized about a third of that would deliver luxuries like premium season tickets to his alma mater's SEC home games. Others had to raise their wished-for sums when they remembered to factor in taxes and buffers for retirement.

"The idea of a 'life-changing' amount of money is subjective and can be context-dependent," says David Cesarini, an economics professor at New York University who's studied windfalls, the lottery and the money-happiness relationship.

For someone living paycheck to paycheck, he says, $10,000 may be the distinction between an unreliable daily commute and having a safe car to get around. But for a person with a stable job and fewer urgent needs, $10,000 may seem like petty cash.

In other words, everyone's answer is a little bit different, and that's what makes it so interesting.

Below, you'll hear from Americans across the country in various stages of their lives, all answering the same question: What's a life-changing amount of money?

Some of our sources are readers who subscribe to Money's free daily newsletter, which we used to put out a call for responses. We also found sources on internet forums, where versions of this question are fiercely debated on a regular basis in communities like r/ifiwonthelottery. Conducted between May and September — and during a span when inflation reached 2.9% and the Powerball jackpot hit a near-record of $1.8 billion — our interviews were illuminating.

Here's what we learned.

Mike Miller, Illinois: 💰 $150,000 💰

Miller, 57, of Homer Glen, Illinois, says $150,000 would eliminate all his debt and make his retirement more comfortable.

"That would wipe out the remainder of my mortgage," says Miller. "It would clear the deck for me."

Miller receives a pension after a 30-year career as a sprinkler fitter in a union job. While he could pay off his mortgage now by cashing out investments, that would trigger capital gains tax, which he wants to avoid. A windfall that would eliminate his monthly mortgage bill would give his budget some much-needed breathing room.

"If $150,000 landed in my lap, all my income would be cash flow. And it would make life a lot easier," he says.

Chris Rogers, Georgia: 💰 $3.2 million 💰

Rogers, who owns a mulch company, initially told Money that $10 million — after taxes — would be his ideal number. After thinking about it some more, though, the 52-year-old says he realized he'd be able to accomplish many of his dreams with a much lower sum: $3.2 million.

Rogers would put most of that money to work, either in investment accounts or into new business ventures. He'd also look into buying a lake house north of Atlanta that he could rent out on VRBO when his family's not there.

In terms of luxuries, his family could upgrade their eight University of Georgia football season tickets to better seats. Rogers owns a 1969 Pontiac GTO, but he says he would buy a "second, fancier" classic car for around $100,000. He'd also invest in flying lessons.

Josie G., California: 💰 $300,000 💰

Weighed down by graduate school debt, 31-year-old Josie G. says she and her partner often feel like they're closer to the working class than the middle class. With so much of their monthly income devoted to loan payments, they don't have disposable income to dine out or travel.

"When you're earning a decent salary, people assume on paper that it's going to be nice vacations twice a year and having savings, as well," the Bay Area resident says. "At the moment, that's just not the case."

A $300,000 windfall would allow her to pay off their student loans and make a down payment on a house, which is a priority because she's eager to start building wealth through home equity. That amount of money would also give the couple the financial stability to potentially start a family, she says.

John Davenport, Kansas: 💰 $500,000 💰

Davenport, 59, works part time at a Kroger grocery store and dreams of moving out of state.

"I don't like Kansas at all," he says, but adds that he feels stuck and just can't see it happening without some sort of miracle. With his disability, Davenport says he's limited in how much he can work — and the cost of moving feels unattainable in his current financial situation.

About $500,000 would help him pay off his credit cards and decide where he wants to go. "I'm thinking I wouldn't mind Maine or maybe even Washington state," he says.

Relocating somewhere he's happier would mean everything: "I just want to be able to have a decent living. Never really had one — I just struggled all my life," Davenport says.

Anne B., Oregon: 💰 $150,000 💰

Anne, a single parent and an independent project manager in construction, has been facing financial hardship in recent years. The 52-year-old has even had to sell her furniture to provide for her two kids.

"We don't have a dining room table right now because I was $600 short," she says. The sale helped "make ends meet that month."

Thinking through the question, she says $25,000 would improve her life for a "short while," but $50,000 would have a more permanent impact, letting her rebuild the savings she had before a pandemic-era job loss that led to unemployment while she homeschooled her children. Her final answer, $150,000, would also allow her to pay off some debts, replace her failing car and have a cushion.

"I'm in a really bad spot, but that would give me time to reset," she says. "That is the key thing that's missing. I'm always running so hard just to keep up with this month — or even three months behind this month — that I never can stop and game plan. I mean, I've got to keep feeding these kids."

Cory Olson, Minnesota: 💰 $5 million 💰

Olson, a 46-year-old attorney in Minneapolis, often contemplates what it would take for him and his wife to stop working. His latest estimate? A $5 million pot of money would allow at least one of them to retire early. They could replace the income by investing the money and roughly following the 4% rule for withdrawals.

He acknowledges that a million dollars would also allow them to live larger. And sure, he could buy a more luxurious car. But $1 million is not enough to replace their income, he says, and that's why it wouldn't truly be a life-changing sum in his eyes.

"The fancier car is not worth that much difference to us in how we would live our life. What does matter to us is that we get to a point where we could not work and we could travel — or we could just take our days at home," Olson says.

Brian R., Florida: 💰 $100,000 💰

A nearly-retired computer programmer in central Florida, Brian R. says $100,000 would be the "icing on the cake." The 66-year-old is between gigs, and if the search doesn't go well, he plans to retire completely. He owns his house and his two cars are in good shape, so it wouldn't take much to help him fully retire.

The thought of a windfall is on his mind daily because he likes to play the lottery, buying $10 worth of tickets every game. And if he were to win $100,000, he would feel more comfortable retiring now.

He has a few other ideas for how he'd put the cash to work. Brian says he'd fund projects and home repairs, plus painting and a new garage door: "Things that I haven't done, or I need to do, would just happen if I had $100,000," he says.

However, the lottery games he plays — the Florida lotto, the Powerball and the Mega Millions — often have prizes far larger than $100,000. With that kind of money, he'd go buy an extraordinary home. And it would have one unexpected feature: a cat room.

"We have a lot of cats, and it would be really nice if we had more space for cats and a room dedicated to cats," he adds.

Gwendolyn Humphries, California:
💰 $150,000 💰

Money reader Humphries, 74, from southern California, says $150,000 would be enough to pay off her mortgage. It would also cover several other simple but important financial checklist items: paying all of her outstanding bills, adding to her savings and setting money aside for taxes. Oh, and a vacation.

Humphries, a retired speech therapist who still works part time, says she tries to help out those in her orbit. "I have a mother who's in her 90s, on Social Security, so I always try to send her a little bit of extra money," she says. "Then I send money to my children and my siblings, and I help out my community."

Once those obligations are squared away, she'd take a "nice trip."

"I would really like to go to Botswana," Humphries says.

Dave Passey, Montana: 💰 $5 million 💰

The 38-year-old locomotive engineer has a higher bar than most for what sum would actually be life-changing. That's partly because his dream retirement state, Hawaii, has the highest cost of living in the country.

Passey doesn't dream of an idle retirement, but he would switch up what he's doing if he won the lottery. Passey says he doesn't play any lotto games where the take-home is under $5 million, which he says would fully replace his income (and then some).

"For me, a life-changing amount of money would be an amount where I don't ever have to work again, where I can just go and pursue whatever I'd like," Passey says.

In Hawaii, he estimates, he could comfortably live off savings and investment returns while trying to build wealth for his family. His rough plan would be to put 75% in safe vehicles, aiming for a 4% return. The last quarter would be for more ambitious long-term stock investments.

Philip Palese, Texas: 💰 $1 million 💰

Maybe it's not what it used to be. But Palese, 78, of the Woodlands, Texas, says there's still something special about $1 million.

Palese, who retired from IBM in 1998 after 30 years, acknowledges that there are more millionaires than ever before. He's also aware that the value of the dollar has dropped significantly since the days when Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was on prime-time TV.

"It was considered a lot of money in the past. Even though today it's not what it used to be, it's still an objective that seems to be out of reach for most people," he says. "It's still a lot of money. I don't care what you say."

Reaching a $1 million net worth by retirement may be more attainable for today's workers than it was for his generation, but the seven-figure marker still has a significance in American culture and how we conceptualize what it means to be rich.

"It seems to have a mystique to it," he says.

Editor's note: Several participants in this story requested partial anonymity to speak openly about their personal finances and debts.

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