How much $ would be life-altering for you?

[tinapbeana]

A few of you have mentioned that enough to pay off your house would be life-altering. That got me wondering, so I just ran the numbers. The principal and interest payments (since taxes and insurance would continue) come to just over 7% of income. While a 7% raise would be very nice, it just doesn't seem like a life-altering amount to me. I'm guessing some of you are spending a much larger percentage of income on your home.

actually, we spend right at 15% on our house and the associated taxes and insurance. and no, this dollar amount isn't life altering.

however, the prospect of having a house paid in full and not having to think "can i make the mortgage payment on this" when considering opportunities in the future? this change in outlook would be absolutely life-altering...

[thekid]

A few of you have mentioned that enough to pay off your house would be life-altering. That got me wondering, so I just ran the numbers. The principal and interest payments (since taxes and insurance would continue) come to just over 7% of income. While a 7% raise would be very nice, it just doesn't seem like a life-altering amount to me. I'm guessing some of you are spending a much larger percentage of income on your home.

It's more a peace of mind thing. While the percentage of yearly income might not be very high, the overall amount owed generally is. Clearing that would give me the peace of mind of having no significant amounts owing and thus be "sheltered" from most of life's potential unpleasant financial surprises.

[PrincessPerky]

A few of you have mentioned that enough to pay off your house would be life-altering. That got me wondering, so I just ran the numbers. The principal and interest payments (since taxes and insurance would continue) come to just over 7% of income. While a 7% raise would be very nice, it just doesn't seem like a life-altering amount to me. I'm guessing some of you are spending a much larger percentage of income on your home.

yeah just a bit...and changing my life doesn't take much....that raise we just got was 'only' a 33% raise (did I mention how awesome it was yet?) but it has dramatically changed many things......oh

well so it might not seem dramatic to others to spend more each month of food ...or to feel free to go to the science center twice in two months.....or to feel comfortable going on a date instead of using birthday money for groceries....(and put money into saving each month) but to me, they are amazing and wonderful...and while I don't really plan on splurging too much more next raise I do think that even a small amount would again mean wonderful changes...and I plan on celebrating them as they come.

[mom-from-missouri]

We are simple. An extra tax free $1000 a month would suit us just fine.

[shelbylovesmelby]

an extra 1-2,000 a mo would be excellent! We'd be out of debt in no time.

Or a few million to build us the house of our dreams, pay off debt, & invest the rest & live off the interest.

[DebbieL]

Life altering would really depend on how you define "altering". Really anything over about 25-30K would have a nice effect on me. It would boost my savings account and clear off my remaining ($8k) debt, add to my savings for an eventual downpayment (once housing prices around here correct back to where they should be), and give me a sense of well being.

Of course, a cool million would also be nice, lol. That would be life ALTERING in the extreme. The way I see that kind of windfall is that I wouldn't necessarily quit working (I need something to do, and a reason to get up in the morning, lol), but all of a sudden my financial stress has completely disappeared. I would consider going back to school and getting more skills. It would be nice to not have to worry about what would happen to me if I were to lose my job, etc. What a nice position to be in that would be.

[disneysteve]

Life altering would really depend on how you define "altering".

To me, life-altering is something that would have an immediate effect on the way I live my life today. So enough to pay off the mortgage would be great, but wouldn't alter my daily lifestyle. A big chunk of money to add to my retirement savings would be great, but it wouldn't alter my life today. My vision of "life-altering" is not needing to work anymore. That doesn't necessarily mean I'd stop, but I would have that option. I could at least reduce my hours and workload since I'd have another source of income. Earlier I said I'd want enough to stop work entirely, but that really isn't true. It would be life-altering if I could cut back to a 4-day or 3-day work week which would require less money than stopping entirely.

This has been an interesting thread so far. Thanks for all the replies.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Yeah me too, but I'm young enough that living without a mortgage now wouldn't make as huge a difference, I'm too busy trying to save, I don't think I could quit working or switch jobs unless it was a substantial amount. Instead mortgage free might move my retirement date forward like 5 years.

[jodi]

Life-altering for us would probably only be about $25k. That would be enough for us to pay off all the student loans and DH's remaining tuition on the cc. Then we can start planning for that third child that's just a twinkle if DH's eye right now (which I won't even consider until he has a steady job and we have at least the cc paid off). I would call another child pretty life altering!

[baking23]

Any full-time job I could get right now, since I haven't had one yet. Probably as low as $30,000/yr since then I could move out of my parents house. I think making $50,000/yr would be great and I'd feel pretty happy with that. I'm more happy when I'm working so as long as I was always busy that would be fine.

Over the course of my lifetime a lump sum, gift or lotto win, of about half a million would be invested and keep me comfortable for a long time.

[Fern]

The minimum needed to make a large and lasting change in my life would be $80K, cus that's what it would take to pay off my mortgage.

Otherwise, to retire as of today, i'd probably need $2 million to feel comfortable.

[creditcardfree]

Life altering. My sister knows a man that won money in the Nebraska lottery about a year ago. I think he came away with 15 million after taxes. He's single. He quit his job, gained weight because he didn't work, has been harrassed at his home by people who want money from him. The only thing he bought was a new car and paid off his house. From the sounds of it, the money has been quite shocking to him and had some negative effects. He had to write a check for 1/4 million for taxes because not enough had been taken out...yes it appears to have been life altering...but not necessarily in a good way. (okay...better to owe govt...than to pay..that is positive)

I would vote for a smaller life altering amount $500-750 thousand. Enough to pay off mortgage and plenty to invest.

[disneysteve]

From the sounds of it, the money has been quite shocking to him and had some negative effects. ...yes it appears to have been life altering...but not necessarily in a good way.

That is exactly the type of story Oprah focused on. She had a couple of lottery winners who had major problems afterward to the point of wishing they had never won. The financial person who was on said 70% of people who win major amounts squander it all within a few years. Most people just don't know how to handle that kind of money and they don't realize the problems that arise when everyone suddenly discovers your new wealth.

I'm not greedy. I don't want $100 million. Just 3 or 4 million would be plenty to be set for life.

[Snoopy2645]

I would settle for a couple hundred thousand say $200,000 that would be life altering for us.

[Ima saver]

I read an article on people who win the lottery and 10 years later they are broke. Just one million in the bank earning interest would be a good start for me!