What would you do if you won a lottery?

I’ve had lottery wins before – but only of the £5 or £20 variety 😀 and I’m presuming the question is being asked about a big win, something of the life changing variety.

Two things come to mind immediately should I be lucky enough to have a big win. As I’m now 68 and Himself is 62, the first would be not having to work again. The second would be to find our forever home and purchase it outright.

After that come the usual, things which I’m presuming would appear on the list of any lottery winner – financial planning, trust funds/cash gifts for family members, and charity donations.

But what of the other items which commonly appear on such lists?

• Personal indulgences – stuff isn’t as important as it once was, so these would likely be new/upgraded versions of things we already own (cars, cameras, kitchen gadgets, art, books).
  
• Travel – possibly, as there’s no doubting that flying first class makes the whole thing a lot more comfortable and easier on old bones. That said, I’d not be surprised if we choose to drive around mainland Europe instead.
  
• Overseas property – if the win was huge, buying overseas properties can be a draw. While one holiday home abroad could have appeal if we could only agree on where (I’d vote Italy, Himself for France), any more than and I believe it would tip into chore rather than pleasure.

As I allowed my mind to roam on what a home – upgraded from what we need to what we might want – could look like, I slipped easily into understanding the appeal of designing and building your own home (or rather specifying what you want and having it designed and built for you). The idea of working with a modernist architect to create a home has undeniable appeal. To find a beautiful location for it, to select every tiny detail of building materials, fixtures and fittings, furnishings – that idea did put a smile on my face. It’s the type of activity I’ve gained enormous pleasure from in the past, even if only virtually – but not having had a lottery win, I long ago slimmed down not only my expectations but my dreams to fit my wallet.

But the flip side is I’ve watched warning tales aplenty – of budgets running rampant, of relationships ending up on the rocks due to the stubbornness or obsession of one or other party – so I acknowledge the risk. While I believe we’ve got to the point where we’ve a good idea of the common ground where our tastes meet, we also have an understanding of what makes a home happy for each other – and it’s unlikely the big beautiful architect designed home is the only route there. Finding the balance between need and want, tempered with knowing when you’ve reached enough, being another. For instance, I know that having a tractor, digger or some form of plant would put the biggest smile on Himself’s face whereas for me, it’s not hard – just books, a cup of tea, and a pleasing view in front of which to read them.

And so I come full circle back to my two immediate thoughts. With age has come an understanding of what really matters and, for us, it’s financial security and a comfortable home which meets our needs. The rest really is just pie in the sky stuff. And while I’m not pretending there’d be the donning of hair shirts, I’m pretty confident that smaller indulgences rather than over-indulgence and rampant consumerism is our route to joy and contentment. If that means we’d find ourselves with a shed ton of money leftover, I’m sure we could find someone somewhere to make a genuine difference with it… and that’s hardly the worst outcome.

Do you have an unusual or unexpected indulgence which would make you happy (like Himself and that tractor), or would you be easy to read and want more – or better versions – of the same?

© Debs Carey, 2025