BRITS CLAIM THEY NEED £100,000 TO CHANGE THEIR LIFE

 

• 62% of Brits say it would take a windfall of £100,000 or more to make a difference to their life
• One in ten claim they would need £2 million or more to have an impact
• Brits likely to spend a windfall on getting back into the black
• 1 June marks 50 years of Premium Bond draws: five people will become millionaires overnight in the anniversary draw

An unexpected windfall with the power to transform your life is everyone’s favourite daydream, but recent research from NS&I, the government-backed savings and investments provider, shows that the majority of Britons think it would take at least £100,000 before a windfall would have an effect on their life. Nearly two thirds (62%) claimed they would need this amount or more to make a difference to their life.

Millionaire lifestyles and rising property prices mean a demanding one in ten (9%) believe a windfall would have to top £2 million before they would notice the impact.

In contrast, only 6% would be satisfied with a lump sum of £1,000.

How much would it take to make a difference to your life?

 

£1,000	6%
£10,000	12%
£25,000	9%
£50,000	10%
£100,000	16%
£250,000	12%
£500,000	12%
£1 million	13%
£2 million +	9%

 

 

 

 

 

 

And despite a stereotype of WAG wannabes and IT girls fuelling champagne living, it is men who hanker after more money: 67% of men would need £100,000 or more to improve their lifestyles compared to 58% of women.

Living the high life

These figures reflect a change in spending habits and lifestyle expectations with more Brits regularly treating themselves to ‘luxuries’. Recent research shows consumer spending has soared to £1.9 trillion1 including £23.8 billion on foreign holidays, £17.7 billion on restaurants and a huge £400 billion spent on homes. 

Windfalls earmarked for paying off debt

Yet, rather than sparking a further spending spree, more Brits would use a windfall to get their bank balances back into the black than hit the shops. After sharing a win with close family and friends, paying off the mortgage or other debts was the most popular way to spend the cash, with a fifth (20%) of Brits seeing a windfall as a way to get back into the black. Total personal debt levels in Britain are currently estimated at around £1.3 trillion2.

With average house prices above £100,000 in every town in the UK3, a further 14% would spend it on moving to a better house.

In contrast only 12% would put a windfall into savings or investments, although the figure rises to 16% for men. Only half as many women (9%) would do the same, preferring to upgrade their house or spoil friends and relatives rather than boost their savings.

John Prout, NS&I’s sales director, said: “When Premium Bonds were launched in 1957, £1,000 was a life changing amount and for many it meant security and a comfortable future. It is not surprising that the amount needed to have the same effect has shot up over the last 50 years. However, for a significant number a windfall is now less about looking forward and more about a way to get back on track financially, and pay off past indulgences.”

Five most popular ways to spend a windfall

	Total	Men	Women
Share it with close family and/or friends	24%	21%	27%
Use it to pay off mortgage/debts	20%	20%	19%
Spend it on moving to a bigger/nicer house	14%	11%	16%
Put it into savings or investments	12%	16%	9%
Put it towards retirement	7%	8%	6%

What could £100,000 buy?

Studio flat in Willesden Green	£100,000
One bedroom property in Glasgow	£96,387
Underground parking space in Mayfair	£95,000
Studio apartment in Cannes	£98,000
Audi TT Coupe	£30,000
7 nights in a two Bedroom Deluxe Suite at the Burj Al Arab, Dubai	£14,500
A box at Wembley	From £60,000
Second hand Elan 40 yacht	£99,950.
Round the world ticket flying business class	£4,000

50 years of prizes

1 June 2007 marks 50 years since the first Premium Bond draw. Premium Bonds were launched in the 1950s as a unique way to encourage saving. Instead of receiving interest, Premium Bonds offer the chance to win tax-free4 prizes. The top prize in 1957 was £1,000 and smallest £25.  

Today prizes range from £50 to £1 million and in June NS&I, which runs Premium Bonds, will make five people millionaires overnight to celebrate the anniversary.  A further 32 people will win £100,000 in June’s draw.

Since the first draw, almost 155 million tax-free4 prizes worth nearly £10 billion have been paid out and ERNIE has created 183 millionaires since the £1 million jackpot was introduced in 1994.

Ends

Notes to editors

The research was carried out by TNS Phonebus among 2,042 GB adults aged 16+ between 4 - 13 May 2007.

1. Mintel, May 2007
2. Credit Action, April 2007
3. Halifax research April 2007
4. All Premium Bond prizes are free of UK income Tax and Capital Gains tax.