How much money would change your life?
More people would consider winning up to £100,000 to be life changing (26%) than those who believe they would need to win more than £1m to change their lives (20%), according to research undertaken by Halifax.
Dream Spree vs Spending Reality
A dream holiday would be the first choice for over a third of people (37%) to spend some of their winnings on, closely followed by spending it on family (30%) and buying a new car (22%).
In reality however, paying off debts (19%) paying off the mortgage (16%) and buying a new house (13%) would be the first things that people believe they would actually spend £100,000 on if they were to win it.
Even if people had no other responsibilities, only 6% said that they would resign from work if they won £100,000.
Richard Fearon, Head of Halifax Savings, says: "It's clear that it doesn't have to take winning a lottery jackpot to change people's lives.
"Winning up to £100,000 enables people to maintain the normality of everyday life whilst removing some of the financial worries which, this research would suggest, can have a life changing effect in itself."
Women: the fairer sex?
Men would spend winnings on themselves more quickly than women, putting only their partner before themselves. Women however would spend first on their children then their partner, followed by close family and parents, before eventually buying anything for themselves.
Men would be almost twice as likely to save or invest their winnings (21%) than women (12%) whilst more women would opt to go on a dream holiday or spend their winnings on family (22%) than men (17%).
Regional Relevance
Regionally there is a disparity in what is considered a life changing amount of money in the UK. Almost one in five people living in the North East (19%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (18%) believe their lives would change if they won up to £50,000 with this figure dropping by half (9%) for people living in London.
Winning up to £100,000 would also be most life changing for those living in the North East (36%) and least life changing for Londoners (20%).
People living in Wales would be twice as likely (26%) to pay off their debts than those living in Yorkshire and the Humber (13%). A quarter of people living in the West Midlands (25%) would pay off their mortgage, with the least likely region to do this being the North East (7%).
Age Groups
The lives of people aged 18-34 would change the most if they won up to £100,000, with more of this group (40%) highlighting £100,000 as a life changing amount than any other age range. Once people reach 45, they are more likely to consider winning more than £1m as life changing (23%) than £100,000 (18%).
25-34 year olds are the most likely to pay off debts with their winnings (23%) whilst paying off a mortgage is the preferred option for 35-44 year olds (27%) and 45-54 year olds (24%). Respondents age 65+are the most likely to actually spend their winnings on family (23%).
To Tell or not to Tell
When asked who people would tell if they won £100,000, the most popular confidant was a partner (41%) followed by close family (37%) then close friends (29%).
One in ten men would tell nobody at all if they won £100,000, with this figure dropping to 6% for the number of women who wouldn't tell anyone if they won £100,000.
The age group most likely to keep their winnings a secret is those aged 55-64 (11%) whilst the least likely age to keep their winnings a secret would be those aged 18-24 (4%).
Life Changing Through Savings
When asked how likely people believed it to be that they would be able to save £100,000, sentiment was mixed. Overall, 37% of people believe that they will be able to save £100,000 in their lifetime, however only 13.5% of 65+ have achieved this goal.