50k will pay off all my debt (school loans, auto loans, credit cards) with a some left over for a decent vacation but when I get back from vacation it's back to the grind.

$5M would be a nice number to dream about although in California you'll definately need to keep that number growing to be living the dream.

p.s- if OP has no debt or commitments he could take that 50k and live in Thailand. 50k will go a long way there IMO

problem with this is, you have worked your whole life. you dont know any better than working. a family member of mine who is now past away was a big time lawyer who have made over 12million. he didnt know anything else besides working, as he got old he never had time or the need to enjoy the money. Then cancer hit him and he couldnt do much no more, his children where waiting till he dies so they would get the money.

better enjoy your 50K

One extreme doesn't justify the opposite extreme.

Your reading comprehension is horrible. My entire view was that $50k in one lump sum is not going to change ones lifestyle. Planning for the future or sticking it on some savings account/stock to "plan for the future" has entirely nothing to do with this thread. If you're not going to even bother reading posts why bother responding to begin with.

I agree that the $50k invested can have an impact on that persons lifestyle when they are like 50+ because the money will have grown over all those years and the amount of money required to finance ones lifestyle will be less since they have less years working. I was more so referring to a change in lifestyle in the sense of being able to enjoy most of your life with said lifestyle though.

The only way its going to change a lifestyle is if there was some major financial hardship that caused the individual to have to radically change their expenses in order to get by.

That major financial hardship has to also be caused by an outside force and not because someone is degen and has $40,000 on a credit card because they're an idiot. Sure it might temporarily change their lifestyle, but they're degen, it'll happen again.

Who are you to dictate what people do with their money?

Also, if someone uses $50k to reduce/eliminate debt, boost assets, save for retirement or kids' college, make a house downpayment, or pay down/pay off a mortgage they alread have, they can be that much more secure, and feel that much happier, and be that much freer, right here and now. These are all lifestyle decisions. And they are better decisions than squandering the money on something stupid. Your idea of lifestyle is much more of a ratrace than most workplaces.

He's not trying to decide what people do with their money he's just talking about if anything can be done that would affect their lifestyle in regards to the fact that even with $50k more their lifestyle will still be going to work, coming home, being with family, having a few fun activities on the weekend. Lighten up cowboy.

50K with margin is not bad for a trading account. If your a sick trader you could generate some pretty substantial side income.

So what?

Anyway, you're putting your own words in his mouth.

Actually, I think that's what the guy meant in his posts...that 50k wouldn't actually change much about most people's day-to-day lives.

50k might not make a noticeable impact on my day-to-day life TODAY (other than some additional peace of mind). However, it would move my retirement up at least 5 years, which I do consider to be extremely life-changing. To each their own.

...I don't think the original question was about how it would affect one's life 20 years from now (or whatever), but right now.

If you move from a rental to your own house then lots of things can change.

It can't be about now without also being about the future.

If you make your future more secure, you can be more happy, and less worried about the future, right now. It can significantly change your outlook on life, right now.

Umm, not really...not right away, anyway. Your quality of life doesn't go up from moving into a house when you only suddenly get a 50k windfall. If you couldn't move into a house yet (and were forced to rent), a 50k windfall wouldn't dramatically alter your standard of living by serving as a downpayment. The costs of owning a house (if you properly account for amortizing maintenance, insurance, utilities, etc.) are usually 2x comparable renting rates. So, in order to afford living in a house, those that rent need to be able to save their rent each month (which can be put towards a downpayment fund). At MOST all that this windfall would do is speed up most people's move by ~4years. It's not a big standard of living change as, say, a $1M windfall. The difference in standard of living change between 50k and $1M, I would conjecture, is more than 20x.

Then you're talking about something different because that change isn't a big one in terms of standard of living. 50k doesn't go a long way in securing one's future (it helps, sure).

Depends what you expect and where you live.

50 K is enough for the most people to " buy " 20-30 free days any year.
And believe me that a " part time job " is a great change in life.

If you prefer goods its not more than a decent car.

Nah, he's just actually read the thread before posting.

It's been mentioned already that yes for people who are in debt and struggling to get by it can definitely change things for them, but for others who are in a certain bracket, lump sums aren't what would be needed to have a big lifestyle change unless it was a huge amount. They would need passive income or a type of job that induced a lifestyle change.

Aha! So you admit I'm right! A lump sum of like $50k can change things for some people. (In fact it can change things significantly for a lot of people.) So why do you keep arguing with me when you admit I'm right?

Because that's not the point at all. Read the damned OP for once and think about it. No one has ever said that it won't change things for ANYONE (the negative existential)...but that it won't for most people.

Your point was conceded before you made it...which is why people are frustrated. However, you also want to apparently say more than just 'some' people (as in the existential quantifier statement) and say 'many' in some meaningful sense...which is absurd for the reasons many people have already discussed.

50k won't do much in what OP outlined in his original post...something almost all of us agree upon.

Your mistake is that your numbers aren't universally true. In many places (e.g. in the USA), people can buy a decent house for $150k. With $50k downpayment and a $100k mortgage, they could easily have little change in their monthly expenses, and they'll also be building equity in their home. It's a huge change.

This is such a stupid discussion. There are so many people whose situation (and hence quality of life) would dramatically change with $50k. Just think how many people currently facing bankruptcy could avert it with $50k.


QFCE (quoted for comic effect)

The first word in the title is "CAN". What part of the word "CAN" don't you understand.

And if you find something that is as indisputible as `the Earth is round' to be absurd then you've got a problem.

You win bro.

You're being weird.

thylacine I agree 100 % with what you are saying. I make about 30k a year and 50k in cash would in fact change my life. It would take me years to save up that amount of money otherwise. I could buy a home and have a very reasonable monthly payment and soon be able to pay off my home completely. To the people who say that it wouldn't change their life I applaud you and am very jealous.