Surprising things people would do if they won Saturday's lottery

Updated
National Lottery stock
National Lottery stock



The National Lottery this weekend offers an appealing combination of the highest ever jackpot in its history (an estimated £57.8 million), and dramatically lower odds than usual - down from one in 45 million to one in 7.5 million. As a result, a record number of people are expected to play, and a new study has revealed what they would spend their winnings on

The record jackpot is the result of the new rules (introduced when ten numbers were added and winning the jackpot became far harder). Under the new rules, once the jackpot reaches £50 million, there's one more draw, and then the prize has to be won during the following draw (this Saturday).

If nobody picks all the winning numbers, the prize will be shared out between everyone who picks five numbers plus the bonus ball. This will make it far easier to win (although you'll have to wait to find out how many people you are sharing the money with).
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What would you spend it on?

It means the possibility of a win is at the forefront of millions of minds, so a new study from Money.co.uk asked people what they would spend their winnings on. Some of the results were fairly predictable, with almost half of people saying they would travel the world, and 14% of people saying they would go on a spending spree.

However, some of the other answers may come as more of surprise. When asked what they would do if they won the lottery some 18% of people said they would leave their job, but 19% said they would start a business. It would seem to indicate that people don't see a lottery win as an opportunity to give up work, but to focus instead on doing something they really enjoy.

When asked how much money they would have to win in order to quit their job, almost a third of people said £5 million would be enough, but the second most popular answer - given by 23% of people - is that they wouldn't give up work - no matter how much they won.

Likewise, contrary to high profile reports of major jackpot winners splitting up, only 1% of people said they would leave their partner - reflecting academic studies that show people are actually more likely to stay with their partner after a win - partly because they are less likely to fall out about having to do a job they hate and worrying about not having enough money.

In fact, people were more likely to say they'd give it all to charity than they were to leave their partner - as 3% claimed they'd get more out of a win by giving it away.

What they really buy

According to figures from Camelot, what people tend to buy is property. While over the years they have forked out £1.17 billion on luxuries like cars and holidays, they have spent a massive £2.72 billion on property and 82% of them have moved house. They buy an average of 2.7 properties each, at an average of £900,000, and have paid off the mortgages of 3,700 friends and family members.

Almost a third of them have a cleaner to keep their new pad tidy, and a quarter have a gardener. Some 29% have a hot tub, 28% have walk-in wardrobe, 24% have electric gates and 22% have a games room.

But what do you think? What would you spend the money on? Let us know in the comments.



Lottery Changes: More Numbers and Bigger Jackpots Added to Main Lotto Draw
Lottery Changes: More Numbers and Bigger Jackpots Added to Main Lotto Draw


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