this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2023
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Asklemmy

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[–] athos77@kbin.social 60 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

Uhh, say, 20k? My sister died and I've been taking care of her 18-year-old cat with health issues. It's my only living link to my sister - and aside from a couple cousins I don't see much, she was my last living relative. I'm not ready for another loss right now, and it also kinda feels like letting go of the cat is also kinda letting go of my sister, so I'm trying to keep the cat as healthy and happy as she can be for as long as possible - it's just really expensive (extra special diet, multiple medications, periodic tests). But today the cat raced me down the stairs, then yelled at me for making it cold and wet outside, then complained that her food was late, then snuggled up next to me at the computer. It's all worth it.

Edit: I'm estimating it's been at least 10k so far, just for emergency treatments, getting her stabilized, then diagnosed, and then coming up with a set of food and medications that work. And then I'm estimating another 10k to care for the cat in the future. She's a good cat, even if she yells at me for letting her see the bottom of her food bowl ...

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[–] tymon@lemm.ee 36 points 11 months ago

$40,000 would pay off all debts for me and my wife, and allow us finally catch our breath. The monthly payments have been annihilating us for years, and neither of our careers have recovered since COVID.

It feels like an endless tunnel.

[–] TeaHands@lemmy.world 29 points 11 months ago (2 children)
  • Β£80 would pay for a Steam page for my little indie game thus fulfilling a lifelong dream
  • Β£200 would pay for Christmas which is always a big money stress
  • Β£500 would let me get some much needed dentistry done and remove that worry
  • Β£1000 would give me a decent emergency fund to reduce stress in general
  • Β£10,000 would be the point where I could feel more independent, maybe even get a car
  • Β£100,000 would let us move somewhere that isn't totally isolated from civilization
[–] Waker@lemmy.world 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Fuck man, if I had more money I'd buy you the steam page :(

Hope you can get that soon! Maybe your indie might just be what you need to get your financial freedom :) good luck!

[–] TeaHands@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

Hah, thanks, appreciate that! It's all good, I'm saving up bit by bit. Just can't quite justify the whole cost at once, you know? But I'll get there, same as with everything else.

[–] Wojwo@lemmy.ml 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Tell us about your game? What type? Story? Tech details? Etc.

[–] TeaHands@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago (4 children)

It's really not very exciting, it's just a minimalist little city builder thing. More of a "prove I can make and release a game" type project than anything that's gonna make me famous! Learning Godot engine at the same time which has been half fun, half frustrating as hell :D

(recently started a devlog channel so if you really are interested, this is me, but there's not much there yet)

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[–] hondaguy97386@sh.itjust.works 20 points 11 months ago (2 children)

About 250k. That pays off the house and all other remaining debt.

[–] kersploosh@sh.itjust.works 11 points 11 months ago

Ditto. Eliminating monthly debt payments would totally change the household finances.

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[–] fckreddit@lemmy.ml 19 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Maybe a lot or maybe none. I am really struggling with depression. I can afford therapy and I have all the money I need. I only wish living wasn’t so painful. Maybe having someone in my life who cares would go a long way.

[–] DerisionConsulting@lemmy.ca 19 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

A couple of years ago, an extra $10 would've made my week, or an extra $83.70 would've made my month.

Now, it's closer to $10K, and it wouldn't really significantly improve my life, it would just let me get a new roof faster.

[–] SolarNialamide@lemm.ee 15 points 11 months ago

Probably something like... €400.000 to €450.000. Then I could buy an apartment or small house when I graduate and pay off my student loans in full. It depends on the city I can find work in and want to live though. There are 3 I'm seriously considering and it varies about a €100.000 for a house between the cheapest and most expensive of the three.

[–] LilB0kChoy@lemm.ee 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)

$208,063.88

This would pay off our mortgage and we could dump that monthly payment into saving for retirement.

However, if the question was how much do we need then it would be $0. We are far more fortunate than many.

If there was a line of all the people in this comment section waiting to get whatever amount they need I’d be one of those continuously moving to the back to let others go first.

I hope you all find improved quality of life, even if it’s not through some financial windfall!

[–] Socsa@sh.itjust.works 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You'd be better off keeping the mortgage, since it's about the cheapest leverage your average person has access to, and investing the lump sum. Net present value, baby.

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[–] Kushia@lemmy.ml 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Enough to buy a house.

That seems like a lot for this question but it's honestly the only thing that significantly would. Cars and goods are great but just materialistic and I can live without them just fine. But give me a place for my family and I to live and our lives would be significantly improved, because we'd not have to deal with landlords, renting, we could modify the house to our needs, have pets and not stress about constant rent hikes and the possibility of being evicted.

I think everyone should have the opportunity to own their own house and politicians are betraying society and entire generations of people by doing things that work heavily against it.

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[–] Varyk@sh.itjust.works 13 points 11 months ago

However much an island is, I guess? Actually I'm not sure how that would improve my life.

What an interesting question.

I think I'm good.

Or maybe however much it would take to set up a sustainable food pantry?

That would do it.

625k would be more than enough.

[–] Diplomjodler@feddit.de 11 points 11 months ago

About two million euro, so I could retire.

[–] freewheel@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The least amount? 20k US would halve my credit card debt and give me a leg up on getting the rest paid off. 40k would give me a jump start on finally rebuilding. Given I'm in my 50s though and with the state of the world, I'm likely to be making credit card payments until the day I die.

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[–] JokeDeity@lemm.ee 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Right now? Literally just about anything. My fiance left me last week to "figure herself out" after 9 years together and soon I might be homeless and my credit cards I took out to help her over the years are months behind on payments. So yeah, anything.

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[–] JDubbleu@programming.dev 10 points 11 months ago

This is a super interesting question!

For me IDK if any amount of money would significantly improve my life. I'm not terribly materialistic and I'm happy with what I have/don't feel like I immediately want or am missing something. I make good money and stash as much as possible while still enjoying nights out with friends and buying whatever I want.

I'm currently saving up a quarter million for a house down payment, and while it's a lot of money my quality of life/overall happiness would be the same so I wouldn't call the change significant. Things are really good in my life for once, and it's nice to be able to recognize that. Thanks for the question it actually made me really happy to think about how lucky I am.

I hope others in this thread who need it can find some fortune in their future.

[–] obinice@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

Β£1000. I could pay for my entire ADHD treatment programme from start to finish, without having to wait YEARS in a waiting list for the free treatment. It would absolutely change literally everything in my entire life, giving me a life instead of circling the drain waiting to die.

But I'll never be able to save that kind of money, I'm an idiot and my ADHD is crippling.

I considered gofundme, but it's already full of people who need money for ADHD treatment, and I don't want to drown them out with yet another plea, you know?

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[–] S410@kbin.social 10 points 11 months ago (2 children)

1k USD. Should be enough to leave my shithole of a country, if I'm lucky.

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[–] ThatFembyWho@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I mean, anything over about 1000 USD would be a big help, I had to make an unexpected visit to a sick parent that really set back my short term goals.

10k would be a nice emergency fund and I could start focusing again on things like moving to a better place (moving is expensive).

100k would mean freedom to get any transition-related surgeries I want without hassling with insurance. Or it could be rolled into a home purchase or retirement.

Currently my income isn't great, but I can pay my bills with savings to spare, even in a nicer apartment or home.

€12000 so I could afford the surgery I need.

[–] metaStatic@kbin.social 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)
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[–] variance95@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago

Probably Β£100k. Β£80k would be a huge help though. Would buy the house we are living in outright, that our landlord has been selling for over a year, ans the extra 20k would pay off our debt and give a few house repairs.

I love this house, I'm not ready to leave if someone buys it for themselves or if our landlord kicks us out before then.

[–] Nemo@midwest.social 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

$50K. With that, I could either buy the lot next door or quit work for a year and go back to school.

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[–] Karmanj@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago

20K would change my life. I could pay off a couple of pressing debts and be at even again.

[–] Thordros@hexbear.net 7 points 11 months ago

Exactly $148 would ensure my mortgage doesn't default next Tuesday. This is assuming I drink a bit of cooking oil.

I'll probably be fine. Whoever said crime doesn't pay was a bozo.

[–] YourFavouriteNPC@feddit.de 7 points 11 months ago (3 children)

~2000€ would be an absolute game changer for me.

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[–] linuxdweeb@lemm.ee 7 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Around $3 trillion dollars so that I can buy Microsoft and shut them down, paving the way for the GNU/Linux desktop.

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[–] Luckybuck@ttrpg.network 7 points 11 months ago

3 mil so I can retire. Working toward it and I will achieve it eventually. A few decades earlier would change everything though.

[–] Kissaki@feddit.de 6 points 11 months ago (2 children)

No amount of money would significantly improve my life.

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[–] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

All I need is $1,000 a month to completely survive.

[–] Wahots@pawb.social 6 points 11 months ago

However much for a house, so at least 750k, but probably more like 1.2 million if you want to home that is near a rail station. I'm not moving back to a rural state that hates me and people like me.

[–] xmunk@sh.itjust.works 6 points 11 months ago

Probably 20k? We're not hurting, but my partner is off work for disability and 20k would help extend how long they can recover for.

[–] Cagi@lemmy.ca 6 points 11 months ago

$300. I am on disability so my income is tiny. I've just moved into a shitty old house with a bunch of strangers and still spend more than half my income on rent, but I'm finally not losing money every month. $300 would give me just enough buffer to put my head above water and keep it there.

Probably a million. I got two kids and a mortgage. Sure I could pay off some bills with less, but what difference does that really make. I guess I could take a nice vacation for less, but thats just temporary. Gotta work for the medical insurance so, maybe a million would cover us until the kids get thier own.

[–] dewritoninja@pawb.social 5 points 11 months ago

10k would be enough for me to leave my country and start again somewhere actually decent

[–] MadBabs@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Probably about $12,000. That would get rid of my credit card debt, allow me to focus on my other debt and work on paying off my house.

[–] user224@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 11 months ago

...get rid of my credit card debt, allow me to focus on my other debt...

What world did I get born into...

[–] Waker@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

10K€ would pay me some debts and allow me to buy a new(er) car than my old ass '93 corsa.

I love the thing to death since it has so much meaning for me. But I really wish it had AC and power steering. Parking on tight spots is hell, but on the upside gets me a quick workout :')

[–] quams69@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

500 dollars would pay the bills I can't afford

4k so I could get a house

[–] thorbot@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

$250k to pay my house off would be dope, no more mortgage payments

[–] OceanSoap@lemmy.ml 5 points 11 months ago

40k would wipe out the rest of my student loans and I'd be far, far better off.

[–] iAmTheTot@kbin.social 5 points 11 months ago

About 40000 CAD. Could start looking for a house now instead of in a few years.

[–] rockandsock@lemm.ee 5 points 11 months ago

35 grand would fund a lot of the deferred maintenance on my house and get me new energy efficient windows.

55 would get me solar panels to boot.

[–] TheHottub@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

60k student debt that I can't afford to lay

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