Model the first big purchases
Put property, renovations, vehicles, family help and a cash reserve into one place instead of judging every purchase separately.
Start with the prize, build the life you imagine and see the number that matters after the first big decisions: how much of the win is still left for the future.
£10 million sounds almost impossible to spend until you start giving every part of it a job. A home, cars, family help and a cash reserve can take a large bite straight away. Then there is the cost of actually living the new life every month.
Put property, renovations, vehicles, family help and a cash reserve into one place instead of judging every purchase separately.
The money left is the part that can potentially support income, later opportunities and a more resilient long-term plan.
A bigger house or lifestyle may feel easy today; the calculator shows whether the capital left behind still has enough work to do.
Start with a real jackpot or type any amount you want to explore. Then choose a spending style and adjust the home, cars, family help, cash reserve and lifestyle costs.
For annuity-style prizes, use the dedicated annuity or payout calculator.
This is what remains after the early purchases and cash reserve in this scenario.
The jackpot is the exciting number. The amount left after the house, cars, gifts and other early decisions is the number that has to support everything that comes afterwards.
A home, renovations, vehicles, gifts and a dream fund all come out of the same pot. The calculator combines them so the true first-wave cost is visible.
Cash kept back may still belong to you, but it is no longer doing the same job as long-term invested capital. Treating the two separately gives a clearer picture.
Once a win has funded the setup, the ongoing question becomes whether the remaining money can support the lifestyle without being steadily consumed.
Once the first purchases are out of the way, compare the money left with the lifestyle you want. The figures below show simple 3%, 5% and 6% return examples. They are not bank interest rates and they are not forecasts.
The calculator deliberately stops short of telling you what to invest in. Its job is simpler: show how much is still available after the fun decisions, so you can see what the long-term pot may need to achieve.
Income, growth, capital preservation, future property, family support and inheritance can require different structures and different levels of risk.
Run the calculator at several percentages. If the lifestyle only works at the most optimistic assumption, that is useful information before anything is committed.
A real winner should use qualified financial, tax and legal professionals before making major investment decisions. Explore Investing & Wealth →
There is some useful UK evidence here. A Camelot/Oxford Economics study of National Lottery millionaires found that property took the largest share of winner spending, followed by investments intended to provide income and investments for the future or children.
Property was the biggest spending category in the study. Most winners changed their main home.
Investments intended to provide income were the second-largest category — a useful reminder that winners did not simply spend everything.
Another large part was invested for the future or for children.
Helping family and friends was also a major use of the money, which is why this calculator gives family help its own input.
Winner research suggests the stereotype is only partly right. Houses and cars matter, but so do investments, family help and paying off debts. That is why this planner separates the first spending wave from the money kept for later.
Explore homes, cars, holidays, gifts and the first purchases people imagine when the limits suddenly move.
Explore first purchases →Move from the dream into privacy, family, first steps, mistakes and the decisions that can wait.
Open the winner hub →Think about advisers, investment, cash management and the structures that sit behind a long-term plan.
Read the finance guide →See how overspending, promises and lifestyle creep can turn a comfortable plan into a more pressured one.
See the common mistakes →Do not treat the planner as a day-one shopping list. Protect the proof of the win, understand the claim process and privacy choices, then come back to the calculator when you are ready to explore what the money could genuinely support.
Protect the ticket or account, keep the circle small and avoid rushed promises. Open the winner checklist →
The prize and the income it may later generate are different questions. Read the UK tax guide →
Regular monthly prizes create a very different planning problem from a lump sum. Try the Set For Life calculator →
Answers to the questions people ask about lottery payouts, interest, spending, investing and using the planner itself.
It starts with the win amount, subtracts the home, renovations, vehicles, gifts, cash reserve and other one-off spending you enter, then compares the remaining capital with your yearly lifestyle costs and a simple return assumption.
Yes. Type any amount you want to test. You can also use one of the quick-pick amounts or a compatible current jackpot shown in the calculator.
Yes. For a UK lump-sum jackpot, enter the prize amount or use a compatible live jackpot shortcut. The planner is about what happens after the prize is available to you.
Only if the number you enter represents money actually available to allocate. Do not treat a headline annuity value as immediate cash. Use the relevant payout or annuity calculator first where a prize has different payment options or schedules.
No. The planner does not calculate prize tax, investment tax or tax on gifts. Tax treatment varies by country and circumstances. For a UK prize, use the separate UK lottery tax guide for the tax questions that arise after winning.
No. The long-term model keeps the yearly lifestyle spending constant. In real life, inflation can make the same lifestyle more expensive over time, so the result should not be read as a forecast.
No. The return examples are deliberately simple. Real investment results can be reduced by fees, tax, inflation and poor market years.
They are simple annual return assumptions applied to the capital left in the model. They are not savings rates, guaranteed interest rates or recommended investment returns.
Sometimes people use the phrase 'live off the interest', but a real investment portfolio may produce a mixture of interest, dividends and capital growth, and its value can fall as well as rise. The calculator simply compares an assumed return with your spending.
The calculator models up to 100 years. If the pot is still positive at that point, it displays 100+ years. That does not mean the money is guaranteed to last forever.
The 10-year figure compounds the selected return while subtracting the same annual spending each year. It does not increase spending for inflation and does not deduct tax or fees.
It is removed from the amount labelled as long-term invested capital, but it is still your money in the scenario. The planner separates it because cash kept aside is doing a different job from money assumed to remain invested.
There is no correct percentage. The useful test is what the house leaves behind. A more expensive home can also bring higher insurance, maintenance, energy, security and staffing costs.
There is no universal amount. Model a figure before making promises, then consider your own long-term needs and any legal or tax consequences of large gifts.
That depends on the size of the win, the mortgage and your wider financial plan. If you intend to clear it, include that cost in the home or one-off spending you model.
UK winner research has historically shown large spending on property, investments and gifts to family and friends, alongside cars and holidays. Individual winners vary enormously, which is why the calculator lets you build your own version.
There is no fixed percentage that suits everyone. The more useful question is whether the amount left can support your lifestyle, future purchases, family plans and weaker investment years without relying on an optimistic return.
Do not use this calculator as a day-one shopping list. Secure and verify the win, understand the claim and privacy position, keep the circle small and take appropriate professional advice before making major commitments.
This planner starts with the whole win and helps you allocate it across property, cars, family, reserves and lifestyle. The money-lifespan calculator is the better next step when your main question is how long a remaining pot could last.
No. It is an educational scenario tool. It cannot know your tax position, investment risk, family circumstances, future inflation or legal needs.
Use the result as a starting point, then move into the part of the winning journey that matters most to you.
The full route through first steps, privacy, money, relationships and building the future.
Explore the winner hub →Go deeper into the job the money left may need to do over the years ahead.
Explore Investing & Wealth →Take the pot left by this planner and test how spending, inflation and return assumptions affect its lifespan.
Test how long it could last →