Five People Talk About Their Biggest Windfall

A sudden windfall can mean different things to different people. For some, it’s finally buying the car they’ve been eyeing for years. For others, it’s booking that trip to Seychelles with their girlfriend, taking care of family, or moving a large chunk of money straight into a savings account and pretending it doesn’t exist.

We asked five people about the biggest unexpected sum of money they’ve ever received and how they spent, saved, and made the most of it.

“I bought a car, but maintenance is costly”

I got a huge payment from a project I had worked on for months, and for the first time, I had more money in my account than I knew what to do with. I had been taking Ubers and public transport everywhere, so buying a car felt like the most logical thing to do, or so I thought. It was a lot of money to spend at once, but I was tired of planning my life around transportation. I bought the car, and honestly, I don't regret it. The maintenance, however, has taught me that buying a car and affording a car are two different things.

Seyi, 30

“I took my girlfriend to Seychelles”

My girlfriend had always talked about visiting Seychelles, so I decided to make it happen when I received N10M from an investment that I didn’t know was going to pay off. I paid for the flights, accommodation, activities, and basically everything we did there. It was one of those trips where you stop checking your account balance every five minutes and just enjoy yourself. Was it the most financially responsible thing I could have done with the money? Probably not. Will I do it again for her? Yes. Will I regret it? Maybe, but I got to create a memory with someone I love, and I think that's worth something too.

Benson, 27

“I put almost all of it in the bank and pretended it didn't exist”

I received a bonus that was significantly more than I expected, and my first instinct was to leave the money alone. I transferred most of it into my savings account and kept going about my life as though nothing had happened. The pressure to upgrade my phone, move apartments and suddenly start spending like someone who had made it was there, but I resisted. 

I did buy myself a few things, but the bulk of the money stayed untouched. Having that money sitting in my account gave me a sense of security I hadn't experienced before. For once, an unexpected expense didn't feel like a personal attack.

Nana, 30

“I used it to take care of my family”

I got paid a substantial amount for a job I had been working on for a while, and the first thing I thought about was my family. Bills needed paying, things my parents had been putting off, and a few responsibilities I had wanted to take care of for months. I paid some bills, sent money home, and helped my younger sibling with school expenses, and by the time I was done, a considerable chunk of the money was gone. I won't lie and say I didn't wish I had kept more for myself, but seeing some of the pressure lifted off my family made me happy. It felt good to help without having to calculate what I'd have left for the rest of the month.

Sika, 33

“I invested it because I was scared of spending it.”

Five years after my dad’s death, his will was read, and I found out that I inherited N50M from him. Mehn! This was an amount of money I had never held before. I knew that if I left it in my account, I'd eventually find reasons to spend it. So I put some of it into investments across mutual funds and savings returning 12% per annum. I spent a little on myself, too, because I didn't want to be so disciplined that I couldn't enjoy the money that my darling daddy left for me. My life has never been this good. 

Chucks, 25

*The names have been changed for anonymity.

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