Suddenly coming into money is a dream come true for folks who struggle financially. It happens in a variety of ways: inheriting, an insurance payout, a lawsuit settled, a gift, a sudden business success, or winning an award, a game show, or gambling games. People who have experienced this tell their stories: how they came into money, how they felt about it, and what they did with it. The amounts vary, and some may not even be impressive to you. But the money changed the lives of the people who got it, in ways that don't make the papers. Some started businesses, some bought houses, and some traveled. But mainly they saw how money brought them peace of mind. Bill Wasik was surprised when small investments he made years earlier started paying off big.
I mostly put the money in the bank. I don't know that I would use the word “save” in that it wasn't in a savings account. I probably was able to pay more in rent than I would have otherwise. I did keep my car, which I had needed in Boston but didn't need in New York, and which was totally a luxury. I wasn't really at a point in my life when I was looking to spend money on anything. Because it was about just being there and working, and I was involved in the stand-up comedy world, and I was trying to write. It gave me the freedom to do all of that. I feel like the main thing the money did for me was it freed me from the kind of anxiety that can be so tricky for people at that time of their lives, when they’re trying to be creative.
Read all fifteen stories at Topic. -via Digg
(Image credit: Pete Gamlen)