I Gained and Spent It All: I Had Enjoyable and Invested in My Future

This as-told-to essay is predicated on a dialog with Olivia Love, 37, a marriage content material creator from Glasgow. She received £10,000 a month on the UK’s National Lottery Set for Life sport. Business Insider has verified her winnings and enterprise expenditure. This piece has been edited for size and readability.

I used to work on the kiosk at a grocery store that offered lottery tickets. Occasionally, I’d purchase a number of myself, however I by no means received something vital.

One night in May 2025, I purchased six lottery tickets. I went to mattress, and once I awoke, I came upon we might received a heck of some huge cash: £10,000 ($13,400) a month for a 12 months, the equal of greater than $160,000 in whole.

We might have purchased a home with that cash, or we might have saved each penny. Instead, we carried on renting, saved nothing, and I created my dream job whereas giving my household the very best 12 months of our lives.

Money was at all times a supply of stress

My husband was a truck driver, and I labored 17 hours per week on the grocery store to assist pay for childcare for our children, who are actually 16, 6, 4, and a pair of. Money was at all times a supply of stress. I’d say we had been on the breadline.

We at all times had sufficient to pay the hire and the payments, however there was by no means something left over on the finish of the month. We usually could not afford to replenish the petrol tank in a single go or pay for our youngsters’s birthday events, and we tended to purchase their presents at secondhand markets. If the washer had damaged, for instance, we would not have been in a position to afford to interchange it.

We had been getting by and had been completely satisfied, however slightly extra money would have helped us rather a lot.

Winning did not really feel actual

On the morning of May 15, 2025, I used to be in mattress scrolling by my cellphone once I acquired an e-mail from the National Lottery saying I’d received a prize. I assumed it will be £5 or one thing small.

When I logged onto the National Lottery web site, I noticed that we might received £10,000 a month for a 12 months. I referred to as my husband, who was already at work. Even after somebody from the National Lottery referred to as later that morning to verify the prize, it nonetheless did not actually sink in.

For days, it felt like somebody would pinch me, and I’d get up from this actually vivid dream. Over time, although, a brand new feeling emerged: I now not had this niggling fear about what number of miles I had left within the tank or how a lot cash was left till the tip of the week. I felt far much less pressured.

We selected to not spend our cash on shopping for a home

My husband and I sat down and talked about what we wished to realize with our winnings.

Our pure intuition was to purchase a home, however we shortly determined in opposition to it. We hadn’t received sufficient to purchase a home outright, so we might want a mortgage, and we did not even know whether or not the financial institution would give us one.

We apprehensive it will make us much less financially safe. Instead, we determined to maintain renting our place and have the very best 12 months of our lives. Our technique was easy: pay the payments, and no matter was left was ours to spend.

The very first thing we purchased was a brand new automobile for my husband. His outdated one was about 15 years outdated, had 140,000 miles on it, and the air con did not work. We could not afford to repair it and delay changing it.

We additionally determined to have a second marriage ceremony. We first bought married in December 2024 in a really small registry workplace ceremony with our quick household. We scrimped and saved for months to pay for it, with monetary assist from each of our dad and mom.

For our second marriage ceremony, in December 2025, we employed the pub the place we might had our first date. We had a photobooth, a buffet, a DJ, a saxophonist, a magician, and a celebrant to resume our vows. It was the very best night time ever.

We additionally had our first household vacation overseas this 12 months, to Turkey. It has been the right 12 months.

I created my dream job as a marriage content material creator

I initially determined to surrender work for a 12 months, however then I apprehensive about explaining a spot on my résumé to future employers. I figured that after 20 years in retail, it was the right time to alter careers.

I really like weddings and capturing all of the joyous moments, and I out of the blue had the cash to begin a marriage content material creation enterprise.

In the primary six months, I spent about £7,500 establishing Moments by Love. I purchased all the things I wanted, from new telephones to microphone tools. I did my first few weddings without spending a dime or very cheaply to construct up a portfolio. You need to spend cash to earn cash.

The job makes me so completely satisfied, and since I principally work weekends, I’m at residence throughout the week to take my youngsters to and from faculty, and put them to mattress. I wasn’t at all times in a position to try this earlier than.

This new profession has given me freedom. I’ve mainly created my dream job.

I do not remorse spending all of the winnings

The remaining instalment from the National Lottery got here in April 2026. It was an advanced feeling, nearly bittersweet. On the one hand, it was unhappy, however I’m additionally enthusiastic about my enterprise. I actually consider I’ve put myself in place for the longer term.

In the tip, I made the choice that was proper for my profession, for me, and for my household. I did not save any of our winnings. I might have, however as a result of we might struggled for thus lengthy, I do not remorse a factor about selecting to stay our greatest lives.