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Send me a card
I think the answer lies in how hefty your mortgage is. If it is such a strain that you and your children miss out on doing things each month then I'd suggest pay off a chunk of the mortgage and make the most of what you save off the repayments by enjoying yourselves as a family. If the mortgage really doesn't stop you doing things together then I'd say sod it, we only live once - get that holiday booked and send me a postcard.
Matt Wright, Enfield
It's no prize
Don't forget that premium bond "prizes" are a return on the investment you make with National Savings, which offer no guaranteed rate of return. If you have a large holding of bonds, you should expect at least £1,200 in prizes annually, to match the 4% commonly on offer in savings accounts. Admittedly, you have won a prize worth considerably more than the average expected payout, so you are entitled to use some on a treat for you and your family. However, I would advise you to treat this money as a return on an investment, and pay at least three-quarters of the £10,000 off your mortgage, saving you a massive amount of compound interest in the future, and giving you peace of mind that a debt has been reduced. You could still afford a great holiday costing £2,000, and give the remaining £500 to a charity close to your heart.
Driss Fatih, London
Do it
You could be dead tomorrow.
Aldous Voice, by email
Give it away
Give it all to charity. Do not keep a single penny for yourselves, no matter how large the temptation. And tell no one what you have done - no boasting to friends or family. You will learn a lot from this experience - both about yourselves and other people. In the long term, you will find it to have been a positive and refreshing experience.
David Gibson, by email
Build sandcastles in Cornwall
The Oxfam Unwrapped gift catalogue offers you the chance to build a classroom in a developing country for £1,700. That would leave you £8,300 to blow on the round the world trip. But please, wait a few years - your children will get so much more out of the experience if they're old enough to appreciate it. At age five and seven, they'd have more fun building sandcastles in Cornwall.
Tom Baldwin, Oxford
Split it in two
It seems like a lot of money until you try and split it too many ways. My advice is to only split it in two. Half can salve your conscience (and mortgage). The other half is to celebrate. £5,000 might not get four of you right round the world but would be plenty to have a memorable trip. As to giving some to charity, there is the option of the change from your trip or you can begin a monthly donation of £5 to a favoured cause as a thank you to fate.
Soo Thomas, Bristol
Do all three
Splash a third on a holiday for the family, use a third wisely with a one off payment on the mortgage, and give the last third to charities of your choice: everyone's a winner ...
Darren Finlay Leeds
As my Grandad used to say ...
"It's money you never had". So take the wise geezer's advice and use it to do something you'd never normally do. Spending on normal stuff like your house won't make you feel better off for years and years and, if your mortgage is anything like mine, £10,000 won't make the slightest impression on your repayments. Using it for a holiday now will give you something amazing to look back on, broaden your children's minds and send your cool parent rating into the stratosphere. It might even take your mind off the mortgage. Enjoy your windfall before it blows away.
Grahame Whitfield, Sheffield
Who cares?
Do you really need advice on how to spend £10,000? Have you become so molly-coddled by leftie ethical codes on what we should and shouldn't do that you need to write to a national newspaper to ask advice from complete strangers on how to run your life? Do you not have friends and relatives you can ask opinions of? Or is it just so you can point to your question in print, and a) show off that it was your question that was chosen, and b) just remind everyone that you won £10,000? I suggest you take your money and get a life.
Emily Hurt, Canterbury
Go with concern
Find out how much you would save on your mortgage every month by paying the £10,000. You may find that the difference it would make is not worth as much to you as the chance to take a once in a lifetime holiday. If you decide to take a trip, contact tourism concern and arrange a kind of "fair trade trip". They work with communities in destination countries to reduce social and environmental problems connected to tourism and with the outgoing tourism industry in the UK to find ways of improving tourism so that local benefits are increased. That way rather than just give to charity you would know that the money you spent on your holiday was going to benefit the people in the area you are visiting. It would also be a wonderful experience for you and your children.
Amanda Moloney, London
Teach your children well
Travelling with children aged five and seven is never a holiday, and they will be too young to appreciate or remember the sights. Yes, charitable giving is a must - at least 10% of your windfall. I would recommend that half of it go to a local charity and half to overseas. If you contributed to a charity which helped the impoverished elderly within the UK and to a charity providing relief to impoverished children in the third world your children would learn more than they would from any trip.
Catherine Molyneux, Oxford
Follow your heart
If your heart is telling you to take your children on a big trip, do it, they will only be young once. Take time to plan the trip well and maximise the educational value. If you give up to 10% of the total to a charity there might still be enough left for the trip. Is there an organisation you could become life members of that would give continuing pleasure to you and your family as well as supporting a good cause? If possible make sure the charity can claim tax back on your donation. If you can afford it you could increase the monthly payments on your mortgage instead of putting your windfall into it. In any case, the cost of your mortgage will decrease in real terms as time goes on.
Robin Beadle, Cumbria
Blow it
Well maybe not all of it. As long as you can continue to pay your mortgage and it's not so hefty as to make life difficult then treat the money as if you never had it and spend it on a special time that you and your family can enjoy. You might never have the opportunity again. For the trip, why not include some countries that are less fortunate that ours. You could book your trip directly with people in the countries you visit, rather than a big tour operator, so they benefit from your visit. You could also buy gifts and memorabilia in the countries you visit from the people who make them. That way you cover the charitable side of your winnings too.
Claire McCann, Sheffield
Repay the mortgage
The average UK mortgage is around £140,000 with an interest rate of 5%. Your winnings would knock three and a half years off the term of a 25-year mortgage, if your monthly repayments stay at the same level, and you will save a whopping £23,000 in interest. A flexible mortgage will allow you to get the money back with no notice if you change you mind. But maybe a fortnight in Spain is not such a bad option with these numbers to focus your mind. As for charity giving, I suggest you set up a regular payment from your income to your favourite charity. Make sure you complete a gift aid declaration so that the charity benefits at least an extra £28 for every £100 you give. You can then enjoy sun, sand and sangria with a clear conscience, year after year.
Tom Harrison, by email
Involve the kids
Decide on say 10% for a charity they can get excited about - try looking at Oxfam Unwrapped or Wateraid where you can work out exactly what your gift would buy. Instead of a massive holiday, use 10% for special, memorable treats - a fun day out for the kids with all the ice cream they can eat, a luxury weekend break for you and partner - guaranteed to set up good memories. As for the remaining 80%: invest it carefully (you could buy more premium bonds) label it for a rainy day, or the kids' university fees and watch it grow.
Kate Heath, Brighton
· Latest question: My husband has invited his two brothers and their families to stay with us on the weekend before Christmas. I don't mind the extra work this will cause, but I'm worried about the expense. They never offer to bring anything in the way of food and drink, even though they booze like Trojans. Any ideas about how I can keep the costs down?
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