Money for holidays
$18,000 can take you and a partner to just about anywhere in the world and could easily last you six weeks. Or about half of that if you’re the five-star only type of traveller.
With all the fiasco about United Airlines of late, a trip from Sydney to the United States of America is very affordable with super low fares available. If you’re going stateside, you’ve got to visit New York. New York has amazing sites, and of course there’s the shopping to spend the rest of those winnings!
Or perhaps Paris? It’s coming into the European summer and it’s a great time to escape the cold of the Sydney winter. Head to France to sip champagne and eat cheese and croissants in long summer days. Why not? Money for holidays in the most expensive city on the planet is a must.
Or perhaps a cruise ship is more your thing? Cruises are great value and for $18,000 you and your partner could hop aboard a 19-day cruise around Canada and Alaska on Royal Caribbean or the whole family can cruise the pacific islands such as Fiji and New Caledonia with enough change to buy an entire market stall when you get there.
Cars
$18,000 can get you a decent new small car on the Australian market. If you need something to just potter around Sydney in, you’ll get plenty of change from a new Mitsubishi Mirage, Suzuki Celerio or Holden Spark. For something slightly classier there’s the Mazda2 and Ford Fiesta, which would still leave you enough change for about six months worth of fuel. For something slightly bigger, there’s the Hyundai Accent, Suzuki Baleno or Skoda Fabia which also all retail for less than 18 grand, especially a new dealer demo model. With end of financial year deals coming up, you could even bargain your way into a Volkswagen Polo or Nissan Pulsar.
Or what if you want something a little more special or spacious from the used car market? If you love a V8 rumble, you’ll have enough for a low kilometre VE Holden Commodore or Calais. Ford Fans could definitely pick up a Falcon XR6 just a couple of years old with low kilometres. To up the classiness, you may find a Lexus IS250 or Mercedes Benz C Class about eight or nine years old with relatively low mileage.
Toys
Arguably the most popular way to spend money on something that’s fun yet impractical is to buy a jet ski. $18,000 is enough to get you not one, but two Sea-Doo Sparks with enough change to fill them both up with fuel.
Or a slightly less selfish option would be an entire boat. $18,000 is about enough for some smaller entry-level fishing boats but on the second hand market you could find a bargain fishing or skiing boat up to 18 feet in length.
Houses
What if we told you, that you can get a house near the beach with $18,000? You can. In Bali. $18,000 is roughly 180,000,000 Rupiah and that can actually buy you a decent villa in Bali. For some really decent apartments, you can rent one out for a few years for $18,000 too. So if your work will allow it, why not just take the next year off?
So does this solve your problem? $18,000 is a pretty good problem to have. Money for holidays, cars or whatever you like is up for grabs every Monday and Thursday night and Lantern Club. All members are automatically entered. All you have to do is be on the premises before 7pm and listen for your name to claim the jackpot amount.