When we were kids, getting a few pound coins of your mum for a day out with your mates felt like scoring the jackpot.
And by the time we were in our later teens, the idea of bagging millions to buy everything we ever wanted was a total dream.
Except for this 16-year-old it was real life. And it turned out to be a nightmare.
Callie Rogers was Britain’s youngest Lotto winner when she won her fortune back in 2003.
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Now, 33, she won £1.875 million and her life changed forever.
The mum-of-four from Cumbria spent more than half a million on homes for herself and her family, with a further £550k spent on clothes, tattoos and travelling.
But she’s since lost all of her winnings after blowing it for nearly 20 years.
At the time, Callie was working as a shop assistant in her local Co-op on £3.60 an hour.
She told The Mirror: “I did not want that much money. I was in foster care and for the first time in a long time, I was really settled and really happy.
“At 16 you do not know what is ahead of you, because by God I did not expect any of that. I asked the Co-op if I could have my old job back."
After her win, what followed for Callie was the onset of depression and an attempt to take her own life.
She appeared on ITV’s This Morning several years ago and revealed she has ‘trust issues’ because of the money.
The lotto winner says she was hounded by ‘fake friends’ who just wanted her money.
Callie explained: “I would give money to distant relatives and friends of friends. I loaned £20,000 here, £13,000 there. I would never get it back.
"People asked for money for new cars and I would help out. I was a soft touch.
"Now I realise what they were like. I was exploited because of my age. I had a lot of fake relationships.”
At 21, Callie attempted to take her own life and has since issued a warning to others about playing the lottery.
In 2021, the minimum age to take part in the National Lottery changed from 16 to 18, but her words still apply.
Now happier and studying to become a nurse, Callie hopes her own kids never attempt to play.
She told The Mirror: “Overnight I went from carefree child to adult. All these years on, it still gets dragged up.
"Even when I go for job interviews, I am thinking about it. I suffer from such bad anxiety when I am going to meet new people.
"It preys on my mind, what a new partner's family will think of me, or even new friends. I still get abuse just because of who I am.”
Camelot previously told LADbible: "Callie received extensive support from us which lasted many years. She didn't take up the independent financial and legal advice offered by us.
"However, our winner's team fully supported her and helped her to handle media interest.
"We will continue to support Callie in any way we can if she wants."
Topics: Money, National Lottery, UK News
Jess Battison