wisehumans

Question #13ยท24 August 2026ยทrevealed

$1 million today, or $5,000 a month for the rest of your life?

120 people in 5 countries answered on 24 August 2026. 51% said $5,000 a month forever.

The $1 million now49.2%
$5,000 a month forever50.8%
120
votes on this question
9,940
votes since launch
5
countries
9.4s
median gut time
33%
predicted the majority
16.9
avg split-guess miss, points

wisehumans.org

By country

The $1 million now$5,000 a month forever
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA 49
5347
Everywhere else 36
3664

By age

The $1 million now$5,000 a month forever
25 to 34 39
5149
35 to 44 30
4060
Everywhere else 23
4457

By profession

The $1 million now$5,000 a month forever
Software & IT 31
5842
Everywhere else 39
3169
Most contrarian country: ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA. Only 46.9% sided with the global majority.

More from this lane: Money and risk ยท Download the CSV

Cite this

In a wisehumans poll of 120 voters across 5 countries (24 August 2026), 51% chose "$5,000 a month forever". Source: wisehumans.org/q/1-million-today-or-5-000-a-month-for-the-rest-of-your

Reuse the chart

This result as an image, free for any use with a link back (CC BY). Copy the snippet, or download the PNG.

<a href="https://wisehumans.org/q/1-million-today-or-5-000-a-month-for-the-rest-of-your"><img src="https://wisehumans.org/q/1-million-today-or-5-000-a-month-for-the-rest-of-your/card.png"
  alt="1 million dollars now or 5000 a month for life? Poll result from 120 votes" width="600"></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://wisehumans.org/q/1-million-today-or-5-000-a-month-for-the-rest-of-your">wisehumans.org</a>, 24 August 2026. CC BY 4.0.</p>

Method

Self-selected online poll, no accounts: one vote per browser per day, capped per network address to limit repeat voting. Country derived at the network edge; age and profession self-reported from fixed lists. Buckets under 25 votes fold into "Everywhere else"; buckets under 5 are never published. Not weighted, not representative of any population.