How many have bought something "cool" after an inheritance?

[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harllee I have never inherited anything. Am I the only one?

The only thing I inherited was a bad attitude.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harllee I have never inherited anything. Am I the only one?

See post #69. Sometimes nothing is not a bad outcome.

[Koolau]

I still recall when my granddad passed, mom inherited (wait for it) almost $20K. That was ca 1963 so it was a decent chunk of change. We had lived in an old farm house that had been surrounded by new city. It was a bit better than a slum, but not by much. Because the family business was more or less next to the house, mom and dad didn't want to move very far, but they DID want to move. We moved 2 houses away to an existing but relatively new house. We must have been a site, carrying all our worldlies up the street each evening after school/w*rk.

Ironically, the old farm house is still there and I (plus DW) have lived in it, off-and-on for the past 50 years. We've fixed it up to make it quite livable over the years. It's the old home-stead which is still in the family - we rent it full time to have a mainland spot to land each year (clothes, furniture, TV, etc. etc ready to go when we arrive.) Inheritances CAN be a real blessing.

Our only inheritance was when DW's "rich" uncle died. He left every cousin $10K. That was 3 years ago, so not a fortune. In reality, we didn't need it for our life-style and couldn't seem to spend it for something "frivolous" like 1st class upgrade on our yearly travel. So, we donated it to our favorite charity. That brought us way more joy than new furniture or a cruise.

Since money is such a personal thing, YMMV.

[harllee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 See post #69. Sometimes nothing is not a bad outcome.

Yes DH would have been better off with inheriting "nothing." When DH's mother died she had no assets. DH and I paid for the funeral, the funeral cost much more than it should have because DH's 2 siblings talked him into it and told DH they would pay him back for their share of the funeral costs. That was over 10 years ago and DH has never received a penny toward the funeral from either sibling. So DH's inheritance was significantly less than nothing.

[reneeh63]

No inheritances, no big gifts along the way. Many of my older relatives died after being in nursing homes for many years. When my great aunt's will was read she didn't have a penny but my mom pointed out all the "remembrances" she'd made in the will of what she had wanted to give everyone back when she wrote her will.

I had another aunt on my father's side who left my sister $30k back in the late '80's but because my sister was on SSDI she didn't get to keep any of it. My aunt didn't know that it should have gone into a trust for her, so money down the tubes. It sure would've been a helluva down payment on a house for me at that time.

[anethum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harllee I have never inherited anything. Am I the only one?

You are not alone. I haven't inherited anything, either.

[Broland]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetiredHappy If the sum is large enough, then a irrevocable trust fund for the children can be set up. Unfortunately, irrevocable trust funds come with huge taxes. I would think that you can leave the money to the estate and hopefully by then they mature and not be stupid with the inheritance. If they continue to be stupid in years to come, you can change your trust/will to leave money to charity.

Thanks, they're already "mature adults" in most things ... just not finances. However, I still want to help them ... just NOT enable them!

[ecowtent]

We put in Solar from an uncle's passing. Electric bill was under $40 this month! Some to the kids and the rest earning at Vanguard. I moved my retirement date up because of the gift.

[BubbaChris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecowtent We put in Solar from an uncle's passing. Electric bill was under $40 this month! Some to the kids and the rest earning at Vanguard. I moved my retirement date up because of the gift.

Solar counts as cool in my book. The gift that keeps on giving. Here's to sunny days and low bills.

Best regards,
Chris

[meleana]

When my mom inherited $30,000 she bought a 2 week timeshare 2 hours from my parent's home on the Long Island Sound in Connecticut since she always wanted a summer house on the water. They both had a lot of enjoyment with that purchase, as did we.


Similarly, my parents gave us a $30,000 upfront inheritance and I did the same thing, but in the mountains of Vermont which we had 22 fantastic years.



When my parents passed I inherited 1/2 their home (split with my brother), my mom's IRA and some other savings of theirs, as well as a small life insurance policy of my mother's. With the life insurance policy I bought a new car which I still have (Honda CRV 2013) and with the rest I opened a brokerage account and invested all the money.This was a game changer for our financial life and I am forever grateful.

[badatmath]

I inherited 10k which added to my down payment on the house I was buying at the time so as to avoid PMI. Still have the house 20+ years later.