Poll:Self Made or Not Self Made

[street]

Just got me thinking about another thread and the discussion of inheritances. Just curious how inheritance has changed your life and if you got one.
We didn't have the opportunity to receive any such gift so we where self made.
I'm not sure how it would of effected us or really what we would have done differently.
Would like some input on people that have gotten them and the changes in the life it meant?

 

[Midpack]

I got a small inheritance (but much less than millionaire realm), but I guess the first option is closest?

Not to discredit your poll, but none of us are entirely “self made” IMO. There’s knowledge, discipline and hard work involved for sure, but there’s also the help of others, luck (parents, country, timing, bad decisions not taken purely by chance, etc.) and other factors - many have acknowledged same in earlier threads several times.

 

[Andre1969]

I chose "self made, but got an inheritance". I was just above the $1M mark in investable assets when my grandmother passed away, leaving a pretty nice inheritance. However, like Midpack said, none of us is truly "self made". My Dad paid for about half of my college education. My grandparents also helped me out a lot over the years, and so did my Mom and stepdad.

I'm still working, but when I do retire, it will be because of an inheritance. My Granddad, on my Dad's side of the family, passed away in late 2016, and then Dad passed away 6 months later. The proceeds from that estate were pretty substantial. Enough to pay off an HELOC I had on the old house, making it free and clear, plus enough to put a 25% down payment on my new house, and a good amount left over. While I wasn't able to retire right then and there, because of this inheritance, it's definitely put me closer to the goal.

 

[COZICAN]

I've busted my a$$ to get where I am today. LBYM, save, invest. We've had a wonderful life but we've done it on our own. DW has been SAHW for 20 years and really is the key. She takes care of our home, I bring home the $$.

 

[COcheesehead]

All self made. Started at 22. 56 today, retiring next year at 57 with millions.

 

[Sojourner]

Self made here, no inheritance, earned 99% of my stash from one lucrative high-tech job and savvy investing.

Luck has played a huge role for me, though, as it does for everyone. For example, lucky enough to be born to great parents who taught me the value of hard work, education, LBYM, and other traits I needed for financial success. Lucky in many other ways, too, but especially lucky to have stumbled upon The Millionaire Next Door in my late 20s.

 

[street]

I got a small inheritance (but much less than millionaire realm), but I guess the first option is closest?

Not to discredit your poll, but none of us are entirely “self made” IMO. There’s knowledge, discipline and hard work involved for sure, but there’s also the help of others, luck (parents, country, timing, bad decisions not taken purely by chance, etc.) and other factors - many have acknowledged same in earlier threads several times.

Thank you and understand your thinking but self made is self made regardless of the factors you quoted or even luck. The luck topic was an interesting topic to say the least and was a good topic discussion.

Thanks Midpack

 

[Lawrencewendall]

I said self made but I did get an inheritance of 6k which I put into the DSs ROTHs. What actually constitutes a millionaire? NW, invest-able assets? I have 3 guaranteed, COLA'ed streams of income now and 2 more COLA'ed at 62 (54 now) and 700k in the market. Am I a millionaire? My spreadsheet says NW is 2.1m. May be calculating everything wrong.

 

[calmloki]

Gal and I both have seen inheritances of 10-50k - probably 100k in total. Those came as we were well on our property acquiring way and mostly just got dumped into loans we were paying on. Didn't affect the speed with which we bought units or the number we bought but did get those units paid off more rapidly. Uncle Sam and the GI bill kept me from much college debt, so that was nice. Gal will have another inheritance coming if she ever gets her Mom's estate settled, but that will just be numbers in an account. We feel pretty self made but with inheritances.

 

[kcowan]

We were already FIRE but got a small inheritance after being retired 7 years. My heirs got a share of it immediately.

But self-made is a bad term. It implies a myopic arrogance of the many factors that contribute to success. FIRE is about choices with a backdrop of opportunities presented by circumstances.

 

[Aerides]

Perhaps a better way to phrase the question is: "Did an inheritance significantly impact your ability to achieve FI and/or RE? (which also may or may not mean one is a millionaire).

Self-made generally applies to entrepreneurs, and please let's not get into luck vs. all-me debate again.

 

[street]

I said self made but I did get an inheritance of 6k which I put into the DSs ROTHs. What actually constitutes a millionaire? NW, invest-able assets? I have 3 guaranteed, COLA'ed streams of income now and 2 more COLA'ed at 62 (54 now) and 700k in the market. Am I a millionaire? My spreadsheet says NW is 2.1m. May be calculating everything wrong.

I don't use NW for anything so for this poll I would use only portfolio assets and not pensions or SS. I'm seeking straight portfolio wealth as being a self made millionaire or not being self made or what ever question best fits you in the poll.

 

[street]

Perhaps a better way to phrase the question is: "Did an inheritance significantly impact your ability to achieve FI and/or RE? (which also may or may not mean one is a millionaire).

Self-made generally applies to entrepreneurs, and please let's not get into luck vs. all-me debate again.

I agree no luck debate again, please. I did find that very interesting though and many different angles and thoughts about luck! LOL

I also knew before I started the thread I would have many say it should be this way or that way the wording is wrong etc.. And most rightfully so it could of been wording 10 different ways and it still wouldn't have fit everyone's hand. Thanks LOL

 

[MichaelB]

and please let's not get into luck vs. all-me debate again.

Good luck

 

[kgtest]

Good luck

Is anyone self made? Somewhere along the lines somehow, someone, or something influenced a part of your life. Starting from conception.

Someone might say, I am uneducated and FI but I worked for "MegaCorp"
Someone might say I am uneducated and I worked for myself to gain FI
Someone might say I am uneducated and never worked (trust/inheritence)

To me, those are not necessarily self made or anything. Even if you own your own business likely you need to pay to file paperwork with your state's SecState? and of course the fed allows you the ability to be in business after paying your appropriate taxes. So even then you have to pay to play...unless of course you were all cash, and like literally that dude on NYC streetcorner who was selling potatoe peelers...Google it! But even he had a nice Taylor to help him out.

 

[NW-Bound]

Self-made, with the help of the college education here and the opportunities in this country.

 

[Bir48die]

Sitting on my inherited yacht drinking pina coladas. Helicopter on its way to go to the casino

 

[scrabbler1]

Perhaps a better way to phrase the question is: "Did an inheritance significantly impact your ability to achieve FI and/or RE? (which also may or may not mean one is a millionaire).

Self-made generally applies to entrepreneurs, and please let's not get into luck vs. all-me debate again.

I agree with your take on the question, filtering out potential "noise" from the use of the term "self-made" along with the luck debated in another thread.

So, my answer would be "no." I did receive two small inheritances, both between $5k and $10k. The first one, in 1981, helped me pay for some of my college costs, and what was left over was used to pay down 60% of my student loans, a big step toward getting them paid off 2 years after I graduated college, and allowed me to more easily and quickly save up to buy my apartment 2 years later. The second inheritance, years later, had no real impact on anything financial.

 

[Gumby]

The only thing I inherited from my parents was a bad attitude.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Self-made. Received a $60K inheritance after I FIRED. I've been slowly distributing it to nieces and nephews and their children. I haven't spent a penny of it on myself.

 

[street]

Sitting on my inherited yacht drinking pina coladas. Helicopter on its way to go to the casino

LOL! I love that. You lucky son of a gun. LOL

 

[RobbieB]

I made my first million before the crash of 2008. Then I lost it of course but by staying in and tripling my contributions, I made it back in buckets on the recovery -

 

[Mdlerth]

My siblings got all the good looks, so there were none left for me

The only thing I inherited from my parents was a bad attitude.

+1

Also, they slipped me the gene for hair loss.

 

[joeea]

Just curious how inheritance has changed your life and if you got one.

We have never yet experienced an inheritance.

 

[Cobra9777]

No inheritance of any kind. So it played no factor in ER.

DW will inherit some amount when her Mom dies. Likely sub $200K. So even that won't be much of a factor in our lives.