Should I count potential inheritance as part of my NW?
I would model that in at a later point in life to determine if you’ll be able to upgrade from ramen & McDonalds to mac & cheese and Burger King
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Kraft mac & cheese or Noodles & Co mac & cheese?
Depends… Is it enough to buy a Big Mac? Or big enough to buy a shiney new Schwinn bicycle?
Mark it zero
No IMO, unless it’s in some sort of trust where it’s definitely coming to you.
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I always assume no inheritance, no Social Security. Any extra money is funsies and if my parents die and leave me anything then, very sad, but will just accelerate my plan.
When each of my parents died, I got nothing except a bill for the cost of a funeral, as there was nobody else in the family who could pay for funerals.
When the 2nd parent died I also got 8 weeks of demoralizing, backbreaking work going through their house and throwing away a couple of lifetime’s worth of junk, and trying to sell off whatever crap I thought would get me a few bucks off craigslist.
I am bitterly jealous when I see/hear of other people inheriting anything of value from their parents. I know an actuary who has rich parents. I just assume that he will inherit gobs of money someday… many years’ worth of salary. I came forth from the loins of generations of poor people who always made stupid life decisions.
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I’m assuming I’ll end up with some small amount of money, but not like $100k+. Maybe $5k - $50k myself after funeral (total split among siblings).
Of course maybe one will live to 95 like my grandfather and we end up paying for them. Them’s the dice.
Yeah. I should count myself fortunate I guess.
My mom won’t stop making it a point that she has all kinds of life insurance and that I need to remember to collect them when she dies (apparently in my home country you can stack coverages, so it almost becomes an investment vehicle).
My parents are also loaded and incredibly frugal. I don’t know how much they actually have and I always thought we were just mediocre growing up. Then at some point she revealed to me that they actually have a lot more. They don’t seem to know how to spend money though, other than having multiple properties in Asia and in the US, as every time I talk to them they’re like, oh yeah, the money is going to you and your brother.
Well, I guess the wealth will end in my hands, as I don’t really plan on having kids. And I know how to spend.
I know that each of my parents (divorced) has about $200K and are frugal and get enough from SS and pensions that they don’t need to dip into their $200K to enjoy life. Mom said the grandkids get to split the value of the house, and my sister and I will split the $200K, or whatever it is at that point. Three of my grandparents lived into their 90s and it wouldn’t surprise me if both parents follow suit age-wise. We could end up spending the $200K caring for them when they get frail (which again, is not them in their late 70’s they are fairly active and healthy). I don’t factor that into $$ at all.
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I don’t really think about inheritance. Maybe there’s something there but I just pretend that it’s 0 when I make my day-to-day decisions.
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I think about it in the sense that…I don’t put 50% of my income in 401k like some people do, and I don’t really plan for retirement.
I don’t factor it in because I figure that I can’t count on getting it.
They’re all fairly healthy and in my Dad’s case I’m not seeing a dime until both he and my stepmom, who’s 6 years younger, die. And they all had parents live into their 90s… they could all live to 100 in which case I’ll be long retired.
And they might need the money for long term care, which could deplete a lot awfully fast.
Also my Dad told me that the bulk of his & stepmom’s money is going to charity. Kids will inherit some of it, but I’m not sure how much. One of my step-siblings is special needs and can’t really take care of himself so my guess is that they came up with an estimate for what he needs and then we’ll each get that amount and the remainder to charity.
It’s a little odd that he’s doing this: he inherited a crap-ton from his parents that he’s basically not passing on. 
In my mom’s case the kids are getting equal shares of whatever is left when she dies. Which will probably be enough to put a decent chunk into my retirement if she doesn’t have extensive LTC needs. She has some LTC coverage, but it’s easy to deplete those benefits and I’m not sure how generous they are.
I’d estimate my parents have about 3-4m currently. Mom has a generous pension and I think ss basically covers all their expenses, so 5-10m in 20 years assuming they make it to 90? Maybe more with the insurance they have. I have one sibling.
I probably don’t need to worry too much about saving for retirement, but I still pack away the max into my 401k and have decent spending habits. Realistically, the most I probably need is enough to cover expenses from age 60-70. By that point my parents would be 100.
I make good money and if anything I should be thinking more about what to do with it other than plan for adverse scenarios.
I try not to put a lot of money in 401K because 1. inheritance, 2. I fully expect to not be surprised if I don’t make it to retirement. I try to live my dream in the present. My lifestyle isn’t exactly the healthiest.
Up until recently I put in the minimum to get the full match. The difference between that and the max at this point is not much money and certainly not enough to change any other decision I will make.
Yeah, I suppose I could plan to blow through my retirement money by the time my mom hits, oh, 105 or 110 just to be on the safe side. I’ll inherit something substantial from her in all likelihood.
I don’t think my in-laws will leave all that much to hubby. Something - pretty sure their net worth is positive, and I think it’s all getting split equally between hubby & his sibling. But probably not that much.
And no clue what to expect from my Dad & stepmom given their charity plan. But my stepmom is only 21 years older than me, and she is healthy. I could be pretty dang old when she dies.
For some reason I feel like there’s a fair chance that I die shortly after retirement. It’s just a feeling. I don’t really believe I’ll ever have a life of leisure. But my retirement savings are as much to protect my family as to protect me. Especially Mr aj. He stayed home/worked minimal jobs when the kids were young, partly to get me thru exams, and partly for personal reasons. When the kids were teens he looked for a “real job” (as opposed to driving a school bus) and nobody wanted a 50yo man who had been out of the workforce 15+ years—even in entry level positions. It’s a reverse discrimination that I haven’t seen my mom friends have to deal with.
On top of that, Mr aj’s family are long lived. So I do feel a sense of responsibility to leave him with a fair amount of financial security.
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interesting, but morbidly so. I have no idea what i project to. life of leisure is hard to imagine for myself for a few years, but I suspect it will get to that.
i am not up to the threshold within the thread title. started career late. sole earner in family. will get there or can see the pathway to it and then to the next level where it will conceivably be “enough” for the runout phase.
all parents (mine and inlaws) have passed away. inheritance was small in all cases.