A few nights ago, some friends were having a conversation about money. The topic of leaving money to our offspring came up. Some of the parents are not planning to leave their kids anything or very little. Others, like me, want our kids to get as much money as possible.
Here’s why I feel that way. The only experience I can relate to is my own. While some of my friends received hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even millions of dollars, when their last parent died, I did not. My parents were hard workers, but they never made much money and, thus, were not able to save or chose not to. More likely, they had enough money to live a modest life without a lot of extra cash to invest.
When our mom died two years ago, my siblings and I received a very small inheritance. I cannot speak for them, but I would have benefitted greatly had I received a larger amount – heck, not even a large amount, a medium amount would have been great and would have made life a little easier.
My daughters and their husbands all have good jobs and awesome families. I want them to have an easier financial life than I have had. One way to help is to save wisely, exercise care when spending and diversify my investments and not spend all of it. While I am not wealthy by any estimation, I have made a little more than my parents and hope there will be something for my kids when it’s my time to go.
What are you planning to do? If you would like, please share your thoughts with me at dcopeland@businesspeople.com. Your privacy is of the utmost importance and your communication will only be read by me.
