Tell us about your windfall. DOes it really ever happen?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH is working on a project that could change our lives financially. We are not quitting any day jobs or doing anything different, just working really hard and crossing our fingers, but can't help hoping...

Did it ever happen to you? How? Stocks that shot up? Invention? Inheritance? Business idea?

How much?

Did you life change overnight? How? New house? Car? Quit your job?

Thanks for any stories. I'd love to hear some happy tales.

In terms of money and possessions, Yes, I consider us rich. We have a networth of ~$1.7M from house and 401k savings. We have a decent amoutn saving for kids college. Our HHI is $150-$180k with one income for the past 10 or so years. Our children are in HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH is working on a project that could change our lives financially. We are not quitting any day jobs or doing anything different, just working really hard and crossing our fingers, but can't help hoping...

Did it ever happen to you? How? Stocks that shot up? Invention? Inheritance? Business idea?

How much?

Did you life change overnight? How? New house? Car? Quit your job?

Thanks for any stories. I'd love to hear some happy tales.

In terms of money and possessions, Yes, I consider us rich. We have a networth of ~$1.7M from house and 401k savings. We have a decent amoutn saving for kids college. Our HHI is $150-$180k with one income for the past 10 or so years. Our children are in HS.

oops, posted on the wrong thread. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had an older cousin around my dad's age who I thought was a magician. I knew that one time we ran into him at a hospital while there for blood tests and I thought he went there to do magic for sick kids. Then when I was an older teenager he got divorced from his wife (the way we were related), and the family sort of blacklisted him. He moved to Florida. After college, I moved to Florida, and looked him up. We got together for lunch and I guess now that I was an adult, he felt he could tell me about what had been going on.

My cousin (by blood) had been a total bitch to him, and cut him off from his grandkids and his daughter. We talked a lot that day, and I stayed in touch with him for the entire three years I lived there, getting together about once a month. When my parents came to visit I got them together too.

After I moved, we fell out of touch a little bit, only sometimes talking via Facebook. Then he died. He left me several million dollars as the only member of the family who didn't push him away. It turned out that he invented some medical thing - some tweak thing for xrays? He was able to retire by selling the patent and when he retired he just did magic because that's what he liked.

My life did not change overnight. We didn't want to be stupid about it, so we actually sat on the money for a year to let the shock wear off.

Great story! Now that's a real windfall. Totally unexpected money.

+1 You and your cousin sound like great people.

Agreed. Congrats.

Just wondering...did receiving the inheritance cause any friction in your family? If I understand correctly, you are related to his wife. Were his kids and grandkids included in the will? Of course, a will is a will, his money, his choices, no question. I have a friend whose mom recently passed away and the mom's division of the assets between her and her brother has resulted in brother and sister no longer speaking. Money can be complicated.

[Anonymous]

Hosting market, buying before 2000, everyone else is a sucker

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$1 mil lump sum as a bonus for being the key to winning a huge case. Not life changing, but a nice cushion for a young associate.

I love how $1M isn't life changing.

It doesn't allow a youngish person to retire comfortably. It COULD be life changing, depending on your lifestyle and income, but if you are nowhere near retirement, are already living comfortably and live someplace with a very high COL, once you've paid the taxes I wouldn't call it life changing.

then u are on crack

[Anonymous]

Inherited about $2M from parents' early death.

Husband started his own company, which was a life-long dream.

Put over 50 percent down on a nice house (but nothing extravagant).

We have no debt (other than modest mortgage) and I don't stress about college or retirement savings.

We both still work. It did change our lives, I would say. In many small ways that have added up.

[Anonymous]

I was like a granddaughter to my great-great aunt (my grandmother's aunt). She didn't have children, and my mom took great care of her, even lived at her house for the last month of her life. She died the same month I graduated college. I think she actually left money to my mom, but she used it to pay my entire student loan. It was definitely life-changing at the time. I was able to follow a dream of going away for a 2-year volunteer opportunity, that would not have been impossible without this inheritance.

[Anonymous]

Inherited $100K from a relative.

Not life-changing, but has allowed us to put together a larger downpayment and buy a house that we are really dreaming of owning.

[Anonymous]

We're to receive $500k from a recently deceased parent. Could come in the form of a house in a far away part of the country and the rest in cash, or all in cash.

My SO and I have not lived extravagantly on a $200k HHI, saved well in our 401ks, and still live in the house we bought 20 years ago (now probably worth triple what we paid for it). No kids, so no school expenses.

The $500k will be setting the stage for early retirement. When my other parent dies, there is likely another $1M or more coming, but while I keep that in the back of my mind, I certainly am not planning on it.

It does make it easier to get through bad days at work, because I know I don't really *need* to stick around. Makes one feel a lot less constrained.

[Anonymous]

Received about $70k on stock shares from a previous employer that went public. I am putting a few thousand aside to pay estimated taxes and have some cash in the bank but the rest is being invested in mutual funds. I don't consider this enough to spend too much of it so it's going right into savings.

[Anonymous]

grossed $200k from a company stock purchase. spouse and i were able to skip a ring on the property ladder and move right into a $900k home with 20% down, from our tiny $350k starter home.