Reply to Did you inherit a large amount of money (>$2 million) mid-career?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Not yet, but someday we will. When my grandparents passed away, my father declined his inheritance and had it pass to each of his children so I received about $500,000 last year. It was an incredible gift for a young family. My Dad was very successful and I know he and my Mom have set up trusts for us but I'm clueless as to the value and I don't want to see it for many years because it will mean they are gone. But they have already set up very well funded 529 plans for each grandchild and they are very generous with gifts at Christmas. While my parents are very generous they expect each of their children and spouses to work hard and support themselves and we do. [/quote]
Does knowing what's on the horizon change your ambition or what you do with the money you currently earn?[/quote]
NP here. I'm in a similar situation to the PP you're responding to, and I would say that it has changed my perspective. DH and I have 2 little kids (under 5), are both 40, and we are high earners with a high 6 figure HHI. DH earns more than me, and his job is really demanding. I think for a while I really struggled with figuring out what it meant to raise a family with two ambitious people. I've also always known that I stood to inherit a decent sum of money, but I've generally not thought about it and it's always seemed super distant. But lately my dad has been spending a lot of time getting his estate in order, and it's forced me to recognize that the inheritance is real and that my parents will not live forever.

For me, this has caused me to recognize that while I'm ambitious in my own way, it's never really been tied to financial renumeration. I recently turned down a promotion with a sizable pay bump for a similar position without much of a pay bump but with a company whose culture I preferred. I came to the realization that I don't see myself as long-term in the for-profit sector...I'm just here now because there are some things I want to learn and it's easier to get high-quality, full-time childcare for little kids. I'm also incubating a non-profit in which I invest my own money, and in a few years I imagine I will focus more on that and possibly some targeted (though much lower paying) consulting. This will give me a ton of flexibility to be there for my kids when their lives get hectic while also advancing a cause I'm passionate about and continuing to keep my technical skills sharp. I don't see DH making major changes, because as much as he complains about some of the downsides, he still loves his job. The money makes it easier to spend on help and other conveniences, though.

BTW, though, in terms of luxury I totally agree with the PP about spending on high quality produce. DH and I have PhDs, so we spent most of our 20s barely scraping by. The biggest change I made when we got real jobs was buying fresh olives from the olive bar rather than olives in a jar (I love olives). 10 years and many luxury items and experiences later, nothing feels quite as luxurious to me as choosing the exact type and ratio of olives I want at the olive bar.[/quote]

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