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Receiving

November 8th, 2009 at 02:27 am

I received the check in the mail from my Dad's life insurance policy today and deposited into my savings account within that same hour I received it.

As I read the breakout of the payment, I couldn't help but feel a sinking in my heart. And on the way to the bank, I whispered to myself "I miss you Dad"

I kept thinking my Dad would want me to do something with the money to bring happiness to me. Simply putting it in the bank didn't feel like that.

Maybe I should payoff my credit card, then I'd be credit card free by February & we'd only owe on DH's card.

But I can't really.

I want to know I can payoff this debt on my own... that we've changed our spending habits so we'll never get in this mess again.

I want to know that before I do anything with the last gift I have from my Dad. Until then, I'll probably transfer it to a money market account in my name to serve as a "security blanket" for those things I would have called my Dad in tears over.

The money is in a separate account that I usually just had $13 in it or so. So its not money that I can easily get to and its definitely separated out from the rest of my money.

I wonder if I'm doing the right thing... as I said, I could pay off one of my cards. Dave Ramsey says thats what he says to do whether its an inheritance or an extra raise... to follow the baby steps.

But what if you want to know that you really got out of debt on your own and not just because your Dad bailed you out? If I used that money to pay off my credit cards... would I ever really be able to look in the mirror and say I really did this on my own?

I'm sure this is why Suze Orman says to not touch money from an inheritance for 6 months to a year because of all the emotions involved with it.

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

5 Responses to “Receiving”

  1. creditcardfree Says:
    November 8th, 2009 at 03:30 am 1257651051
    1257651051

    My father in law passed away 7 years ago. We split his inheritence with 6 other siblings, so our amount was minimal. We funded our emergency fund and made ROTH contributions. That money provides security for our family and will expand over time. Whatever you feel is right is the right thing to do. And your Dad would be pleased!

  2. fern Says:
    November 8th, 2009 at 12:40 pm 1257684057
    1257684057

    I think delaying doing anything with it is a good idea. Over time, a decision about what to do, or not do, with the money, will come to you with a greater sense of certainty than if you ran out and spent it.

  3. homebody Says:
    November 8th, 2009 at 02:06 pm 1257689179
    1257689179

    I think your dad would want you to do with it what feels right and if saving it separately feels right then do it. I think I already mentioned that with my small inheritance we replaced our roof after having it saved about a year, so I feel like my dad "put a roof over our heads".

  4. ktmarvels Says:
    November 8th, 2009 at 03:16 pm 1257693363
    1257693363

    To this day I still have a section of money called "life insurance" that is funded from the money I got from my dad. I used it to help pay for school, start our retirement funds, and someday it will become our "vacation fund", but now nearly 3 years later it is still a separate area.
    I would feel the same way as you do putting it toward debt. I would want to do it myself. But having that security blanket would be a great thing.
    Regardless, do what you feel is right.

  5. Ima saver Says:
    November 8th, 2009 at 04:59 pm 1257699582
    1257699582

    I would hold onto the money for a while. I think putting it in a seperate account was the smart thing to do.

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