[Aces4]

Originally Posted by Justputt

Over the course of my life, I've earned pretty much what's suggested in the article. I've not wasted much, although I wasted money on apartment rent for too long on a couple of occasions. I've paid off 4 homes, paid for two kids BS college degrees and grad schools and gave each a new car for graduation, I paid for two additional college and one additional grad degree, I owe nothing, and I've saved and invested pretty well. Besides Canada, I've only been out of the country once to attend a wedding, never been to Alaska or Hawaii, so vacations are pretty simple where the goal is fun and family time. When my dirt knap comes, my wife will be fine, and when her time comes, the kids will have something besides memories. The American Dream is very much alive when you live within you means, which may mean not living in the "best" zip codes, not buying the newest stuff, driving a car until "the wheels fall off", etc. Yes, that suggested $5M is a lot of money, but we all remember what we made when we first started work. My dad took a Treasury Dept job after WWII making a whopping $5,500/yr and was thrilled, my first job out of grad school in 1980 was $25k/yr and I thought wow... what am I going to do with that much money!? And look at the salaries we earned at the end of our working years compared to our first years. I try to separate the things I want from the things I need or may need, then plan accordingly. A quality education in a useful field has always been a priority because it can't be taken away from you. Lastly, the clock is ticking, and there is a temptation to burn through cash to complete a bucket list before the end, but our brain is volatile memory and that bucket list will be dust lost to time. Helping family, scholarships, and leaving a legacy are my focus.

I would hack away at some of that bucket list. It sounds like your kids have done very well by you and by the time you pass away, the government may have a whole new system of removing extra cash from estates.