My dad left my brother and me each a token bequest in his will. The bulk of the estate, quite rightly, went to my mother, but he felt it was very important that he specifically remember his children as well. His father, my grandfather, had had a similar provision in his will but my grandmother made him take it out, something about which my dad was very bitter for many years (many other issues there as well, mostly relating to money, but I digress).
I’m of two minds. The amount is just enough to pay off one of my two credit cards, which would then allow me to transfer the balance of the other, higher APR, card to it, with a little bit left over. The smart move would be to do just that. But that wouldn’t be any fun. The devil on my other shoulder is telling me to clean out my Amazon wish list, fly to Vegas, and generally be completely and utterly irresponsible in the best “found money” tradition.
I’m sure I’ll end up paying off the credit card (which would undoubtedly please my father, who was so responsible about finances), but damn if I won’t be casting some wistful glances at my wish list…
Split the difference; use half of the money to pay off some of the credit card debt and spend the rest of something you’ve been lusting after. And assuming you’ve been making payments on that credit card debt, keep paying the same amount, secure in the knowledge that more of what you’re paying is going to reduce your debt instead of paying interest.
I’m waiting for my Dad’s estate to settle, at which point I’ll be coming into a small sum of money (his estate is being divided among five children and eight grandchildren, so it won’t be a life-changing amount) and I know that I should just put it into my investment program for future living expenses. But I’ve got a little list…
Don’t split it. Pay off the card. Use all of the inheritance for it. Every spent on that is a plus all the future interest on that $. That’s a better return than many investments.
I’d pick out one thing from your wishlist and then put the rest toward your credit card. If you change your mind you can always just go buy it all up later, Amazon will still be there and will be happy to take your order.
I think splitting it is the way to go, too. Like Quartz said, something nice to remember your father by, and the rest on debt reduction (especially since you know your father was extremely responsible with money). Just think - reducing your debt puts you that much closer to fulfilling your wish list without increasing your debt load. WooT!
Actually, the job hasn’t been so bad since I started taking drugs. But I digress.
As for the notion of buying a token of remembrance, it is a sweet idea but I have many cherished things from my father that he actually owned. I don’t need to buy something to remember him by. His first name is the same as my middle name (and was also his father’s first name) so there are a number of family items that are engraved or embossed with the name that have passed to me.
