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I'd buy a new luxary 2 bedroom shoebox flat in London, and with the change I'd buy a slap up fish and chip dinner (small cod, naturally).
Erm, I often day dream about vast amounts of money coming my way. There's this sensible part of my brain that would put a million pounds into a high interest account, and live off the interest, regardless of the vastness of the sum. With that sort of money though, I'd buy an island and I'd buy Nottingham Forest and I'd make bad shlock horror films all day long...
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FFS Benny all I can think of recently is you sat at home, littered with chip wrappers, groaning one off, sitting crossed legged on the floor while Mrs Tebble says 'hallo? HALLO?' on the other end of the phone. You belch, pick up the phone and say 'sorry love, must be the line'
So strong is this image, that it might as well be made into a moving gif file and tacked into your signature. :pain:
quote:Originally posted by Benny the Ball: I'd buy a new luxary 2 bedroom shoebox flat in London, and with the change I'd buy a slap up fish and chip dinner (small cod, naturally).
A friend of mine has just bought one of these (flat, not fish and chip dinner), and I was round to see it last night. It's about 10 minutes walk to St Katharine's Docks. It was gutting, to be honest. I've never hated him more.
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There's his wife to think about, too, mind. Although she and I are old friends and he's worth more to her dead than alive. I don't think it'd be hard to come to some sort of agreement.
I think I saw a film about this, where the wife and fella kill her husband for money. I'm pretty sure it worked out alright in the end.
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Talking about large amounts of money coming one's way, I was chatting to the missus last night about inheritance. See, both our sets of parents are, er, entering their twilight years. I realise that those years (say 75-year-old onwards) can go on much longer now than they would have in the olden days, and both my own father and my wife's mother are in tip-top condition for their ages, but it is likely that there will be the sound of clogs being popped some time within the next decade at least.
This raises the issue of inheritance, and I have no experience of this at all. It is a source of some pride to me that neither of us have ever been given money by our parents since we left home more than twenty years ago. When my grandfather died, my dad paid for us to have a new shed in the garden! Very useful, but I recall it as a token request on our part, as in, "We came into a bit of money when your grandad died, is there anything we can get you?" And we said, "Er, a shed would be really nice?" What I mean is, we didn't say, "Yippee! A new car. And an extension. And a holiday. Send $$$ now!"
So, we've got through all these years on our own, to the point where I'm going to be really uncomfortable with suddenly being handed what could potentially be quite a large sum of money. On the one hand, we could really do with it. We're struggling financially, as we always have done. It would be a massive boost to be able to pay off a load of our mortgage, for example. But there would be this feeling that we didn't earn it or deserve it.
There's the option of giving it away to charity of course, but is that a bit of an abuse of the parents' years of work and scrimping and saving to just say, "Well done. Er, we'll give that to some geezer in Sri Lanka to have a new house on stilts by the ocean." Should the money go to pay for their grandchildren to have an "amazing" public school education? As someone who spent a year and a half at a public school when I was about 12-years-old, my feeling is that they are a complete fucking waste of cash unless you're right inside the old boy network already and have your whole career mapped out by daddy. I really don't want my kids to go through that, and I certainly don't want to throw a load of money at it. I also realise that I'm claiming to have had little or no help from my parents but also admitting that they sent me to public school. I think they raised me and my sister very well, I'm just saying that we haven't asked them for help since we left home.
Maybe I'll use the money to open that record shop.
This must be a feeling of guilt, or pride I suppose? How would one describe it? Has anyone here inherited cash, or been given a big help up by their parents? Would it bother anyone, and if so, how would you deal with it?
This is a blatant thread hijack, but I think we're all cool with that these days aren't we?
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quote:Originally posted by dang65: This must be a feeling of guilt, or pride I suppose? How would one describe it? Has anyone here inherited cash, or been given a big help up by their parents? Would it bother anyone, and if so, how would you deal with it?
Twice I could say. Or actually a few times if you count my mothers guilt money. The first was when my dad had come into tsome money in one way or another. I don't recall what my parents spent it on in particular but they called me up and asked if there was anything I wanted that I had been after. Which there was of course. They said 'if you can think of anything in the region of about well five hundred pounds (I assume that they had shared it equally four ways) and I said weeeell I wanted a microphone to record vocals and a proper reverb bay, and that was what I got. I cut myself two hundred quid short because, well simply I wasn't use to receiving money off of my parents in this way. I mean, I could have asked for more, but a part of me felt shame for taking them up on the offer. The way I saw it, was that, it was their money and I couldn't see a reason why they would want to give it to me. They earned it.
The second time was when my dad bought a second house because I had moved back home and, well didn't have anywhere to stay. He suggested that he get out a mortgage and help me out then go on to perhaps get a place in my name later on. That's when I got lumbered with my brother. the wrong brother. the troublesome brother, not the quiet stepbrother. Well, we all know how that turned out. ben said it best: 'doesn't your brother look unwell'
Lastly, my mothers money that she would send overseas every year at christmas. I don't want the money. I want to see my mum. Thankyou.
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My dad teaches at a couple of public schools and had previously taught at state schools, so it's not like you're necessarily getting a better class of education, more paying substantial amounts to keep your children away from oiks. Apparently the rich folk who send their kids to the school in question pay over £7,000 a term! Most of it seems to go on nice evenings out and leaving presents for the teachers...
I wouldn't feel guilty about inheriting money from my parents, should the worst happen. I think that if someone has money left at the end of their life, it should trickle down the generations.
ETA: Obviously the money should go to surviving parent first, but then I see nothing wrong with it passing down the family tree. I would feel guilty about spending it frivolously. I'd probably put it towards paying off the mortgage or invest it as that's the kind of thing my parents would encourage.
quote:Originally posted by Thorn Davis: I think I saw a film about this, where the wife and fella kill her husband for money. I'm pretty sure it worked out alright in the end.
True fact! This is how my old boss got moidered! Wife and friend did it for the insurance money - she's doing a 15 stretch for it now.
quote:Originally posted by MiscellaneousFiles: My dad teaches at a couple of public schools and had previously taught at state schools, so it's not like you're necessarily getting a better class of education, more paying substantial amounts to keep your children away from oiks. Apparently the rich folk who send their kids to the school in question pay over £7,000 a term! Most of it seems to go on nice evenings out and leaving presents for the teachers...
I spent the first half of my education (up to age 12) at private school and I fucking hated it. It was a mostly retarded establishment with muddled values and pandered to the worst kind of favouritism cliches educational establishments can be guilty of (good at sports? Do no wrong!). I could tell that for the most part the teachers hated me and didn't want me there, I've never felt less like I belonged. I was a total tearaway at that age, really mixed up. Setting fires, stealing porn, just cracking up. My dad says all he can remember about that time is driving to see the headmaster to find out what I'd done wrong now. To be fair, there were a few brilliant teachers there who were really enthusiastic about the crazed prose I'd churn out in every spare moment; I always got the impression that they were at odds with the general attitude of the school, that they were doing their best to even the balance.
The best/ worst thing though, that really demonstrated how badly out of touch the school was was when, at the age of twelve, leaving age, they gave us a series of seminars to help copewith adult life. We were actually told that masturbation would make you lonely (this was in 1991!) and that sex before marriage was a big no-no. Best of all was that they actually gave seminars on the evils of devil worship, and role playign games. As though most teenage kids problems stem from devil worship and Dungeons and Dragons. Fucking retarded.
The state school I went to was brilliant; much more liberal and more nurturing, more open minded. I don't thnk I got into trouble the whole time I was there.
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I've never inherited any money, but have become aware that my parents are the kind of middle-class squirrellers who have done allright for themselves (although my Dad's plan of retiring at 55 in two years time and spending his early retirement driving round on one of those massive lawn mower/car things is looking increasingly unlikely).
I got given a cheque for a grand on my 18th birthday by my Dad, totally out of the blue. It came with the stipulation that it had to be spent on something "sensible" though- ie a car, or at uni. I used it to fund my TEFL course after graduating.
I've also been given a couple of largish (low hundreds) cheques recently. One was from an aunt or something of my dad's who'd died, and he just wanted to pass some of it on. And then he got some big tax rebate from when he wasn't driving the company car for 3 months while his leg was in plaster. I think my parents have pretty much paid off the mortgage and now their kids have left home are a bit stumped as to how to spend their money. It's kind of an imbalance, as I don't have any debts and earn enough to pay my way, so don't really need any extras right now. I would have preferred having a pony 15 years ago.
Just to show that I've grown up as a grateful and appreciative daughter, here is what I just emailed my Dad this morning:
quote: I've been meaning to tell you that Thorn's parents now have a bigger telly than yours, and a recordable DVD player. And they aren't even into technology like you are! I hope this situation will be rectified by the time I next visit.
My mate got a surprise inheritance recently, from an old family friend. He'd been an old mate of her dad's and had died of alcoholism related illness, leaving behind no family. He left her and her brothers quite a substantial sum, which they had no idea about at all. She spent it on some really decent bedroom furniture- the kind that will last a lifetime, and said it felt like a really grown up thing to do and a good way to spend it.
I suppose I would put any suprise ££ into my MSc/Round The World fund.
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quote:Originally posted by Vogon Poetess: I've also been given a couple of largish (low hundreds) cheques recently. One was from an aunt or something of my dad's who'd died, and he just wanted to pass some of it on.
I suppose this is the way one should look at it. Inheritance is usually something that people want to pass on. Excluding those long court battles of the Anna Nicole Smith variety, I would assume that most dying parents would feel pride in being in a position to boost the legacy of their genes and help to ensure that their descendents thrive for another generation.
If I look at it like this, and assume that I will wish the same for my children when I pass on myself, then it doesn't seem so bad.
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I was given a grand (for free!) when my granddad died, which was a surprise as I thought they were skint. He never did like spending on unnecessary things. This is the man who took a 10 year old pair of shoes back to Clarks because they had broken.
It came in pretty handy as in the changeover from PhD to Proper Job I had a three month ‘income holiday’ (but only 3 days actual holiday! ), so it just got swallowed into a gaping overdraught. I suppose that counts as worthy? Retroactively paying for my education?
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When my nan died, I got a chunkof money - nothing massive, enough to buy a lap-top, which was very handy in a needing it for work type of way. I chose this rather than letting it get swallowed by debts. My mum as often joked to my dad to 'hurry up and die so I can pay the mortgage off and go on holiday", bless her.
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I would have a route between two international airports, say from Uganda to Tanzania, and take little groups of ten people and we would stop off every night and camp under the stars before hopping back into our airship the next morning and floating over all the loveliness.
Actually, I think Africa's quite big so the route might have to be a round trip from one airport rather than 3,000 miles between countries or whatever. But wouldn't that be a lovely job, assuming you could handpick the guests.
Only problem is that airships appear to need a large ground crew. I'd have to spend some money developing a robot ground crew which could parachute out of the airship and set up camp and get the tea ready before landing the ship safely, cleaning it up and then defending the camp against any lions or child militia fighters.
ETA: That Swiss site says that their airship uses less fuel in a week of operations than a Boeing 767 uses to taxi from the terminal to the runway. I'd also spend some cash developing a solar-powered, silent engine so my airship would just need a little top up of helium every now and then and the rest would be free.
H1ppychick
We all prisoners, chickee-baby. We all locked in.
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My mum and dad bought me my first car when I finished university (there was no point having one at uni because I studied at Oxford where everyone cycles and it's annoying and frustrating in a car).
I got about £2000-worth of unit trusts from my gran's will when she died in the late 80s - I didn't do anything with it for a few years then when I bought my first flat this went towards the deposit.
My dad died last year and I inherited half of his share of our Spanish apartment, which is probably worth 45,000 euros before inheritance tax.
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I know that when my parents die I'm going to inherit a sizeable sum. Six figures will be involved. This induces guilt for all manner of reasons – they've worked so hard all their lives, and I haven't; I don't deserve it; yadda yadda. They insist on wanting to talk about their wills and inheritance tax at every opportunity, and I just don't want to think about it. I want them to live forever, and don't care if I pay a little bit more inheritance tax than necessary.
But another, more mercenary, tiny part of my brain can't help but factor it in to my future. Dear little house by the sea, or rest home for distressed hedgehogs.
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If any of you have a mother like Mother you ought to watch out. When my dad died and Mother got a pretty hefty life insurance cheque she bought me a car which was lovely of her, I thought. Until she started using it to blackmail me. You Can't Move To London, What Am I Supposed To Do With The Car, Sell It And Lose Money? etc. Mother knew exactly what she was doing, it seems. What I am saying is. Don't accept gifts or financial donations from your parents until they're both dead and unable to wield their charity against you.
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), so it just got swallowed into a gaping overdraught. I suppose that counts as worthy? Retroactively paying for my education?
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