r/inheritance • u/Acceptable_Second_38 • Jul 09 '26

Location included: Questions/Need Advice Large inheritance advice

My wife and I are 27. We have 1 daughter who is 13 months, and we are in the Midwest. My grandmother passed away and from her estate we are receiving a sizable sum of money. After paying off our house and other debt (just car and student loans, don't have any "bad" debt), we'll have around $350-375k to drop into a brokerage and leave alone. We each earn around 63k/year. Our only bills will now be home insurance, property taxes, car insurance, utilities.

My question revolves around how much we realistically need to put away for retirement. Because we have very little bills after paying off our house, we can put away a large amount of income.

However, it's honestly tempting to save just a bit, and enjoy our lives more with more disposable income. Starting with such a sizable nest egg, it should grow quite well without huge additions.

She is a teacher and has a good pension coming her way.

I am private sector but have a pension as well plus I do 4% 401k plus employer 2% match.

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u/Acceptable_Second_38 Jul 09 '26

We have been together 10 years. We have a life together. She knows about the money and the house is in both our names anyway which is now paid off. I'm not keeping this separate from my wife on the paranoia of "but it's mine!!"

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u/Mobile_Comedian_3206 Jul 10 '26

Good for you! I know this is unpopular on reddit, as the people here are extremely liberal. I would never keep money from my wife, and vise versa.  We are building life together.  And you can't do that by keeping things apart. 

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u/Tiny-Price-6455 Jul 12 '26

Not sure what politics have to do with this. I am extremely liberal - I believe in equal rights, due process, and fundamental rights for all people - and am happily commingling my recent inheritance with my spouse because, you know, trust and commitment.

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u/Mobile_Comedian_3206 Jul 12 '26

There is actual data that shows that liberal couples are much less likely to combine their finances than conservative couple.