You can’t take it with you…

Any money left when you die is money that could have been spent on travel, a more comfortable retirement or given away so that someone could say “thank you” personally. If most of it has been left in the bank then inflation has almost certainly eaten into it too.

Story time…

Many years ago I was advising a retired couple who had built up a sensible nest-egg which was more than they needed. They had no family to leave it to and weren’t touching the investments we had arranged for them. As part of our annual review I checked that they had up to date wills. They proudly told me that most of their money was going to the Coastguards to buy and equip a new boat.

I pointed out that they had enough money to buy that boat now without it affecting their lifestyle. Buy it now I said and see it launched – or launch it yourself! But no. They simply couldn’t bring themselves to part with a big chunk of money that they didn’t need. “After we’re dead they said”. So the Coastguards had to wait another 10 years for that new boat.

And another…

There’s an old tradition in parts of China of putting money into the coffin in case the deceased needs it in the afterlife. How thoughtful is that? They use paper (‘joss’) money because they know that of course it won’t be spent. They keep the real money to be used by the living.

And in conclusion…

Put the two stories together. Use your money if you can. Use all of it if you can. But if you can’t (or won’t) then give the surplus away during your lifetime. We don’t advise our retired clients to give all their money away. What we do suggest is that we work out a Spending & Investment Plan for them first. Check there’s enough for themselves, build in a safety margin and then consider gifting.

That’s what we do. We prepare Spending & Investment Plans for our retired clients to leave them free to consider ‘gifting with a warm hand’ without going short themselves. Why not phone or book online for a free, discovery, appointment to see what this could mean for you?