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Money Drain: $66,000 Inheritance Wasted

The Billfold recently posted an article on a woman who spent her $66,000 inheritance on basically nothing.

But it wasn’t a continuous flow of funds. After two years, I was down to a few thousand bucks. And then a few hundred. And then it was gone. Now, four years on, it’s more than gone. I have a credit card with a $7,000 balance, and I had to borrow money from my dad to pay my taxes (I’ve never told him point blank that the money is gone, but when I call him up to borrow $100, he must know)….

I probably think about the money at least once a week, more when I’m stressed. Sometimes I regret not making a big change in my life; sometimes I regret not getting that nosejob (I still think about it); and sometimes I regret spending thousands of dollars on clothes before I’d come into my sense of style (now impeccable, I’d say, but which does not include gaspump leggings and ruffly collars).

Lesson Learned:
This is a sad story. I read stories like these and though I have had sad feelings about the fact that I do not have an inheritance of any kind from any grandparents or my parents, I am actually very grateful that I’ve been given the challenge of not having anything given to me, but instead working hard to get what I have.

I often think about what I would do if I ever was given a lump of money, whether in a contest or lottery or something like that. I imagine most people fancy the thought. But the idea of spending it on frivolities never once crosses my mind.

Personally, debt payment would be #1, followed by a nice emergency savings. Only after those two would I be willing to sink money into a purchase, and that purchase would be a newer used truck for my father since his 82 F-150 needs significant work done on it.

Debt repayment, savings, investment, those should be top priorities for lump sums received from inheritance or by some other means. Making purchases of wants is very unfulfilling and set a precedence that will be hard for you to break out of. It’s not only detrimental to your financial situation, but also your integrity as well as it sets a bad example to those around you.

Amount Flushed Down the Money Drain: $66,000

About Crystal Groves, Google+

Crystal Groves is a farmer, web developer, musician, blogger, and personal finance enthusiast from the back hills of Maryland and Pennsylvania. She started Money Drain as a project to encourage people interested in fixing their financial situation to share their stories and learn from the stories of others. We all make mistakes, but in order to change we have to make changes.

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