I have been a saver my whole life, but I just found that my wife and I will be gifted millions from my in-laws and – do I even need to save anymore?

If you knew you were on track to inherit millions, would you keep saving money? This is a decision a Reddit user has to make.

The original poster (OP) said he had been a saver his entire life. He’s always been focused on investing “every dollar” with the hopes he can become financially dependent at a young age with a substantial nest egg.  However, he recently discovered that his in-laws have a lot of money. He estimates the total value of their properties at $12 to $15 million, and believes that they likely have even more invested beyond the real estate.

Since his wife is an only child, she stands to inherit all of this money. The OP’s original goal was to save $6 million and he now expects to inherit at least $12 million (and likely much more), so he’s not sure if he should bother saving more or if he should just count on his wife’s family to provide the financial security he has been chasing. 

So, what should the OP do?

Don’t count on any money that isn’t in your bank account

You may feel like some of the pressure to achieve financial independence is off once you find out a big inheritance is coming. However, you absolutely should not let this news change your plans to build a secure future for yourself. That’s because the money is not yours yet.

While the OP seems confident his wife will inherit, there are some huge issues he seems to be overlooking, which could affect whether he ever sees this money.

The biggest issue is that his inlaws are not dead yet and his post doesn’t make it seem like they are in imminent danger of dying any time soon. As a result, it could be many decades until any money comes at all. If his inlaws live into their late 80s or 90s, the OP could already be past his own retirement age, or close to it. He’d have needed money to live on if he wanted to retire before his in-laws died.

There’s also the fact that anything could happen between now and their death to prevent the money from ever arriving in his bank account He and his wife could get divorced, for example, or his wife could pass away — which would mean it’s unlikely her parents would give their money to her surviving spouse. His in-laws could also go on a spending spree or may need costly medical care that drains their nest egg. They may even make bad investments and see their assets disappear or whichever inlaw is the last survivor may find a new romantic partner and leave all the money to them instead.

If the OP is counting on an inheritance coming and it doesn’t arrive for any reason, it will be too late for him to go back in time and save money at that point. He’ll be out of luck, and left without the financial independence he was hoping to achieve. 

How should you plan for an inheritance?

There’s actually very little you should do to plan for an inheritance. Depending on your relationship with those leaving you the money, you may want to make sure they have an estate plan in place to facilitate the timely and tax-efficient transfer of wealth. However, beyond that, you can’t prepare for what to do with money that is not yours. 

Instead, focus on making the right financial decisions in your own life. Hopefully, by the time the inheritance comes, you won’t even need the money and you can either treat it as a bonus or gift it to your children to help set them up on their own successful life path.  Since the OP is a saver anyway, he should not let money he doesn’t even have yet lead him off course and leave him with regrets.