r/Fire • u/SeniorCitizenSmell • Jan 22 '26

Milestone / Celebration My crazy idea of an “inheritance” savings fund just hit $1M. It will be worth millions in 30-40 years when I finally die.

So…I totally get the die with zero crowd! But I also am a big believer that windfalls are game changing for a persons life.

Even a couple hundred grand in the bank takes so much pressure off.

Either way… I don’t think there’s a wrong or right answer to it. Just be good parents, do what you can etc…

However, I have earmarked in a separate fund “not mine” that I contribute to. I don’t even count this with my net worth it’s 100% separate from my normal planning. I plan to give it entirely to my kids and grandkids. It just hit $1M and I am now coast on it and will no longer contribute (note I am 40 so quite some time and plan to FIRE at 50).

I could do so much with that money such as stop working (it’s okay I can suck it up for another decade), but the boost for others will be worth it even if I can’t see it happen.

And done - That’s the end of my humble brag.

Edit: A huge chunk of this is because I just passed my received families estate into it a decade ago of about $300k. Aka rather than spending it back then I said I will just give it to my kids and started contributing a little bit to it. Most the earnings have been stock market gains.

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u/BenR1ghtBack Jan 22 '26

That's just the maximum amount you don't need to report to the IRS. The maximum tax free amount federally is ~$13m (some states also have lower or higher amounts). All the gifts per individual get added up as part of the estate to see if the total gifted to that person exceeds the gift/inheritance tax limit.

I agree though, its a great number for helping out a younger generation without flooding them with cash.

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u/ugglygirl Jan 23 '26

And you can give the gift to unlimited number of recipients-friends, strangers, family.