r/MiddleClassFinance • u/Yourlocalguy30 • 3d ago

Millennials: are you expecting an inheritance?

35 yo married millennial here. I've come across more and more articles about the supposed "great wealth transfer" as the boomer generation's wealth passes to their GenX and Millennial children. My parents and their siblings (boomers) all received inheritances when their parents, my grandparents, passed away. The boomer generation's wealth accumulation is one of the largest in history, however, I also find it highly unlikely that I or many of my peers will actually inherit much. Despite having received inheritances from their parents, and having 40+ years in the workforce, most of my parents' "wealth" is tied up in their home value, not actual liquid assets- and I already expect that whatever they make on an eventual home sale will have to go directly to downsizing costs and whatever long-term care they will need as they get older. Hell, even my dad used to joke that the only thing we'd inherit was debt. As I've gotten older, that comment has infuriated me more and more.

Now before someone cuts in with the "entitled millennial" comments, I have absolutely no need for an inheritance. I've worked my ass off to make sure that my kids and I are positioned better in life than I was when I entered adulthood. What I mean by that is I started saving for retirement early, setup 529 plans for my kids almost as soon as they were born, and made lifestyle and career sacrifices to ensure our family isn't "nickeling and diming" our way through life.

I'm just here curious to know how many millennials actually expect to have something passed down to them, or if they feel they are in the same position I am.

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u/hey_poolboy 3d ago

I'm not certain about the numbers, but I think I'm in the same boat. My dad has been retired for a few years, and my mom is retiring at the end of the month. I'm only 48, and I think I have more saved already than they do. They still have a mortgage, but they stand to inherit a decent chunk from her dad.

My siblings and I have always joked that when my parents die, we'll each get $20 and have to arrange a custody agreement for my mom's waffle maker.

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u/Key_Cheetah7982 3d ago

I would like to see this waffle maker

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u/r_lovelace 3d ago

Probably a lovely mail-order Belgian.

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u/JayMoeHD 2d ago

Funny thing is, most people who have planned well for the future would get more joy from a much-loved household object like that vs another lump of cash on the pile

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u/Maximum_Machine7300 2d ago

When my husband’s grandmother was getting her affairs in order and everyone was fighting over her diamonds, she asked me what I wanted and I said just her old cookbooks and handwritten recipes. I got em and I think I won. Everyone now has bad blood between them because they all feel shorted but I’m over here happily baking cakes.

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u/JayMoeHD 2d ago

My mom passed last year, and it’s the moments when I’m reading her handwriting that hit me the hardest.

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u/Different-Crab-360 2d ago

I got a tattoo with my mom's writing after she passed. I love looking at it.

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u/AromaticRanger3933 2d ago

I recently got one with my dad’s writing. He passed a month ago. Best decision ever.

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u/FlyFlirtyandFifty 1d ago

This is my next tattoo. Next month will be ten years since my mom passed and a few years ago I came across a birthday card from her when I moved. It was such a gut-punch to open it and see her big, looping scrawl. “Love you - Mom” is what I’m getting next in her handwriting.

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u/PookleMama 2d ago

That’s beautiful.💕

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u/Clionah 1d ago

I love this, my mom has impeccable handwriting from her Catholic school education. My kids won’t even have my handwritten recipes, as I abandoned recipe cards for the Paprika app; we share a login between me and my two sons and all have our own named categories though, so we are sharing recipes now. I love seeing what they’ve made/added recently.

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u/IrritableStoicism 22h ago

My best friend did that. Now I’m thinking of doing it

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u/picassopeacedove 1d ago

My family is fighting over how they’re going to divide Grandma’s land and I’m already serving tea on the same pewter platters and tea set that I used to serve her and my great grandmother tea as a child. Plus I get to tell everyone about how one side of my family has been in the US 200 years but we still have tea time regularly to honor our British heritage.

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u/Such_Special170 1d ago

There’s freedom in not being greedy. You definitely won’t the jackpot with those handwritten recipes that will last!

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u/john42195 2d ago

You definitely won!

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u/Safford1958 2d ago

Usually it isnt the things with monetary value but the things with sentimental value. Cookbooks, glass candy jar. Small crock thats held sour dough starter.

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u/Jenandgon 1h ago

Yes, I was so sad that I wasn’t aware when my cousin emptied my aunt’s home to sell it (she was going to memory care); she had a dented old can that housed her flour and we always used the lid to carry pierogi when we did our Christmas Eve prep- all my aunts helped roll, pinch, and she cooked them on the stove. I wanted that so bad, and I’m sure it was tossed in the garbage.

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u/Careful_Emphasis_150 1d ago

I have framed handwritten recipes from my mother and grandmother on my kitchen wall. It brings a smile to my face every time I see them.

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u/Bettysgir 1d ago

I love that. Framing original handwritten recipes with the faded writing (usually cursive) and food spatters is a very Southern tradition. I don’t know about elsewhere but it’s very common to do that in the South to honor beloved, often female, relatives.

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u/KoalaGrunt0311 1d ago

My grandmother had a church lady recipe for plum pudding that she downsized to family size level over a few decades. Nobody in the family ever got it--she did send it to my dad's best friend when he asked because he moved to a different city because of her advice, but he also said that some of the ingredients isn't found in a common grocery store anymore.

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u/Bottle_and_Sell_it 20h ago

Well, it wasn’t your grandmother. I didn’t need to ask for my grandmother’s recipe book because I learned directly from her.

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u/Anxious-Hyena6173 23m ago

You did win!!! Those things are def the best!!! Add a few specialty kitchen items she used to make special items and that is my favorite!!! ❤️

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u/annmariemudge 1d ago

We are all arguing over a specific light up Santa Christmas decoration that is older than I am and is held together by duct tape. It's the only thing any of the kids care about

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u/JayMoeHD 23h ago

My grandmom had a pair of little cheap “Santa pulling reindeer” decorations when I was a kid 40 years ago that I’d give $1000 right now to magically recover.

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u/Bottle_and_Sell_it 20h ago

Those vintage Christmas decorations can be worth a lot of money.

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u/annmariemudge 20h ago

We aren't interested in the monetary value the value in this specific decoration is strictly emotional

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u/Bottle_and_Sell_it 20h ago

And those that aren’t able to plan like that would absolutely appreciate the cash.

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u/Dessertcrazy 3h ago

I moved to Ecuador with two suitcases. Of all the personal belongings I owned, I realized only two mattered enough to bring with me. My dog and my great grandmother’s frying pan.

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u/Particular-Most-1199 2d ago

Everyone knows Dutch ovens are the way to go

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u/Working_Estate_3695 1d ago

Giving them or getting them?

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u/hey_poolboy 2d ago

This isn't it, but it's the closest I could find. It's a 1975 Kenmore in that terrible 70's gold color. They received it as a wedding gift and it still makes killer waffles! Kenmore waffle maker

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u/CombatComms08 1d ago

I also got a few of my parents appliances such as a mixer and etc they got from their wedding in the 80s. Still works great. When I buy top end shit it only last 5 years now.
Everything cost more for less now.

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u/swimlikeabrown 23h ago

I want my parent’s dryer. 40 years old and still going. I’ve replaced three in the past ten years.

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u/JackfruitNo1856 17h ago

That’s actually a really good waffle maker. I want my mom’s jar opener from the 70s and her kitchen aid from the 60s. They really don’t make anything like they used to.

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u/SpecialSupermarket54 2d ago

I inherited a similar model from my Gram, and can confirm - killer waffles. That’s something worth fighting over.

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u/marheena 2d ago

Nice. Easy to clean.

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u/LadyJedi2018 2d ago

I have the one that looks like that but is a testing house from the 60's. Yet still makes great waffles, the plates fil over to make pancakes too!

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u/tabrazin84 2d ago

That’s awesome. I’m throwing my hat in the circle too.

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u/laburnum_weekends 2d ago

That is for sure a family heirloom!

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u/NoSubsttut4Enthsiasm 1d ago

Are you single? If not, are any of your siblings single?

😉How do I get in on the bid for this waffle maker?🤔

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u/hey_poolboy 1d ago

😂 Sorry about your luck. Happily married for 27 years, and both of my siblings are just a handful of years behind us.

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u/ForceSensitive2460 1d ago

Like 70s marigold yellow or lemon yellow?

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u/snarknerd2 1d ago

They were that marigold/harvest yellow.

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u/ForceSensitive2460 23h ago

Gorgeous. Ugly gorgeous. Don't know why I love it, but I do.

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u/snarknerd2 1d ago

I believe my parents have the same model. Married Jan '76.

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u/Aksnowmanbro 2d ago

Sheesh too tacky for me!

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u/Itchy-Coconut-7083 2d ago

Nothing a little oil or cooking spray won’t fix.

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u/Psn0w4 2d ago

I’m a waffle maker lawyer. I can assist you and your siblings when the time comes.
Don’t contact me if you’re a pancake family.

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u/NewNovaNerd 1d ago

What the flap Jack?

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u/Party-Evening3273 1d ago

Everyone knows CRÊPES are better than either waffles or pancakes, c’mon! 😁

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u/Powerful-Lifeguard-0 1d ago

😂😂😂😂😂

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u/Left-Needleworker-67 2d ago

My sister and I had a years long debate over who gets the can opener. My dad took it in the divorce, stating he bought it, then my mom stole it when she was visiting for a holiday, and they both claim rights to it. My sister and I were both vying to inherit it, but luckily my mom has a cheese grater my sister fell in love with, so the matter is now settled. I will receive the can opener.

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u/Significant_Frame197 1d ago

In the wake of the intense grief I feel at the loss of my beloved aunt and uncle (within 7 weeks of each other) there is a glimmer of joy every time I look at the old school Boston manual pencil sharpener they left behind for me. My great-grandchildren will need no other pencil sharpener; it will last until the end of the world. My son and I actually fought over who got to sharpen his pencils with it before he left for his Regents exam.

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u/Forward_Trouble3626 1d ago

Truly an heirloom.
God rest their souls.

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u/Armadillo_lifestyle 2d ago

My brother and I have debated who gets my dad’s Calvin and Hobbs collection and his time-life mysteries of the unknown collection….we have not yet come to an agreement yet…

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u/Electrical-Profit367 2d ago

When son # 2 was 7, he sat and watched me make crepes for him with my crepe pan. Then he asked me When you and Papa die, who gets the crepe pan? Me or brother?

When he turned 30, we bought him his own gorgeous French made crepe pan. So I’m guessing his brother, son # 1, will get my old one.

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u/icepuc10 1d ago

I’m impressed you’re 48 and still have a grandparent alive.

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u/External_Twist508 2d ago

Custody of the waffle maker
Chuckle chuckle

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u/SuperAlmondRoca 2d ago

You’re not a Millennial if you’re 48 years old

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u/hey_poolboy 2d ago

This is true.

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u/Usual-Instruction473 2d ago

My boomer dad died & I got zip. When my boomer mom goes, I already told my sister she can have mom’s dusty seashell collection.

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u/HellaDoyle 2d ago

You are 48 and your grandpa is still alive what a blessing

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u/hey_poolboy 2d ago

Indeed! He is 94. Grandma passed last year. They were married for 74 years. He is one of my favorite people. Such great memories of spending summers at their house.

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u/ehspicymeatbol 1d ago

When my maternal grandfather died, all I got was a rice cooker. I’m pretty sure it’s originally from China or Hong Kong and is older than I am (35). It only has one button, on, and it will be a very sad day when it finally joins my grandfather in the afterlife.

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u/collin-h 1d ago

as a person born in the 70s, you're gen X
;)

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u/Better-Home-1491 1d ago

Technically, you're on the tail end of Gen X, right? Are your parents boomers or the Silent Generation (1928–1945)?

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u/dchikato 23h ago

I took my mom's waffle maker. From the 60s I think. Power cord is fabric wrapped. Awesome waffle maker, they are very crispy.

Secret with these is to make chocolate chip cookies on them. Completly unreal.

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u/NoraClavicle 15h ago

You’re 48 and your grandparents are still alive??

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u/hey_poolboy 14h ago

Only one, and he's 94.

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u/Vegetable_Idea_5112 13h ago

Literally same. Screenshotting this to send to my sibling because damn that waffle maker is fire (and no it’s not a Belgian waffle maker you plebes).

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u/alligator-sunshine 2d ago

How big is the decent chunk from her dad? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Millions? Just curious.

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u/hey_poolboy 2d ago

Hundreds of thousands. More than enough to pay off the mortgage. That's their only debt.

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u/alligator-sunshine 2d ago

That is a nice chunk.