Sometimes the “Why” is more important than the “What”. This is one of those times.
I wish you could have known my Dad.
He was an amazing man. He taught me many things, and I’ve written about him frequently. Unfortunately, he’s no longer with us, and I miss him every day. He’s had a huge influence on my life, and I’ve no doubt his legacy will continue to impact me for the rest of my time on earth.
I wonder how he’d react if he were able to read today’s post. I know he’d be happy. He’d be proud of the way his son has decided to apply his father’s legacy.
Today, a story about a father’s final gift to his son.
We’re expanding our mountain homestead in honor of you, Dad.
After all you’ve taught me, it feels like the right thing to do.
We're expanding our mountain homestead as an honor to my Dad's legacy. I think he'd be pleased. Click To Tweet
We’re Expanding Our Mountain Homestead
My Dad always wanted the best for his children. There’s so much I could write about him, but for today’s post, I’ll focus on his philosophy of gifting to his children. Over the past decade, he made it a habit to give a generous gift to my sisters and me at Christmas. He would always remind me, “Don’t save it all. I want you to spend at least some of it on something that will make you happy.” He knew my wife and I were serious savers, and I think the reminder was his way of telling us to focus on balance, learn to spend some money, and take time to enjoy the journey.
He received joy in knowing that he was providing us with a gift that would be put to use, and he always enjoyed it when I told him what we decided to spend the money on.
I wish I could tell him what we’ve decided to do with his final gift.
A Father’s Legacy
I’ve already written A Tribute to my Dad, and I’m glad I wrote it while he was still alive to read it. The 18 lessons I shared in that post comprise a huge part of the legacy he leaves behind. In honor of my Dad, I’ve dedicated the top shelf in his favorite bookcase to a few special mementos that remind me of him.
But in spite of the words I’ve already written about my Father’s Legacy, there was one more chapter to be written.
The final chapter on the last gift he decided to leave with his children.
That chapter, I write today.
My Dad had always been a savvy investor and saver, and the remaining assets from his estate are in the process of being distributed. He left a material amount to his favorite charities, a great reflection of his charitable spirit.
The rest, he left to his children.
“Don’t Save It All”
His reminder resonates in my mind, and I can hear his encouragement to treat his inheritance in the same manner as those Christmas gifts he enjoyed giving. Since the inheritance is larger than we planned when we did our retirement cash flow projection, there’s no need to save the surplus. And yet, it’s still a challenge learning to be a spender in retirement, and I appreciate hearing my Dad’s encouragement in my mind as we ponder what to do with the inheritance he left behind.
It was always fun to think about how to spend a portion of those Christmas checks.
Thinking about how to spend a portion of his inheritance? Not so much. It’s a bittersweet task. I’m thankful for his generosity, but I’d give it all back to get more time with my Dad. It’s a solemn decision and one that deserves to be made appropriately. A decision on how to spend a bit of money, with the primary goal being an appropriate tribute to my Dad.
Expanding Our Mountain Homestead
When I was a child, we spent our summers in a cabin on the shores of a Michigan lake. My parents were both teachers, so our summers were spent together creating many great memories on the lake. After the kids left the nest, my parents sold the cabin and invested the money.
I like to think that the inheritance contains a remnant of the proceeds from my childhood cabin, and can think of no better use of the money than to reinvest a portion of it back into land that can continue to create great memories in our twilight years.
Sometimes the Why is more important than the What. This is one of those times. Click To TweetAfter my wife and I talked about it for a few months, we decided to approach the couple who own the 4 acres of raw land adjacent to our mountain cabin. Turns out they’re living in Arizona and have no intention of moving to the Appalachian Mountains. However, we later discovered that the husband is a bit of a hoarder and had a very difficult time deciding the sell the home. It represented the end of a dream to someday build a retirement cabin in the mountains, and he was hesitant to let that dream go.
Ultimately a deal was struck, and we closed last week on the 4-acre piece of property highlighted in red below (the yellow box is our original property), expanding our mountain homestead from 2 acres to 6 acres:
Our Plans For The New Property
As I’ve written previously, Freedom For Fido has become a major Purpose in retirement for my wife and me. With over 200 volunteers, 75 fences built and over 200 dogs freed, we’re committed to this cause. It’s rewarding beyond words and I suspect we’ll be building free fences for low-income families for years to come. My Dad always asked about our work with FFF, and he supported our mission.
As FFF continues to grow, we’re running out of space. Earlier this year a volunteer found a vacant boat storage facility we used to store our growing inventory of supplies. Unfortunately, the boat storage facility was sold and the new owner had a backlog of boat owners looking for storage space, so we were politely asked to move on. We brought our supplies and trailers back to our 2-acre homestead, and have been looking for solutions ever since.
My Dad’s gift made “The Ultimate Solution” a possibility. This project is being pursued as a tribute to him.
We’ve contacted two builders and are planning on having a 50′ x 40′ pole barn built on our new property, creating the ultimate long-term solution for Freedom For Fido. We’ve designed the pole barn to also accommodate our 5th-wheel RV, which will occupy the center bay. Our FFF trailers and truck will fill the left bay, and our fencing supplies will fill the right bay.
Below is a photo of a pole barn a friend recently built, which is the inspiration for our design (ours will be a bit larger, but the basic design is the same):
Remembering Dad
I suspect I’ll think of my Dad every time I walk onto the new property.
I can think of no better way to build a lasting tribute to the impact his life made in this world.
This one’s for you, Dad.
I’ll always miss you. I’ll always love you.
I look forward to telling you about the project when I meet you on the right side of those pearly gates. Until then, rest assured that your son and his wife heard your advice. They’re spending some of your final gift, in remembrance of you. I trust you’d approve.
Conclusion
When giving to your children, it’s important to make your intentions clear. If you want them to learn to spend after decades of diligent saving, tell them.
Trust me when I say this, they’ll remember your advice when you’re gone.
If they’re respectful children, they’ll find a way to apply your advice. Sure, we’re expanding our mountain homestead. But that’s not the important part of today’s story. We’re focused on the “Why,” and realize that’s more important than the “What.”
In the end, isn’t that the ultimate tribute?
Your Turn: Did your parents give you guidance when they gave you gifts? Have you done anything special as a tribute to your parents? Finally, any suggestions for our barn project?
Wow so cool Fritz. What a great way to take a gift from your dada and put to it great use. Sure beats buying a Corvette or something silly like that. Maybe you could put a mountain bike trail or two on that new property as well đ
Can’t wait to see it develop!
very cool, and thouhtful!
Dave Zimmerman
What a wonderful tribute to your Dad – the story as well as the project. I can only imagine how pleased and proud he is.
Dave,
A great post and tribute to your Dad. You have remembrances of him throughout your daily activities on your mountain homestead and this last one will continue his legacy of helping others through your generosity.
A great update!
very well done. looking forward to seeing the finished product.
Blessed by your Article brother. It sounds like your Dad had things well in balance. A view looking to Eternity. My own Father had a postcard message right above his desk that I looked at as a child and read it and re-read it. Now I try to live by it daily. âONLY ONE LIFE, âTWILL SOON BE PAST, ONLY WHATS DONE FOR CHRIST WILL LASTâ
I try to live my life with eternity in mind. My father did the same, so did Mom. Sounds like your Dad passed his wisdom down to his son.
Love hearing your stories. Inspiring.
I ended up writing three books based partly on things I learned from my parents. When I give my retirement seminars I always talk about them. They will always remain a part of my life and I like the thought of that. Fritz I had a special connection with my father just like you did.
What a meaningful tribute is all ways.
Your barn sounds ideal and the land is plenty for continued growth for FFF. Enjoy the building process. Your commitment to FFF is impressive.
Great tribute to your father Fritz and Jackie!
Only idea I have on your building….if you added water, sewer and electric to it….well, you could take your trailer out when your friends visit….they pull in and have their home to use while staying with you. Just a thought….doors on both ends would result in a “pull-through” feature. Of course, more expenses also.
We are grateful for our inheritance (recently recvd.) and have given some of it away. My goal is to spend none of it. We want our children, grandchildren and charities to benefit. Something in my mind that is galvanized. Things we want…we desire to have paid with them with our earned money. We continue to pray for guidance from our Father on how best to honor our parents’ legacy.
God bless all whom have a charity to benefit others. FFF is a great cause Jackie! So happy for both of you.
Have you both been to Banff National Park near Calgary? If not, we highly recommend an RV trip there and you can also camp at Glacier on the way! Beautiful spot on God’s Earth!
Love and peace to all, Steve and Carol
Steve, thanks for the RV camping suggestion, but afraid the property is a LONG way from the nearest power (~200 yards, and we’d have to pay ~$6/foot to run the line, per the power company), so we’re planning on setting up simple lights and either power them by solar or a small generator.
As for Banff, YES! We’ve spent time in the Canadian Rockies, as well as Glacier in Montana. I agree it’s a beautiful part of the country. Thanks for stopping by!
Fritz â I am one of your lucky readers that actually DID know your dad. And he would be beaming with joy over your use of this inheritance. I love how you use your column to provide what has worked for your retirement finances, but I think equally important is how you and Jackie are keeping busy in retirement and expressing your values and what is important.
Many cheers my friend!
Brent
Brent, of course you knew my Dad, and I cherish the many childhood memories we share on the fringes of Hillsdale College. Thanks for your kind words, nice to see you stopping by my blog!
What a wonderful tribute to your Dad and you are correct in that every time you walk into the building you will smile and remember your Dad.
When my parents passed, I took an inherited IRA that I was given and have carried on their love for travel. Every other year, my 3 kid’s and my husband and I put together presentations on where we should go, with activities for the entire group. The vacation is not only wonderful new memories but we are able to keep my parents stories/memories alive with my kid’s and grandkids.
Wonderful way to honor your dad, and continue to further your own personal passions. Well done.
Love the pole barn idea. I have a pole barn, built when we only had horses and no idea that we’d ever have 2 mowers, a tractor, an Airstream and a fleet of cars – so its way too small now. I was pricing a clear span barn but after seeing the design you posted, I may model it after what your friend built (and you are about to build).
We have a similar thing happen to our property. We purchased 10 acres in the country in 1998 with the intention of building our dream home on it.Then a house next door went for sale. It was way too small, not something we wanted, but it allowed us to move next to our horses and forced us to downsize while our oldest left for college and take our time on home designs as we really didn’t like anything that we saw. In 2004 fourteen acres went for sale right next to our 10 acres and we bit the bullet and bought it despite college expenses for the one in college. We didn’t want some investor to buy it and sell a bunch of lots to make it into a subdivision. It was painful, but well worth it. In 2004 we also found the perfect house plans. So in 2005 construction of the new house began. It’s way too big, we paid to much, but now whenever we go to a resort of vacation, my wife comes home and wonders why we ever leave home… it’s much nicer than any resort.
I need to figure out a way to honor my dad in the way you are honoring yours. I’d like to do it while mine is still alive.
#LandEnvy
Fritz:
You continue to amaze and inspire me. Congratulations on your decision and for reminding us that sometimes there is a next step/solution right in our midst. My Dad was successful in his family life as well as his career. By nature, he was fiscally conservative. I recall him saying in his later years that he wished he had taken more risks. As a result, I have been taking some strategic risks with investment opportunities that I likely would be shying away from otherwise. I think I have a bit of that fiscal conservatism in me by nature. So, my Dad is my inspiration for moving forward with these opportunities. As for your new expansion project, my suggestion would be to engage a professional to help you sight the structure on the property in the context of an overall master plan. Landscape Architects are a wonderful source for taking all aspects into consideration. Looking forward to the progres photos!
Landscape Architect? Come on, man, I live in Appalachia! Haha. Good suggestion, actually. I had a very good “strategic layout” discussion with one of the contractors as we walked the land together, I think I’m going to tackle this one as a fun DIY project (I enjoy landscaping, btw). If I “get it wrong”, there’s limited downside given the space we have to work with. It’s time to have some fun.
Fritz, what a wonderful use of part of your inheritance! I’m sure that you dad would be extremely proud of you
Great Legacy Gift you created in honor of your dad and his wishes!
Learning to spend after decades of saving is truly one of the toughest struggles…
Best of luck with the future of FFF and I bet that 5th wheel will be happy in the new home ready to roll!!
Lambo
Beautiful! Nothing wrong with buying a Corvette, but this is a better tribute to your Dad. I’m sure he is very proud of the decision you and Jackie made.
Wonderful Thanksgiving post Fritz !!
Great job Fritz. Setting the standard for having a purpose in your retirement.
(Franchise?)
Great tribute to your father and GREAT advice for your readers. Loved the dedication to your father with the TOP SHELF memories and photos, another great piece of advice. Your continuous attitude of gratitude is an inspiration to us all. Blessing!!!!
Thanks, Marc. I’m sure you noticed the prominence of Hillsdale College on that shelf, a love we have in common.
Thanks for this reminder, Fritz. Parents are such a part of us of course. I was blessed with two sets of parents after my birth parents divorced and remarried new partners. They are all gone now, but I carry a piece of them inside as we all do. I also have a special connection to the past since both my father and stepfather were in the construction industry, one teaching construction to high schoolers and the other as a builder. I learned from both and woodworking & construction became my hobbies. I also have tools that both used as well as a shingle hatchet my grandfather used (yes, he was a builder too!) and I try to use them whenever the need arises rather than a newer, shinier version in my toolbox. It is such a connection to the past holding and using their tools. The shingle hatchet has a crack in the handle, but when I had some cedar shingles to install, I made sure to gently use his hatchet to install a handful of shingles. In addition to the crack, the handle has a worn spot where his thumb gripped it. I also have his nail apron sewn by my grandmother and have worn it a few times. He was a very small man, lol. I am tall and thin, but he was shorter and thinner! It is a tight squeeze. Like a hug from grandma!
Thanks for this great post and reminder of my 4 parents and grandparents!
Bruce Winter
I could feel that worn spot from the thumb as I read your words. I love that imagery, and always wished my Dad (or Granddad) had the love of tools I’ve developed in retirement. Alas, it’s not to be…
I too had a wonderful dad and I also inherited a significant amount when he passed. Having it did make funding our mountain cabin a much easier decision, and the builder texted us last week he was ready to start building after a nearly year long wait. Like you, also, the million dollar inheritance was the least of his gifts to me. Courage, honor, faith and generosity were the priceless parts of his legacy.
Congrats on kicking off your project, Steve. And I agree, those traits are worth more than any amount of money. Thanks for your loyalty to my writing, much appreciated.
Hey Fritz, very meaningful post and a strong tribute to your Dad and his legacy.
I’d be surprised if you are not already thinking of further ways to share your Father’s wisdom and legacy as your retirement journey continues. Perhaps you have considered ( or may still) to place a legacy sign on your new barn that would continue to share the legacy for your remembrance and for others who visit your new barn; something like ” Share your time & resources and Bless others – Dad” .
Just a thought .. Keep the posts coming.
You’re reading my mind, Jeff. Indeed, I’m thinking of some type of engraved plaque at a highly visible location in the barn. Stay tuned…
Suggestion: put doors on both sides of your barn and build the driveway so you can pull trucks and trailers straight through. This will be very useful to help avoid building and trailer damage, and save a lot of frustration trying to back up a rig in less than ideal weather and lighting conditions. You will be glad you did it.
That’s one of the option, Lynne. Only downside is potential resale value – thinking of keeping the barn off to a far end of the property to allow room for a future home build in the event we decide to sell. Final design still under consideration, but the pull-through concept is on the table. (Fortunately, after 80 FFF fence builds in the mountains and tens of thousands of miles with our RV, I can back just about anything, anywhere)
Stay tuned.
Frittz, great tribute to your father, I’m sure he was a wonderful man. What you’re doing with the inheritance would definitely make him proud. Thanks for sharing this, it gave me chill-bumps!
Hi Fritz,
Yes, I’m sure your dad is proud of you! All of your posts are meaningful in different ways. The love, generosity and legacy you share for your dad is priceless. Glad you are able to build something that is connected to the wisdom he shared throughout your lifetimes.
A very thoughtful move and once again great advice Fritz! Thanks for sharing đ
Congratulation, you seemed to have successfully added another pinch of purpose to your life and
less of the endless âFINANCIAL OPTIMIZATIONâ!
What are you going to do with this âBLOGâ? As reflected by the views of your readers.
I have yet come across a platform where purpose and science are mixed successfully!
“I have yet come across a platform where purpose and science are mixed successfully!”
Challenge accepted.
I’ll modify “science” to “financial strategies” and see what I can do. I’ve strayed from the financial strategies lately, given it occupies a much smaller % of my thinking post-retirement, but I’ve got one in the queue about how the bucket strategy is working through the bear market. I think I just answered your first question, as well? (In short, I plan on continuing to write on whatever happens to be occupying my mind, with the hope that the readers will continue to show interest).
Wonderful! We also try to teach our children to ââenjoy the journeyâ. Life IS the journey. To do this as a tribute makes it even better.
This is awesome! Sounds like your Dad would be very proud of how you chose to use your gift from him.
Great to see you enjoying life and remembering your fathers words. My father passed away at 54 so I never
got to see him live the retirement life. I do remember him telling me, “Do a good job at whatever you do and you will be paid well for it”. From cleaning park restrooms to my final position at LADWP, it kept me motivated to do a good job.
I never had any kids of my own and my wife has three adult children that are estranged and lost right now. It is hard to think right now of any of them carrying the torch as your family has. But God has plans for all of us so all we can do is try to reconnect and Mabey we can reach the grandchild. The bible is pretty clear on this.
Proverbs 13:22: âA good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.â (NKJV) This verse keeps our life goals, our vision and our legacy front and center when we’re choosing how to use our money today.
I never thought i would say this but here it goes. I have seen enough national and state parks. Just like you wrote in a previous post. They all start to look the same and seem to be boring. We thought we would be full time and always on the road free as a bird. But we both agreed we are lacking purpose. We will return back to LA and become more involved with our church and a mission to spread joy to others in these trying times. Your project’s with FIDO look cool and we will see what we can find. Not to say that we will not hit the road for a few months at a time to relax and have fun. But at this time FULLTIME RVing is not for us.
Blessing to you and your family,
Dave
Great tribute to your Dad, thank you for sharing this personal journey. We used part of my inheritance from my Dad to pay tribute to him in a similar way 8 years ago, and my wife and I still feel fantastic about the choice. Good for you both!
Great article Fritz. It got me thinking about legacies. Do any of your readers have any good suggestions about leaving portion’s of the inheritance prior to death? In some ways, I would love to help out my daughter now, while she may need the support more.