Snowflake money! What to do with it?

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

So, crazy thing happened these last two weeks.

DH's XW emailed to tell him he didn't owe her any more alimony. 
Now, the divorce decree says "indefinitely", so she's just randomly decided this. 

I didn't trust just having the email, so we figured out what legal form to file with the court. 
She completed it, had it notarized, and sent it back to us today. 


What shall we do with this free money? (Granted, we will have to pay taxes on it.)

I'll let you toss out your ideas (in addition to hookers and blow) before I tell you a few of ours. 

[CCL]

Something for the new house? A second honeymoon?

[chiver78]

I have questions...


what kind of extra $ are we talking about? hundreds? tens of thousands? bc my answer is going to vary wildly with the order of magnitude. 

can you elaborate on the taxes comment? does alimony not get taxed, or does the tax charge get carried by the alimony recipient? 

[minnesotapaintlady]

Yeah, I think dollar amount needs to be included here for any meaningful suggestions.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Regarding the taxes, at least in our state during the time in which DH divorced, yes, the recipient of the alimony had to pay the income taxes on it. So, he's had that amount deducted from his gross income toward his AGI each year. 

If you're of the mind to know how much we're talking about: 

SPOILER: Click to show

$1,250 per month

[countrygirl2]

wow, that's like getting a raise, just wow.

You could do a lot with that. She must have a good income or married well, be grateful.

[minnesotapaintlady]

Well, I'm boring, so I would go down the basic FI list.

Emergency Fund it not fully funded

Debt outside of mortgage

Retirement if everything not already maxed

Then move on to hookers and blow. 

[countrygirl2]

Democrats are projected to take control of the senate; the Nevada votes are like 95% in now.
Let's hope Warnock wins the runoff.  I'm thrilled.

Yes this is in the wrong place, sorry. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Nov 12, 2022 21:09:47 GMT -5 countrygirl2 said:

wow, that's like getting a raise, just wow.

You could do a lot with that. She must have a good income or married well, be grateful.

Definitely grateful. If she is getting married, she has not told either son that she is.  

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Nov 12, 2022 21:17:40 GMT -5 countrygirl2 said:

Democrats are projected to take control of the senate; the Nevada votes are like 95% in now.
Let's hope Warnock wins the runoff.  I'm thrilled.

Me thinks you meant a different thread. Unless you want me to donate to Warnock. Which I'm not inclined to do just because I'm a selfish wench.

[countrygirl2]

My hubs told me time to donate to Warnock and I agree, he looks like an absolute genius compared to whatever his name is.

[stillmovingforward]

Housekeeper to come in weekly. Seriously, you and your DH work so hard plus you are getting your PhD. You both deserve some fun time after being in the education system during Covid. Get a housekeeper and spend that time you would have spent cleaning your house exploring new places. 

[toomuchreality]

Send some to me! 😉

I have no use for the hookers, but if you and, or you DH do, go for it. Blow, on the other hand... 😁

What a great situation to be in!
I'm happy for you!

[finnime]

Agreed with getting the weekly cleaning service.

Plus, regular massages or whatever personal relaxing treat.

How about a hot tub? I had one for many years in Maryland--it was there when I bought that house--and loved it, and used it most nights. Eventually it quit but I got a good 14 years from it. Worth it.

Upgrade your vacation plans.

Smile at the universe.

Buy an Ibond for your grandchild.

[NoNamePerson]

First question. Has court signed off on legal end yet? As in do you have anything in writing from court setting aside obligation? Just wondering. 

ETA  I was assuming this was handled thru court like child support is in many states. If not then never mind.    

[giramomma]

I would be half responsible. $600 towards funsies (housekeeper, vacations, paying down the 5th wheel), 600 towards EF, SF, extra debt, what have you .

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Nov 13, 2022 7:10:48 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

First question. Has court signed off on legal end yet? As in do you have anything in writing from court setting aside obligation? Just wondering. 

ETA  I was assuming this was handled thru court like child support is in many states. If not then never mind.    

Yes, that's what we received yesterday. As there's no dispute, it was a simple form and filing. 

[azucena]

Wow! Questioning her sanity but cool for you guys.

As the good YMer I sometimes am, go down MPLs list.

Then, I agree with the housekeeper suggestion although I think you could get away with biweekly since your kids are grown.

Season tickets to something you enjoy to create standing date nights.

Other stress reduction ideas - massage, mani/pedis, something with meal planning to help your busy schedule, offload other recurring tasks that you dont enjoy.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Nov 12, 2022 20:59:28 GMT -5 CCL said:

Something for the new house? A second honeymoon?

We've done and are still doing lots of things to the house. This may speed up some of the improvement goals though. 
I do think this will help our travel budget--especially since the price of gas/diesel has been so high. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Nov 12, 2022 21:17:08 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Well, I'm boring, so I would go down the basic FI list.

Emergency Fund it not fully funded

Debt outside of mortgage

Retirement if everything not already maxed

Then move on to hookers and blow. 

You and I are both boring. That's my initial list. DH doesn't agree though.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Nov 12, 2022 22:23:33 GMT -5 stillmovingforward said:

Housekeeper to come in weekly. Seriously, you and your DH work so hard plus you are getting your PhD. You both deserve some fun time after being in the education system during Covid. Get a housekeeper and spend that time you would have spent cleaning your house exploring new places. 

Aw, thanks! I do have someone come in bi-weekly, but it's costing twice as much as it was compared to where we used to live. You're right; I may increase it. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Nov 13, 2022 5:57:12 GMT -5 finnime said:

Agreed with getting the weekly cleaning service.

Plus, regular massages or whatever personal relaxing treat.

How about a hot tub? I had one for many years in Maryland--it was there when I bought that house--and loved it, and used it most nights. Eventually it quit but I got a good 14 years from it. Worth it.

Upgrade your vacation plans.

Smile at the universe.

Buy an Ibond for your grandchild.

DH is definitely on the hot tub campaign!

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Nov 13, 2022 10:44:58 GMT -5 giramomma said:

I would be half responsible. $600 towards funsies (housekeeper, vacations, paying down the 5th wheel), 600 towards EF, SF, extra debt, what have you .

Splitting it might be the way to go. We have parent plus loans to pay off, but no other non-mortgage debt. I have been setting aside money for the next car purchase. I could up that when I feel like the EF is "fully funded". I've never actually had what I thought was a fully funded EF. I'm not even sure what that would actually be in a "I'm content with this level of EF savings." 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Nov 13, 2022 10:52:55 GMT -5 azucena said:

Wow! Questioning her sanity but cool for you guys.

As the good YMer I sometimes am, go down MPLs list.

Then, I agree with the housekeeper suggestion although I think you could get away with biweekly since your kids are grown.

Season tickets to something you enjoy to create standing date nights.

Other stress reduction ideas - massage, mani/pedis, something with meal planning to help your busy schedule, offload other recurring tasks that you dont enjoy.

Oh, season tickets is good idea! 

[toomuchreality]

Nov 13, 2022 11:20:39 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

Nov 13, 2022 5:57:12 GMT -5 finnime said:

Agreed with getting the weekly cleaning service.

Plus, regular massages or whatever personal relaxing treat.

How about a hot tub? I had one for many years in Maryland--it was there when I bought that house--and loved it, and used it most nights. Eventually it quit but I got a good 14 years from it. Worth it.

Upgrade your vacation plans.

Smile at the universe.

Buy an Ibond for your grandchild.

DH is definitely on the hot tub campaign!

DD2 and her husband installed a hot tub last year. They use it a lot and enjoy it.
Season tickets is a great idea. Especially if you can get good seats to something you both enjoy. Then make a night of it and include dinner before, or drinks after, if that strikes your fancy.
Do you live in an area where season tickets to the ballet, or theater are an option and is that of interest?

[Cookies Galore]

Nov 13, 2022 10:44:58 GMT -5 giramomma said:

I would be half responsible. $600 towards funsies (housekeeper, vacations, paying down the 5th wheel), 600 towards EF, SF, extra debt, what have you .

This is what I would probably do as well. Or maybe 60/40 split responsible vs fun.

That's a big amount of money to have back each month. I would absolutely be smart with it but also allow a little bit to become fun funds. Hell, go out for a nice dinner at a restaurant where it's hard to get a reservation.

[jerseygirl]

Season tickets to enjoyable event, weekly housekeeper and private chef

[haapai]

First you stop thinking about XXXX per month and calculate the taxes.  Do it quickly, on the back of an envelope, using your federal, state, and local marginal tax rates.  You'll have to do a more thorough check later, just to make sure that you haven't entered a new tax bracket or lost an income-sensitive goodie, but right now the most important thing is to knock that number down to something closer to what you'll net after taxes.

Can you tell us more about the parent plus loans?  What's the interest rate?  What's the monthly amount?  Are any of them close to being paid off?  How awful are the hardship provisions on those things?  Do they treat payments over the minimum the same way that other federal student loans do?  That is, if you pay more than required, you immediately save on interest and the amount that you've overpaid can be subtracted from future payments.  In the current inflationary environment, pre-paying long-term debt isn't particularly attractive, but it is something to consider if inflation settles down. 

Have you considered making the big leap to keeping your emergency fund mostly in an after-tax account? 

[haapai]

More cold water.  (This is my nature.  It is not about you.)

Is there any possibility that your husband's ex-wife terminated alimony due to a bad medical diagnosis, becoming disabled, losing a huge lawsuit, or having to declare bankruptcy?  If she ended alimony payments for any of these reasons, she may no longer be able to provide any financial support  for her children with your husband.  This may increase the demands on your husband's income. 

[minnesotapaintlady]

Nov 13, 2022 14:06:07 GMT -5 haapai said:

More cold water.  (This is my nature.  It is not about you.)

Is there any possibility that your husband's ex-wife terminated alimony due to a bad medical diagnosis, becoming disabled, losing a huge lawsuit, or having to declare bankruptcy?  If she ended alimony payments for any of these reasons, she may no longer be able to provide any financial support  for her children with your husband.  This may increase the demands on your husband's income. 

I believe all kids are long since grown and gone.