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- Susan von Seggern used a $10,000 inheritance to buy a convertible and start saving for a home.
- She turned her initial inheritance into significant wealth, investing in property and a brokerage.
- Last year, she received another inheritance of $100,000, which she’s used mainly to fix up her home.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Susan von Seggern, a 56-year-old publicist and CFO in Los Angeles. It has been edited for length and clarity.
My grandmother indirectly helped me become financially smart by leaving me $10,000 when she died in 1993.
While on her deathbed, she couldn’t satiate her four grandchildren with sumptuous meals anymore, so she literally brought some fortune into our lives in her last bittersweet days.
I was 25 but wise enough not to waste the money on something that would only gratify me for the short term.
Instead, I bought a convertible I had been eyeing for a long time and devised a plan to save money for a future townhouse.
My grandmothers lived through the Great Depression and WWII
They shaped my parents into people who’d spend their money only if absolutely necessary. My money foundation was based on spending and investing money wisely.
In my early 20s, I drove an old Nissan Sentra around Los Angeles. I longed for a Geo Metro LSI convertible but knew that taking anything from the money I was making at that time as a publicist was impossible, and the only other option was going into debt. The risk of opting for either was greater than the happiness I would’ve experienced from buying this car.
Once I received $10,000 from my grandmother, I sold my Nissan for $2,000 and combined that with my inheritance to buy the convertible. I’m so glad I bought the car I wanted with great features, not a car other people wanted me to buy. I chose a car based on my desire, budget, and preference.
Every month after I bought the car in 1993, I put aside $400
I kept saving this specific amount until the end of 1995 as if I were paying a car payment. I had a minimalist lifestyle, so I could save even more sometimes just by spending or not spending intelligently. All my drinks, parking, and business lunches were paid for due to having an expense account through work.
Things just kept aligning financially for me after I used the inheritance. No matter what I wanted to buy, I’d find myself having that amount saved because of how I utilized my money and saved it.
After the car, it was time to buy my own house
After saving for a few years, I set aside about $25,000 to cover the down payment, which was $17,500, for my first condo and other related expenses, such as moving and furniture. I bought the condo for $175,000 in 1995.
My husband and I started a boutique PR agency together, which we ran until it was extinguished when the dot-com bubble burst and also due to the 9/11 recession. The condo’s value increased gradually, and I secured a home-equity loan for $75,000. With that, I settled my agency debts.
The condo’s value accelerated to around $400,000, and my loan also increased to $225,000. I sold the condo in 2007 for $715,000, which wouldn’t have been possible without my inheritance money.
After I paid the agents and the bank, I was left with around $450,000, which I used to pay off my then-to-be fiancé’s debts, which were about $50,000.
After I turned my $10,000 into $400,000, I didn’t touch it
I put the $400,000 in a brokerage account and let it grow. When the pandemic hit, the market crashed, and we lost 10% of the total.
We bought a new home in 2021, paid a $160,000 down payment, and were left with $200,000. After purchasing and moving expenses, we had $160,000 left, which we put into our brokerage account again.
We balanced our mortgage out every month with it and the profits we were generating. The equity value of our new house is around $300,000.
In 2024, my father died, and I inherited another $100,000
We’ve been making use of the $100,000 for various purposes. We spent around $25,000 on our house, including a new roof, AC unit, and water heater. We also invested around $20,000 in my husband’s startup and spent around $10,000 on medical purposes.
Both my husband and I are still working. This inheritance is more than enough for us to handle our future and present personal and professional needs and wants.
