RMDs. Required Minimum Distributions. What do you do with your RMD if you don’t need it? This conundrum comes up more often that you might think. People who are natural investors often simply reinvest them. But that’s no answer! That is merely kicking the can down the road to decide what to do with these funds another day. Perhaps you could buy a bigger house. The truth is, most of us who are of the age where we must take RMDs are more interested in downsizing than buying a bigger house.

RMDs can be a wonderful reminder for us that it is time to do something intentional with our money. All our lives we were taught that we needed to invest for our future. If you are taking RMDs, your future is now.

Dave Ramsey, the financial guru and creator of Financial Peace University, says that the most fun you will ever have with money is giving it away. Always spending it on yourself can become boring. To quote Dave, “If you eat enough lobster, eventually it tastes like soap.” Too much self aggrandizement is not good.

I want you to consider giving when your next RMD comes due. Perhaps you don’t need those funds. . .there are plenty of worthy charities that could use those funds. You can make a direct gift to the charity, or you can create a gifting vehicle, like a trust, that gives to one of more charities. You can arrange to have those gifts begin immediately or at a specified date or event. This is where it gets to be fun.

Don’t think that gifting in this way is only for the very wealthy. Creating a gifting trust can be an end in itself, or it can be the start of a larger gifting campaign that involves others (perhaps others who also have RMDs that they don’t need).

Contact us at Salzmann Hughes to discuss how you can address your RMDs. We have offices in Chambersburg, Carlisle, Camp Hill, Gettysburg and Hanover. You may contact the author at [email protected] or at 717-249-6333.