This piece is a personal opinion column by Alexandra Shulman, part of her regular "Notebook" series for the Daily Mail, weighing up whether people should spend their savings during their lifetime rather than leave them to be diminished by inheritance tax after death. The topic reflects a wider debate in Britain about the fairness and practicality of inheritance tax, an issue that regularly resurfaces amid speculation about government reforms to thresholds, gifting rules and reliefs.

The provided source material for this article consisted largely of Daily Mail homepage navigation and unrelated headline links rather than the full text of Shulman's column, so specific arguments, figures or personal anecdotes she may have used could not be confirmed. In general terms, such columns typically explore the emotional and financial trade-offs of estate planning, including gifting money to family early, spending on experiences, or accepting that some wealth will pass to the state via tax.