I'm a poor who is about to receive an inheritance: please tell me what to do with it

[Anonymous]

Pay off high interest debt

Do not alter lifestyle

Rest into a low cost Vanguard index fund in a taxable account after you have maxed retirement contributions for the year.

Pretend this never happened.

Do not alter lifestyle.

There I saved you the cost of a financial advisor.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP. We need a few more details to help (like your age, income, debt, kids, ages). But generally to make this money last your whole life:

-Pay off all debt more than 4% (other than maybe a mortgage)
-Max out retirement accounts from now until retirement
-Establish an emergency fund in a high yield savings account for 6 months of expenses.
-Put 4k in 529 per year for college (max for DC tax deduction) and set aside $4k for next
-Put 10K in ibonds this year and set aside for next
-Maybe put an amount you never want to gamble in high yielding CDs.
-Set aside $10K for vacations (5K this year and next)!
-Put the rest in brokerage in Vanguard (but may go down)

[Anonymous]

One more thing. If you are married I would do 10K in ibonds and $4K each into 529 for kiddo this year and next. Keep in mind that stock market may go up and down over the next years so factor that in.

[Anonymous]

Important to think about the taxes on the inheritance--for instance if it is in a traditional inherited IRA, you need to liquidate it in 10 years and have to pay taxes on withdrawals as if it were income. So your 700k is quite a bit less than it would seem. You would want to be sure to max out your own retirement accounts with distributions from the IRA to offset the taxes.

[Anonymous]

Financial advisor, stat. Fee-based no commission. Someone who will look at your actual financial circumstances and goals, point out things you might not have thought of, and talk you through how to correctly invest your inheritance to meet your goals. Also get help with taxes.

[Anonymous]

1) Don't be in a rush to do things with the money. You can park it while you figure things out. Will it be transferred to you as cash, or will it be what they call "in-kind", so in stocks/bonds etc?

2) I agree with no commingling for the majority of the funds. Life is long, crap happens, and this is your nest egg. No need to put it in a joint account. That's how I've handled my inheritance. Yes, I've used portions for the family's benefit, like the down payment on the house or paying for our cars in cash, but whatever is not used sits in my own accounts.

3) Pay off any consumer loans, like credit card debt, car loans, student loans, etc.

4) Create an emergency fund. Give yourself 6 months worth of expenses, set aside in a money market or savings account.

5) Have both you and your spouse max out your retirement savings. You can supplement your cash flow from these funds while maxing out what you put away for retirement.

6) Buy I-bonds.

7) If you want to invest the rest, look into dollar-cost averaging the money into a low cost mutual fund like Vanguard over time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm LMC (at least for the DC area). I'm about to inherit around 700K.

My first priority is to stow the money away for DC's college (we've only managed to save about 50K for their college to date). Should I throw it all in a 529? Or should I put it into our retirement fund, and saddle DC with college loans? Or a split between the two?

Or other possibilities? I really know nothing about money because I've never had enough to learn. What do you wise UMC money-having people recommend?

$700K to a 529 plan, this has to be a joke. Once you get your money, interview three fee only advisors and pick one to help you out. https://www.napfa.org/find-an-advisor#

[Anonymous]

What is your income?

You put $150K-200K in a 529 for college and graduate school. You do $100K for general savings. Pay off debt. Then, the rest to retirement. Done.

Live like you never got it and save.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is your income?

You put $150K-200K in a 529 for college and graduate school. You do $100K for general savings. Pay off debt. Then, the rest to retirement. Done.

Live like you never got it and save.

She's a poor, this could be stupid advise. Don't take advise from randos. Find a professional planner to work with.

[Anonymous]

529s have lousy investment option, high fees and so many restrictions on how to use it. If invested correctly, you can get $50k out of it yearly soon to use however you want.
Some of you need to chill with the taxes. She is low income and her taxes are not that high.
High interest rate debt first ofcourse, then retirement, then ETF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:529s have lousy investment option, high fees and so many restrictions on how to use it. If invested correctly, you can get $50k out of it yearly soon to use however you want.
Some of you need to chill with the taxes. She is low income and her taxes are not that high.
High interest rate debt first ofcourse, then retirement, then ETF.

She needs to know if what she has to pay taxes on--it's not like she has to shelter it, but if it's an IRA that needs to be liquidated in 10 years and counts as taxable income that's important information to become clear on. She also said she's a DCUM poor which can mean anything income-wise. Adding 70k/yr to your income for 10 years needs some tax managing strategies--even if it's just making sure your plans are accounting for a a smaller amount of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with PP. We need a few more details to help (like your age, income, debt, kids, ages). But generally to make this money last your whole life:

-Pay off all debt more than 4% (other than maybe a mortgage)
-Max out retirement accounts from now until retirement
-Establish an emergency fund in a high yield savings account for 6 months of expenses.
-Put 4k in 529 per year for college (max for DC tax deduction) and set aside $4k for next
-Put 10K in ibonds this year and set aside for next
-Maybe put an amount you never want to gamble in high yielding CDs.
-Set aside $10K for vacations (5K this year and next)!
-Put the rest in brokerage in Vanguard (but may go down)

OP

I am in your shoes and am also expecting an inheritance.

Look into Vanguard. I just called them yesterday. They have the lowest fees and best performance of investment funds in the industry.

Pay off high credit card debt.

How is the condition of your car? I'd also pay off your car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you first get it, put it in three separate FDIC insured savings accounts in three separate institutions. That way the cash will be insured up to 250k for each account.

If you have a spouse, keep it only in your name to avoid comingling funds which would make it more likely to make the money a marital asset if you divorce (meaning spouse would get half).

Make sure you (and your spouse) are maxing out your 401ks.

Take some time to breathe and consult a financial advisor etc. You don't have to rush to invest it right away. It is ok to keep it in an interest accruing account or short term CDs as you decide what to do with it.

This is reasonable advice. Probably the best that can be given with such scant knowledge of OP's situation.

OP: Open up interest bearing accounts at three different banks.

Put $250,000 in each account.

Only withdraw the interest earned each year for the first two years so that you become accustomed to having a large amount of money in the bank.

Only buy that which is necessary such as a safe, reliable vehicle if your current car is neither safe nor reliable.

[Anonymous]

Troll. No one calls themselves "a poor" - that's a pejorative that some rich people condescendingly use.

[Anonymous]

What's lmc mean?