Anonymous wrote:I would pay off my house if the $300k was enough to do so. I would not squander the money on expensive renovations and travel as other posters have suggested. If your house is paid off you can have more flexibility and/or more cash flow to do those things.
I wouldn’t pay off my house because 300K wouldn’t come close to paying off the mortgage nor would it significantly reduce payments. Our house is worth quite a bit and it’s nice but the kitchen is old and literally falling apart, so it would increase the sale price of the house at least a little. And then, you know, we would have a nice kitchen.
The worth of travel increases in value as time goes on, so that is a big boost in your quality of life. Im not extravagant when I travel, but I wouldn’t put that off until I was in the perfect financial situation. You never know, you could get MS or something and not be able to travel later on. Memories are important.
This is all to say that the “best” thing to spend the money on is going to be different for everyone!