OP here: Thanks everyone! I already have maxed our my 401(k) and have zero desire to be a landlord. I really need something I can put money in and forget about, so the index funds sounds awesome. Appreciate it!

20K isn't enough by itself to do you any good. I would speculate wildly with this amount - use lots of leverage - and try to run it up. It's enough margin to buy, say, $400,000 worth of cotton futures, which you should do at any major correction in oil prices that coincides with spring rains in the South. If you lose it all, so what.

Anonymous wrote:That particular admiral fund has a minimum of only 10k. It's pretty awesome (investment geek).

I stand corrected. Good to know!

I'd buy a studio and rent it out (after you have your emergency fund).

That particular admiral fund has a minimum of only 10k. It's pretty awesome (investment geek).

I have $20K sitting in my money market account. Probably not the best place for it, but it's my go to emergency money.

I don't think $20k qualifies for Admiral shares, but otherwise I agree with PP.

And OP, you do have to be in the market, although you definitely don't need to be "playing."

If you don't have an emergency fund, I'd sock that 20k away in Ibonds. You can buy 10k now, and 10k next January. See here for the benefits of iBonds:

http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/I_Savings_Bonds

If you do have a sufficient emergency fund, put it all in Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTSAX). It's not exactly conservative, but it is tax efficient, and has some of the lowest fees outside of the TSP.

You don't really want to be holding bonds outside of tax-deferred unless you absolutely have to. If you feel like you must hedge, it's better to shift money in your retirement accounts into bonds to offset your riskier taxable investments.

Do you mean you don't want any money in the stock market, or you don't want to buy individual stocks?

Assuming you don't have a retirement plan at work, I would open up a Vanguard/Fidelty/TRowePrice account, and put that money into a targeted retirement fund. That's about as easy as you can get when it comes to having a diverse portfolio. If you want to save for something shorter term than retirement, then look for some index-based ETFs.

For the past four years I have been either pregnant or nursing and am now weaning my second child. During this time I have socked away in my personal savings account $20,000. I have a 401(K) and a Roth IRA (so can't contribute any more?), we will have a 529 for each kid funded jointly and while I'd love a new mini-van, that purchase needs joint approval and funding. I am risk adverse, and in case you haven't noticed, just treading water with my life, so I don't want to play the stock market. I'd like to set up some savings something to keep putting money into it and have if we ever retire. I do work part-time, and we have his/hers/ours accounts. I need something simple to manage (hopefully not at all?) and that I can keep money into. Ideas? TIA.