If you came into 100,000.00 dollars what would you do with it?

Question

I am about to from an inheritance. This is more money than I thought I'd ever see in my lifetime! My life has always been living 'paycheck to paycheck' and sometimes (like today) payday seems so far way!

Do I walk in my bank with the 100K check and say "I need to make a deposit"?

I don't want to be stupid with it and turn around in a few years and think "where did it go?".....

Answer 1

First, pay off all short-term debt. If you're paying something like a 21% interest rate, that will be a 21% tax-free return on your money right there.

Look, the best investment you can make right now is to get yourself an education in investing. You're going to have no idea if the advice people give you is any good unless you understand how money works. Personally, I recommend "The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need" by Andrew Tobias. It's an easy read and it will give you a firm foundation so that whenever you're presented with a financial choice or recommendation, you'll make an informed decision. No one's ever going to care as much about your money as you are, so you'd better learn how to handle it and make it grow.

For now, just stick it in a short term CD so it will safely grow a little while you're figuring out what to do next. You have to sit down and figure out what your goals are. Do you want a house? Do you want to invest in securities like stocks? Once you're out of debt and your earnings aren't dragged down by interest payment, is your paycheck adequate to give you a decent standard of living? Do you already take part in your company's 401(k)? Do you have a Roth IRA?

Basically, if you're getting advice from people who haven't even bothered to ask you these basic questions, they don't know what they're talking about because they don't know your circumstances. You're already getting so many different answers that you probably don't know what to believe. So get that education and then make a decisions that will allow you to sleep at night. Good luck!

Answer 2

Sit down and make a list of all the thing you want/need and what you owe.

1) Loans ~ car, student, credit card
2) Things you need ~ new roof on the house, etc, retirement fund
3) Things you want ~ vacation, new outfit, etc.

Once you have your list with you, I would sit down and find out your total debt. If you can pay off the student loan, do it because that eliminates a monthly payment and will give you more money monthly.

Then once your total debt is sorted out, make sure you take some of the money and set it aside for retirement [the interest will grow over the years, and you can add smaller amounts later, even if you can't afford to add anymore than the initial amount right now]

So debts and retirement are taken care of. Put some aside for "emergency" cash, for those situations you just can't plan ~ better safe than sorry, and it will help reduce your stress-levels in that time period.

Take some and go on a vacation, I am sure the money was left for you to enjoy yourself and buy a few things that you could not buy otherwise.

And if you want invest some ~ go to an investment broker and talk about your options before you lock your money in though.

Good luck and I am sure you will be just fine with your moeny.

Answer 3

You are right. That would be stupid.

They will give you only $5,000.00 per year and I don't have to tell you that's not enough to make a living.

I suggest you to open a brokerage and margin account and invest in the Stock Market with the help of a Portfolio Manager like myself or at least a Financial Advisor.

After a year you take half your profits and reinvest the rest.

For example, if you make 20% in a year you will take $10,000.00 to survive that year and reinvest $10,000.00

In the second year asuming you still make 20% you will take $11,000.00 and reinvest $11,000.00

This way you will have more and more money every year.

On the other hand, if you use your $100,000.00 to pay debts, buy a new car, take the family to Disneyland and buy a big LCD HDTV you will run out of money in three years or less and after that time you would be back to "paycheck to paycheck" and you will die broke.

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Answer 4

You should get a CD from the bank (A certificate that you purchase and you decide in how many years when you want the money back for example: If you bought a CD for 50,000 and you do not want it to be redeemed until 10 years later, then you will not be able to touch it at all until that 10 years is up). There is also interest so 50,000x'how much interest the bank gives=The amount of money you'll have from your CD in ten years. But other than that, I'll do what is more accessible at this time, GO SHOPPING!!!!!

P.S. Pay your debt too, while you have a chance

Answer 5

If you have any debts that you are paying hign interest on, you should pay those off immediately. These would include things such as credit cards and student loans. After that, you should create a budget for yourself so you can make the most of your money.

You should probably consult a financial planner to help you out. Buying a house (to avoid paying rent is a great idea). Otherwise, you should probably invest the majority of your money into a solid mutual fund such as an index fund (open an investment account). For some good free information on managing your money check out this blog:

Free Money Finance
http://www.freemoneyfinance.com/

Answer 6

Congratulations on your inheritance. If it were me....I would use a portion to pay off some debts; a larger portion, perhaps 50% would go into a savings or safe investment for a rainy day or larger purchase ie. home downpayment. I would use a small prtion perhaps 5-6% on myself on things such as clothing and new things and upgrades on appliances or items for your house.
But as you already mentioned, you do not want to look back someday and say what happened. Be smart and let this change your life for the better. Don't forget to make arrangements for any taxes that will be due ! Best wishes !

Answer 7

#1 Pay bills (this will help you make ends meet better for #2)
#2 Put the money somewhere (lock it up) for a year so that you have time to figure it out and consult whoever you need to without having other people hounding you for donations.

Answer 8

Of course you will need some safety and risk. but you know that will cost you your money to not purchase...

What you need is to purchase some assets and people will be liable to you

What I mean by asset is that you need to lend some money to: Competing corporations that has the least frauds: Microsoft and McDonalds are basic

You could go by stock but you will need to keep enough to reinvest because if the trend is lowering, then you will be legally frauded

You need to invest but keep enough to invest 3x more of a group of lending

Answer 9

first I will pay any debts i have, then give a down payment for a house, buy a car and the rest put it in the bank so it will gain interest.

Answer 10

would nicely be great so he sits back and needs of who they are going to grant now .next morning a knock on the door rouses him up he opens the door and status there's a huge bloke with a baseball bat and a demonstration that announces if i catch you i'm getting my way with you!