I just inherited 35,000 dollars. I'm pretty ignorant on how &-or what to do with it! Advice???

Question

I know I want to put up 10,000 where it can not be touched to help my daughter with living expenses during college.(College already taken care of by another fund my Dad left me as well. Isn't he the best!) Plz understand that I save about 100.00 a month for rainy days and pretty much live paycheck to paycheck. I need a dependable car, that I have budgeted in (this is my chance to get a 1 yr used great car that will last me for a long time)but don't have the credit to get one & would like to use some of this money as collateral if that's possible, so I can FINANCE one, instead of dropping all of my money to just out right buy it. Other needs are braces 4000.00, long needed home repairs 5000. & I won' t lie...I'd like to spend some of it to go on a vacation this summer.

I would greatly appriciate any advice from you all knowing smart investors out there in yahoo land!

Thanks a bunch!

Answer 1

Take what money you have an urgent need for (car, home repairs etc) and set it all aside. Take the rest and call a financial specialist....set up that college fund for your daughter, and just let it grow until she is ready for college. Stipulate in the paperwork how you want the payout to be, whether your daughter can take it after she turns 18, or you are the only one to touch it etc...I found that getting a low risk mutual fund with about 10k works out quite well.

Answer 2

Before you do anything rash, open up a high-yield online savings account - like ING or FNBO Direct - where you can get a decent yield (5-6%) while you make your decision.

Next, write down the needs and wants for this money and prioritize them with a desired timeline. This will allow you to find the most urgent items and point you to where you should be spending your inheritance.

My suggestions:
1. Put at least 1/2 of it, say $20k, into an emergency fund (located in a high-yield savings account, like those online accounts described above) and that's where I would suggest you add to it your $100/paycheck. This is also where your $10k for your daughter's college living expenses can reside.
2. Braces are usually covered by your health insurance, at least $1-2k of it. The remainder you should be able to finance with the orthodontist. Shop around so you are getting both the best deal and the highest quality for what you want.
3. The remainder I would suggest spending on your home repairs and paying down any debt that may be tarnishing your credit score.
4. A nice vacation doesn't have to cost a lot. Depending upon where, how and when you go, you can get good deals. I would suggest talking with a few travel agents, tell them what you are looking for and see what suggestions they have.

Next, start reading. There are several good personal finance websites out there with great articles that can help you, just in general. Here are some of my favorite:

Answer 3

If your credit history (or lack thereof) is a concern, yes, finance your car. Maybe the way to do it is to put a large part of the car cost down and finance a few thousand dollars of the cost. Another option is to contact a local credit union about a loan secured by some of the money to assist in your credit building. That way you can turn some of this money into a lifetime of better credit.

Next, pay the expenses you need - ie home repairs, braces, etc.

After that, the question is what is your risk tolerance with the rest. If you would like to do so, you can open a CD which will lock up the money for a period of time but it will pay more than a typical savings account. You can also check the accounts at banks around town - and online. www.ing.com has an account that pays a fairly high interest rate. If you are a little more willing to have some risk, you can open a stock brokerage account with an online broker like scottrade.com, ameritrade.com, etc. This will allow you to buy stocks for investing.

That way it will earn interest and you can get it when your daughter needs it in college.

Answer 4

You need the braces but should not pay upfront --- pay as you go for braces (usually over two year period) that way you have power to move to another Orthodontist if yours is no good or you move geographically --

You do not NEED a 1 yr used car -- If what you describe is correct and you are living paycheck to paycheck this $$ is a chance in a lifetime for you and you should not blow it on a "great" car. A good 4 yr old honda would be more reasonable and investing the rest in tiered CD's (some In a 5yr some in a 3 yr some in a 1 yr etc) to be a safety net for the future "stuff" that happens. This is your emergency fund that will keep you sleeping securely as life happens around you ---

10000 for your daughters living expense
4000 braces
8000 Honda

only leaves 13000 SAVE THIS!!!

Answer 5

use some of the money for a down payment because if you finance the whole thing you'll end up with a higher interest rate. In some cases, your bank might finance an auto loan for you if you keep the cash with them, and the cash will be collateral, you might want to look into that. The braces are a necessity, so get those... do the home repairs if they are needed, cosmetic stuff can wait. If you go on vacation make it an inexpensive one, because you never know when you might get another windfall like this, and keep some saved in case an emergency comes up. since ur not an experienced investor I would recommend putting a big portion of the cash in a CD, usually online banks offer higher rates of interest.

Answer 6

I would focus on using this money in ways that it will last. A car does not strike me as one of those. If you can at all, I would try to finance the car, braces and home repairs out of your normal budget.

If you have tuition for your daughter covered, I would make my own savings and retirement a priority over her living expenses for college.

If your daughter works during the summers, I would match some of her earnings and open a ROTH IRA and invest in a broad market fund. This could be great for her years down the road when she is ready to buy a house.

I would take 4K and put it in a ROTH IRA. I would put 6 months of living expenses in an emergency fund(if you don't touch this money it will give you piece of mind forever), probably in a high yield savings account.

I would take any remaining money and invest it in a "vacation fund". I would pick an investment that mixes earnings and growth. Each year I would take half the earnings and fund a vacation. The vacations will probably be modest to start with, but if you re-invest and maybe put some other "found" money in there, they could get better each year.

Answer 7

For the college fund, look for a low cost 529 Plan. Some of them are mentioned in the webpage listed below. You don't tell us how old your daughter is, so it is difficult to say what investment options you should choose. However, be conservative since you don't have the means to easily recover from investment losses. The webpage listed below also discusses using U.S. Savings Bonds to save for college--you can get a tax break if your income falls below certain levels. If you buy Savings Bonds, focus on the inflation-adjusted I-Bond, which will give you some inflation protection.

As for the other items, you have $25K left. Consider a two or three year old car. A car loses around a third to a half of its value in three years, but its useful mechanical life can be another 10 or 12 years if you take care of it and do the necessary maintenance. Buying a slightly older car might save you quite a bit, but get you something that's still a good long term choice. Toyota Corollas and Honda Civics have reputations for reliability and longevity. The second webpage listed below discusses the importance of smart spending. If you can lower the cost of the car by buying a slightly older vehicle, you'll have a better chance of financing the vacation you want.

As for financing the car, it's mathematically more logical to simply pay cash, because you then don't pay interest charges. If you want to hold onto the cash and are prepared to lose some money to interest charges, you might think about depositing enough money to cover the cost of the car in a certificate of deposit in a credit union, and getting a car loan from the credit union. Credit unions tend to offer slightly higher interest rates on deposits and slightly lower interest rates on loans, compared to banks. The third webpage listed below gives you information about how to find a credit union. If you can't find a credit union to join, a bank should be willing to do the same kind of deal and give you a good interest rate on the car loan. (since you'd be a deposit customer of the bank as well as a loan customer).

Good luck.

Answer 8

I think a good thing to do would be to find a way to make this money grow. A better thing would be to invest it in a business or something that would better benefit you for the rest of your life like more education for yourself so you can get a better job.

Or you could invest a portion in mutual funds or bonds. I hate for you to get a big lump sum and still not overall improve your life. Of course you need a car to get around but a car is not a good investment. As soon as you drive it off the lot it loses value.

Just don't put all of your eggs in a basket. I wish I had 35,000. I would flip that money so many times on different things that it would be 100,000,000. LOL

But seriously, do something to increase and bring something greater to your life instead of some braces and a car.

Think about your choices. 35,000 is a nice amount but its not alot in this day and age.

Answer 9

Put some in an IRA for yourself. Probably about $5,000. Let is sit, it WILL grow until you retire. Adding a little $50/month once in a while goes a long way too. Put some into a CD, atleast $10,000 for 2 years. You'll make about $800 in interest in 2 years. Put $10,000 away for your daughter(Putting that into a CD would be better, until she's ready for college). Then do what you want to the rest. Investing in safe, low yield investments is always a safe bet.

Answer 10

I would treat myself to something I wanted such as vacation
By having cash you can get your home repairs done much cheaper.
Take you out some dental insurance ...wait a couple months get most of the 4000.00 paid...
Car: Look around,you can get a small car (demo) at a good price.
Put around 2000.00 in a checking for emergencies.
Ok now put rest in saving account. Don't touch unless it is absolutely necessary.
This amount should carry you for some time with you working.
Hope this is somewhat what you wanted.
~~~Best wishes~~~