[USER]

Just inherited 45k
Single mom. Father passed.
What would you do with the money?
I work as a waitress and have limited skills.

My only real skill is as an artist but as you all know, that is tough.

If I can master marketing, I could probably make something work with it. Idk.

No debt. Car paid off. But I do not have savings or retirement. I’m just starting fire journey. Age 36. Daughter is age 2.5. Family watches her while i work.

Im way behind but starting now.

Thank you all from Spain

[David]

Open two accounts: Roth IRA and fund it to the legal limit in 2025. Purchase an S&P 500 ETF (Electronically Traded Fund) like VOO.

The other account could be a “taxable brokerage”. Likewise invest in something like VOO. Each year, transfer money from the taxable brokerage to the Roth IRA.

Whatever you do, avoid the temptation to splurge on things or buy something you don’t need with the windfall.

If you have time, read or listen to “The Simple Path to Wealth”.

I prefer Vanguard as my brokerage, but Schwab and Fidelity are also solid.

Good luck!

[Wendii]

Saw a lot of comments to put it all into stocks. Before doing that, ask yourself if the market goes through huge volatility, and your $45,000 drops to $30,000.

How would you feel and if it will trigger stress, sadness, panic etc. What if it drops to $20,000?

Then decide from that emotional start point – how much you want to use it to pay down debt, keep in a fixed deposit (cash on hand makes a woman feel more secured and a secured woman makes sounder life decisions) and then how much to deploy into stocks to take some risk for higher returns.

The start point shouldnt be all about future rosy projections without thought to risk and emotional rollercoasters.

I have known many people who fell sick and caught cancer during times of stress from market downturns or fraud.

Always aim to drive a steady boat that can sail thru ups and downs.

[Melissa]

As you are searching where to invest your extra funds, you’d want to consider several factors which include your risk tolerance, time horizon and your financial goals.

Being a newbie in investing can be daunting but the good thing is you are not the first to feel this way.

All you need is some guidance in form of a mentor or financial adviser until you are knowledgeable and experienced enough to handle your portfolio yourself.

There are different investment vehicles and assets that will assist you in achieving your financial goals depending on what they are.

You can put your money in private equities/hedge funds that invest in startups if you are in it for the long term.

Speculative assets like stocks are a great choice too. I can make further recommendations but I’d have to understand your peculiarities.

I hope this helps.

[Corina]

Fellow single mom here. Save it all. High yield savings. Don’t spend any of it unless it directly improves health.

The only thing more important than wealth is health. Don’t make excuses because it becomes a slippery sloap.

Emergency funds are critical.

I try for 6 months of liquidity at a minimum always.

[Zachery]

Yeah 3-6 months of living expenses including your rent needs to go in savings I would stock the checking with $2000 as a cushion, not to blow it on things.

The rest invest it in an index fund.

You can open up a Fidelity investments account for example and stick it in an index like SPY VOO

[Katie]

Use some of the funds to do a certificate course in marketing to increase your income.

There are cheap self-paced programs on platforms like Coursera, or ones that are a few thousand dollars at universities.

I did a program at a university a few years ago that was $3500 and just had my third round interview for a six-figure marketing job.

Great ROI if you hustle and apply what you learn.

[Brad]

HYSA for emergency use only. Budget EVERYTHING. Stay completely out of debt.

[Patricia]

Get a good degree in a public university. Like nursing? Or learn a skill that lands so a decent full time job and increase your income.

Then you can save and make a good living for you and daughter

[Patricia]

You’re still young. It’s not late at all. Put 10-15k of that in a high yield savings for emergency and the rest into an index fund tracking the S&P.

If you’re an artist and are keen, I’d probably invest some of that money into a formal education to get a better paying job.

[Kash]

Can you go to community college, apply for a pell grant, go to college for free and become a nurse?

[Christina]

I think you should apply money, 3-6 months of living expenses in saving, invest the rest. Work on improving confidence. Skills are always learned.

Listen to Mel gibbons, Oprah, anything to change and grow mindset.

Waitress has communication, good attitude, multi tasking, use that to leverage different options.

Change mindset. Dont feel behind. See opportunity.

Blessing for your family helping you with your daughter, that can allow freedom

What does housing situation look like?

[Zachery]

Let’s just say 35k of that went into the index fund. By age 60 you will have $410k assuming 7% annual return which is low historically… AND no future contributions.

I highly recommend putting 10% of your salary into this as well so you can likely see 1 million.

[Johann]

Invest in yourself. Learn a new skill. Working as a waitress is a great experience to build on!

[Allen]

Easiest thing to do is put all of it into Warren buffet. Buy BRKB easiest way to grow that money.

I like to buy shares of investment companies rather than buy their mutual fund products.

4 stocks you can’t go wrong with right now Goldman Sachs, Chubb Synchrony financial and Buffet

[Jessica]

Consider college in something that pays well, if a career change is something you’re interested in.

I’ve quadrupled my income.

[Hadfield]

If you have mortgage do preventative maintenancearound the house, any needed repairs/preventative maintenance on vehicle, any health check ups/health costs

[Marie]

I would set aside 3-6 months of expenses for an emergency fund. I would use a high-yield savings account or a money market account at Fidelity or Vanguard.

Then I’d put the rest in a retirement account, invested in mutual funds and/or index funds.

As for starting a business, how about setting aside just $100-$200 or so to build a website for your art?

There are many affordable website hosting services. Perhaps you could paint children’s portraits or pet portraits.

Research online how to make your website show up in people’s searches.

Who knows, perhaps that could be a good side hustle for you.

[Mari]

Hola! Check trade republic (neobroker) in spain. currently you can earn 2,25%/year. When the European Central Bank reduces the rates, you’ll earn less.

But maybe they won’t. Up to 100.000€ your money is safe with any European bank.

If you want to invest, you can invest in a world ETF. You can invest every month or just put money there any time you feel comfortable.

You might want to check some ETF calculators so you can get an idea about how your money will look like in the future.

Check any YouTube video on MSCI World or FTSE all world. This is the most conservative and less expensive approach.

Don’t go for fund advisers. They only care about themselves. Good luck.

[Perry]

Take a year to breathe and grieve your loss. As someone who’s lost both parents it takes time to deal with it all and life will look drastically different on the other side.

[Author]

Posts