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I’m 35 years old with no children. My grandmother left me $200k and I’m not sure what are the best steps to take. Do I stay with my bank? Should I get an accountant or financial advisor? I want to buy a house cash for $90k, trying to achieve the American dream. Do I invest and if so, how? Please help if you know what steps I should take.

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    What is your monthly income? From where? What are your current expenses? Do you have enough cash in the bank to cover 3 months of expenses? What is your current retirement account at? etc...
    – paulj
    Feb 14, 2020 at 13:17
  • Hi, thank you for replying.. $2000 a month from unemployment I use to be a teacher for 19 years stoped almost a year ago. Rent is my biggest expense and yes I have enough to cover 6 or more months. I believe I have an IRA doesn’t have anything really
    – Chocolate
    Feb 14, 2020 at 13:31
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    You're 35 and "I use to be a teacher for 19 years stoped almost a year ago" -- so you started teaching at 15?
    – shoover
    Feb 14, 2020 at 14:13
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    What country are you in? Many countries use dollars as their currency, and many people outside the US may be trying to achieve the American dream.
    – Mike Scott
    Feb 14, 2020 at 16:25
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    @shoover and -- with one more year of teaching -- she could have retired with a pension. This question is suspicious.
    – RonJohn
    Feb 15, 2020 at 23:00

2 Answers 2

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Sorry for your loss.

To me, when one receives an inheritance, it is important to honor the memory of the person that was wise enough, and generous enough to provide for you.

Initially I would keep it in a bank savings account until you are over your grief, and you have a clear road map. The only exception would be is to pay for final expenses for Grandma's funeral. You may choose to put it in an online bank so you can earn a bit more interest, but the important thing is to put it somewhere safe, and not go hog wild.

IMO buying a home, even for cash, is a poor move. You need income to maintain a property and unemployment will not last very long. In this economy it is troubling that you are not working. So that is step 1: Find meaningful employment where you can earn a good income. While 200K seems like a lot of money, and it will certainly make a difference in your life, it is not enough to sustain you for a long period of time. Therefore you need to work and that may require relocation.

The second thing is you should invest the money in yourself. That will take very different forms for different people. Do you have consumer debt? An emergency fund? Is your education sufficient to obtain the proper employment? Consumer debt should be eliminated and avoided in the future, an emergency fund built that is only used for legitimate emergencies (worn out car tires are not an emergency), and then a decision about continuing your education.

Perhaps you aspire to be a doctor. If you used the money to obtain such an education then it is likely Grandma would be proud.

Only then can you start thinking about investing in the markets or purchasing a home. There is no need to get ahead of yourself. In my opinion you do not need a financial adviser, instead head over to bogleheads.org and look up their three fund portfolio. Low cost and sound investment advice. Many are quick to help with questions and you will likely outperform most financial advisers without any expertise.

Good luck to you.

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You are still young enough to work hard & build up your revenue.

Put your money (= the $200,000.) safely away by investing in Federal notes that will yield big returns!

Buy the notes directly from The Federal Reserve Bank, but NOT from a broker who will take a big hunk of your money for himself/herself as a commission.

After working hard to save & invest more money,....buy real estate & become a good landlord with income-producing property.

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    "Federal notes that will yield big returns!" Maybe where you live, but not in the US.
    – RonJohn
    Feb 15, 2020 at 23:01
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    Also being a landlord is a relatively risky business (especially if you only have 1 home) with an average annual return of approximately 6%. Not the best investment.
    – Dugan
    Feb 15, 2020 at 23:27

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