[USER]

If you were me, what would you do:
I was in an accident & will be receiving 100k settlement. I have no idea what to do with it.

I’ve bene following this page for about a year, but that’s about the extent of my financial knowledge

Background: I am not a homeowner, & I do not have any student debt. I am single, early 30s.

Car is almost paid off (owe about 3k which I plan on paying off to get that bill out of the way). I have an old 403b with Fidelity with like 70k in it maybe (I know, I should be doing better) which is from a job I’m no longer at.

I opened a Roth IRA in 2023 & plan on putting the max amount in for this year & next year.

I just started a new job salaried at a little over 85k/yr, & we have a 401k plan with Lincoln Financial I’m looking into signing up for, but I keep seeing all these *fee disclosure* notices when reading the paperwork but I don’t see any fees listed? (If anyone had any insight, that’s why I added that bit.)

But yeah, looking for insight on what you’d do with your 100k & were looking to save a bit & try to grow some of it.

I do have an appt with a financial advisor at Fidelity to also get some insight, but I’m looking for as much info as I can get.

Thank you in advance!

[Travis]

The first thing I would do is find a good high yield savings account to “hide” the money from yourself. It’s so easy to justify buying stuff when you see all that money there.

A good rule of thumb is to give yourself a year to get use to the windfall and make a good decision.

I think buying a house would be great! Even better if you’re willing to house hack with a duplex or fourplex.

There are lots of options! And there’s no deadline so take your time.

[Matt]

For me, Emergency fund (6-12 months of expenses), fully fund your 401k for the year at about $23,000 (after you sign up), pay off the car, and put some aside for a down payment or other goal.

Even if your 401k plan isn’t great, I would still try contribute as much as you can each year after funding your IRA.

[Rebecca]

Follow Dave Ramsey baby steps. It will get you on the right track

[Kelly]

Hysa for a few months. It would be a nice down payment on a house

[张扬]

Do you have any long term injuries or disabilities as a result of this accident that will require ongoing or future medical care?

If so, I would invest a portion of the settlement to pay for it.

Otherwise, I would read “The Simple Path To Wealth” by JL Colllins and follow either the Money Guy FOO or Bogleheads Prioritizing Investments wiki.

As far as the 401k options, post the fund choices and expense ratios, and we can advise what we would choose.

[Jenny]

Do you want to own a home? You can use that money as a down payment for a house. Either SFH or a 2 to 4 unit apartment.

Live in one of the units and rent the others out (house hack).

Or leave some emergency funds then put the rest of the money into the stock market and let it ride.

[Caro]

I’d plan a vacation stat! 5K.
Put the rest in a HYSA for now.
Max out 2023 and 2024 Roth IRAs.

I think I’d just put my employer plan on at least match to wherever you feel comfortable in the long run.

I’d not put extra in bc of this.
Emergency fund and future house down payment.

Start setting aside monthly $ for the 2025 Roth out of your budget.

Start setting aside extra for house down payment. Assuming that’s a goal.

[Courtney]

All of this is great advice, I am a super saver and agree with most of these points. With that I would add keep a small percentage aside and go enjoy yourself.

Doesn’t have to be a lot, maybe a nice dinner, a new piece of furniture or a nice little vacation.

You have done a very good job.

[Author]

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