Minor windfall, how to deal with it.

chandler said:

Cotton said:

Buy a used Viper.

I was going to say hookers and blow but it looks like you beat me there.

I can't believe that it took this long for that. 

Mndsm said:

chandler said:

Cotton said:

Buy a used Viper.

I was going to say hookers and blow but it looks like you beat me there.

I can't believe that it took this long for that. 

Right?

On second thought, beeeeeeeeerk your STR build. I’ll make you a hell of a deal on my spyder. 

nutherjrfan said:

Cotton said:

Buy a used Viper.

might not be a bad idea.  not the greatest investment but if you can get low insurance it'd be fun for a few years and sure isn't gonna depreciate at this point.  Can you get one for $35k though?  

Yes, with a little left over for hookers and blow if he goes for a 1st gen.

Pay off CC.  Use a chunk to pay down mortgage. Invest the rest, perhaps in laddered CDs.

The best answer is largely dependent on what your age is & when you want to retire.

Cotton said:

nutherjrfan said:

Cotton said:

Buy a used Viper.

might not be a bad idea.  not the greatest investment but if you can get low insurance it'd be fun for a few years and sure isn't gonna depreciate at this point.  Can you get one for $35k though?  

Yes, with a little left over for hookers and blow if he goes for a 1st gen.

I can't find the problem with this plan anywhere.

Want anything? Usually with extra money i ask myself that and then decide if its worth it to not save the money

Floating Doc said:

KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:

John Welsh said:

As for the point about steady govt work, I can put you in touch with some Federal workers this week... 

Very true.  Fortunately the VA is pre funded.  Apparently something about shutting down the VA hospital makes even the most hardened political scumbag quake in his loafers.  

Thank goodness for that

Me and all my coworkers at the VBA have a bone to pick with you at the VHA...

100% into VTSAX. Then you have $1400/year in safe spending money forever. 

Ian F said:

If I had a windfall of unexpected cash, I'd probably put it into my house.  A good college car for the kid sounds like a good idea as well. 

We recently went to a financial advisor, and suggested not doing that if the potential ROR was higher than the mortgage rate.

So the real question is: invest for the now or for the future?  And there are varying degrees of how you can do that. 

BTW, unless you are planning to move someday, I would not consider home improvements as an investment. You never see that money until you sell. So it may be more for your enjoyment of your living situation. 

Payoff the credit cards, put enough in an account to finish your student loans with, buy the kid a college car, take a vacation with tigermom, then I would suggest a small Angel investment as I happen to know a guy who's trying to gather funds for a lucrative bbq business 

35K.....Perfect. I'll be delivering a V8 Miata for you to enjoy for just that amount....

If the credit card debt is at the standard 15+% apr, knocking that out is a good idea, provided it won't come back in a few months with more spending.  Aim to pay it off in full every month moving forward.  

After that, fund a roth up to $5500 for both 2018 and 2019, invested with fidelity or vanguard in VTSAX:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roth_IRA

The remainder could go into a CD for a few years until things settle, penfed is paying 3.5% on 5 year certificates right now:

https://www.penfed.org/accounts/money-market-certificate

Many of the things you listed (vacation, new vehicle, suburban upgrades) are transient.  Might make you happy, might just be a temporary boost.  But when the money's gone, its gone.  How much to spend vs how much to save is up to you and your wife to decide what works best.  

My $.02:

do not just leave it in the bank - put it where it needs to be: paying off the credit card, tithed (if you do), invested where you decide, x% aside for taxes, and the rest in a separate, untouchable account earmarked for what you decide. 

I think it is nice to take ~ 10% and get/do something fun.  

But paying off your debt (and subsequently not overspending anymore) is priority #1

In reply to Flynlow :

I totally agree.  Believe it or not I’m pretty good about not using the credit cards, it’s just that life threw some things at me in the past few years that caused an uncomfortable amount of debt.  Getting that monkey off my back is first.  The car stuff is really maintenance things that i’d Like to do before there is a more costly failure (spend $200 for a trans service now before I need a $1,500 transmission later kind of things).  But I’m leaning hard away from doing something like the STR build.  Having actual money in the bank is something i’ve dreamt about for a long time, keeping it there will be huge.  Like getting a tattoo, i’ll want to think long and hard before committing to any expenditures.

My retirement account is already maxed out through work and climbing well.  

RossD said:

Ian F said:

If I had a windfall of unexpected cash, I'd probably put it into my house.  A good college car for the kid sounds like a good idea as well. 

We recently went to a financial advisor, and suggested not doing that if the potential ROR was higher than the mortgage rate.

I meant renovations/repairs/upgrades, not principle.  Yes, most folks who have bought homes within the last few years should have mortgage rates lower the investment returns (this past quarter notwithstanding). That said, I will mention having a paid off mortgage gives one a sense of financial freedom and security that is hard to describe. 

Update.  I've been getting home each day and checking the mail like a kid on Christmas morning, expecting a check to come in any day... and waiting....and waiting.

So my sister call me just a few minutes ago and there is a wrench in the works.  Apparently the money is being disbursed into the trust of my late fathers' estate (essentially my step-mothers account).  This shouldn't be a problem, our step mother knows what's up and she'll just send checks to us as soon as the funds clear, right? 

berkeleying wrong!  Apparently my goddammed uncle got to her and plead some case about him needing the money (he's already getting $75K) and is claiming that he and my father had a "gentlemans agreement"  since my dad was relatively well off my uncle could have his share.  SO SHE'S AGREED TO GIVE HIM THE MONEY!!!!!!!

berkeley me, berkeley my sister, berkeley our kids.  Not, the uncle gets it to pad his retirement.  If this doesn't get changed today I'll be getting a lawyer and possibly slapping the E36 M3 out of an uncle I thought was an alright guy.

Unbelievable.

In reply to KyAllroad (Jeremy) :

That's always the way it goes. I think that's why my wife's grandmother gave everything to the state when she died. I still don't understand that one, she had two kids, five grand kids and one great grand kid. It was enough money to put all of them through college. And she gave it to the state. 

Boats 'N' Hoes!!!

At least I'm not the only one with a E36 M3 bag uncle I guess.

In reply to KyAllroad (Jeremy) :

It's amazing the kind of bullE36 M3 that happens when money is involved.

Best of luck getting it resolved. Definitely lawyer up. If the lawyer thinks there's a case, a good one will tell you flat out what your chances are.

KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:

Update.  I've been getting home each day and checking the mail like a kid on Christmas morning, expecting a check to come in any day... and waiting....and waiting.

So my sister call me just a few minutes ago and there is a wrench in the works.  Apparently the money is being disbursed into the trust of my late fathers' estate (essentially my step-mothers account).  This shouldn't be a problem, our step mother knows what's up and she'll just send checks to us as soon as the funds clear, right? 

berkeleying wrong!  Apparently my goddammed uncle got to her and plead some case about him needing the money (he's already getting $75K) and is claiming that he and my father had a "gentlemans agreement"  since my dad was relatively well off my uncle could have his share.  SO SHE'S AGREED TO GIVE HIM THE MONEY!!!!!!!

berkeley me, berkeley my sister, berkeley our kids.  Not, the uncle gets it to pad his retirement.  If this doesn't get changed today I'll be getting a lawyer and possibly slapping the E36 M3 out of an uncle I thought was an alright guy.

Unbelievable.

Money makes people stupid, and 35k buys a lot of stupid for some.

Did you have it in writing that you were inheriting the 35k?

Sorry to hear this , 

Hopefully you know a lawyer who will tell you the truth and not just be into billable hours !

But if the court gave the $$$ to your step mother then she can probably do what she wants to do with it.....

Think of a plan to talk your step mother out of giving extra to your uncle , once you go with a lawyer she will clam up  , maybe say it's for the kids education etc

KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:

Apparently my goddammed uncle got to her and plead some case about him needing the money (he's already getting $75K)

Ugh, greed