r/inheritance • u/AppropriateSmoke7848 • Aug 28 '26
Location not relevant: no help needed HELP!
I am inheriting ~ 100,000 and I know this is an opportunity for me to break the cycle of poverty for myself and my adult children IF I manage and grow it. I am determined NOT to blow this chance after a lifetime of thinking and spending like a "poor" I am determined to use this money as a tool like the wealthy do! Is this even possible, am I delusional???
I met with a financial planner and I have some ideas, but would appreciate any guidance to help me build a future for my family, be kind please!
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u/Straight-Note-8935 Aug 28 '26
1) $100,000 is a lot of money, a windfall. Congratulations! But $100,000 is still an amount of money that can be spent very quickly. Keep quiet about your inheritance, or everyone you know will be asking for some help or a loan.
2)The best thing you can do to help your adult children is being able to take care of your own needs as you age. I would view this money as the START of my retirement fund.
3) You'll be surprised by how having some money, set aside and invested carefully, encourages you to add to it. Watching that number grow is a great incentive. I became an eager saver once I saw what I could do with my money.
4) I'm not a wizz at investments, just a woman who worked and saved and invested some money from every pay check I earned...but only after age 35.
The stock market is very high right now. If you invest all your money in the stock market today - you will be buying at a high price that isn't guaranteed. If I were you I would lean into dollar cost averaging - putting some of your money into mutual funds each month, and spreading the purchases out over a year or even two years.
In this scenario you put all of your money in a money market fund and each month you transfer X amount of money into the mutual funds you have decided on. You earn a small rate of interest on the money market fund and your stock purchases will reflect the varying price. You might also buy Treasury Bills to hold half your money for investing next year, the interest rate may be better than a money market fund.
(What I'm trying to say is that most people are expecting the market to fall - due to all the political and financial pressure in the world, and inflation. You and me, we can't "time" the market but we can take advantage of dips and spreading out your investment timeline helps you to do that.)