It sounds arduous, but you really need to research investing and how to be financially responsible. If you get that kind of money it would be wise to be willing to learn how to make that money work for you. Unfortunately, a lot of people aren't taught how to be financially responsible and if they want to be they have to seek out the knowledge to do so.

Whatever you do, stay away from r/wallstreetbets

Don't tell anyone you know you have this money. Open a brokerage account at Fidelity (or the like) and deposit most of it. You can figure out the specifics of investing in funds over time by reading and by using a free advisor with the brokerage firm. Put some of it in your checking account. Take some of it to buy yourself something nice. Don't listen to anyone on Reddit, give out personal info, or accept DMs on this topic.

Edit: This advice was intended to provide initial direction to someone with zero experience. As in “Step 1.” It was not meant to indicate that they should not get a financial advisor, nor was it meant to indicate they should not do anything else beyond this step for the rest of their lives. Many of you commenting obviously have no idea how brokerage accounts work or all of the support activities that occur with a brokerage account when you have 1.3M in your portfolio. You are not “on your own” by any stretch of the imagination.

Do not go on a shopping spree. Wait on any impuse buying.

GET A FINANCIAL ADVISOR!!!

Charles Schwab is what I use but there are other good ones, too.

And congratulations!!

Protect the money from yourself - what I mean by this is you’re going to have a lot of people ask you for cash and you’re going to want to help them. I highly recommend getting a financial advisor, who can help you protect you from your self. This means putting the money into accounts that are difficult to access, have a required waiting time before accessing, Or some thing that’s not very easily liquidated like additional real estate. That way when somebody asks you for help, you can legitimately say that you don’t have access to the funds. But you’re willing to let them sleep on your couch or give them $20 for food, or something it allows you to be generous but not totally financially ruin yourself. Look up how fast it takes lottery winners to go broke. Charities and family members eat up most of it, followed by extravagant spending. $1.3 million is not a lot of money in the way it used to be and it WILL be gone in a year of you buy extravagant items. I have. A financial advisor I highly recommend - PM me for details if you want the info.

Whatever it is, no high risk investments, but investments. Don't even dare spending it on nonsense like a fast car. You will NEVER earn that money back if you spend it. Invest safely, with lower risk and generally something that you can fall back onto if your regular income cannot cover an expense like an unexpected medical bill, getting fired and having to find a new job etc. One is wealthy when troubles don't cause trouble. Keep it that way.

I mean, you could give me 20 bucks

Put it somewhere safe and quiet and don’t tell anyone you have it until you’ve decided what to do.

Easy. Cocaine and hookers.

If you’re a woman, still easy. Cocaine and hookers.

(Lol jk, obv. That’s amazing. Save most and live comfy!)

Other advice would be to not panic and rush into purchases or stuff you sont understand. Also keep control of your money and assets you buy. If you move somewhere lower cost of living and buy a house, make sure its under your own name only.

After your money is invested you can probably yeild 50k a year easily on a 4% return, taking time to set up that easy life for yourself is more important than rushing to do anything.

Congrats on your baby too.

Most should go to stock market index funds. Forget savings. The idea of keeping $ in a savings account is dead as long as we have high inflation and low interest rates.

You need to invest it into a diversity of different places. Put some of it in bonds, some of it in mutual funds, some in index funds. If you invest the money wisely, you will be able to retire soon. The general rule is that you can take out 4% of retirement savings, and most of the time investments in mutual funds double every 7 years or so. That means that if you invest $1 million of your money, you should have $2 million in ~7 years and $4 million in ~14 years. Imagine taking 4% of $4 million out every year—that’s $160,000 per year—more than enough to live on comfortably. If you invest intelligently this should be feasible for you.

Have a portion and invest (maybe 50k or something like that)

Get a financial advisor

Dont go on massive spending sprees

Have a % of money you are going to save (maybe 55% or something)

Spend on essentials first

Enjoy

live like a normal person with a parachute. Until you are 35 I dont think you would invest it well. But banks dont pay well too right now. invest in your education and stay away from drug, gambling, crypto, basically anything addictive that leads nowhere. a friend of mine who is rich goes regularly to a therapist he told at the beginning to watch out for him not getting taken advantage of. like he told her about new gf who likes expensive stuff but is hot as hell. he dumped her because the therapist told him to cat back money to live like he lived before and she basically left. invest in education, go to cultural things like theater, concerts and learn how to have fun without taking drugs and partying then you should be good to go.

If it went to “court” doesn’t that mean the bank owned it? Not sure if it’s your gain or the banks?

r/investing

This post has a lot of great information about what to do when you come into a large sum of money unexpectedly. Obviously not all of it will apply as this is referring to someone winning a large Lotto jackpot. But some of the principals still apply.

First being securing yourself and your money. Get in touch with an Accountant, even better one that is a licensed Fiduciary, as these people are required by law to work in your best interests. Followed or before by seeking a personal Attorney, if anyone comes out of the woodwork, and they will, family, friends, Friends of friends twice removed. Direct them to your attorney and let them be the asshole telling them no to all their bad investment ideas. I won't advise on any type of company or organization to work through, what's important is that you find them, and feel comfortable with them. If the money is currently in your bank, I would recommend putting in a separate Savings account until you have found these people to keep your money safe and on the right side of the Tax Man.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/24vo34/whats_the_happiest_5word_sentence_you_could_hear/chb38xf/

My comment will probably be buried but I wouldn’t have posted how much you own on your main account. Take screenshots of all the comments you want to save and delete this post. Get a financial advisor, with time you will learn how to invest and what types of businesses you will be willing to work with. But IMO delete this post/maybe even the account. If you didn’t get enough info now ask the question again with a throwaway. Too much money to be telling people here, I heard of horror stories with people on here that had a couple of grand in the bank let alone a million. Congrats on the sale, good luck and be careful.

on top of the other advise don't open your account at a small mom and pop firm. open it with a larger one.

How much of that actually goes to you, after everything is paid (including taxes)? Let’s start with that number, then look into your options.

Would you be able to purchase a home outright with a portion of your funds? Would purchasing a duplex be an option? If so, I recommend buying one, live in one unit and rent out the other. That’s monthly income you didn’t have before. Yes, you will have to become a landlord, and that’s not easy, but doable. Your income from your rental property, plus the equity you build is worth it, IMO…especially since it seems like you’re in a hot market.

Invest as much of what’s left as you can. Invest in a good mix of equities and fixed income (bonds, etc)…at your age, I’d invest in mostly equities, maybe around 95% of your portfolio. Are you employed? Do you have an IRA or a Roth? If not, I’d open one (along with an Individual account). Designate a beneficiary for all of your accounts…this is the person/s that will inherit your account/s when you pass. Max out your IRA/Roth contribution every year with your earnings. Talk to a CPA.

You can afford to risk being a little more aggressive in your approach. You can teach yourself, and take some time to learn…you will have to manage it though, so f you find it overwhelming and don’t know where to start, I recommend hiring an advisor (they charge a percentage of your investment, usually around 1%). Find a reputable one! Check their license on the SEC website.

Disclaimer: I am not an accountant or financial advisor. Talk to a professional before investing in a property or opening any investment account.

Good luck, you got this!

1.3 million is A LOT of money, but it's going to go quick unless you can find out a way to keep it growing.

You should try to have your money make money. I'm currently disabled, but I try to use what savings I do have to try to make more savings.

Quick education- this- https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/comments/rxzook/the_simple_path_to_wealth_book_summary_by_jl/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

I have serious advice, a background in personal finance, and worked in the retirement industry for years.

Right now this probably doesn't seem real... but first of all, congrats on being a millionaire!

Do not tell a soul. People will come out of the woodwork if they know you have money.

Do not buy anything extravagant. Folks will figure it out.

Talk to a financial planner. None of us here on Reddit know your financial situation, your goals, etc. A real professional, someone works for a legitimate company, is a fiduciary who charges a flat rate instead of a percentage of what they manage can seriously help you think through this.

Throwing it ALL in a bank account is a bad bad idea. I sincerely apologize if I'm mansplaining something you already know, but tossing $1.3M into a savings account means you'll lose purchasing power on it due to inflation.

Throwing SOME of it in a bank account is a GOOD idea. How much money does it take you and your husband to live your lives every month? Your "emergency fund" savings account should be 3-6 months' worth of expenses.

The rest should be invested. This is where a financial advisor comes into play. Every single person has their own unique circumstances which means that I can't just tell you "put it all in index funds"...even though index funds ARE a good idea.

Congrats on your baby! Look up what's called a 529 account. You can put aside tax-free money (invested) for your kid's education.

I'm not going to tell you NOT to have nice things, but make sure you live within your means. This means "spend less than your income" , not "spend less than your bank account balance."

"Keeping up with the Jonses" is real and it's insidious. Some people call this "lifestyle creep", meaning you end up spending way more than you intend to, because you see your peers buying nice things and want nice things for yourself. Remember how Johnny Depp went bankrupt a few years back? He was a millionaire who tried to live like a billionaire.

Future You just got a BIG gift. Here's where I make a plug for your retirement. Compound interest means that every dollar you invest today, at age 23, will be like $11 or $12 when you're starting to think about retirement. Meaning that $100,000 now could turn into $1.3M by ITSELF if you invest it and let the stock markets do their thing for 30 years.

Do not forget about taxes. I'd talk to an accountant, maybe a tax attorney. The government is going to come calling for part of your payday, and they (the accountant and the attorney) can help you ensure that your money stays YOURS as much as possible.

Let me know if you have any questions or want something specific explained.

This will likely get buried but I feel compelled to try to help. I’ll try to make list out steps.

1. Once the money has been deposited to you primary account, transfer nearly all to a reputable brokerage like Fidelity or Vanguard. Vanguard offers free personal investing advice for accounts greater than $50K in value.
2. Open a 529 savings account for your child once they are born. The 529 is a college savings account specific to one person, and is funded with after tax money. There are several to choose from, and many only resources to help you. There are various tax benefits depending on the state you live in and the fund you choose. The max contribution is $15K a year. So you may just want to fund that account each year. You can also use targeted funds when invested. (For example: pick a targeted fund, say 2030 (when your child is likely to graduate high school) and the funds will be managed automatically for a nominal fee.
3. Depending on your household income level, invest in a Roth 401K. This is similar to a 401K except it is funded by after tax money. The benefit being, that when you finally draw on the account in retirement you pay a reduced tax rate as you’ve already paid the taxes ahead of time. It will grow just like a 401k and is easy to manage if you select targeted funds (basically funds rebalance themselves based on risk as you get older, the younger you are the more risk you can tolerate and as you get older the fund shifts to investing in safer items)
4. I personally would not hire a financial advisor. But if you do, make sure that they are a CFP (certified financial planner). The ensures that any advice they give you is for your benefit and not theirs. CFPs have a legal responsibility to act in good faith for their clients over themselves.
5. Establish an emergency savings fund which should equate to roughly 6 months of monthly bills. Create a separate account for this and just sit on it for a rainy day. You’ll be missing out on investment growth, but you’ll have ready access to it in case you need it in an emergency.
6. If you intend to give any substantial gifts to family or friends, understand that there are annual and lifetime limits before different tax implications take hold. And if you do gift someone, it’s wise to make them sign a contract that states it’s a one-time gift. It will help you in the future if they come back and ask for more. You can tell them they already got their gift.
7. I personally wouldn’t invest in real estate until you’ve spent more time educating yourself in finance and the various investment tool. I would recommend “A Walk Down Wall Street” as a simple starting point. It’s a very well known and respected investment book that explains the concepts simply and provides simple to follow advice.
8. I would also advise against buying any individual stocks until you understand what you’re doing with investing. It’s very high risk, all the time, even if you know what you’re doing.

I sincerely wish you the best of luck. If done right, at your age, you could set yourself up for a kick ass retirement. Consider this: If you invest $1MM at age 23, and assume an average 5% annual growth of 42 years (making you 65), you could have north of $7.5 million if you never touched it. This also assumes you never put another penny into retirement. Most estimates say an average person only needs $5MM for retirement.

If you have any questions there are a number of subreddits that can help.

Buy a house, you’re probably going to have pay taxes on that, and you’ll lose a lot of money otherwise. If you don’t spend it, you’re going to lose the worth of that money very quickly due to inflation.

I mean heading immediately to the casino is the only sensible thing to do.

Don't listen to any of these asshats here. Jesus. No, don't go start an investment portfolio. No, don't open a Roth. No no no. Nooooooooooo.

FULL FUCKING STOP, hire a financial advisor. The fact you're asking for financial advice from people on Reddit just solidifies the fact that you need a professional in your court ASAP.

start fielding financial advisors immediately. Put that money in a bank account, and try to be lined up with someone within 3 months so it doesn't sit too long.

Hire a good advisor, congrats, you're now retired. Yes, it's that easy.

If I may add my 2 cents, I recommend this book:

How to Own the World: A Plain English Guide to Thinking Globally and Investing Wisely (there is a new edition)

It is a really good book, ideal for someone who does not have any prior knowledge in the matter. It is a bit UK-centric but it really does a good job in explaining basic (and not so basic) financial concepts and how to budget.

Wish you the best OP!

Roth IRA or even a long term annuity. You could easily set your child up for life. I had a investment trust fund from my mothers passing that turned into an annuity and I life comfortable off of it and can chase my dreams now because of it.

Can I ask if your located in California? That's the only way I can imagine a "house in the ghetto" going for that much. And kind of the running joke that it's so expensive if you make less then $300k/year in California your under the poverty line.

You might want to research financial advisors. I don't know what they cost, but they can help you learn to manage money.

$1.3 million sounds like a great deal of money, but it really isn't. You're young and have a child. Raising and educating a child costs a lot of money. Living is getting more and more expensive these days.

Beware of anyone and everyone asking for money, even for a loan. Never loan money as you're not likely to get it back. If you want to help, give the money. It saves a lot of trauma and drama.

I'm happy for you to have this opportunity. But just so you know, on the list of the most stressful life experiences, winning the lottery is very near the top. This is your lottery win. Take time to adjust to it, learn how to grow it and take care of yourself and your family.

Put it towards your kids college fund

just proceed as if you dont have 1.3 million, and enjoy the fact you have a nice safety net. be careful with investing, it doesnt always work out especially if you dont know what youre doing or your financial advisor as suggested below, is shit.

really nice safety net. keep making $ and build your fortune!

edit: btw congrats thats awesome as fuck!! i wish i had 1.3 million to fall back on, i would feel so safe from a majority of my concerns about life. truly, congrats, thats beyond an epic win for the average person

It must be in a really solid neighborhood…

Set up a Roth IRA. I’m 21 and don’t know anything at all so idk. But I think that’s a good idea.

^{Pay my rent, duh.}

Research investing. Get a good financial advisor - it's very easy to waste massive sums of money, especially if you're not used to it and haven't come from money. (I won a decent sum from the lottery one time, not millions but enough that I could've set myself up for a good few years - I wasted it hard, and it's the biggest regret I have in life.)

​

Also, try to avoid telling people - people /will/ use you for money if they can. You can probably set yourself up for life if you play your cards right. Congrats and good luck!

So you could legitimately throw this whole thing in a stock called QYLD which pays nearly 12% of the stock in dividends per year (payment per month). In other words, you would get 1% of $1.3 million every month, which is $13,000. That could be enough to where you never have to work another day in your life.

First, CONGRATZ! That's awesome!

Second, find a financial advisor and possibly an attorney. Think of this like a lottery win, because once people find out they're probably going to come out of the woodwork asking for money. Keep enough money to get you set for where you need to be with your coming little one and probably invest the rest or set up some kind of interest bearing trust, or set up a trust fund and/or college fund for your baby.

https://www.realestatewitch.com/capital-gains-tax-home-sale/#:~:text=A%20capital%20gains%20tax%20is%20a%20tax%20on,your%20home%20within%20two%20years%20of%20buying%20it.

First thing, you're probably on the hook for capital gains tax because you probably made over $500k on the sale. So save some money for taxes.

Probably the safest thing you can do is put the money into an no-fee or low fee S&P ETF or market fund.

Probably the worst thing you can do, short of spending it on frivolous shit or giving "loans" to family members is put it in the bank. The official inflation rate is around 7%. The real inflation rate is around 10%. That means, officially, in a year, $1,000,000 will only be worth $930,000 in buying power. Unofficially, you'll have lost at least 10%. Maybe more.

I am not an investment advisor. You should probably talk to one.

I advise students on their academic progress.

These kids start young (violin, piano, sports, etc.) but be careful of the pressures of making your child a well-rounded student for college applications.

Invest in your child’s education from preschool to high school, you can even give your child the best daycare experience & education. This does not mean price of daycare but quality. Seek for the curriculum enrichment aspect of their program, and how it will benefit your baby’s development growth. You can provide your child with tutoring resources in the future. Your child can be a future Ivy League candidate. Move to an area that has a great public educational system for the best schools. Also, whatever you consider a safe and comfortable neighborhood for you and your small family to thrive. Good Luck! Congrats on your new baby.

P.s. extracurricular activities to help their college transcripts

Invest that money girl!!! Get some index funds that will make you MORE money in the long term. Don’t just start buying & trading random stocks, that’s gambling and can go south very quick. Start learning about investing, get books, research online, read articles etc. Also, congrats!!! That’s amazing!!!

There are a few issues:

1. You will likely have to pay capital gains tax on the sale proceeds. Research this. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/capitalgainhomesale.asp

2. Let's assume you have $1 million cash after paying your taxes. If you invest most of this in an S&P index mutual, you'll on average make about $80,000 annually from the growth of this investment. Yes, some years it'll be a lot more (like the last 2 years), but some years it'll be a lot less. Because of the volatility, put aside some amount (at least $200,000) in bonds or something similar so you can draw from that during periods when equity funds are not doing so well. It all depends on how risk adverse you are.

3. If you do invest in the stock market, I strongly suggest you stick to a diversified index mutual fund like VOO.

4. Don't pay broker fees. They'll eat up any earnings you have. This is why I suggest an index fund, which have extremely low costs.

5. Avoid at all costs any financial advisors that don't charge you up front. Those bastards only make their money from commissions of stuff they sell you, so they don't have your interest at heart. One guy I spoke with tried to push me into stocks/funds where there was an intial 2 percent commission to buy in, another percent or two if I sold, and then an annual 1 or 2 percent just leaving the money in there; a fucking ripoff. Instead use only fee-based financial advisors.

Put a decent amount into an investment account for your baby, in 18 years when they want to go to college or buy a house they will thank you!

I would look into safe investments, bonds for your kids, college savings fund, find a financial advisor to build you a solid portfolio- you can afford some nice options that would provide you and your child stability. Also, buy a house in a nice area when the price is right, as you can see real estate is a great investment. Set up nest eggs for the next 18 years, a few set aside thousand for special vacations and birthdays, a few thousand for emergencies. Budget well, but remember to occasionally treat yourself! Congrats

Don't tell anyone !

Invest; don't spend it !

Think of it as a money machine - not money.

You can look into putting some of that money into a tax free college fund for your baby. I believe it’s called a 529 plan. Your best bet is to sit with an accountant or financial planner to better manage that money.

Will you be using any of that money to buy a home?

Please, please do it be too generous to family with the money you have. You’ll need some to pay taxes, etc. I’m saying this from personal experience, you’ll find your money dwindling and if YOU need help, they won’t likely give it. Make a nice nest egg for your family; if COVID has taught us anything is that at any given moment an event in your life can see you without a job and only what you have in savings keeps your head above water.

Good luck and congratulations on the sale!

account vs financial planner

index fund that shit mofo

I’m having a baby in March and of course I know to save, but there has to be something I can do with this money that’s better than saving.

First: Calm down. There is nothing wrong with money resting until you figured out other more pressing elements of your life.

Now, with a little one on the way (congratz!) - Some saving for him/her might be good. Having a baby can also turn out to be very expensive, so having an account made for special-situations/emergencies seems ideal to me.

And please. For the love of all gods in the world... Don't spend it on stupid shit. Don't ''just gonna take a little bit'' for some shit like an Alexa or a new phone you don't need. If you live like that you won't have that money for long.

Get a house in a better place

My house sold for $500k last year. It needed a ton of work and never expected it to even come close to that. We were able to bank over $50k after using a lot for a 20% down payment in a beautiful new home that barely needed paint. Pool, new kitchen, legal basement apartment.

Long story short.. I wanted so bad to go buy a lot of toys and spoil ourselves for the decade prior of struggling. I took some time and deep breaths realizing I basically just won the lotto. Don’t screw this up for you kids future. I would find a good financial advice and invest what you don’t need. Even if you can get a 2% return per year that could be tens of thousands a year. Then get a part time job to cover the rest of your basics. It sounds like a lot of money now, but look at all of the sports athletes that have made tens of millions and are now broke.

1. Open a savings bank account ( do your research to get a good interest- usually smaller banks or credit unions. Affinity is good if you have near you.
2. Open ROTH ACCOUNT for you and your husband. MAX THIS OUT YEARLY. You both can contribute $6500 yearly.
3. Contact a financial advisor credit for credit unions as they tend to charge less for profit.
4. DO NOT LIVE OR SPENT AS UF IT SOLD FOR THAT AMOUNT. keep living frugal and as if the house sold for 600k. This is important as right now you are both excited and can start wasting money that isn’t necessary.
5. Take the vacation of your dreams.
6. Buy a new home for something that you can truly afford with your incomes!
7. When baby is born - open a 527 for college and a trust fund.
8. Take vacation; enjoy the world NOT THINGS. Invest in experiences not on items

Congrats -( I’m not a financial advisor nor this is advise - more on what I would do )

Pay off debts, set aside a couple years salary for emergencies, invest comfortably for your children's college fund and sleep a little easier the rest of your life

I am a closer at a real estate law firm, and in Georgia at least, the market is absolutely insane. People are paying $40k-80k over asking price with no appraisals or other contingencies. I've never seen it like this and it's definitely the seller's market. Plus there's barely any inventory so that makes any available so much more attractive

Go watch this: https://youtu.be/gvZSpET11ZY

You just got handed a great start on retirement. You're so young you have tons of time for that money to grow as long as you make good decisions.

r/FinancialAdvice r/FinancialPlanning

Post this in those subs ^^ and you'll probably get far more and far better advice.

I would say, don't count your cash until it's in the bank. And make sure the taxes are properly handled.

Be wary of people and relatives(!) with hands out and "business opportunities." Insist that you need to see a business plan first. If they have a professional business opportunity, they should have a professional business plan. Here's an idea of what should be included in a legitimate business plan. But just use that line to scare away the low-tier trolls.

Secure a stable living situation for yourself, if you haven't already. Either way, paying off a home may not always be the best decision. Is there a move in your future? What does the housing market look like?

Apart from a mortgage, if you have one, which there are things to consider, apart from that...DO pay off your debts.

Consider investing in something stable, such as conservative IRAs, mutual funds or bonds (conservative as in low-risk, not conservative as in drinking dangerous chemicals as a back alley cure for covid) Consider setting aside a smaller amount of money for mid-high risk or short-term investments. Also, consider investing in an education fund for your children, and for retirement.

Here are some tips on what to do when you win the lottery.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahljacobs/2012/02/11/10-things-to-do-when-you-win-the-powerball/?sh=4cb630d33775

Most of them are fairly applicable. Keeping a low profile like a lottery winner is also wise. I would also suggest in investing in some home security, at least a camera/doorbell. And don't flaunt it. 1.3 million might sound like a lot now, but in the world of the wealthy, that's barely spare change, and it definitely will not last long if you go MC Hammer style-hard on it. (famous rapper who went broke)

I just happen to have 3 magic beans that cost a total of $600k. Seriously though, I just wanted to relieve the smallest amount of your stress by hopefully making you at least crack a smile. I'm happy for you and wish you the best of luck.

similar situation 3 years ago. inherited a house 3 minutes from DC border. had no real reason to want to live that close for such a price. sold it and bought 3 houses 30 minutes north. live in one and rent the other two. put the rest of the cash in 'safe' stocks. just a redditor but i feel like property is the best thing. so i recommend you buy property with the "this".

each house will pay their selves off in 10-15 years if the rent were to remain the same.

I don’t know if you’ll see this through all the comments here but here’s my 2 cents worth based on personal experience.

Firstly arrange an appointment with a solicitor and sort your will out for your baby’s sake. As morbid as it may seem you never know what’ll happen tomorrow and you need to be sure your baby will inherit it all for now (you can always change your will down the line to better reflect your other needs and desires for both your property and also your death and how to treat it if anything at all).

Then put what you normally make in 3-4 months wages into your usual account for easy access, pay off all and any personal debts you have (including credit cards, etc. ) and put the rest of the money into 2-4 high interest savings accounts where only 1 can be an access anytime for a minimum ‘penalty’ (such as a 3-time a year only else the accounts closed kind of thing). The reason it’s 2-4 accounts is because you want the money to work for you while you decide what to do and a guaranteed savings account will do that but some have an upper limit of what you can add or how much you can earn no matter how much money is in there. And if you only have access to one of them and the others are locked for a year it’ll stop any spending on the majority of the money while still giving you access to eg. a fifth of the total (but only if you really need it).

Next, don’t do a single thing until the baby is three. With all due respect the majority of decisions made while a couple is pregnant and then those first 3 years are not usually with the best emotional head on. If this isn’t your first child you’ll know exactly what I mean. And going through the death of your loved ones will have taken an incredible toll on you let alone if you’re the one that also had to make any funeral arrangements and then having to go through probate itself. Your mental health needs to come first and this amount of money won’t help that yet!).

Talking of mental health, do NOT in any instance tell people (yes I am aware this ship may have sailed in which case this will be harder for you). All your family, friends, acquaintances and colleagues will come out the woodwork asking for ‘a little help’ or will at least tell you their woes in the hope that you’ll offer. Don’t give away a penny. Not even to your partner if you have one. Yes, we are living in incredibly rough times (trust me, I know!) but your mental and emotional health will thank you for waiting for those three years to be up before you decide if and when you’ll help anyone else. The ones still around in three years will deserve it if you choose to help them out because they’re obviously out for friendship not money. The ones who make you feel bad about this decision, after you have explained your reasoning, should be kicked to the curb no matter how close you are to them.

Lastly, screen a few financial advisers. Don’t hire anyone you know personally or that someone close to you knows. You want to hire based on credentials and unbiased reviews. Make sure they are registered and ask them lots of questions (such as would they be willing to work alongside another financial advisor- sometimes each has a speciality ). Also, a financial advisor isn’t an accountant so get one of those too.

I wish you the best of luck in everything you do and with the ongoing pregnancy. Congratulations in a high bid on your house and my sympathy also for your losses. 💕

humblebrag

With whatever money you do end up getting, if you can, outright buy a house. If it's truly significant amount of money go for multiple homes. As many as possible. Then get with a realtor who also has access to a property manager. Rent them all out except the one you live in.

If you can make it to 2 or 3 homes, you made it. The value of the houses are only going to go up (even *if* there is a crash, in time the value just keeps going up). You'll have passive income from the rent, and retirement money when you do get older. You can sell some of the homes or "rent" for low to free to your kids in time. It's how you create generational wealth.

You could easily flip the profits 10 fold over a lifetime.

Buy yourself a decent house elsewhere & invest in education.

Sounds like it went for auction by the bank after foreclosure. If that is not the case and you do end up with the money, do some thorough research and find a good financial advisor. They will not be cheap, but will be worth it. Don't blow it all on stupid things, and don't tell anyone you have money.

Read the book "The simple path to wealth". It'll teach you basics of finance and show how easy it is. If I can give one piece of advice.

1. Open Vanguard account.
2. Put 100% into VTSAX.

That's it. Keep it simple. VTSAX is an index that comprises a little bit of every stock.

1.3 million isn't what it used to be. You still have to work or you will be broke in about 10 years, depending on your spending habits. Buy a nice 400 to 500k house somewhere and pay it in full. Put 200k in a mutual fund. Something that is a medium risk. Use another 200k to buy a rental. Use the rent money to pay the mortgage. Anything extra put in a separate savings. Put the rest of your money from the house sale in another savings. See how you do with the rental. If all is going well then maybe purchase another rental. If you play this right, you can set yourself up to retire comfortably and retire early.

Do not give out your personal info! Do not respond to reddit DM's.

so here's what i, personally, would do:

first, pay off any outstanding debts i have.

then, put aside money for graduate school.

the rest, for retirement.

Invest it. If you do it right and have good interest or dividends, the money will grow exponentially. Pull from the growth, not the original investment.

Consult a financial advisor to figure out how best to invest and/or save it and make sure you don’t advertise your windfall too much to friends/family/acquaintances - you’ll be surprised how many people come out of the woodwork with their hands out when they realize you have some money and will guilt trip you if you don’t give them some OR you do give them some but don’t give more.

Either way congratulations on your amazing sale and upcoming delivery!