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pay off high interest debt
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top off your emergency fund so you don’t run into expensive short-on-money situations
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take care of deferred maintenance on your car or house that might turn into an expensive repair
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If you have an employer sponsored 401k, increase the contribution amount to get 10k more tax free into it before the end of the year and use the $10k cash in hand for expenses.
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Open a roth IRA and contribute the maximum amount you can (which may vary based on your income)
VT, VTI, and SPY are good broad-market funds with good historical growth.
I used to not have any doubts about a Roth, but I’ve been considering that maybe it’s a little too much like giving the government a free loan. Do you know if there’s a thorough comparison anywhere between a traditional and Roth IRA that takes into consideration the opportunity cost of paying tax on the contributions?
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There is no universally good investment - it all depends on your priorities, risk appetite and timeframe.
Leave the country while you still can? 🤓🤘🏽
If you don’t have an emergency fund, I would put some or all of it into something like a money market account. It won’t grow very much, but it’s safe and is quick and easy to withdraw when needed.
Otherwise depends on your age and situation, but an index fund (S&P 500) is almost always the right choice. It’s flexible, doesn’t usually lock you in, and will generally do very well in the mid-to-long term. If we hit a recession you might get stuck holding the shares for several months to a few years. The last thing you want to do is panic sell in that situation.
If you have any debt, paying that down is a very smart move, especially if the debt is charging more interest than your investment can earn. Future you will thank you.
Depends on your risk tolerance.
A 4% savings account is “safe” but might not keep up with inflation.
An index fund might be “good”, but the value can go down.
IIRC, >6% is the floor to keep up…
The average inflation rate for the last 20 years is under 3%
Oh? That’s actually uplifting news! 😅🖖🏽
Put it in an IRA so you cant touch it and buy high dividedend yeilding stocks that reinvest in more shares and let it sit for the next decade and pray that there is a radical social change in out society so we can save the Planet and Poor from Billionaires.
You can definitely touch an IRA. Had to empty mine since I’ve been unemployed.
High yield savings account at SoFi or Ally Bank will give you 4% right now.
No offense, but that sounds like a terrible idea.
Vanguard recently started offering a savings account that currently has a 4.15% APY (their ‘cash plus’ account).
If OP wants to park the money in a savings account for easier access than a mutual fund, that’s both a more reliable institution and a better rate.