Inherited over 500k. Plan to Completely Overhaul my Life

Invest the $500,000 wisely and keep doing what you are doing.

Otherwise you will be bankrupt within 5 years.

Unfortunately, that’s not life altering money. Use the money to go back to school. How about becoming a veterinarian?

Invest the $ and retire in 10 years. You will have plenty of time to start a new career at 44. Just a thought.

I'm assuming that since you are planning on taking productive working years of your life off to travel that you have no outstanding debts, are single and have no kids. A 500K inheritance is nice and gives you the opportunity to try something else, but won't last forever (especially when it comes to kids, healthcare, etc.). If you're single, do whatever you enjoy. If your married and have others that rely on you, do what you enjoy responsibly.

Congrats on the inheritance, it's very rare for anybody to inherit that much and you are very, very lucky.

My advice: don't go crazy. The money can be life-changing but it's not ultimate financial freedom. I inherited about half as much when my dad died and as tempting as it is to hit the reset button on life, you shouldn't. You need to find out what makes you happy. For my wife and I, 250k meant that kids colleges and our retirement are paid for instantly (assuming most of it is in low-risk investments that will grow substantially over 40 or so years) and that reduced a ton of stress! Now, with nothing to save for, we're able to live more in the present. That means spending a couple thousand more on vacations without thinking, never worrying about bills, and I also upgraded my car a bit since I drive about 2 hours a day for work. But what makes me happy is my family, friends, and having the time to do stuff with them on weekends. No stress = great life.

You mentioned doing something entrepreneurial. If that means starting a business, you need to be wary. A business is a 24/7 job and you may be more miserable trying to make something profitable than the comfortable job you have now even if it's boring. You may blow a lot of the 500k trying to keep a failing business or two afloat. Most businesses fail. Don't be that couple from Kitchen Nightmares that opened a restaurant after retiring because it was their dream and 10 years later they realized they were 1 million in the red in a restaurant that failed.

If you make 50k/year, that's 500k in 10 years. Think of the 500k as a 50k/year salary boost for 10 years, and invest/spend/whatever you want but don't change your entire life up. Taking 3-5 years off work means a lot of money spent but not much gained.

Anyways sorry for the long post but good luck. If you consider yourself to be pretty happy currently, then you're doing the right things in life. Don't change those.

Depending on your debt load, retirement savings and lifestyle, that money will be gone in three years if you aren't very careful and diligent. It would be smart to invest it conservatively as a nest egg and stay at your current work, especially if you're in debt.

You don't provide enough extra info about your situation for posters to make reasonable comments beyond the above, IMO. FWIW, I've never known someone who searched for the grand career move who wasn't disappointed. All work is just that, work. It's also possible that work that people are most interested in doesn't pay or is not a good fit for reasons they couldn't anticipate. Why not consider that money as a way to kick start an earlier retirement timeframe than you would have attained?

use the money to change your life for the better, sure, but don't quit your job before you have another job.

You want to train to do something else? Fine, great, better yourself...but DO NOT quit work while you do that learning. Not at your age. You will look like a flake to potential hirers.

Whereas if you never stop working even as you learn to do something else, you'll look like a dependable good guy, a super hire.

And like others have said...these days $500k can go away very fast.

Invest the $500k in good mutual funds and that money will set you up for life. The 500k alone obviously isn't life-changing money, but if you invest it in mutual funds returning 10-12% you can expect that account to be worth 7 figures in the next decade.

Moral of the story, that sum of money makes it such that your primary income/career is no longer the choke point for having financial freedom later in life. Do something, anything, that just pays your basic expenses and makes you happy now, and don't touch that account and you'll never have to worry about money again in the future.

I don’t think you would do this as you’re looking to take few years off, but here’s what you should do. What you want to do is invest the entire amount. If you’re not investment savvy, just put in some plan with target retirement date of 30 years from now. You can reach out to Vanguard or Fidelity and they should have some funds that you can invest your money. The reason for this is this. If you give 30 years and if you’re getting conservative 8> return. That money will grow to over $5 million. With over $5 million, you can safely withdraw 4% or $200k every year and money will most likely not run out. So, at age 64 on, you can live large. You can even live large now since if you decide to invest the whole amount now, you don’t have to worry about saving for retirement. You can just use all of the money that you earn and be fine.

I on the other hand would prefer to retire earlier so I would contribute more towards retirement but at least you have options.

Buy a castle in a third world country and live like a king for the rest of your life.

You just went from vacation rental to ownership. At least that is what I spent on a vacation home.

Oh yah I totally agree - but I think it's enough money to allow me a couple years to successfully transition careers if I'm frugal and diligent.

Doc Sloth wrote:

Unfortunately, that’s not life altering money. Use the money to go back to school. How about becoming a veterinarian?

I would rather invest a bit in myself and do something I enjoy for the next 20 years and not work this current drudgery for another decade.

TMADDOX wrote:

Invest the $ and retire in 10 years. You will have plenty of time to start a new career at 44. Just a thought.

I have no kids. I have a girlfriend who is 5 years younger than me. My first step would be to identify and get the credentials for a new career. The travel is secondary if I have enough time/money. I also only plan on spending a fraction of the 500k to support study over the next year or 2.

joedirt wrote:

I'm assuming that since you are planning on taking productive working years of your life off to travel that you have no outstanding debts, are single and have no kids. A 500K inheritance is nice and gives you the opportunity to try something else, but won't last forever (especially when it comes to kids, healthcare, etc.). If you're single, do whatever you enjoy. If your married and have others that rely on you, do what you enjoy responsibly.

Thanks - it was a big surprise it ended up being that much. Thanks for the thoughtful post. More than starting a business, I just want to have some more autonomy and do something that is intellectually engaging - my job is not this.

Happy to provide any extra info you might need! 1 - I have no debt and about 80k in savings and investments to add to the 500k so now approx. 580k in total. 2 - My plan would be to use approx. 100k over the next 3 years for living and study expenses and then an additional 30-50k for travel the year after that so I will invest the vast majority of that money. 3 - I've thought about grinding it our for another 15 years or so but this job is very boring and turning my brain into mush and my life enjoyment way down. This money presents an opportunity to transition effectively away from that.

CancelllLRC wrote:

Depending on your debt load, retirement savings and lifestyle, that money will be gone in three years if you aren't very careful and diligent. It would be smart to invest it conservatively as a nest egg and stay at your current work, especially if you're in debt.

You don't provide enough extra info about your situation for posters to make reasonable comments beyond the above, IMO. FWIW, I've never known someone who searched for the grand career move who wasn't disappointed. All work is just that, work. It's also possible that work that people are most interested in doesn't pay or is not a good fit for reasons they couldn't anticipate. Why not consider that money as a way to kick start an earlier retirement timeframe than you would have attained?

I've been with the same employer for 7 years so if I quit to study full time I doubt that would look bad on my resume.

agip wrote:

use the money to change your life for the better, sure, but don't quit your job before you have another job.

You want to train to do something else? Fine, great, better yourself...but DO NOT quit work while you do that learning. Not at your age. You will look like a flake to potential hirers.

Whereas if you never stop working even as you learn to do something else, you'll look like a dependable good guy, a super hire.

And like others have said...these days $500k can go away very fast.

on the of chance you are not trolling..........

Dude, $500k is a nice windfall and that's about it. Life changing money? No way. Life enhancing money, maybe? Yes.

Invest it and don't touch the principal.

Don't quit your job. If you hate it, find another one. After locking that in, then quit. Go to work at new job. If you take a few years away from steady work, you'll piss it all away.

I am quite frugal and pay 750/month for a modest basement suite in a small city. I could pay my current expenses off a part time barista salary - and would wayyyy rather work a job like that than my current ultra mind numbing position.

Hey There wrote:

Invest the $500k in good mutual funds and that money will set you up for life. The 500k alone obviously isn't life-changing money, but if you invest it in mutual funds returning 10-12% you can expect that account to be worth 7 figures in the next decade.

Moral of the story, that sum of money makes it such that your primary income/career is no longer the choke point for having financial freedom later in life. Do something, anything, that just pays your basic expenses and makes you happy now, and don't touch that account and you'll never have to worry about money again in the future.