Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Probably not great if I compare against people in our demographic. But I feel like we would be fine if we plugged along like we have been, barring any unforeseen catastrophies. Thanks for the link... I will do some research on CFPs!
We are financially pretty sound, decent income, no debt...
We have two youngish kids with college expenses being 6 years away.
I am about to inherit 350K. It's not really an inheritance, it's an international real estate deal.
so what would you do?
Keep on keeping on... including the pittance of a mostly principle mortgage balance.
Set aside a FIXED amount for each child's college expenses/future.
With the short time horizon of 6-10 yrs... laddered CD's are probably the least risk.
You decide the amounts but DO have a specific number in mind.**
Quality growth mutual fund(s) for the rest.
And DON'T quit the job(s) or contributing to the IRA/401K's etc that you should already have.
** You can get more creative with the tuition planning but do stick to a fixed amount in.
Per the UNC-CH website LINK tuition, fees, books add up to $10,000.
Last edited by MrRational; 04-18-2015 at 06:22 PM..
Keep on keeping on... including the pittance of a mostly principle mortgage balance.
Set aside a FIXED amount for each child's college expenses/future.
With the short time horizon... laddered CD's. You decide the amounts.
Quality growth mutual fund(s) for the rest.
And DON'T quit the job(s) or contributing to the IRA/401K's etc that you should already have.
I agree with almost all of this. However, most people don't know a good mutual fund from a bad one. Since the OP said they were conservative investors, I don't think recommending putting the remainder of the money in a 100% stock portfolio is a good idea. But I also think putting it in bonds and CDs is a bad idea, too. Interest rates are just too low to have it all in those vehicles.
I recommend a fund like Vanguard Wellesley Income. It's 60% investment grade bonds and 40% dividend paying stocks. It has gotten returns in excess of 7.5% over the last 10-15 years. It will have a bad year, now and then, but the losses are generally pretty mild. It lost just under 10% in 2008, which is a lot less than the 37% that stock market index funds lost.
Sandycat, you can open an account with Vanguard at www.vanguard.com
Last edited by mysticaltyger; 04-18-2015 at 06:36 PM..
Vanguard will offer advice for about 100,000 in income. You get to pick and decide what to do with your money and you also could leave it or some in there money market account til sure. Be sure you understand also the risk and time limit on needing the money. I like the vanguard wellington which has been around along time. They also have a dividend growth fund which is good
Vanguard will offer advice for about 100,000 in income. You get to pick and decide what to do with your money and you also could leave it or some in there money market account til sure. Be sure you understand also the risk and time limit on needing the money. I like the vanguard wellington which has been around along time. They also have a dividend growth fund which is good
I didn't know that Vanguard offered advice for those with 100K or more to invest. Good to know.
I like Vanguard Dividend Growth, and while it's fairly conservative for a stock fund, it's probably still too aggressive for Sandycat.
You could always pay a CFP hourly to set out a game plan for the money, and not pay them to manage it. Otherwise, you certainly CAN find financial advisors who will take that size account.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,553 posts, read 81,131,933 times
Reputation: 57755
I don't think that's nearly enough to justify the expense of a financial planner, unless you are very uncomfortable deciding what to do with it yourself.
Vanguard will offer advice for about 100,000 in income. You get to pick and decide what to do with your money and you also could leave it or some in there money market account til sure. Be sure you understand also the risk and time limit on needing the money. I like the vanguard wellington which has been around along time. They also have a dividend growth fund which is good
And they don't rape you on fees like these financial planners are going to.
I don't think that's nearly enough to justify the expense of a financial planner, unless you are very uncomfortable deciding what to do with it yourself.
A financial planner is basically just there to make sure you don't make reckless decisions and blow your money away. Spending a few hundred dollars is worth it for a 350k of unexpected money, IMO.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
