need financial advice...

[geechiedan]

a family member passed away and i found out i was the beneficiary in their ins policy...it was for 50,000.

now I have a parent I care for and work part time BUT i don't want to waste or blow this money so what should i do with it?

I DEFINITELY want to diversify a portfolio..(IRAS, money market accounts, stocks, bonds etc)

I figure 15-20k to settle up house business (pay off bills, make repairs, some new furniture, my and my parent's own ins and burial plans etc..) but the other 25-30k should be invested...

I feel the economy and market will make a positive upturn soon and i would like to be on the inside track of that..(ex: about 10-15 years a amazon.com stock was going for cheap and now those invested are MILLIONAIRES..) is there something out there like that on the horizon.

I want this money to MAKE money...

thanx...

 

[ActivationWizard]

This is what I would advice you to do.
Take the 50k, and buy term insurance for you and your parents, that way burial expenses are knocked out if you die in the term of the coverage. With 50k, you can prepay a year's worth of coverage for each of you.
Take the balance and invest it in mutual funds that give 12% ROR. Rule of 72 says the money doubles based on dividing 72 with your ROR. So 12% means every 6 years.
If you have 5 doubling periods in your life i.e 30 years before u want to retire, your 40 k would amount to:
40*2-80
80*2-160
160*2- 320
320*2- 640
640*2- 1.2million

That is what I would do if I were you. Of course, max out you Roth IRA if you haven't done so yet, i.e 4k should go into that as it comes out tax free.

 

[BigATLslim]

The first thing you need to do, if you have not already done it, is to find a Certified Financial Planner and tell them your situation in DETAIL. They are very easy to find online. If this has not yet been taken care of, you should be able to find information on it with this keyword: Dearborn Financial. I hope this information is not too late.

 

[kjxxxx]

See my post earlier where OptionsXpress is giving Cash for opening an account and making 1 trade. Its small money but its a start and positive return on the money and you leave the money in cash and all you need to open the account to qualify is $500

As far as advise on buying stocks. Watch Jim Cramer and Fast Money on CNBC every night. Still don't be in a rush to invest till you feel you understand enough to.

Right now only solid companies can be bought. ATT, VZ for tech play, KMP for oil pipeline. I still would not advise you to jump into them untill you learn about options. That way you can sell covered calls while you sit in the stocks and wait for dividend if you are going to be a long term player.

 

[SayWord]

a couple things to consider...

if your family who passed was 70 and a half, or older, then they were required to start taking some of the money out (called a required minimum distribution). if this is the case, you being the beneficiary...the financial institution who has the ira will create an ira in your name (and specify you as a beneficiary) however, you'll still have to take a required minimum out ever year.

if your fam was younger than 70 and a half, if you don't move that money into another ira (banks usually do that by default) or some other retirement/investment account, you'll end paying taxes on that loot (depending on the type of ira it was)

getting a cpa and/or tax adviser is very good idea.