Cash Overload
I am a recent widow, aged 56. My husband was 72 and retired. He and I were separated when he passed. I am finding all sorts of financial surprises as I sort out the estate. Namely, he cashed out many of his accounts. I am holding around $400k in cash, which is nuts! I own a small business that funds my modest lifestyle. I have very little debt (a mortgage on my home and one on my business property). Do I just pop all this cash into my stock account? Buy another building? I am in the process of selling his condo. That will bump this windfall up to around $700K. I am not bragging. This has me stressed. How should I deal with the (enviable) problem of too much liquidity?
Terry Says
You should sit patiently! There’s an old saying: “Don’t let the money burn a hole in your pocket.”
You are a relatively young widow –and, yes, it would be wise to have an overall investment plan. But not immediately and not until everything gets sorted out.
In the meantime, you can buy U.S. Treasury bills at www.TreasuryDirect.gov. You won’t earn much interest, but your money will be safe from everything except inflation! Right now that’s a huge problem — earning less than 1% and losing to inflation running at 6%. I think rates will start to catch up.
That’s obviously not a long-term solution, but it’s better than rushing into things without a plan. I suggest you use the link on my website to contact Wealthramp — the site that matches you with a carefully vetted, FEE-ONLY FIDUCIARY financial advisor, who will put your interests first!
Then start thinking about things like a new estate plan for yourself, possibly a long-term care insurance policy that you could fund with a deposit from all this cash (if you don’t use it, there’s a life insurance benefit for your heirs) and a retirement income strategy.
