what are some ways i could put 300,000.00 *to work

[zuki]

a friend recently received a settlement for pain and suffering and now has 300k.

what sould they do before they spend it ?

*suggestions *or what not to dos

they can no longer work because of injury

[Bob_Smith]

Quote:

a friend recently received a settlement for pain and suffering and now has 300k. what sould they do before they spend it ? suggestions *or what not to dos they can no longer work because of injury

Zuki - advice for your friend:

1. Put the money in short term CDs or a short term corporate bond fund at Vanguard and then DO NOTHING until you learn about investing.

2. Do NOT go to a broker or a financial planner! Their interests aren't usually aligned with yours.

3. Realize that $300,000 is not a great deal of money. You are not rich! You need to plan very, very carefully.

4. People with disabilities can usually work - and they usually want to work. Don't give up and assume you cannot work. Seek out a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor. Explore your vocational interests and focus upon what you CAN do, not on what you cannot do. You have something to contribute.

Good luck.

I would suggest paying off all mortgage and other debt first then park the remainder for a short time to study and consider.

If your friend is qualfied for SS disability, he/she may no longer be able to receive a paycheck without giving up SS disability benefits. Something to check on if that would be a consideration.

You don't mention you associates general financial condition besides this, but depending, $300,000 may not be a great compensation for loosing the ability to ever work again.

[zuki]

they cannot work because they were rear ended by a taxi.

which caused them to have immediate heart surgery because another person killed in rodeo accident the same day was a perfect match.

then the doctor botched the spine surgery and had to go back in, then dr. hit something and now they have seizures for no reason at all.

just out of the blue.

lost job then home and now lives with 2 kids and the the spouse with mom.

more depressed then i ever seen them.

Not sure if this is the appropriate spot for this, but here
goes.

I just closed the deal on our condo in Texas.
Like a lot of my deals I had just a twinge of buyer's
remorse (Did I pay too much? What all is included
in the price? Can we afford it? etc etc, ad nauseum).

The sellers were 2 older fishing buddies who bought
the place together 10 years ago. Now, one of them has
Parkinson's and could barely scratch out his
signature on the closing documents. My point?
I'm sitting there thinking "Man, that could be me in a few years (if I live), so why am I sweating over
the details of this (second guessing myself)" I have to push myself now,
but I think it's best to get out there and make things
happen until you just can't go any more. Remember, God
made the world round so we couldn't see too far ahead.

John Galt

[charlie]

zuki,

Bob_Smith's advice is really good. Your friend's
situation is sad. About the only thing I can offer
is to encourage you to continue showing your
support to your friend. I know it is not PC to
say it on this forum, but this is a time when faith
and prayer can help them pull through.

Regards,

Charlie

[zuki]

praying may not give the investment strategy direction they need.


as god gets blamed alot lately there for other things


real financial advice is more important now

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Generic "advice":

Put the money into a vanguard account, then...

If you're unsure about what to do with it, put it in the short term corporate account, earning about 2.75% per year at this time. Liquid, not much more dangerous than a money market.

If you need regular income from the money right now and on a regular basis short term, want safety and low volatility, put it in the target retirement income account.

If you dont need the money now, but have a day in mind that is more than 5 years from now when you're going to want to start tapping the money, put it in a target retirement account in the vicinity of the date you want to get to the money. For example, if you'll be leaving the money alone for 10 years, put it in the target retirement 2015 account.

If you go to vanguards web site, they have a nice investment questionaire that will ask you a batch of questions and then tell you what funds are right for you.

As mentioned, there is no 'right' answer nor is there a way that anyone can give you a good 'wrong' answer without knowing fairly specific details of the particular persons needs. Not to mention the advice given now might be different in six months or a year.

[BigMoneyJim]

zuki, I agree that a conservative investment and caution sound good here until he asseses the complete financial and personal situation. Perhaps what Bob Smith mentioned or perhaps a money market fund at Vanguard.

A lot of us like Vanguard because they seem less prone to fleecing you than other financial service companies. A nonfancy money market, bond or index stock fund (stock funds aren't a good idea yet--tell you why below) from Vanguard generally is no load (no comission) and low operational expenses compared to other companies and banks.

How to invest depends greatly on when you need the money and what you need it for. Your friend has had very traumatic life changing experience; his family and supporters need to take some time to learn what their life and spending needs are going to be like going forward, and it's probably too early to know all that yet. (If you read this board you'll see some early retirees have trouble adjusting to retired life, and this is something they planned for!)

I said stocks and stock funds are bad for now because stocks are volatile in the short term, and he may decide he needs to use some of that money now, so while he's unsure how the money will be used it should stay in a short-term secure place.

Here's some advice on financial planners: don't trust them. And don't let any know that your friend is looking to invest $300,000. I got hounded when I let it slip I was rolling over much less than that from a 401(k) to an IRA. To humor the people I listened to a couple of pitches, and knowing what I did I saw several ways that it was more expensive than my plans.

ronin was correct about money being just a tool. $300k isn't likely enough to retire on for the most frugal of healthy U.S. families of four, and life and finance just got a lot different, so it's going to take quite a bit of study and consideration to know how this money can best be used.

I don't know enough about your friend to offer solid advice, but here are some possibilities to think about.

• Need to understand what future income will be
• Need to understand what ongoing expenses will be
• If he has debt, paying it off effectively earns more than investing the money while carrying debt in most cases [bankruptcy being one exception]
• FDIC insures savings accounts only up to $100,000
• Need to understand if money will be used as an investment nest egg or if spending part of it now is beneficial
• Need to understand medical insurance/liabilities, SS benefits, tax credits/liabilities (federal and state), any other benefits from government, charity or community
• Need to understand how net worth may or may not affect the previous item
• For short-term investing, learn about CD's and money market funds and possibly short-term bond funds (Vanguard account highly recommended)
• For long-term investing, learn about bond funds, indexed stock funds. Opinions vary on stock fund investing; note that I say learn about it so he can decide for himself. Other long term options could be Real Estate, REITs, TIPS, iBonds, T-Bills and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting.
• $300,000 and its investment gains are very likely not enough to support him and his family going forward, even if he had no medical expenses and lived frugally.
• If bankruptcy is a consideration...well, I know nothing about it, but exteremely careful planning of the $300,000 with advice from an accountant and/or attourney is needed
• It may or may not be beneficial to spend much of it near-term for long-term durables like a house or needed durable medical equipment; those are just wild ideas off the top of my head, but the point is he wouldn't know yet whether investing the money is the most beneficial in his family's situation

I'm going to rail a little more against financial advisors: there probably are decent financial advisors/planners out there, but there are way more that are either unethical, uncaring, unknowing or otherwise not the best idea. Don't assume they'll take pity on his situation or know what's best for him. Like we say, put the money in a safe short-term place and learn about the options and he'll probably be way ahead of what any financial planner could do for him. However, an accountant or attourney may be needed in some situations especially regarding taxes and public benefits.

BTW, John Galt: Congrats on the condo!

[zuki]

i was trying to suggest he do something before he spent anything, making it harder to make what little %he could while he still has $ome