Investing

[Krissy1234]

I need some good advice about how to invest $250,000

[disneysteve]

Hi. I deleted your duplicate post on the General Discussion board as this is the better place for it. Of course, you'll need to tell us a lot more before we can give any kind of answer. What is your situation? What other money do you have? Any debt? How old? Married? What is this money for?

[Krissy1234]

All debt is paid off. Own my home. I'm in my mid 50's, married. Money is just to invest...hopefully to make enough to retire before too long.

[disneysteve]

So mid-50s, debt-free and you have a lump sum of 250K to invest for retirement. You have 10+ years before needing this money. That points to putting a fair amount of that money in equities IMO. Of course, it depends in part on what your current portfolio looks like and how your existing money is allocated. You don't want to stray from your existing asset allocation but rather use this money to beef up your balances in line with that allocation.

[Petunia 100]

It depends. Is this retirement money (long term)? Is this to buy a house next year (short term) How old are you? Do you have any high interest debts? Do you have reliable income?

[Petunia 100]

Do you have a pension? Do you have an idea of how much you will need each month to cover basic necessities? How much of that will SS cover? How much will need to come from this 250k?

IMO, you do not want to take risks with money you need to buy groceries or pay the electric bill, because the downside is very unpleasant.

On the other hand, if you can easily live on your SS benefits and pension(?), then you can afford to take on more risk.

[Petunia 100]

Ah, I see my comment from the other thread has been moved here. Thanks, DisneySteve.

[disneysteve]

OP, I've gotten rid of your duplicate threads so that everything is in one place.

You really need to give us more info.

What do you have now? What does your current retirement savings look like? At what age do you plan to retire? As Petunia asked, what are your anticipated financial needs for retirement?

[jpg7n16]

Other questions to consider:

- is this money currently held in a retirement account, brokerage account, or bank account?
- is this all the money you (plural) have saved up so far?
- would you say that you are 1) very risk averse, 2) risk averse, 3) middle of the road, 4) comfortable with risk, or 5) comfortable with lots of risk? (or somewhere inbetween these options)
- same risk tolerance questions, but for your husband
- what is your current household income?
- what are your average monthly expenses?
- how old is your husband?
- do you have children? how old are they?
- how does your husband have his money invested?
- where did the $250k come from? (saved up over time, inheritance, etc.)

And most importantly:
- what do you want your life to look like in retirement?

[thesmartnickel]

I would create an aggressive portfolio with 60-90% in equities and the rest in safer securities. Definitely don't keep it in cash and at the bare minimum put it in a savings account. If you are looking at a 10-year horizon and beyond, I would definitely say stocks are the way to go.

[bjl584]

I need some good advice about how to invest $250,000

We need more detail on the rest of your financial picture. JPG pretty much laid out all of the necessary quetions. If you can post answers to them it would be easier to lend a hand.

[Nancy Crippen]

Do you have children? how old are they?
- how does your husband have his money invested?
- where did the $250k come from? (saved up over time, inheritance, etc.)
* Despite the high cost of living, it remains very popular.
* Why should I pay for my daughter's education when she already knows everything?
* There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.

[Brocksby]

Give this money to me and I will abscond from the face of earth.....whats about that.....

[Allington]

Investment decisions are always tough to take in proper time.
Every one wants to invest where there is maximum ROI with minimum risk.
But when you look at the market you can rarely see such a sector which fulfills all the requirements.But real estate presents best possible combination of both requirements.