How should I invest the money?
I Just inherited $250,000, How should I invest it?
answer:
“Baby boomers are set to retire in huge numbers in the next 5 years,” says Emily Card, author of Managing Your Inheritance, “and the Sun Belt is where they’re heading.” Card recommends investing in raw land. as it minimizes the amount you pay in property taxes and saves you the headache of dealing with tenants and maintenance issues. “But any type of real estate will do,” says Card. “When you take into account all of the possible tax breaks, it outperforms every other type of investment. Period.”
If dealing in land makes you nervous, however. Card suggests buying government securities through treasurydirect.gov, the only financial-services Web site that lets you buy and redeem everything from Series EE Savings Bonds to Treasury Notes directly from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. “There’s also no overhead charge, so you’ll save the 1 percent management fee you’d normally pay if you bought into mutual funds,” says Card. “Plus, it’s backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, which has never defaulted on this type of obligation.”