My grandfather died, leaving a sizable trust fund to be equally distributed among all grandchildren. None of us can touch any of the principal funds in the trust at this time, but will receive quarterly payments from the interest the trust generates. For me, this amounts to about $50k per year. At this point it appears that the fund will pay out for 20 years and then the trust will be dissolved, each party then receiving their share of the principal in a lump sum.
I am currently married, in my mid 30s and have two children in elementary school. We earn about 60k per year, do not invest anything at all aside from into our 401ks and have no unsecured debt. We do have a mortgage where ~100k is owed and an auto loan with roughly 6k remaining to pay off. The cost of living where I am located is about 10 pts. Below the national average.
We do not live luxuriously, not even mildly so, but we are reasonably comfortable. The point is, we can continue going on 60k per year and have the trust fund money all go toward investments. To be more realistic though, we will almost certainly be looking to use about 10-15 percent of it to make minor lifestyle upgrades, such as an annual vacation -- something we currently do not do.
So with about $40k per year to invest and given the above information, what would be the best course of action to take?
Just a side note: I am not interested in starting a business at the moment.
Read more: How should I be investing my quarterly inheritance checks?
