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if you inherited £100k what would you do with it? or rather more to the point, what should i do with it as my head is just spinning with it all?? situation- after my gran passed away i inherited about £100k (will get it early next year i think).

there's me, dh, dd aged 4 starting school september, and ds 8 months. i'm due back to work in 2 months.

we have a £150k mortgage currently on standard variable, so no penalties for overpaying.

i work back to back with dh. he pays all bills and mortgage. my income is spending money, about £800-£1000 a month depending what hours i go back to work on. we have no childcare costs due to work opposite each other (him earlies, me lates).

do i.....

A) pay off large chunk of mortgage, maybe £75k, and keep repayments the same which will mean mortgage is totally paid off in 10 years ie by the time i'm 40. other £25k will pay off £5k car loan, £5k aside for each of the dc, £5k for some stuff to the house and £5k into savings for next years holidays.

B) as above but keep mortgage term the same, so half the monthly repayments. means more in our pocket each month, nicer hols etc etc. though we aren't massively fussed for this, we like uk hols while the children are young really.

C) take 5 years off work. (will have to go back short term until money comes through though) 5 years x £800 a month = £48k to fund the 5yrs off. so would still leave £50k (allow for 'pay rise') to make maybe £25k overpayment to mortgage plus £25k to do as above. so, mortgage would carry on over longer, but would have career break, though of course impact to think of 5 years off career ladder/pension etc etc blah blah. would probably do some volunteering actually to keep some semblance of activity out of the home as it were.

D) something else..

i don't exactly love my job, i do it because the hours fit and it's good money for what it is iyswim. as it stands, i'm with the children all day, then go to work while dh does tea and bedtime. i won't see much of dd as she'll be at school all day, though i'll be there for drop off and pick up. it would be nice to be home each evening.

but we'll save an absolute fortune if we overpay massively on the mortgage and be mortgage free in 10years.

thank you for reading all this.. soooo...tell me what you think?? i just want to make sure i do my best with this money. dh will go along with whatever i decide

Pay our debts then leave the country and buy a decent house with the rest.

I would love to take 6 months off with dh and ds (3) and go travelling round the world.

Sorry - thats not very helpful is it

tis simple for my sister. she's going to buy her first house outright. she'll get a nice 3 bed where she lives for that. single, no kids. i seem to have rather more to consider..

I'd go for option A. You'll be larfing in 10 years.

Not D. That seems a waste.

sorry, not C

I would not just quit work unless you hate it and it makes you ill. JObs too hard to find. I might consider a change/reduced hours etc if you have the financial freedoem now.

There is an awful lot to be said for a smaller mortgage

The option that will save you the most money is paying off half your mortgage and reducing the term (as I'm sure you know) and this is the option I'd go for (I dream of paying off our mortgage and debts, I really do )

Rates will go up eventually, so being able to reduce the term/amount of your mortgage may be the best sensible option.

Can you take a couple of years off, pay off almost £50k or so from the mortgage, and do the rest as planned?

Very interested to read this thread since I am in the same boat - sort of. I have 100K sitting in the bank (inherited from my dad) and have no idea how best to use it.

I am aware that this is probably the only time in my life that I will ever have liquid cash like this and my pension provisions are minimal. So, I don't know whether to pay off the mortgage (85k) or invest it for my retirement (I'm 40) and if I do that I don't know how best to invest it.

I did consider having a break from work but have ruled this out. I enjoy working and I think i would rather keep going with it.

Or fund new training etc.

Use as deposit on b2l house as pension

oh so many possibilities.

Maybe you should think about what you like/dislike about life now, how you want it to be in 5,10,15 years and use that to shape decisions

Definitely A or B

Pay mortgage

Pay mortgage

Pay mortgage

NOT 5 years off work, that would be madness.

might private education be on your radar in future?

A - I'd love to be totally debt free by 40!

Hmmm - (a) pay mortgage or (b) send kids to private sschool.....

(b) if you are NUTS

private ed- no. ofsted outstanding on my door step.

option A was my immediate thought. i think i'm just having a wobble as dd's starting school so i'll miss seeing her but i don't want to switch my hours to days as i want to be with baby ds in the day

and i don't really want to not be working.

i want the moon on a stick i think

If you have high-interest (non-mortgage) debt then pay that off.

The best way to get the most long-term gain is to invest it.

I know buy-to-let isn't the goldmine it was but it will still give the best return, if done wisely.

You could build quite a portfolio with an initial £100k capital. And even if property prices sink over the next few years, as long as the rent is higher than the mortgage payments you will have an income which you could use to substitute for your salary if you want a few years off. And at the end you will still have the original capital.

Definitely A.

Congratulations btw - sorry about your granny of course but what a lovely legacy for her to leave - it will make such a difference to your lives.

Oh, but hold a bit back to buy a nice piece of jewelry or a really gorgeous piece of furniture that you can point to and say 'that's what i got with my money from my gran." DH did that with the money he got from his Granddad, most of it went into our house deposit fund, but he has a nice watch he got with a bit of it.

yes i had a vague plan E which was buying to let (and cover mortgage on this one).

but not sure i love that idea. could have done that when i married dh as we each owned a home, but at the time we couldn't be faffed with being landlords iyswim. my dad has a few houses he rents out and it's a fair amount of hassle, though they'll be quids in in the future.

I would take that £25k and do as you plan, then save the £75k to fund double mortgage payments for the foreseeable future. I tend to be cautious, though, and would love the idea of a lump sum tucked away where I could easily get it for a rainy day. This is only viable if you lay down firmly in advance what constitutes rainy

If your dady already does {E}, would you trust him/would he be willing to do management for you?

er, dad

i would shove it all on the mortgage

A

Take as much money off mortgage as you can.