To feel like this IS actually a decent safety net?

You're the one that said 'house deposit'. £70k is enough for anyone to put as a deposit for their first home. No one needs to buy a more expensive home for their first one.

nut it's all 'off thread' as the OP already has a mortgage & has mentioned a student loan.

Paying off a student debt of £50k that over term will cost £92k even on a decent salary is most certainly a good use of any inheritance.....

I suppose the rest could go into a tracker fund that could yield enough for a house deposit within 8 years

well not everyone has student debt & I think paying it off out of this gift wouldn't be the best use if it.

but even if someone did it your way, how is being given a house deposit not life changing?

Ask ur brother if it like be pocket
money if his rich wife suddenly divorced him. Pretentious twat. Add some of your money to your pension, pay your 10k debt right off then take a break or lower your hours. Enjoy your new cash it’s what it is there for. And don’t tell your bro anything what u have done.

Your brother is grandstanding because he… married a rich woman!!! What an arsehole.
Whoever left it to you would have know it was life-changing for you. Whatever happens next, know £120k is life-changing for most of us.
It would certainly change my life!

I would be hugely grateful for the money but it's by no means life changing.

Most people in their 30s (that I know) have £50k plus of student debt and need the rest as a deposit for a home. Once you've paid for those two things it's gone so it's foolish to think you can drop a day at work

You can only work out what safety net you need taking into account your monthly outgoings.
You can only say whether it’s "worth" going part-time knowing whether working full-time incurs any extra expenses such as wraparound care. OP also hasn’t said whether this would be a permanent reduction or a year or two.

🤣🤣Hang around long enough & we'll get you trained up!!

I have the opposite problem, I have to remember not to use DH etc in WhatsApp messages!!

Well, that’s what I get for not reading the post closely enough! 😧

Although, to be fair, I do get confused by all these initials… I can’t see SS without thinking of Hitler’s SS, for example, or DSS without the Dept. Of Social Security coming to mind. 😫

There's also the 'disabled overnight' thing that many don't take into account (I didn't really) I thought I had another 12 years working, now I'm not sure I will be able to work again (and certainly not in my previous career) but as I have some savings I don't qualify for any benefits, so another 12 years I have to support myself with NO or very little wages🤬. I wish I'd put more away. Fortunately I was able to access the savings I had to not have to panic (about money anyway) when it happened unlike if I had put it all to the mortgage (as people keep advising the OP) cash you can get your hands on immediately is invaluable.

However you would have lost 6 years' worth of pension input so your pension would be reduced when you DO get to pension age.

Exactly. I mean, it depends on your outlook. If you want to have all the adventures when you're young and put the bare minimum away for when you're retired then you'd better hope for a big inheritance or a lottery win because relying on only the state pension means your retirement is going to be fairly unpleasant. I can't imagine that sitting in a cold house not being able to afford to go out for lunch never mind on holiday is compensated by reminiscing over your youthful adventures.

Depends on how much you need to feel secure. We are lucky to be mortgage free with healthy savings but with life uncertainties and a child coming at our age, I am working as hard as I can to save while I can. As a woman in my industry at my age, this might be as good as it gets. Let's face it, ageism does exist and most of us won't be at career peak in our 50s or 60s. 30s and 40s are when I feel we need to work the hardest and get the most income.

So many people look down on part time as foolish.

To some people time to pursue other things is worth more than that's days lost income.

And what about what's round the corner??? I'd rather have had a day to do what I like when I was young and healthy than wait till I was old. And if what's around the corner for you is illness and disability then it's seems wiser to have spent that time when you were younger.

Many people time does not mean expensive travel and hobbies. Many things that people enjoy do not cost money and maybe the op falls into this group.

Also it depends on her lifestyle choices, she could easily pay down the mortgage but keep on spending the current mortgage amount to save on both the term and the interest but keep aside some as a nest egg whilst paying off the debt.

For instance, pay off the 10k debt, keep a 10k nest egg (in good interest bearing account) and pay 100k off the mortgage. Then the current £300 per month that she saves could fund her part time. It depends on what is more important to her, having bigger savings or more time/less work.

That's an enormous amount of money to be gifted OP. How ungrateful to the family member who did such a lovely thing. I wish they had given you £240K and given him nothing!

having a cash safety net can be more useful than just paying a mortgage off. People still have other bulks that need to be paid and you can't pay them with a mortgage free house without selling it.

It's life improving but not life changing enough to go part time. I believe your brother tried to convey the same in an awkward manner. You need to pay off your debt and invest the rest wisely so you get a bit of extra income regularly.

But if she can earn more interest saving it...

It's exactly the time to be thinking about pensions!

How do you divorce your brother??

Your brother is tactless and thoughtless. What an arse. His comments have understandably upset you. I’m sorry, OP.

Yes, £120k is a huge amount of money! Potentially life-changing!

You can and will do whatever you want with it, of course. It’s yours. You haven’t asked for financial advice but (sorry, I can’t help myself) here’s what I would do in your position:

Pay off the £10k immediately

Put £20k into a cash ISA - this is your Emergency Fund in case, eg, you get made redundant and need to survive for a bit while you apply for other jobs.

Speak to your mortgage company and explain you have a a 90k lump sum to pay down your mortgage and ask the best way of doing this (eg they might say do 10% of the mortgage now, without incurring a redemption penalty, and the rest when your fixed rate finishes in x months time)

Now you’re left with £110k on your mortgage. You might have a lower rate of interest if your loan-to-value ratio has dropped.
Ask your mortgage company how soon you can be shot if your mortgage if you continue to work full time and continue to make the same payments that you’re managing today.

Being mortgage free - owning your home with no payments whatsoever - will give your such peace of mind.

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you well 😊

Because then she keeps a good safety net for any of life's possibilities. You don't know what's around the cirner & going part time, when you're young & healthy enough not to is a bit foolish. Maybe something you can't appreciate while you're young & healthy?!

I wouldn't go part time unless you have a health issue or some other specific reason to. Keeping the safety net would be a lot more important to me if I was still able to work full time.

Your brother is a tosspot. Commiserations.

It's a very significant amount of money to most people. The wealthy idiots who think it's "pocket money" are utterly deluded as to how privileged they are. Lots of extremely well-off people think they are "average" because they are so thick they don't realise that being "average" within their circle of wealthy acquaintances doesn't mean they are genuinely average.

Pay off all your non-mortgage debt, then put half the remainder into your mortgage to reduce that debt wguch will make a huge difference there, use up to £10k for a one-off treat like a nice holiday or upgrading you car, and keep the rest as a safety net.

It's more than a 'decent chunk of change' unless you're very well off, you sound as bad as her brother.