
Ask HN: I sold my company last month for $5m. What do I do with the money? - radicaltype
I'm a 20 year old guy who sold his company last month for $5m in cash. I really don't know what to do with the money or how to manage it. I never gave it a thought and now suddenly I have $5m. Hacker News, please help me out. Should I deposit the money? Buy stock? Or what the heck am I supposed to do with it? I am just a regular guy who spends around $3000 a month. I don't buy fancy stuff and now suddenly I have more money than I can ever spend.
======
brk
Send it to me, I'll take care of it for you ;)

Here is what I would _personally_ suggest, having encountered a similar
scenario once a long time ago...

Find a place to park about $4.9M in a CD, Money Market account, or similar
ultra low risk location. Don't get too hung up on getting the absolute best
interest rate, just find a place that will give you easy liquidity (ie: DON'T
make a 5 year investment right now).

Then, buy and read the following books: "A Random Walk Guide to Investing" -
Burton Malkiel "The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need" - Andrew Tobias

(and/or any equivalent titles that catch your interest).

Then once you have a good/better understanding of financial investments
interview some financial advisors and talk to them in depth about how they
plan to manage your assets. Ideally you're looking for something more along
the lines of a "wealth manager" vs. a financial advisor.

Killing a year finding the right investment approach while your money makes
even a very low percentage rate is, for a 20 year old, a better approach than
rushing out and making possibly a bad investment that incurs a big loss, or
has tax liabilities you don't fully understand.

In the shorter term, you should find a good local CPA-for-hire and make sure
you understand any possible income tax issues. In some (many) cases, if you
will owe a large income tax return you will need to pre-pay or make estimated
payments. Not doing so can take a big bite out of your ass later (ref: portion
above about keeping funds semi-liquid).

BTW, congrats on your success. Take it slow and don't be tempted to believe
you know what you're doing or can repeat this easily (learned advice ;) ). You
have much time and luxury to plan your next move, and no matter what anyone
tells you, you are not missing out on the investment opportunity of a lifetime
in the next 24 months and do not need to make any rash decisions.

At the same time, you should sort of off-handedly tell family and friends that
you locked in to a great investment and in 5 years or so will be able to
access some of the funds. This proactive approach is better than having to say
no to all the outreaches for "help" and "personal investments" that tend to
come with a large chunk o' cash.

~~~
starkfist
CD rates are at 1% and are only FDIC insured up to $250K. I'm not convinced
any bank will let you buy a $4.9 million CD. Although I'm sure brk is as smart
as anyone I wouldn't take tips from random people on the internet.

Whenever these types of questions appear I find them a bit hard to believe.
The anonymous OP suddenly has $5M in cash? There's just a un-cashed check for
$5M hidden in the sock drawer? Where is the money now? As soon as you show up
at a bank with more than $100K you're going to be swarmed with people
suggesting various things to do with your money. Hasn't the OP already had to
deal with all the tax and legal surrounding a transaction like this? He or she
should be familiar with a flotilla of financial professionals by now.

~~~
joshu
Based on past experience, nobody will bother you.

~~~
mattmaroon
Yeah. Unless you're going to Mom's Bank of Sheboygan, $5m isn't that big of a
deal. I only have experience with 7 figure sums in corporate accounts, but
even the bank teller at the supermarket isn't wowed by that.

If you tell a bank you have $5m to to put in CD's they'll wet their pants
alright, but it won't be security they call. It'll be their boss to gloat.
(Unless maybe you bring it in in $100's in a duffel bag.)

------
michael_dorfman
Questions like this one puzzle me, not least of which because I was recently
in a very similar situation, and it never in a million years would have
occurred to me to ask HN for advice. I mean, I love you people here, honest I
do, but when I need legal advice, I go to my lawyer. When I need medical
advice, I go to my doctor. And when I need financial advice, I go to my
financial advisor.

You don't have a financial advisor? Well, I assume you have a lawyer, and I
assume you have a banker-- ask them for recommendations. You might also ask
the pros who were on your board of directors prior to the sale.

~~~
vaksel
since it's a brand new user it's probably bullshit, especially when you
remember that it's next to impossible to sell a company as a cash only deal.
There is always an earn out/stock play, to make sure the buying company isn't
buying a lemon

~~~
brk
It all depends on the company. If he created something that works, has value,
and happened to find someone with money who can do the math, this is not
unlikely at all.

I have first-hand knowledge of several simple cash transactions for business
sales like this in the $2M-$10M range.

~~~
starkfist
> I have first-hand knowledge of several simple cash transactions for business
> sales like this in the $2M-$10M range.

Like what?

~~~
brk
I don't want to ignore your comment, but these were generally private sales,
and the private part implies a certain amount of trust and non-disclosure.

I know this probably doesn't do anything to convince you I'm not full of shit,
so I apologize for not offering concrete details. If you stop and think about
it though, there is a lot more private money out there moving hands than you
might think.

------
ErrantX
I have a suspicion that this is not true... or at least is just for the
purpose of bragging. But the replies at least could be interesting. Here's
mine:

At 21 I came into a pretty useful 6 figure sum, essentially through good luck
and timing. At that age you're used to living on a shoe string (especially if
a student like I was) and so that can seem an extraordinary amount of money.
I'd say it's a pretty scary age to become affluent, you may have grown up in
the last couple of years since leaving school but it hardly counts as worldly.

I spent about £30,000 within a couple of months before I stopped and thought
about it properly. So the first piece of advice is: _avoid too much
temptation_! That can be hard and I still have trouble controlling impulse
purchases (Amazon Prime is the worst invention ever :P my book buying budget
is still about £300/month, and I've actually worked to get that down).

As to what to do with the money; while plenty of HNers will be able to give
you advice (hopefully from experience!) the other posters are right - _you
need to talk to a financial advisor_.

My take? Put it somewhere safe and take the interest - then just ignore it. If
you want to take the $5M and do something with it (i.e. start a firm, pursue
your dream) then do that. Otherwise I advise ignoring it and just carrying on
with your career how you want - albeit slightly more comfortable/financially
secure. In 5 years when you want a nice house the money is there and ready.
etc etc.

Certainly having money is going to change you; but I'd suggest it needn't
change your life path too much. Don't let it derail what you want to do :)
allow it to facilitate those things!

This is pretty much what I have done and it sees to have worked. YMMV.

------
vessenes
First, congratulations!

Now, to business.. If you sold company stock, and live in the states, you now
owe about $1m in taxes, or a little less depending on what state you live in.

Your very first job is to sit down with an accountant and get your 2010 taxes
estimated. Then set aside the money for this. Seriously, do it today. Then
lock in your head "I sold my company for $4m." It will help you in the future
days to remember that.

If it was an asset sale, you got f-ed, and now owe a lot of tax money. Live
and learn.

Next, let's talk about 'more money than I can ever spend'. If you keep your
current spending rates, and you keep your money in a completely 'safe' vehicle
that exactly matches inflation, you have about 94 years of spending ahead of
you at your current rates, and at 15% cap gains tax on the 'earnings'.

It is nearly psychologically impossible for a newly minted 20-something
millionaire to keep at their current level of spending. Since you do not
already have a plan for this money, I would say that it is 100% likely you are
not the sort who can go about his business without some change in lifestyle.
So I would suggest that you expect either to keep working or get good at
investing.

Along with the books recommended here, I would strongly recommend you pick up
one called "How To Retire Early and Live Well on Less than a Million Dollars."
It's written by a financial writer who decided to do what the title says in
the 1970s. He talks through a number of items and considerations that
financial advisors will not think about. Simple example: what's the proper
amount of real estate leverage for someone who needs some income, and wants to
be able to hold on to the building in a real estate crash? This is not
typically discussed in most investing books.

It is not unreasonable, based on all this, to put almost all of this money
into a one year, low-risk, locked-away investment just to give yourself time
to think, plan,and get on with a new part of your life.

Now, if you built this company up, and are now unemployed, expect to be
depressed. You should consider (along with some celebrating) doing some fun
things (I like to travel), and also learning some new skills.

You will need some new friends, because your old ones will all still be
working,and won't be able to hang out most of the time. You might want to find
a new hobby, or pick up an old one.

Finally, enjoy! Sounds like a great experience.

------
AndrewWarner
Would you be willing to do an interview about your company?
<http://mixergy.com/contact>

~~~
bvi
Potential title:

"How a 20 year old basement-dwelling runt came out of the tunnel $5 million
richer"

------
DavidSJ
A very simple strategy will go very far:

Put 30% in VTI - the Vanguard Total Market Index (basically all US stocks).

Put 30% in EFA - the Europe, Australasia, Far East first world country index.

Put 10% in RWR - an index of U.S. real estate.

Put 10% in RWX - an index of international real estate.

Put 15% in Treasury Inflation Protected Securities.

Leave 5% highly liquid.

Minor variations on this are fine. The key is invest in broad market indices,
diversified among stocks and real estate, domestic and internationally, with a
bit of cash set aside for rainy days. Any other strategy involves speculation
(trying to be smarter than the market), and unless you think you really know
what you're doing, you shouldn't speculate.

~~~
illumin8
Sorry, I have to take issue with this approach. You're tying 60% of your total
assets to the market indexes of countries that are likely to decrease in value
over the next several years. You're tying 20% to real estate indexes that are
also extremely overvalued.

You're young. Stick it in a money market account or something safe for a few
months until you can get some real financial advice.

Personally, if I had $5 million I would probably leave it in money market and
safe CDs until this period of global deflation and low interest rates is past
us. I would wait until the inevitable inflation that is coming in a few years,
and when interest rates are over 10% (hopefully), put a couple million in
fixed annuities that will pay out monthly for the rest of my life, put 1-2
million in safer investments, and invest the other million in risky stocks
with a high potential payout.

That way, I have guaranteed income for the rest of my life from the annuities,
enough to live off of, and can hopefully see some better returns from the rest
of the money. A good financial advisor can give you a better strategy.

~~~
DavidSJ
If you think you know something the market doesn't know about those countries,
and future inflation rates, then your strategy makes sense.

But otherwise, investing in a pure cash portfolio is super-exposed to
inflationary risk, and very low-growth.

~~~
illumin8
It doesn't take a genius to see that Europe is in a deflationary spiral right
now, with Greece and Portugal leading the way. Why would you want to bet 30%
of your portfolio against the trend of Euro/Dollar weakness?

~~~
300baud
Being able to see the future isn't enough for a financial bet. You have to be
able to see the future before other people with money. If something is
sufficiently obvious, it will already be priced into the market.

In other words, a financial trade isn't a bet on your insight. It's a bet that
your insight is sharper than the person on the other side of the trade.

------
DanielStraight
1\. $5m is not more money than you can ever spend.

2\. $5m is enough to hire a professional to help you invest it.

A good place to start learning more about money might be the Personal Finance
section of the Personal MBA reading list. See <http://personalmba.com/best-
business-books/>

------
gojomo
_I don't buy fancy stuff and now suddenly I have more money than I can ever
spend._

When you're young and/or of average means, you mostly think of money as
something to spend for either the necessities or luxuries of life.

But past a certain scale, another important function of money comes into play:
money signifies control/ownership. These amounts _can't_ be spent; they are
instead placed in assets -- and if placed and steered well, more control is
earned.

It's confusing because the two functions -- spending and controlling -- are
denominated in the same unit, dollars. But the dollars of a billionaire --
deployed in assets -- and the dollars of a thousandaire -- deployed for daily
needs -- aren't even serving the same social function.

They are still intrinsicly convertible: you can give up control for
consumption, or vice versa. But anyone who casually observes about someone
else, "he has more in assets than he could ever need, some should be given to
others" is in the grips of this confusion -- because as much effect the
redistribution will have on consumption, it will also have on control. Ceteris
paribus, it will mean transferring relative control to people with more of a
consumption mindset than a control/expansion mindset. Done too much, this
'eats the seed corn' for future wealth.

Park your money in a few diverse investments and take the time to change your
conception of money, because if you stay in the usual "how can I spend this"
mindset, _any_ amount of windfall can be consumed or frittered away. Become
comfortable with the idea your windfall is not a consumption bonus, but a
control bonus -- giving you a slightly disproportionate say in how societies'
wealth should be deployed so as to keep delivering, rather than deliver once
and disappear.

------
Confusion
Although I have only 50K that I want to set to work, I'm facing the same basic
question. However, given the current economic climate, I think sound advice is
impossible. The usual safe advice, park it somewhere 'low risk', is virtually
useless, as nothing is 'low risk' at the moment. Banks and complete countries
are on the verge of collapse, which makes savings accounts, deposits and bonds
risky. Something reasonably stable, like gold, also has problems: unless you
have the stuff physically in your posession, the investment may turn out to be
worthless, as the one that owes you the stuff can't deliver. And should the
worst happen, than even gold physically in your possession may be worthless,
because: who will take it, when its value is unclear and everyone wants food
and fuel? The nutritional value of gold is pretty low.

~~~
starkfist
If the world turns into a mad max apocalypse, we're all fucked anyway so why
care where your money is? 50K is barely anything, just leave it in a bank
account. (or buy a cabin far away from everyone, if you really think society
is going to collapse)

~~~
Confusion
I doubt it'll be a fullblown apocalypse, but I think there'll be a period of
unrest, after which civilization will soon reestablish itself. If you manage
to invest 50K of your money in something tangible that is considered to be of
value in that period of unrest, you'll have a much easier time surviving it.

For us, 50K is enough to survive for at least three years, without requiring
any kind of austerity. I certainly don't call that 'nothing.

~~~
pwhelan
FDIC insures up to 250k. If you want to park it there -- go ahead.

Short term CD ladders (so you always have some money free if you need it but
most of it is actively earning interest) seem like a good option as well.

------
brc
Given the state of things right now, I'd park your money somewhere secure and
live off the interest. Then learn two disciplines : real estate investing and
stock market.

Don't turn your money over to a financial advisor, unless they are personally
referred by someone with a lot more cash than you. Any advisor you can afford
is no good to you because you probably have more cash than them. By all means
take advice, but don't blindly follow it and don't turn over control of your
cash.

Learn a specific part of the real estate business that attracts you, and steer
clear of single family residence homes. With that sort of cash you should be
in multiple dwelling properties, or commercial retail, industrial or office
buildings. The real estate market is dead and dying a bit more, so in the next
couple of years that plum bargain is going to turn up, and you can be johnny
on the spot, if you have done the study and learnt what is what. One good
commercial property investment and you and your future family could be set for
life with a healthy tax advantaged income and growing asset base.

With the stock market, I see a lot of advice here to approach the market, I
would do so with a very limited amount of cash, certainly less than $50,000.
If you lose that consider it a quality education on the perils of the market.

Learning to be an investor is like any other field and just because you win
big in business doesn't make you an automatic whiz at investing. Capital
protection is now your number 1 priority.

Oh, and if you're single, don't tell prospective girlfriends about it. You
want to know which ones like you for who you are, not your bank account.

~~~
kls
_Oh, and if you're single, don't tell prospective girlfriends about it. You
want to know which ones like you for who you are, not your bank account._

I read an article on HN the other day about signing a contract with a third
party entity, that states if you do not sign a prenuptial agreement, when you
meet that prospective mate and decide to get hitched. Then said third party is
entitled to half of your current net worth.

It is a poison pill, but one that they have to swallow. If you are not
married, I would consult a lawyer about setting up that contract with a
parent, sibling, best friend or me. The good part is it gives you an out
without being awkward when the time comes, you can use the:

"My parents begged me to do it, because they where concerned about my partying
with rock stars, the coke and running with the wrong kind of girls, and at the
time I had not met my one true love, It's no big deal because we are going to
be together forever, right?".

------
cmer
I was in a similar situation recently. The best thing I did was to find a VERY
GOOD investment advisor who handles my finance. By very good, I don't mean
Madoff good, I mean somebody who doesn't promise the moon and really knows
what he's doing.

The problem is that 99% of these people are jackasses and have no clue what
they're doing. Ask rich people around you who they use and interview a few of
them. Only go with someone you feel 100% comfortable with.

I would also advise you not put all your eggs in the same basket. And put some
money aside for your next startup!

~~~
cookiecaper
I'd imagine hiring a good financial planner is like hiring a good programmer:
it takes one to know one. Are you sure your financial planner is so good? How
do you know? Gains aren't necessarily a signal -- Madoff produced "gains" for
his clients for decades.

~~~
cmer
1\. Every person who made a lot of money on the web around here has been
dealing with him for around 10 years and has been extremely satisfied

2\. He works for a large bank

3\. He has just a few large portfolio clients

4\. I can see what I own at any time through the bank's web interface

5\. He calls me whenever he wants to make a move

6\. Average time between when I send him an email and my phone rings: 3
minutes

7\. He's strategic. He always keeps some of my money in cash in the event of a
significant pullback (which I still think will happen sooner or later; this
recovery is not sustainable)

Hope it helps!

------
TWAndrews
The very first thing I'd do is talk with a good accountant or tax lawyer.
Ideally you'd have done this prior to selling the company, and maybe you did
and the 5m is after taxes.

In any case, if it were me, I'd put $1m into an inflation protected security
like <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasury_security#TIPS>. That gives you
enough money to cover yourself if things go otherwise awry.

I'd decide where I wanted to live and buy a house that I could see myself
living in for 10 - 20 years for cash. Probably wouldn't spend more than 2m on
that, perhaps quite a bit less.

I'd put the rest into a money market fund for the time being--low return, but
very low risk, and I'd take 18-24 months to travel and see the world and
figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.

Figure that you hit the jackpot--you'll never really _need_ to work, other
than to stave off boredom--take a little time and determine how you want to
spend the rest of your life. Don't worry about missing current opportunities--
there will be more, especially for someone who's already had a successful
exit.

------
petervandijck
Three things:

1) Take your time. Put it in a low-interest, save place and research.

2) ONLY take advice from an advisor that you pay. Investment advice from a
bank or anyone who is selling you products (or takes a cut on them) will be
flawed. So pay someone.

3) Be very, very, very careful with taxes and pay a tax accountant as well for
advice.

------
LBarret
1\. don't change anything about your spending habits.

2\. hire a pro to manage it

3\. travel all aroudn the world (1 year is cool)

4\. come to france and invest in our startup. ;)

~~~
bdickason
Precisely. Hire a financial advisor and they will manage EVERYTHING for you
from start to finish.

------
briancooley
Cultivate a solid understanding of the exponential function?

In all seriousness, congratulations. Seems like a good problem to have. I
don't have a lot of advice, but if it were me, I would avoid trying to
leverage the money too much. It might be a good way to turn $5MM into $50MM,
but it's also the best way to turn it into $0.

The utility of a lot of extra money is likely to be low for you.

------
faramarz
Buy a few houses/condos near your local University campus and rent it out.
Rinse and repeat. :)

Spend a few grand to renovate, put lock on each door etc. and just sit back
and watch the money come in. (not much sitting back really, you need to make
visits, collect checks etc) but still..

On average students pay $500-700/month for school housing and most of those
are in homes with multiple house-mates to lower the rate. There's school all
year round, no shortage of students.

You don't even need to buy the house outright inc ash. Put a modest amount as
down payment to lower the interest, and pay for it with all the rental income.

Trust me this works. I was one of those students and the landlord was a 26
year old cop who had enough common and financial sense to do this with very
little money down. He earns $3500-4500 a month in rentals, depending how many
people you can legally (or illegally) fit in the house.

Congrats! Don't forget to look after the most important people in your life,
and set aside a percentage for good-will and charities.

------
joshu
Having actually done this: Drop me an email.

There's more to it than "invest in x" or whatever.

~~~
fleaflicker
Why not post here? He won't be the last HN user to have this question.

~~~
joshu
Some of it is common sense. Some of it is psychological that I don't feel like
sharing. Most of it is not wanting to be criticized by people with no relevant
experience.

------
gokhan
You can also check this IAMA at reddit:
[http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/azgs6/iama_guy_who_sol...](http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/azgs6/iama_guy_who_sold_his_startup_and_i_have_like_20m/)

------
howradical
My advice:

\- It's not as much money as you think. That might sound ridiculous to people
without it, but you're not going to start living the Entourage lifestyle on
5m. You are 20, not 60 and it's unlikely you will ever get a higher return on
an investment. It's your duty to protect and grow this wealth.

\- You can't stop working, I tried and failed. Take some time off, travel,
find a new passion or start over with a new company. Your life is just
beginning.

\- I'd suggest reading about Value Investing. I'm not saying you should invest
your own money, but you damn well better know what's going on with it and why.
Understand that inflation will eat away at this without the proper defense.
Understand the ramifications of investments: liquidity, taxes, cash flow, etc.

\- Keep a low profile, people are going to come out of the woodwork for
lunches/pitches/loans/gimmicks. Be polite, but be stern (the answer should
almost always be no).

\- Get a good local attorney and a good accountant ASAP, an afternoon of
research should point you in the right direction. Talk to them about asset
protection plans.

\- Stick with what you know (assuming it's computers). People are going to
suggest all sorts of things, but do you really want to be a landlord, run a
Subway, own a carwash, etc? I'm not saying you can never go in a new
direction, but be careful. It's about 1000x easier to lose a fortune than make
one.

\- Buy yourself a nice, not extravagant house. Treat yourself to something
"fancy" (say a slightly used BMW, not a Ferrari) and the rest goes away. Set a
comfortable monthly budget, DO NOT GO OVER THAT BUDGET. Make a spreadsheet of
your investments, get a Mint account, find leaks and plug the holes.

\- Invest your money in a mix of stocks/bonds/treasuries. Spread the stocks
across different markets (US/China/Asia/Japan/Europe), it should be about half
of your asset allocation. Keep about 5% accessible.

\- Stick with your friends and family, be careful with girls and sign a
prenup.

------
AN447
In my opinion since you don't know what to do I'd do the following.

1) Go on holiday and chill out sit and mull things over. It doesn't have to be
over the top or anything

2) Forget all this reading books crap, whats the point they will in most cases
be dated advice, better you go talk to someone and get some advice maybe from
a few people not just one so called expert wealth manager.

I think for someone your age you should think about a) preserving your wealth
b) building a portfolio of investments albeit a small one just to start off
with (a % you'd be happy to lose in the very worst case scenario) c) you're a
founder so possibly think about starting another company

But in all seriousness, take a holiday, I think you deserve it.

Lastly, well done man

------
MrMatt
What was your company called?

~~~
jacquesm
He's posting from a throwaway account, why would he reveal what the company
was called and undo that ?

Also, he may very well have agreed not to reveal the sales price of the
company to 3rd parties, keeping it anonymous is skirting that line.

~~~
pinstriped_dude
How about giving the OP an opportunity to respond?

~~~
lanstein
Pretty sure Jacques knows what he's talking about...

------
bwh2
Read every article you can find on professional athletes and lottery winners
that squandered millions.

~~~
pinstriped_dude
Here's a related one from today's news wire -
[http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/05/26/the-trials-and-
tribulatio...](http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/05/26/the-trials-and-tribulations-
of-eddy-curry)

------
DanielRibeiro
Paul Buchheit's comment on this thread can also give you some insights.
[http://paulbuchheit.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-to-do-with-
you...](http://paulbuchheit.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-to-do-with-your-
millions.html)

More comments on his FriendFriend link:
[http://friendfeed.com/paul/c34da6af/what-to-do-with-your-
mil...](http://friendfeed.com/paul/c34da6af/what-to-do-with-your-millions)

------
russthornton
I'm an independent, fee-only wealth manager, so take this comment in stride .
. .

The answer is "it depends".

If you truly have "more money than I can ever spend", then you might not need
to take much investment risk at all. While you're only 20 years old, you can
still go through the exercise of thinking about what you want your future to
look like in terms of goals, objectives, dreams, etc.

Of course, if/when a significant other comes into play, things change. Even
more so with children.

Whatever you do, don't lock yourself into anything -- you don't want to paint
yourself into a corner.

Do you have an interest in another startup? This will impact your liquidity
and ability to take risk elsewhere with your finances.

If you really don't buy fancy stuff and can live within your means, don't let
anyone talk you into anything just because "you're young" or any of that
bullshit.

If you want help from a professional, interview at least 5 candidates, all of
whom should come from recommendations from friends, family, board of advisors,
etc.

Bottom line. . . it's your life, and you only get one shot to make the most of
it. Your need to take risks with your money is only dependent upon what you
want to do in the future. If you have big goals and/or short time-frames, this
might call for more risk. However, if you have modest goals and longer-term
time frames, you might need to take little or no risk, but be sure to take
taxes and inflation into account.

This is a challenging topic to address online because the answer is and should
be highly personalized based on your own situation and preferences.

Best of luck with it, and congrats on the exit.

------
iamelgringo
There was an article a year or two ago on SFGate or the SF Chronicle about
Google's what Google did when their set of early employees vested. Their first
1000 employees' stock options were all worth over $1M if I remember correctly.
They paid a number of investment advisers come in and give talks on what to do
with the money. They all suggested index funds.

Anyone find a link to that article?

~~~
illumin8
Unfortunately, if you took that advice back in 2000 you're probably still
underwater.

Index funds are great over long period time frames like 25+ years, but as
always, you need to time your entry and exit strategies. Index funds work
great overall for 401k and retirement funds because you're buying in every
month so fluctuations up or down help you out. Just don't stick 100% in an
index fund in the middle of an overvalued bubblish market.

------
JunkDNA
Hire a professional. You have the money now so you can afford one. So you
don't get taken, I would ask around for suggestions. You could also call up
Vanguard they offer financial planning for people with that amount of money.
With them, you don't have to worry about ulterior motives because of their
corporate structure.

------
sl911
Dude, we need to know your story. All of it!! Obviously nothing that gives
away your privacy or puts you in harm's way.

------
stck
Travel to Las Vegas and play roulette. Place one million dollars on number 17
and create a memory you'll never forget.

------
JoelPM
Buy a Harley and these three books: 1) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance 2) Shopclass as Soulcraft 3) The Bible Then hit the road and don't
come back until you've learned some things.

There, I've helped answer the question for 30k of your 5mil, I'm sure others
can help with the remaining 4.97m :)

~~~
vdm
Seconded Shopclass as Soulcraft.

------
maxklein
When you get on a sum of money quickly, you lack the neccessary skills to
manage it. And you will blow it quicker than you think, because there are many
toys out there. So invest your time in learning how to manage a larger sum of
money, and you will be able to increase it quickly.

------
adammichaelc
From somebody I trust who's been through this:

if he really did sell it for $5M, and assuming they didnt load him up with an
earn out or an escrow (which is unlikely) then after taxes (because he was
proly too dumb to do an 83b election) then he'll get hit with 35% federal, and
probably about 10% state, depending on where he lives.

so that leaves him like $2.8M, and say he's conservative and invests in muni
bonds, he'll get like 3.5% after tax every year, so that's like $100K per
year.

of course, he would still want to buy a house and maybe a car, and depending
on where he lives, that could eat up $1M or so, which would knock him down to
about $60K a year in income, which is not bad, but not exactly a wealthy
lifestyle.

anyway, good on him.

------
epi0Bauqu
I was in this exact situation a few years ago. Email me if you want to
discuss. It depends on your goals and risk tolerance.

------
davidw
Wow - that's cool - what was it / what did you do?

------
honopu
sit down with a copy of Rich Dad Poor dad. Do you live near a college? Is this
a good college? If so, look into buying a few houses around there and rent
them to students, and if you can, buy adjacent houses when they become
available.

Say you buy 2 houses for $350k(random example for bloomington, In, can be much
less.

I'd buy these in cash, which goes against everything you will ever read about
total leverage and all of that, but then you can buy two more houses and put
20% down other two as collateral if they require it(they shouldn't), so you
have 4 houses at the cost of 2.4 houses, which means you will be collecting a
lot of rent. Since you have 4 houses you are depreciating as they are
investments, that income will probably come in right around being tax-free as
long as it is something around $1.2m in property so like $45k/ish a year
income, if not more.

Then you buy up a few houses with this income, maybe you can get 3 houses in a
row, then maybe you can build a row of townhouses you can rent(cheaper to
maintain)

So that's just an idea, arguably better than letting it sit in an account, and
you are buying something that has a relatively high demand, student housing.

Other housing also works, but students are better to deal with.

So you're making a bunch of money off of 1.2m of your 5m and if you ever have
to sell or get money out of those houses you could borrow against them or you
could sell them outright.

Also check out tax free muni bonds.

 _not proofread_

~~~
cullenking
Problem is, the amount of work it takes to maintain a group of rentals is
huge. My old landlord did this instead of investing in the market, and it
turned out way better for him in the long run, however he works his ASS off
maintaining, finding tenants, evicting, fixing stuff after bad tenants etc
etc. Doing it in a college town? It's asking for $3k in expenses every year as
a new group of party kids move out/in.

Don't jump into landlording without having experience with contracting and
home repair, or at least without a family member that does. A single rental is
fine, but managing five? Huge time sink.

------
pragmatic
From a guy who's done it also:

[http://blogmaverick.com/2006/01/02/my-investment-advice-
for-...](http://blogmaverick.com/2006/01/02/my-investment-advice-for-2006/)

"So what to do if you want to invest your money ? What to do if you want to
end this year with more than you started with ?

Simple, avoid risk.

Risk is what Wall Street lies about every day. Risk is what they try to sweep
under the covers knowing that we all are addicted to the dream of financial
freedom. Risk is the poison that is masked by the commercials."

------
adamilardi
Buy Muni bonds from states with a good record of paying..NOT CA Buy
Treasuries. Buy Stock

keep a few years of spending money in cash You can split the risk based on
your risk appetite 30% muni 50% treasury 10% stock

I would recommend more stocks at this point as we've had a market reversal
recently. Also many stocks pay dividends much higher than treasuries and have
the chance for capital appreciation.

If you want to land lord you can buy a building 1 million cash could get you a
nice rental property...depending on the area

Diversify.....!!!!!!

------
ezrider4428
Start an Incubator. Help other people like you make money from their ideas.
Take a million dollars and rent an office space in some big city (Toronto is a
good option). Post on HN that you are starting an incubator where you give
$30k to help fund startup costs. Housing is provided. Food allowances, etc...

total cost per startup would run around 50K giving you enough to help start 20
companies. And the potential to make money is there so it might turn into a
revenue stream.

------
durdn
I really loved the way Derek Sivers solved a similar problem to yours. Have a
look here: <http://sivers.org/trust>

------
jgoewert
If I ever ran into that much, I would probably get into a sort of low amount
angel investment with a small slice of it. (After putting the bulk of it in
the more sensible forms of investment.)

I don't have enough fingers to count how many low key projects I have tried to
start that have never achieved fruition because of my lack of other skills
that I would need to pay someone to do, but didn't have enough money to pay
for it. (Stuff like art, or audio work).

I'm not talking that stuff like million dollar angelling that those guys do in
California, I'm talking $5k to $10k or less. With the project I am on now, I'm
trying to get the $10k minimum from the Intel App-Up program so that I can pay
an artist to make some art, a voice person to do some speaking, and a "blank"
to do some "blanking" (saying this would give away my idea for an app missing
from it). I would pull a loan, but I'm already $30k in the downside from a
previous side business that was more physical product heavy that failed and is
going to take me a few years to pay off.

But if I ever hit my dream of making it to not having to work for someone
elses dream as day job. That would be what I would do with my money.

------
sbe
Find out how to minimize the taxes you owe.

Choose a local credit union over a bank.

Figure out how you want to change the world. Use OCW, if necessary, to get a
general idea of how to do it. (If it's a scientific issue, for example.)

Get to know researchers and PhD students at local universities. Offer
individual grants to those with the expertise you need to help you change the
world. (Again, science-oriented solutions.)

------
Flemlord
Hire a professional financial planner to build you a long-term financial plan.
By this, I mean somebody with a CFP (Certified Financial Planner) designation.
Most CFPs can also make investments for you and will charge you a percentage
based on your assets. At your wealth level it should be <1% annually. There
may be a small charge for building the financial plan if you don't end up
using the investment services.

I'll plug the guy who taught my CFP course, Jeff Ratizner:

<http://www.financialplanningfasttrack.com>

But you really should have somebody local. PM me on reddit with your location
and I may be able to recommend somebody in your area. (I write software for
CFPs and have a good network.)

Final tip: before hiring a financial professional (CFP or otherwise), check
their history and make sure have no pending lawsuits or anything else
worrying:

[http://www.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Search/iapd_OrgS...](http://www.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Search/iapd_OrgSearch.aspx)

------
kls
I am not going to give you the "this is what you should do advice" because it
is your money and you really need to figure out your goals, but for me
personally, I would pick up as much prime real estate as possible while
keeping a good portion liquid. Oceanfront residential, land not houses.

The point is, this property is always in high demand and even though it
fluctuates with the market and did burst with everything else, prime real
estate is always worth the same relative to the broad market of consumable
goods. Which is really what you want to measure by (if you are only looking to
protect your net worth), economies will inflate and deflate, as well currency
and debt backed assets are a horrible way to keep net worth (its a good way to
get rich quick, if you know what you are doing). Take gold for example (a true
asset) it was once said that "an ounce gold in the 1800's would buy you a nice
suit, and today an ounce of gold will still buy you a nice suit" the economy
has changed but the worth is relatively constant.

That is the crux of what you are looking for if you are just trying to protect
your net worth. If we look at it in a simple analogy x piece of property is
worth y horses. x property may be worth $100 at current market and y horses
may be worth $10 at current market, but general x property is worth y horses.
It may vary slightly but the two stay relatively in sync.

This is how you need to think about assets and protecting net worth not in
terms of dollars. When you do this it makes the picture of investing far
simpler (for inflationary hedging and protecting net worth).

Now if you are looking for speculation to try to increase net worth then it is
a whole different ball game and requires educating yourself extensively
because as it was said before financial adviser really have no incentive to
make you rich. If that is what you are looking for advice on the best advice
is don't take any, you have to educate yourself and by all means start small.

------
adrianscott
Some suggestions that should be a part of the solution you develop:

\- Invest part of it in investments that produce cash flow sufficient to cover
a comfortable day-to-day lifestyle

\- Based on things that are your passions, see if there is some aspect of
that, that you can channel into an ongoing self-education about financial
management, investment and risk management

\- Find 2 or 3 financial-investment-successful buddies (or more) with whom you
can talk about investment stuff over a beer once a month or so.

Things you need from your personal finance plan:

\- It needs to work in nonefficient markets (because that's what they are;
e.g. ignore A Random Walk Down Wall St -- it's based on false assumptions)

\- It needs to work if people lie to you (such as boards of directors of
companies you buy stock in, see Enron etc)

\- It needs to work if the U.S. currency becomes worth a lot less quickly in
the coming years.

Hope this helps, -A

------
figurethistuo
Figure out how much you really have after taxes, fees, other reductions, etc.
Keep it in a safe bank account (i.e. the bank will not become bankrupt and
your money will disappear; no matter where you keep it, make sure it doesn't
vanish) Then sit down and figure out what you want to do. Others have already
provided a comprehensive guide to immediate tasks. I think it will help to
define a purpose for this money. Your modest living should help greatly; just
make sure you don't take purely financial risk with the money (like becoming
an investor disconnected absolutely with what he's investing in).

Some personal suggestions of mine include starting another company that you
have passion to start and fund. It seems that you won't waste money, but it
goes without saying to start as though you has no money at all. If you start
anything whether it's a non-profit or company, start immediately with what you
need. Ask if you can start with the least you have. Read REWORK by 37signals.
(this book will provide invaluable experience) Read Getting Things Done by
David Allen. Not only will it help to organize yourself, but refocus yourself
on a 50,000 feet level and realize what you want to do with your life. The
book can prompt internal self-actualization, but you have to be the one to
figure it out. (though their workflow coaching can help setup your system for
the first time, you can do it yourself too) Some of this advice, you probably
know already, but this can be a refresher.

Ask yourself questions! Feel that you want to help other in your community? Do
that. See an incredible opportunity on the horizon? Do that. Work with what
you have a passion for.

I hope others on the internet and I have been able to provide sound ideas for
what to do. Whatever the case, you already came this far. I wish you the best
of luck in what you plan to pursue, and hopefully you'll be able to benefit
our world and yourself. Make sure that you make the decision you know are the
best for you. Personally, please use the money constructively...help someone
with it if you don't know what else to do after making sure you have enough
for the rest of your life.

------
bbansal
take a 6 month break and just travel the world work with some NGO for some
time. When I was a kid I wanted to be so many things with time all of those
things died off.

If I get some lump sum to take care of my needs for some time, I think I just
want to be a kid again.

------
robinduckett
> I am just a regular guy who spends around $3000 a month

That's more than I earn in two months :(

------
siculars
Personally, I would buy pay off my mortgage and buy apartments/homes for my
siblings/parents and still have money to spare. Being that you are only 20,
you probably don't know where you want to live yet but that said, I bought my
first place when I was 21. The way I looked at it, my family had always been
renters and so buying was a good way to pay myself back for my housing
expenses.

After considering a real estate purchase, I would simply park the money in
liquid CD's while I consulted and interviewed a fair number of advisers. Don't
jump in bed with the first fancy adviser who comes along.

------
GuyC
Have you got a view of what you want to do next with your life? Do you have
goals/activites you want to achieve/do?

I think these are important questions that you need to consider first. They
will shape your investment strategy.

------
ukdm
This is a difficult decision that can take a while to sort out. Even
consulting professional can take a while. So my simple rule is this.

Take 10% of the money and put it into an easily accessible account you can use
day-to-day. The other 90% put in a high-interest account and forget about for
12 months.

You can then use that 12-month period to decide what you want to do, but safe
in the knowledge, in this case, you have enough money readily available to
live and not worry about bills. You also have the bonus of a nice lot of
interest added to your sum next year.

------
rjsteinert
Everyone here might think I sound crazy but giving other people the
opportunity to help other people is about the most rewarding thing a human can
do. You have start up experience, help other start ups looking to help mankind
get on their feet. You'll start a chain reaction. You can be as idealistic as
you want, but on one condition. Don't ever invest more than $20,000 per
person. You want to get someone on their feet so they can get 2 other people
on their feet and so on and so forth, you don't actually want to invest.

------
Luc
There is already lots of good general advice here, so I'll give you some very
_specific_ advice: place a few million with Mohnish Pabrai (
<http://www.pabraifunds.com/> , though you'll need to contact them as an
accredited investor before you get access to the website). I spent a lot of
time researching him and his way of working, and have not regretted it. Long
term, Buffett-like approach, very sensible and fair.

------
jdunck
First, do some math. Assuming no inflation, you have 138 years worth of money.
Come on, you'll splurge some, have a friend that needs help, give to charity,
have some unexpected bills, and have inflation. So it's not really more than
you can ever spend. In your shoes, I'd think about what I wanted out of life,
and use the cash to subsidize getting there. Don't try to make it last
forever-- just try to obtain your goals.

------
mr_november
Congrats. Yet another opinion, from someone with a similar mindset to many on
HN (he's probably on here somewhere), Jon Bischke (founder of edufire.com):
[http://jonbischke.com/2010/04/09/if-you-were-24-and-
had-200k...](http://jonbischke.com/2010/04/09/if-you-were-24-and-had-200k-in-
spare-cash-how-would-you-invest-it/)

Although he was talking about a much smaller sum, I think it could still
apply.

------
Concours
I'll say hire a professional to help you invest, ask some advices from your
parents.

 _I've heard Gold is always a good investment, but I have no idea about that
to be honest.

_ Make a depense estimation,kind of budget for the rest of your life.

##Here is how I'll make it:

1-Fix cost: House , Cars (estimate to 4 during my life)

2-varable Cost: wife , kids , kids college , virtual salary (let's say, I'll
pay myself $5000 a month * estimate lifetime, just to spend around)

3- Taxes.

\--------------------

Invest some money starting from here.

------
daniel-cussen
I would (and will) go for platinum. It's like gold, in that it's bullion, but
the mines that produce it in Africa are getting hosed by local governments. It
also has more industrial uses than gold, and most importantly, it can't be
salted without other precious metals. I'd go for physical delivery; it should
come to a few hundred pounds. I'm all in in gold, and trying to switch to
platinum.

------
retroryan
Seth Godin posted a killer idea on his blog
([http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/05/ipad-
killer-...](http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/05/ipad-killer-
app-2-fixing-meetings.html)) and we have been thinking of building it. We
would love a small angel investor =) Email is in my profile if you are
interested.

------
DanielBMarkham
I'd call up Derek Sivers. He was in a similar spot. He gave his away, and if I
were you I'd be extremely curious why he did that.

~~~
dzlobin
This isn't quite right, he is giving his away when he dies, and is collecting
5% a year (~1.5M) from it until then.

<http://Sivers.org/trust>

~~~
DanielBMarkham
Yes, there is quite a bit of detail in there for them to talk about.

I'm not really interested about the details, as I do not have the same
problem. My advice is to find similar people who have been there, reach out,
and ask them to explain what they did and why. I would use at least one
example, maybe several.

This seems like a better use of time than trying to become an expert on
managing finances. You still might (probably) will have to do quite a bit of
this, but first things first. Figure out where the big rocks are.

------
cmarv
Put half with Goldman Sachs and half with Smith Barney. Tell them both what
you are doing. Make it a competition. Tell them that within 5 years you will
choose a winner based on returns. You will soon be making over $400,000 a year
in income, if not closer to $750,000 if you go aggressive.

At this rate you can fund a startup every 6 months as an angel. Chris

------
bgnm2000
Start your next company.

------
gaoshan
Your regular guy spending of $3,000 a month is about equal to my family of 4
monthly spending. Must be nice.

------
pascal_cuoq
"Climb into a tree".

This is the punchline as I remember it of a joke I heard many years ago (in
bubble 1.0 times) that started "How do I get funding for my start-up in the
Silicon Valley? -- Step 1: go and kick a tree ..."

I couldn't get Google to dig up the original joke. Anyone has a reference or
cares to re-tell it?

------
bozertron
The key is to create a cash flow with your windfall. Something that will
sustain you permanently. There are many ways to do this. You may want to
allocate a chunk (say 20%) to use in high risk investments but the rest should
go into rental properties, or cash flow type businesses.

------
known
I think you can quickly operate a <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lottery> for
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World> people

------
KeepTalking
Pay your taxes , Put 75% away for long term needs \- Bonds \- Shares \- High
interest accounts Use 25 % to enjoy what you earned on medium term needs like
\- Paying loans off / Credit cards \- Paying off your car \- Maybe enjoy a
treat /holiday.

------
ssn
> "I am just a regular guy who spends around $3000 a month."

Is it me or "regular" is quite inadequate?

------
fabiandesimone
Can you tell us more about your history? I'm pretty sure it will be very
interesting.

------
cpr
I heartily recommend the Agora Financial Group for many of their newsletters.

<http://agorafinancial.com>

They have about the most realistic view of the world around. (Read: matches my
biases. ;-) Seriously, their founder, Bill Bonner (and his main side-kick,
Addison Wiggin) have written a couple of NYT best-sellers that were prescient
about the current and past crises.

I also like the fact that they mostly hire St. John's grads, people who've
actually gotten something close to a real education.

Back a few years ago when I had money to invest ;-), I used a couple of their
newsletters (Penny Stock Fortunes and another I forget right now) over the
period of a year or so and (though "the plural of anecdote is not data") made
about 40% on my medium-sized investments.

These guys are the real deal.

------
goethe
>I am just a regular guy who spends around $3000 a month

Holly shit! I'm trying to live and study as a foreign student in Germany with
648€/month ( about 800$ )... You spent 3000$/month and call yourself "regular"
???..

------
joornaal
Build a small 5 star hotel and never sell it. Hire a good manager to run it
for you. You will not worry feeding yourself and your family ever again. And
then find out what to do with your life.

------
mattmaroon
2 words: dry cleaning. Wave of the future.

And if you don't get that reference, watch this:
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243133/>

------
jcl
Additional advice in a thread from several months ago:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1060019>

------
pierresmack
Decide what your life purpose is. Work towards it. Use the money to help you
along. Don't worry too much about it. At least, that's what I think I'd do in
your situation.

------
adammichaelc
Strange that the OP hasn't replied once to this discussion...

------
known
You may fix <http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/may/03touch.htm>

------
skspecial88
Invest it in a company. if I had 5m i'd put it into Siege Audio or We Are Top
Secret. or buy a gigantic sail boat.

------
Al-Ageel
Go invest in one of the GCC countries. No taxes and guaranteed success when it
comes to IT businesses.

------
tigerthink
<http://yudkowsky.net/singularity/>

------
foxtrot
Can you help me out of my debt so I can start to make short films? - Don't
know until you ask.

------
samfingcul
i don't know if you are a casino player, but i have a winning roulette system.
if you are interested do not hesitate to contact me for more details email
samfingcul@yahoo.com

------
stevenbrianhall
Have you ever considered investing in an organization that specializes in
micro-finance? The potential to do good and impact impoverished people with
even a small portion of your recent earnings (congrats, by the way!) is
incredible.

A high-level summary of micro-finance is the issuing of small loans (often
just $100-$200) to small groups of 3-4 extremely poor people. The borrower
then uses that previously unattainable capital to purchase supplies and
equipment to open their own business.

A classic example would be a poor woman in rural Mexico. Her husband works in
the fields and they make just barely enough to get by and feed their kids,
there's no capital left over even in a good season, and therefore no way to
get ahead. If someone were to offer her the opportunity for a micro-loan, she
would have a chance to overcome that barrier of extreme poverty.

The lender of the micro-loan would have the woman find another two or three of
her friends, and they would form a borrowing group. The borrowing group puts
together their aggregate financial needs, and a loan is issued to the group.
The purpose of the group is accountability and camaraderie, and receiving
additional loans is contingent on every member paying back their loan on time
The group will meet together once a week with the lender and pay back a small
portion of their loan plus interest over the course of 6 to 8 months.

Upon receiving the loan, the woman would buy a large pot, supplies,
ingredients, and a table, and begin making and selling tamales out of the
front of her house. She'd make enough to cover her own living expenses and pay
off the weekly loan repayment amounts, while improving her own quality of life
and gaining confidence.

This extends credit to people who would have never qualified under the
existing banking system, and I have story upon story of people's lives who
were absolutely changed by what we would consider an absolutely trivial
amount.

I don't do this for a living, but I firmly believe in it, and will be putting
that belief into practice within the next year.

Some micro-finance organizations include: 1\. Grameen Bank -
<http://www.grameen-info.org/> 2\. Kiva - <http://kiva.org> (started by PayPal
alums) 3\. MicroPlace - <http://www.microplace.com/> (backed by PayPal)

For further reading, see (Microfinance)
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfinance> and (Banker to the Poor)
[http://www.amazon.com/Banker-Poor-Micro-Lending-Against-
Pove...](http://www.amazon.com/Banker-Poor-Micro-Lending-Against-
Poverty/dp/1586481983/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274968591&sr=8-1)

Go do some good. :)

------
memoryfault
midgets and cocaine

------
dnsworks
Sounds like a great time to become an angel investor in the market that you're
familiar with. Join an angel group, spend 6 months learning your way around
before you make an investment. Spend the first five years making small
investments, but don't lead rounds, rather find successful angels who you
respect and trust, and join rounds that they're funding. At least, that's what
I would do.

------
eberfreitas
You could buy my startup for $1m!

------
Feynman
Two Words: Hookers and Blow.

~~~
petervandijck
And this gets downvoted?

------
davemabe
One word: plastics.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
Because there's an endless supply of oil to make plastics with? I think it
will be hard to drag the price of plastics up to match the price of crude as
it runs out. Would be interested in an economists view on this though.

------
olalonde
Maybe you'd want to be an angel :) I'm a co-founder at a company that is
growing very fast and we are looking for some investors. The company is
incorporated in Hong Kong so it's very hard to get VC. If you'd like to hear
more, add me on Skype (o-lalonde) (sorry for the shameless plug)

------
markrickert
Go to <http://www.daveramsey.com> to learn how to manage it.

------
istari
Consider acquiring a new hobby: buying and selling real estate. In this
environment it's not hard to get good deals if you have the cash. I've bought
over 20 properties in at courthouse foreclosure auctions in conjunction with
other investors, and all I have is $1M or so. I've sold 8 of them, and average
30% returns over 6 months.

And it's not hard, it just takes patience and time. Get a good agent and start
small, 50 to 100K per deal. Buy AT LEAST 30% below market value for flips, or
aim for 2% of the property's value in rent per month for rentals. Read
biggerpockets.com. Most deals on the MLS are market price and not worth it.
Never buy at market price.

For example, 16143 CAMINO DEL SOL, Los Gatos is being auctioned off RIGHT NOW,
as in Thurs 5/27 11:30 AM. It's 3 bed 2 bath 1700 square feet built in 1955.
Its estimated at around $1M but bidding is starting at $650K at the Santa
Clara County Courthouse. I bet someone's going to get it for 700 to 800K or so
and flip it.

------
jseliger
Go read _The Millionaire Next Door_ : [http://www.amazon.com/Millionaire-Next-
Door-Thomas-Stanley/d...](http://www.amazon.com/Millionaire-Next-Door-Thomas-
Stanley/dp/0671015206/ref=thstsst-20) . Ideally buy it from that link, because
it has an affiliate link to it, and I get maybe $.10.

Then go read the Motley Fool's Guide to Investing:
<http://www.fool.com/investing/basics/index.aspx> .

For now, leave the money in a bank or Vanguard low-risk bond fund (see
www.vanguard.com) and don't do much of anything with it. Read a lot until you
understand what you're doing. Don't trust any single source of advice, and
_don't trust financial advisers_. Their interest is often in high fees and is
often opposed to yours.

Finally, remember that no one can beat the market over the long term. Anyone
who claims they can should be doubted (although they'll undoubted say that I
should be doubted. The difference is that I have Efficient Market Hypothesis:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efficient-market_hypothesis> on my side, and
they have... promises).

