AAA<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve come into an inheritance and am anxious about what I should do with the money. I\u2019ve never really had this much money to manage in the first place. I have a fully paid off home. I\u2019ve also never worked with financial professionals, so I don\u2019t know how to go about that. I worry about being taken advantage of. I don\u2019t want to squander the money, but I don\u2019t know how to make good use of it. How should I go about this? <\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to spend a lifetime thinking that \u201cif only I had more money,\u201d your financial stress would disappear. However, it\u2019s not the money alone that solves the stresses, it\u2019s your confidence in your ability to manage the money you have. So, what\u2019s the way forward?<\/p>\n
![\"It](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/768e5e5701272eb189304e2dd3da9958b480505d.jpeg\")
It can be difficult to work out what to do with a large inheritance.Simon LetchTake the pressure off yourself to figure out what to do<\/p>\n
Sitting on a lump sum of cash can be far more anxiety inducing than people expect. There might be a nagging anxiety to \u201cdo something\u201d with the money, but you don\u2019t know what.<\/p>\n
A lot of less-than-ideal decisions are made from a desire to alleviate this anxiety, quickly. You want to stop feeling this pressure, so you rush the decision: you sign up with the first financial advisor your friend recommends, or follow your uncle\u2019s well-meaning suggestion to buy a property. At least now you\u2019ve decided, now you can move on with your life.<\/p>\n
Slow down. Give yourself permission to take some time to figure out how to make a decision that you feel confident and comfortable with.<\/p>\n
However, often that anxiety just gets deferred. Before, you were anxious about doing something with the money. Now, you\u2019re anxious about whether you made the right decision.<\/p>\n
So, slow down. Give yourself permission to take some time to figure out how to make a decision that you feel confident and comfortable with.<\/p>\n
Get clarity on your current financial position<\/p>\n
I get my clients to create a \u201cbalance sheet\u201d \u2013 a list of all their assets and liabilities, categorised into the different asset classes (e.g. cash accounts like savings, investment accounts, property and so on). This is going to give you a one-page snapshot of your financial situation.<\/p>\n
Related Article You have a home, your investments (inside and outside superannuation), and your savings. You\u2019ve already got a fully paid off house, which is great. So the focus for you will be on your savings and investments. You will want to get some clarity on how much you intend to keep in cash (i.e. savings) versus how much you intend to invest. My general rule of thumb is: don\u2019t invest money you think you\u2019ll need to spend in the next three to five years. For example, if you\u2019re going on a world tour next year don\u2019t invest that money.<\/p>\n So, think about how much money you need for regular expenses, as well as how much you might want to put towards any bigger expenses in the next couple of years. You now have a rough idea of how much to keep in cash versus how much you can put towards investments.<\/p>\n A two-fold investment: inside versus outside super<\/p>\n The main advantage of investing inside superannuation is that it is possible to save a lot of money on taxes by investing through your super fund. The main drawbacks of superannuation is that the money in super will not be accessible to you until you\u2019re at least 60 to 65.<\/p>\n So, you want to ask yourself: \u201cOf the money I have available to invest, how much am I okay to not access until I\u2019m in my 60s versus how much would I like to have available to me before then?\u201d This is going to help you clarify how much to invest inside versus outside superannuation.<\/p>\n Start to learn about how investments work<\/p>\n Now, it\u2019s up to you how far down this rabbit hole you go. The goal isn\u2019t to necessarily DIY your own investments. You may be happy to pay a little extra to have someone do that for you.<\/p>\n Related Article However, even if that is the case, having some foundational knowledge of how investing works will help you feel more confident in your ability to hire and manage the relationship with a financial professional. Investing is a big world, but a good starting point is learning how index funds and ETFs work. What do terms like \u201casset allocation\u201d and \u201cdiversification\u201d and \u201cdollar cost averaging\u201d mean, and how should one change one\u2019s asset allocation over time?<\/p>\n This is roughly the same process anyone can go through. Whether you have $10,000 or $100,000 or $1 million in the bank, it doesn\u2019t really change the foundational steps required to build financial confidence and capability. Just like, whether you\u2019re sitting in a BMW or a Toyota, the steps required to learn how to drive are the same.<\/p>\n Paridhi Jain is a money and mindset coach who combines practical strategies with mindset transformation to help clients create more freedom and fulfilment in wealth, work and life. Find Paridhi at: skilledsmart.com.au<\/a>. <\/p>\n Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers\u2019 decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.<\/p>\n Expert tips on how to save, invest and make the most of your money delivered to your inbox every Sunday. Sign up for our Real Money newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790672533_476_055d4fb3f493205109d73bf4ed3d07df0e82f343.jpeg\")
<\/a>Think about your wealth in three portions<\/p>\n![\"What](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/88d024cf3dbdff5984d58c429a3533cd735e4ab3.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"Paridhi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/453aef4f99c5e604d93f129ec2556bb5722589d1.png\")