Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Coming into some money can be a dream come true, the answer to all your problems. You could pay off all your debts, go on that dream holiday, or buy that house you’ve always wanted, however, coming into money can also be very stressful, and it can be hard to know what to do with it.

While you decide what you’d like to do though, you need to make sure that your newfound funds are protected.

Take Some Time

Take some time to think about what you want to do and how this will make a difference. If coming into this money was unexpected, it is very easy to get carried away with a luxury lifestyle and end up blowing the lot and treating it differently to the money you have earned in your life. It’s a good idea to put your money away into a savings account that you can access easily and while the interest won’t be the highest available, doing this will give you time to put together a more long-term financial plan.

Keep Quiet

While you’ll probably want to crack open the champagne and shout it from the rooftops, be careful. If people find out about your good fortune, you may find that you’re getting more visitors than usual and everyone’s extremely friendly to you. Also, splashing out on your nearest and dearest can result in your windfall quickly disappearing. It will probably be difficult to hide your new lifestyle from those you know, so consider creating a ‘cover story.’

Get Your Priorities Right

If you’ve won an enormous amount and can buy a new house instantly, then go for it. However, if you’ve not won enough to buy it outright or it will use up all your money then you need to think carefully as a house is still a significant purchase. However, you can look at all those things you’ve wanted to get sorted in your current home and your present life. Are you desperate to get the roofers in? Have you been using a half broken oven or is your sofa on its last legs? Get those small but essential things taken care of as soon as you can.

Don’t forget the taxman

Tax implications depend on the type of windfall you have received, so you need to check this out and make sure you don’t owe anything. If you have won the lottery, this money is usually treated as a gambling win, and as such payments are tax-free. However, once the payment has been made, any interest or income generated from the capital will be subject to Income Tax at your highest marginal rate.

Clear your debts

This should ideally be the first thing you do, but if your lump sum is not large enough to wipe out all your debts, focus on loans secured against your home or credit cards with high-interest rates.

Invest

Depending on how much you have, look at investing your money into something that can help to grow your money, you could buy commercial property and rent it out, you could invest in a startup company, the opportunities are endless.