Unexpected inheritance

pickledonionspaceraider

I would pay the majority into the mortgage

However I would hold some back for a once in a life time holiday, a fancy cruise or a safari, or something... just the two of you. You only live once and you may not get another chance to blow a chunk of cash on a treat.

Albermarle

One thing you can do is type in 'inheritance ' or ' lump sum ' into the search box at the top of this board and search the board for the many similar questions asked on a regular basis.

Also , like you can see above there are many different views and opinions on whether paying off a mortgage quicker, or investing any extra money available is the best thing to do. So there is no absolute right or wrong answer and so probably best to do a bit of both .

Generally ( and it depends on exact circumstances and the type of people involved )
The rational financial argument is usually in favour of not paying the mortgage off quickly, but instead investing the money long term . Ideally inside a pension.
However many people are more emotionally driven and see paying the mortgage off as quickly as possible a priority over future retirement income/security. Also they often do not want to take on any investment risk , which again will compromise their financial position later in life.

markinyo

Given that this inheritance was unexpected, and presumably you are financially ok otherwise (your mortgage doesn't seem too onerous), if I were you I would consider putting it into investments. As others have said, although investments can go down ultimately over the longer term you are likely to gain more than if you had used it to pay down your mortgage. Simple tracker investments like the various Vanguard funds are often a good bet.

SpendingAspire

This would be my general approach to handling an unexpected windfall like that:

I'd pay 40% into the mortgage, put 20% into investments, keep 20% in cash in the highest interest earning account that allows reasonable access you can find, put 10% into gold and/or silver and, finally, use 10% to treat yourself and your family to something nice (like a holiday) so that your memory of the person who left you the money is indelibly associated with a positive experience and thus commemorated.

atush

I'd pay into your pensions, boost cash emergency fund and open S&S isas. You can use the S&S isas to help pay off the mtg later.

If you and your partner arent married, use some of the money to become so. A party, a honeymoon? But even if you do, this is your money and you make the decision- it doesnt matter if they are risk averse.

zagubov

Re-mortgage to an offset mortgage if you can find one with a low rate? Stick your emergency money into it? So you can deal with whatever may happen.
The rest into and S&S ISA.

And do it after you've gone on a cruise or dream holiday to celebrate your benefactor's memory. It's what they'd want you to do, enjoy life.