(Part 3) Top products from r/FinancialPlanning

Deeply sorry for your loss. I received some advice as a young man about windfalls that I’ll share with you.

Forget about the money for a year. Open a separate bank account that you won’t see and live like it isn’t there. The lost income from investments for one year will be insignificant compared to the cost of a hurried misstep.

In a year with a clear head and a strong heart educate yourself about different investment philosophies and see which ones resonate with you. Investing is very personal and there isn’t one right answer.

There isn’t a right answer, but be wary of the salesmen. All the money / wealth managers are well compensated for their advice and there are many ways they hide their fees and take advantage of their clients (even fiduciaries). If you’re considering enlisting a professional, a robotic trader like https://www.wealthfront.com/ or https://intelligent.schwab.com/ will serve you just as well with lower fees. If you do decide to enlist an advisor to help formulate a financial plan for you, find a fee-based advisor who you can pay once every few years to update the plan.

Here are a few books that were helpful to me in developing my investment philosophy that allowed me to retire in my early thirties.

Bogleheads / Vanguard Index Funds
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Common-Sense-Investing/dp/1119404509

The Richest Man in Babylon (investing philosophy)
https://www.amazon.com/Richest-Man-Babylon-George-Clason/dp/1505339111

Dave Ramsey / Personal Finance
https://www.amazon.com/Total-Money-Makeover-Financial-Fitness/dp/159555078X

Tax-Free Wealth - Tom Wheelwright / How investments affect your taxes
https://www.amazon.com/Tax-Free-Wealth-Permanently-Lowering-Advisors/dp/1937832058

Where are the Customer’s Yachts
https://www.amazon.com/Where-Are-Customers-Yachts-Street/dp/0471770892

NOTE: I did not read your whole post, but here's a list of links I send to friend's who ask the same question.

NOTE 2: A MAJORITY of this should apply to those in other countries.

Read this First - This is an infograph that summarizes every financial blog/book I've looked at.

Books I've read that have been very helpful

1. I will teach you to be rich - I've reread this multiple times. Covers almost all things finance that you'll need to know in your 20's + 30's. Totally worth the money!
   
   
2. Beginners Guide To Investing - Breaks down investing in a very straightforward way
   
3. Rich Dad Poor Dad - Very Cheesy, but hits some great thoughts on how rich ppl perceive money, are willing to talk about it, and how they grow money faster than the poor and middle class
   
4. Your Money or Your Life - Haven't finished (feels a little dated, but hits some really good points on how to think of money and why you should change your habits)
   
   Books I haven't read but ppl reference:
   
   
5. A random walk down wall street - Why investing in single stocks is foolish
   
6. Possum Living - How to live cheaply
   
7. Dave Ramsey or Suze Orman - Both have very popular philosophies and spending strategies for getting started. Most advanced FIRE pursuers are not big fans.
   
   Sites to Reference:
   
   
8. Mr. Money Mustache - All Financial Independence websites reference this site.
   
9. Money Under 30 - All things Personal Finance for our age group
   
10. Investopedia - Helps with the basics
    
    Reddit: (Search Top Posts All Time)
    
    /r/financialindependence
    
    /r/Personalfinance
    
    /r/FinancialPlanning

I suggest Laws of Wealth. It is a great insight into human beings managing money and how it can best be done.

https://www.amazon.com/Laws-Wealth-Psychology-investing-success/dp/0857195247

I just read this recently and I really enjoyed it and took a lot away from it.

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-Own-Living-Trust/dp/1413321003

You can do your own living trust pretty easily. There are books with templates, like the one linked above. And you should almost always have a trust, not a will. Lawyers like to recommend wills because wills require probate and probate fees are another way for lawyers to make money.