<prompt> Human: For my family and I, I am in charge of finances. Bills get paid either on time or late, but they get paid. Its paycheck to paycheck like a lot of families. Recently husbands grandmother passed and he received a very large inheritance check so we decided to pay off our debts. Luckily, we only had about 10k worth of debt together. Now that were caught up and still have a bunch in the bank, what would be the best next step?We were thinking about putting a chunk in an interest building account, but neither of us are sure of how that works. How do we make our money last as long as possible without getting too carried away with big purchases?  <response>: This entry in the FAQ is a good place to start. How do we make our money last as long as possible without getting too carried away with big purchases?I think you answered your own question. Dont use this money as an excuse to inflate your lifestyle. Also, I would keep the specifics of the inheritance private; your friends, etc. dont need to know that you just got a whole bunch of money.. Depending on the size of the inheritance, you have a chance to set yourself up nicely and break your paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle forever. Youve already paid off all your debts, which is great. Heres what I would do with the rest:1. Set aside 6mo worth of necessary expenses in a liquid account, for emergency use ONLY job loss, medical, etc.. Do not touch it for any other reason. This should actually have come before paying off your debts, but its OK in your case since the inheritance sounds pretty sizable.2. Set aside an additional 1-2mo of expenses. The reason? To stop living paycheck to paycheck. This way you will always be 1-2mo ahead of all your bills.3. Enjoy a little of the money thats left, but keep it within reason. Again, you answered your own question when you mentioned not getting carried away with big purchases. What you do will of course depend on the size of the inheritance. Example: if you have 100k left after setting up your emergency fund and your 1-2mo buffer for expenses, dont spend 90k of it on that new BMW. Take a nice 5-10k family vacation, trade in that old clunker car that barely runs for something a little more reliable, etc., instead. This will help get the initial look at all this money I have!!! out of your system.4. Get your budget in order. Youre currently living paycheck to paycheck, which wont change unless you make some changes to your spending habits. As I said, doing 2 will break the cycle, but thats only part of it. Use Mint.com or YNAB to track every single sent of your monthly spending, and see where you can cut back groceries, eating out, etc.. If you post your income and expenses here, we can make suggestions to help you with your budget.5. If either of your employers offer any 401k plans with matching, contribute whatever is required to get the full employer match. Keep in mind that employer-sponsored 401k contributions must come from payroll deductions; you cant contribute directly from your inheritance money. If your improved monthly budget doesnt have room for these contributions, just increase your payroll deductions to the 401ks anyway, and use the inheritance money to pay for your regular expenses.6. Max out a Roth IRA for both you and your husband, for both 2014 and 2015. You have until April 15th to contribute to a 2014 IRA.7. Use the same strategy in 3 to maximize your contribution to your employer 401ks.8. Use anything thats left to save towards any non-retirement goals. Examples might include a home, travel, college funds for your children, etc.The size of the inheritance will of course determine how far down this list you can go, but that should cover most scenarios. Best of luck, and dont forget to post your budget here so we can help you get it in order! 