<prompt> Human: 2 months ago I paid off student loan. After 1.5 years of saving pretty hard, I was afraid to change my lifestyle. I thought Id keep on living frugal until I build up a 6-mo emergency fund and then figure out the next move. Keep it simple, one goal at a time. With a humble 5K balance in the bank, I was elated to have positive net worth for the first time. While I am really grateful for the 40K windfall, this sort of came from the left field. This is much bigger than the emergency fund goal I was working toward. Somehow I feel lost, and in a strange way, almost angry because my plan is now invalid. I want to solve this mental block, and come up with a plan of action before the money lands in my account. Which way should I go?1. Keep building my emergency fund, and put the 40K windfall into a basic set-and-forget investment portfolio like this. With 4.75 annual returns itll become approx 90K in 15 years. 2. Stash the 40K away in a separate high-yield savings account and dont think about it for a while. Keep building my emergency fund.3. Complete the emergency fund with a part of the windfall say 15K, and find an investment advisor to ask what to do with the remaining 25K.Hope I dont sound like a thoughtless, ungrateful jerk. Thanks for your help.  <response>: Dont change your lifestyle. This is a great jump start on retirement, max out your Roth IRA or other plans, then set it aside to save for a home, if that is desired. 