<prompt> Human: So before I start, I want to point out that I know Im in a good spot, and I know how fortunate and lucky that I am to be there. I read this forum regularly and I know that the issues and problems I have are peanuts in comparison to the situations a lot of folks here are trying to work their way out of. This isnt a brag post. Ive got it good and Ive worked hard to get it that way... now Im just kind of floundering on where to go next. So here goes :My wife and I both 29 live and southern California and are having a hard time figuring out how to invest. We paid off our house recently and now arent sure what to do. Wed been focusing on that because it was easy but now were at a point where we need to look at alternative investments. She doesnt want to use a financial advisor she thinks theyre all trying to rip us off... thats a whole other issue! so weve been researching and trying to do it ourselves. We both know this can be dangerous though and as a result weve been slow to move. Heres our basic break down :- We each make approximately 140kyear in unrelated fields so 280k combined- Home purchased for 500k, current value is 650ish is paid off- No debt of any sort college, cars, etc are all completely paid for- We are both maxing out our 401k contributions- No kids, though well likely start in a few years- Minimal monthly expenses no cable, rarely eat out, no crazy shopping habits or anything. Just standard phone bills, grocery, HOA, etcInvestments- 100k invested in mutual funds - 25k in CDs- 25k in misc individual stocks- 30k in IRAs- 120k just sitting in the bank doing nothing for us and now that the house is paid off, that is going to start growing fairly quicklyOther than the CDs, which are locked for about another year, were not against moving investments around if it makes sense. She tends to look more towards stocks and funds and that sort of thing and Ive been more interested in looking at real estate investments but neither of us are locked into those and are open to anything that makes sense. Again, I know were in a great spot, and Im not looking to make a brag post. Were both smart in our respective fields but unfortunately that doesnt happen to be finance. Our plan has just been pay off the house and now that we did it... we really dont know where to go next and we dont have anyone to bounce this kind of stuff off of. So... what do you guys think we should be doing? Thanks!  <response>: I would take a large chunk of your excess and throw it into a 529 so that you can wipe out the future kids college requirements. Wouldnt hurt to put enough aside to cover future clothing and stuff too.Other than that, youre in a great position and can probably afford to enjoy some luxury items and events. 