<prompt> Human: Im married in my 40s. We have an 8th grader and a 5th grader. We contribute to our retirement accounts. We pay a mortgage, his student loans, and regular bills. No other debts.We have about 200k just sitting in a MONEY MARKET account- not mutual fund. I was thinking of sticking 100K in a Vanguard Index fund and just letting it be. How do I choose one? Do I need a financial planner to tell me what to do?We are fortunate to have maybe an extra 3-4K left over each month, so Ive been sticking it in the mutual fund, and it has added up. But Id like make more interest. I figure an index fund is, long term, better than trying to pay off the house early. We have 13.5 years left with a 3ish interest rate. Does that sound right? Same with the student loans; they have a 2.5 interest rate.Any advice would be appreciated.Edit: I meant money market account, not mutual fund. Doh!  <response>: one of the main benefits of index funds is that you dont need to hire someone. just open a vanguard account, transfer the money in, and buy a bunch of vtsax. 