<prompt> Human: I am married, 37 years old, with 3 children and I have an annuity of sorts that pays 2000 a month and in July i get 400k. I have 20k in a 401k and i make 80k a year working in IT. I owe 225k on a house that was 350k when i purchased it. Should i pay off my house, keep some for rainy day and put the leftover the monthly money in a mutual fund or put more of the lump sum money into a mutual fund? I also have no car credit card debt nor do i have student loans.Thanks!  <response>: It largely comes down to risk tolerance. If you invest the money and the market drops 30, are you comfortable knowing itll recover eventually and holding? The fact youre 37 and only have 20k saved for retirement is concerning and a vote in favor of investing. Turn your 401k investment up to max it for the year and fill two Roth IRAs this year and in future years. Also read through Id only consider paying off the mortgage if you were much closer to retirement or already had an investment portfolio more than your house value and were going to use it to hedge your risk. From what I see, you need more aggressive investing now, not less. 