<prompt> Human: When I turned 18, I inherited over 600k from my diseased father. Currently, its paying my rent 365mo my mothers rent 525mo my tuition 16k yearly, not counting my scholarships and grants which add up to about 13k. I havent gotten my FAFSA straightened out so I havent received anything yet. This is my first semester. It also covers all of mine and my mothers basic needs and utilities. She is by all means a leech who Ive yet to shake, but thats a conversation best left for rrelationships. I do not currently work, because I fear it would interfere with my grades. Im not sure if this is safe for me to do or not.Anyhow, Im just looking for any advice on investing, making large purchases, budgeting, and anything else you folks think would be helpful. Im totally alone with basically no one to help with my finances, my family is a pack of hyenas, and Im not sure where to turn. I had a meeting with a Merrill Lynch adviser several months ago but my mother scared me into not making any decisions. I also would like some advice specifically on real estate investment. I was thinking about buying a home for my mother, who is currently draining me with her rent payment. I told her I would think about buying a home if she found a way to pay her utilities, but Im not sure about such a huge decision. EDIT: I forgot to add that in the current account Im in my money is only making 0.25 annual interest.Assistant: Hi there,I know youre writing in the personal finance thread, but Im going to give you some advice from personal experience. Pretty much the same thing happened to me when I was 19. I had less than a dollar in my bank account for weeks, then all of a sudden I had about 200,000.The feeling was overwhelming and I felt genuinely rich. And I was for being 19. Most people twice your age would feel that way.I have two younger brothers who also received that amount when they turned 18. None of us has a cent left.This is why. We all tried to be prudent and spend our money wisely. None of us really worked during that time, because why? We all met a handful of people who we thought we could help with a loan, none of which paid any of us back. The thing is, we nickeled and dimed ourselves out of our money. None of us made a single solid, worthwhile investment because we didnt have enough foresight .The thing is, you will live to 45, most likely older, and you have already spent about 30 grand. Where do you want to be at 45 or 50? Retired? Wealthy enough to travel a bit? I wish I had had the foresight to realize this. So does my wife.Anyway, if I had to do it over again, this is the advice I would give myself: Learn the value of a dollar. Learn that you are in a very unique position that many people are envious of. Learn a skill or a trade that makes you happy and makes you money. Know that you will be okay without this money. Furthermore, know that it is just money and try to lose the emotional attachment you have to it as it is from someone you most likely cared deeply about.I would set aside enough money for college, then put the rest somewhere I couldnt touch it for 10-15 years when you have a handful of kids and a spouse. People in this subreddit can give you better advice than I can on how to invest it.Other than that, good luck to you. I hope this helps.Human: Your comment means a lot to me, thank you for your insight. If Ive learned anything it is that money will walk away fast if you dont stay on top of it. And that people are terrible when they have their sights set on a dollar.  <response>: To put it into slightly more perspective; that amount of money that you inherited is approximately 50 of what I would like to have in my accounts at the time I retire if I were to retire today, at age 70. I figure that if I dont need to save for retirement anymore, income of 70k in todays dollars would be enough. 70k - social security of 30k per year 40k I need to come up with from investments. 40k 3.5 withdrawal rate 1.142M. 570 1,142 50. I plan on earning enough to pay the highest social security taxes possible for a big chunk of my life. My goal is also to have more in the bank; but the big take-away is that what you inherited is not sufficient to retire with 70k year income, assuming very high social security payout. Sure, its a lot of money; but dont let it go to your head. Even if 100 went towards retirement, it would not be enough. 