<prompt> Human: I have a feeling I already know the answer to this question, but because there are a lot of emotional factors tied into my decision-making, I want to make sure that when I DO make my decision, I can do so with confidence and not look back. Thanks in advance for any advice. My father passed away suddenly this past July. Its horrible and Im devastated. But thats another story. Im here because Im having trouble making decisions on what to do with the inheritance. I want to make responsible decisions. Thats the kind of man he was, and I want to honor that. However, I also feel stuck because I dont want to make any rash moves that Ill regret, but my financial situation may mean that a rash move might be in my best interest. Let me explain. As for my current situation, I am a self-employed freelance worker who works paycheck to paycheck or job to job. I scrape by. Its hard. I am swimming well, drowning in student loan debt. I have four loans. Each percentage has been reduced by .25 because I enrolled in autopay. All interest is compounded daily. Monthly payments in parenthesis. 1. 42,027 6.55 251.922. 22,165 6.55 257.363. 17,196 2.375 82.894. 11,333 6.3 62.75In addition, I have about 3,000 in medical debt and 600 in credit card debt. Drops in the bucket, comparatively. So Ive been managing to pay off the student loan minimum payments and maintain the CC debt, but I havent been able to pay off the medical debt some of it is years old, some is even in collections and I havent heard from anyone regarding it in a while... Now for the inheritance. My sisters and I are all getting approximately 250k each in IRA money. From what I understand, they will all roll over into our own IRAs and we will have to take out a certain amount every year. Im not sure when we will see that money or how much my minimum withdrawals will be, but Im in my early 30s and it will probably be somewhat of a larger number from what Im told.In addition, my father set aside a life insurance policy where I am the only beneficiary. Its for 42,000 and currently in a separate account set up by Met Life with a guaranteed 0.5 APY. So now, Im trying to figure out how to use the money best. Something tells me with about 14day in compounding interest, that its in my best, well, interest to apply all the LIP money toward the loans. I feel like thats what my dad would do. But now that the LIP money is in my hands, Im nervous about just slapping it on my debt. While it will help relieve a large portion of my stress, is that going to make me happy? Should I put aside an emergency fund first? Are there other financial options that Ive never been in the tax bracket to even consider? Would it be wise to consult a financial advisor?I know a lot of people say to sit on it until they are emotionally ready to make a decision, but again, those interest dollars just keep adding up...So thats where Im at. Any professional or personal advice would be greatly appreciated, and I can answer any questions if Ive left anything out. Thanks in advance!  <response>: Common advice around here would be to pay those 6 loands off over investing it. You are taking a gamble to try and beat that 6 with investing. 