The Aporia · Inherited a windfall? Your first move should be to do nothing

The article advises someone who has inherited money on how to manage it wisely without rushing into decisions. It suggests taking time to understand one's financial situation thoroughly before making any moves, emphasizing the importance of creating a balance sheet and distinguishing between short-term savings and long-term investments. The author recommends keeping cash for immediate needs while considering investments for future goals, but stresses not to invest money needed within three to five years.

Written by AI on 2026-09-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

Story summary

A reader inherited a significant sum of money and is unsure how to manage it wisely. Paridhi Jain from the Sydney Morning Herald advises creating a balance sheet listing all assets and liabilities categorized into different asset classes such as cash accounts, investment accounts, and property. This process helps gain clarity on one's financial position without rushing into decisions that could lead to less-than-ideal outcomes. The goal is to alleviate anxiety by taking the pressure off oneself to make immediate choices with the newfound wealth. It’s important to avoid being taken advantage of or squandering the money through hasty actions like signing up with an unfamiliar financial advisor based on casual recommendations.

Written for “Inheritance Advice” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

📰 Inheritance Advice

Economy/Business · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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Paridhi Jain

4 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Most people think you’re supposed to pick investments that will give you the “best return”, but it’s more about getting a good balance of return and risk.

2026-10-27 · assertive framing · My friend asked me how to get wealthy. Here was my honest answer

🔮 Here are some perspective shifts that will help:

2026-10-20 · assertive framing · The one mistake that turns sensible investors into panic buyers

🔮 It’s easy to spend a lifetime thinking that “if only I had more money,” your financial stress would disappear.

2026-09-29 · assertive framing · Inherited a windfall? Your first move should be to do nothing

🔮 There are times I do spend quite liberally; if I’m on a holiday, I might splurge because I do enjoy the feeling of freedom and abundance.

2026-09-22 · assertive framing · ‘I worry I’ve over-spent’: Here’s how to spend and not feel guilty

Also by Paridhi Jain

My friend asked me how to get wealthy. Here was my honest answer

2026-10-27 · The Sydney Morning Herald

The one mistake that turns sensible investors into panic buyers

2026-10-20 · The Sydney Morning Herald

‘I worry I’ve over-spent’: Here’s how to spend and not feel guilty

2026-09-22 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

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Get clarity on your current financial position I get my clients to create a “balance sheet” – a list of all their assets and liabilities, categorised into the different asset classes (e.g. cash accounts like savings, investment accounts, property and so on).

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-29

🔮 It’s easy to spend a lifetime thinking that “if only I had more money,” your financial stress would disappear.

2026-09-29 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Inherited a windfall? Your first move should be to do nothing · assertive framing

I’ve come into an inheritance and am anxious about what I should do with the money. asserted

I → come → money

I’ve never really had this much money to manage in the first place. asserted

I → have → place

I have a fully paid off home. asserted

I → have → home

I’ve also never worked with financial professionals, so I don’t know how to go about that. asserted

I → work → that

I worry about being taken advantage of. asserted

I → worry → advantage

I don’t want to squander the money, but I don’t know how to make good use of it. asserted

I → want → it

How should I go about this? asserted

I → go → this

It’s easy to spend a lifetime thinking that “if only I had more money,” your financial stress would disappear. asserted

stress → ’ → money

However, it’s not the money alone that solves the stresses, it’s your confidence in your ability to manage the money you have. asserted

you → ’ → money

So, what’s the way forward? asserted

way → ’ → ?

Take the pressure off yourself to figure out what to do Sitting on a lump sum of cash can be far more anxiety inducing than people expect. asserted

people → take → cash

There might be a nagging anxiety to “do something” with the money, but you don’t know what. uncertain

you → nag → what

A lot of less-than-ideal decisions are made from a desire to alleviate this anxiety, quickly. asserted

lot → make → anxiety

You want to stop feeling this pressure, so you rush the decision: you sign up with the first financial advisor your friend recommends, or follow your uncle’s well-meaning suggestion to buy a property. asserted

friend → want → property

At least now you’ve decided, now you can move on with your life. asserted

you → decide → life

Give yourself permission to take some time to figure out how to make a decision that you feel confident and comfortable with. asserted

you → give → that

However, often that anxiety just gets deferred. asserted

anxiety → defer → ?

Before, you were anxious about doing something with the money. asserted

you → do → money

Now, you’re anxious about whether you made the right decision. asserted

you → ’re → decision

Give yourself permission to take some time to figure out how to make a decision that you feel confident and comfortable with. asserted

you → give → that

clients → get → savings

This is going to give you a one-page snapshot of your financial situation. asserted

This → go → situation

Think about your wealth in three portions You have a home, your investments (inside and outside superannuation), and your savings. asserted

You → think → home

You’ve already got a fully paid off house, which is great. asserted

which → get → house

You will want to get some clarity on how much you intend to keep in cash (i.e. savings) versus how much you intend to invest. asserted

you → want → much

My general rule of thumb is: don’t invest money you think you’ll need to spend in the next three to five years. asserted

you → invest → years

For example, if you’re going on a world tour next year don’t invest that money. asserted

you → go → money

So, think about how much money you need for regular expenses, as well as how much you might want to put towards any bigger expenses in the next couple of years. uncertain

you → think → years

You now have a rough idea of how much to keep in cash versus how much you can put towards investments. asserted

you → have → investments

A two-fold investment: inside versus outside super The main advantage of investing inside superannuation is that it is possible to save a lot of money on taxes by investing through your super fund. asserted

it → invest → fund

The main drawbacks of superannuation is that the money in super will not be accessible to you until you’re at least 60 to 65. asserted

you → ’re → you

So, you want to ask yourself: “Of the money I have available to invest, how much am I okay to not access until I’m in my 60s versus how much would I like to have available to me before then?” asserted

I → want → me

This is going to help you clarify how much to invest inside versus outside superannuation. asserted

you → go → superannuation

Start to learn about how investments work Now, it’s up to you how far down this rabbit hole you go. asserted

you → start → hole

The goal isn’t to necessarily DIY your own investments. asserted

goal → diy → investments

You may be happy to pay a little extra to have someone do that for you. uncertain

someone → pay → you

However, even if that is the case, having some foundational knowledge of how investing works will help you feel more confident in your ability to hire and manage the relationship with a financial professional. asserted

you → have → professional

Investing is a big world, but a good starting point is learning how index funds and ETFs work. asserted

funds → learn → ?

What do terms like “asset allocation” and “diversification” and “dollar cost averaging” mean, and how should one change one’s asset allocation over time? asserted

one → mean → time

This is roughly the same process anyone can go through. asserted

anyone → go → ?

…and 6 more, not listed.

Inherited a windfall? Your first move should be to do nothing

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