What to with a "gift"

[Butwhyistherumgone?]

Say you get a 10K gift,
would you put it ALL down on your mortgage or pay off a few smaller bills and put the majority in savings ( to increase an emergency fund) ?

This has not happened to me but it is more of a disagreement with my MIL....I know lots of factors play in but just wanting a few other opinions

 

[disneyfreakk]

I would pay bills and put the rest in savings.

 

[indimom]

Say you get a 10K gift,
would you put it ALL down on your mortgage or pay off a few smaller bills and put the majority in savings ( to increase an emergency fund) ?

This has not happened to me but it is more of a disagreement with my MIL....I know lots of factors play in but just wanting a few other opinions

It would depend on where I was in my life at the time.

There were times in the past when I would have put it directly in long-term savings (retirement or kids' schooling).
There were times in the past when I would have paid down bills or invested in a newer automobile or similar large purchase.
There were times in the past when I would have taken a trip and tossed what was left in the Emergency Fund.

Currently, we are comfortable with our mortgage and okay with our savings. We are only months away from paying off the kids' braces and our newer car we bought in 2011.
BUT, I'm planning to go back to school. So, if I received $10,000 right now, I would put it toward that rather than take on more school loans.

Like you said, it's very personal to the situation you are in at the time.

 

[seashoreCM]

If you have credit card balances or loans with high interest, you should seriously consider paying those off.

 

[Butwhyistherumgone?]

Say you get a 10K gift,
would you put it ALL down on your mortgage or pay off a few smaller bills and put the majority in savings ( to increase an emergency fund) ?

This has not happened to me but it is more of a disagreement with my MIL....I know lots of factors play in but just wanting a few other opinions

I am in the "pay off the few small bills and bank the rest" boat ~ MIL is in the other LOL.
We have no credit card debt so no issues there

 

[marmalade]

I would go to Disney.

 

[Schmoodle]

Just curious, does MIL have to agree with how you manage your money? I would never share those details with mine, although she is meddlesome and might offer an opinion. Maybe the money is coming from her, in which case I guess she has a right to say where it should go.

Anyway, right now, I have a sufficient emergency fund and no high interest debt, so I'd either put it into kids college funds or my house-renovation fund.

 

[Gigi22]

OP, how I envy you! My MIL would have been in the, "I desperately need a $10,000 white couch" category, if there is one!

 

[scrapquitler]

I am in the "pay off the few small bills and bank the rest" boat ~ MIL is in the other LOL.
We have no credit card debt so no issues there

Why are you discussing this with MIL at all??

 

[meggiebeth]

We'd use a little to pay of bills, recarpet the house and then the rest would go on our next holiday to Florida. Family time is precious to us

 

[Colleen27]

It really depends where you're at financially. Right now, we don't have any debt and I'm comfortable with our savings so we'd probably spend most of it either on travel or home improvements.

I personally don't think paying large sums on a mortgage is wise unless you have a very, very comfortable emergency fund, long enough to survive even an extended period of unemployment. Lenders will foreclose for $20K just as surely as for $200K if you fall behind, so making sure you have the savings to ensure that doesn't happen needs to come before paying extra towards mortgage principal.

 

[bedogged]

Say you get a 10K gift,
would you put it ALL down on your mortgage or pay off a few smaller bills and put the majority in savings ( to increase an emergency fund) ?

This has not happened to me but it is more of a disagreement with my MIL....I know lots of factors play in but just wanting a few other opinions

Is it your MIL that is giving you the gift?

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

This has not happened to me but it is more of a disagreement with my MIL....I know lots of factors play in but just wanting a few other opinions

Seriously? You and your MIL are arguing about something which didn't even happen?

 

[Butwhyistherumgone?]

There is no gift, No money, just more of a "if this would happen" type of thing.

Long, long story , short
MIL's 87 yr dad just made a will.
If MIL dies before him ( not going to happen) her share goes to my Dh and his brother, not my FIL. FIL is fine with that, he does not need the money.
MIL wanted my DH and BIL to give my FIL the money. FIL said "No, it should go to the boys as in the will"

MIL calls and wants us to promise IF this would happen we will pay ALL the money towards our mortgage.

it is a never gonna happen scenario ~ I am not arguing with her, I just disagree that paying it all on a mortgage would be the right thing to do.

 

[Butwhyistherumgone?]

It really depends where you're at financially. Right now, we don't have any debt and I'm comfortable with our savings so we'd probably spend most of it either on travel or home improvements.

I personally don't think paying large sums on a mortgage is wise unless you have a very, very comfortable emergency fund, long enough to survive even an extended period of unemployment. Lenders will foreclose for $20K just as surely as for $200K if you fall behind, so making sure you have the savings to ensure that doesn't happen needs to come before paying extra towards mortgage principal.

I agree with you!

 

[Lisa71]

Go to vegas, bet on black?? One third fun, one third savings, one third bills! So, $3000 for WDW, one third to save for the next trip and one third to pay off the rest of of your debts.

 

[mrsklamc]

It depends on what my emergency fund looked like.

 

[scrapquitler]

There is no gift, No money, just more of a "if this would happen" type of thing.

Long, long story , short
MIL's 87 yr dad just made a will.
If MIL dies before him ( not going to happen) her share goes to my Dh and his brother, not my FIL. FIL is fine with that, he does not need the money.
MIL wanted my DH and BIL to give my FIL the money. FIL said "No, it should go to the boys as in the will"

MIL calls and wants us to promise IF this would happen we will pay ALL the money towards our mortgage.

it is a never gonna happen scenario ~ I am not arguing with her, I just disagree that paying it all on a mortgage would be the right thing to do.

Instead of arguing over a hypothetical with her, just say "That sounds like a great plan!" or "Yeah, that would be nice" without promising anything, then let it go. If something happens and she dies, and you get the money, then go ahead and do whatever you want with it. There's no point in letting it bother you in the least now.

 

[Butwhyistherumgone?]

Instead of arguing over a hypothetical with her, just say "That sounds like a great plan!" or "Yeah, that would be nice" without promising anything, then let it go. If something happens and she dies, and you get the money, then go ahead and do whatever you want with it. There's no point in letting it bother you in the least now.

Thank you.
That does sound like a great plan

 

[natfrac]

I received a lump sum once from my grandmother. I paid off my car (my biggest debt at the time) and spent the rest remodeling our kitchen. There were no strings attached, but I wanted to spend it on something that would last more than a year or two.