What To Do When You Come Into Unexpected Money

Not everyone is fortunate to come into unexpected money; however, it does happen for some lucky people. This unexpected money could be a lottery winning or an inheritance from a loved one.

With any windfall, it’s important to review what you have, what you’ve come into, and how best to use that money for improving your life.

Here are some helpful tips for what to do when you do come into unexpected money.

Know How Much You’re Getting

Knowing exactly how much you’re getting helps you be better prepared to receive the money and find an appropriate place to store the funds.

How much you receive will determine what sort of account you want to put it in. It might be that you’re getting all the funds to distribute to others, so it’s helpful to know how much you’re getting in advance.

Make a Financially Savvy Plan

Making a financially savvy plan is essential, especially if you’re not be used to receiving this volume of money. For some people, it can feel very overwhelming and hard to comprehend.

What do you want to do with the money initially? Everyone has different plans for unexpected money, so make sure your plan fits your lifestyle and future goals. is financially savvy.

Get Yourself an EIN 

An EIN is often required when you’re left in charge of an estate. An EIN for estate is a particular application you’ll need to complete, which might not be something everyone is typically aware of, especially if they’ve not needed to manage someone’s estate before.

If you’re a surviving spouse and the estate you’re dealing with has earned income or may earn income in the coming year, then you’ll need an EIN for tax purposes.

Always Keep an Emergency Fund

An emergency fund is helpful to have, especially when acquiring such large amounts of money. The chance to have a rainy day fund is rare for some people, so being able to save some for nasty, financial surprises is worth doing. 

Consider setting up an emergency fund to safeguard the money and your future.

Try to Both Save and Invest the Money

When receiving an unexpected amount of money, try to both save and invest the money if there’s enough of it. Doing both provides yourself with the security of capital initially, and it helps to invest it to provide for the future. 

Coming into money is often a surprise or comes at a time when you’re not prepared. However, having a good plan ahead of time will help you enjoy the benefits of the windfall for years to come.