Quentin Fottrell

Tue, Jul 1, 2025, 7:48 AM8 min read

I recently lost both my parents and inherited $240,000. Due to life choices (divorce) and living paycheck to paycheck until recently, I do not have a lot saved for retirement. I am 58 years old and make a decent living of $130,000 per year. I have about $100,000 saved for retirement excluding my parents’ money. I owe $258,000 on my mortgage on a house worth $825,000.

I am not looking to retire before 65, but am hoping to downsize and maybe take a less stressful job for half the money if I can find one. I’m really confused about what I should do with my parents’ money to set myself up for a solid retirement. I don’t know if I should invest it, pay off my mortgage, save aggressively, or downsize to a smaller home and invest the proceeds.

• My wife and I have $7,000 a month in pensions and Social Security, plus $140,000 cash. Can we afford to retire?

• I’m a stay-at-home mom. Do I take a part-time job to spend more time with my kids — or get a job for six figures?

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I’ve never had money in the bank until the last couple of years and I don’t know how to be smart with it. I am paralyzed by the choices and have a low risk tolerance. I am aware of how hard it is to come by and don’t want to do any risky gambles. I currently have most in a CD at 4% and the rest in a high-yield savings account. Finance makes me break out in hives.

What is the smartest move?

Cautious & Nervous

Related: I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years. Do I take a part-time job to spend more time with my kids or get a job for six figures?

Stress is an inside job. It won’t necessarily go away in a part-time job that pays you less.

Your anxiety may be provoked by the seemingly overwhelming amount of choices you are giving yourself, rather than your inability to manage your finances. You’ve also lost your parents and you may not even realize how traumatizing and life-altering that is for you. We should avoid making life-altering decisions when we are grieving. We want to start anew, but sometimes maintaining the quiet status quo is the best way forward, for now, and the most difficult.

The smartest move is to make lots of small, considered moves over time, ideally with the advice of a financial adviser — a fiduciary who must put your interests before your own, and not a person who wants to earn a commission and sell you a rake of products that you don’t understand. It starts with your home, and whether to downsize (yes, if you feel comfortable) and paying off some of your mortgage (yes again, if that’s important to you). It will shorten the term, remember, not reduce the monthly payment.