Congrats! I didn't mention real estate because I assumed you were young. But I personally don't invest there. - You can buy houses, rent them to others, and m

Congrats! I didn't mention real estate because I assumed you were young. But I personally don't invest there. - You can buy houses, rent them to others, and make a living - I have neighbors who do this and friends and family who have done it, but it ends up taking a lot of your time and adding stress and aggravation to your life. - You can pay off your mortgage, but interest rates are so crazy low now that this doesn't seem to make much sense. - You can buy a bigger house than you need, and hope that it appreciates in value. I know a lot of people who are selling now in the Bay Area and making silly money from what they paid for their houses originally. But Bay Area housing seems quite overpriced currently. While I wouldn't expect it to crash soon, it doesn't seeem like it has room to double again. Other areas of the country have slower growth but more room to grow. I personally just have a small, comfortable house and don't spend much there. I guess the sure things in real estate tend to be either a lot of work, or a long, slow return. Nothing wrong with those, they just don't fit what I'm looking for.