As everyone has said, the first thing to do is nothing. Well, that's not exactly right. You may think "No sweat, I'm in no rush to spend it" but recognize that

As everyone has said, the first thing to do is nothing. Well, that's not exactly right. You may think "No sweat, I'm in no rush to spend it" but recognize that most people that go broke... from bad investments. There's no dumber way to lose your money than investing in some stock that sounds good or becoming an angel investor or buying a bunch of rental properties or whatever "safer than the bank" idea you have right away. Ok, that's easy enough... but pretty quickly you will realize that money is ALWAYS invested, whatever you do with it. Keep it in cash? Ok, you are investing in the U.S. dollar. And where should you put your pile of cash? FDIC only insures bank accounts up to $250k, so if someone grabs your login most of your money is just gone. So it needs to go somewhere - index funds, CDs, mutual funds, etc. There are a lot of boring options with minimal differences and most financial advisers will encourage you to diversify money all over the place. I know some investment bankers and they say most of their high-end clients are more focused on trying not to lose money than make it with investing, so there is a very well-trod path to doing all this. Recognize that diversifying rarely protects you much from a sudden market downturn (check out 2008) as the economic engine is pretty well intertwined, so there is no need to go nuts trying to spread money everywhere. Another reason to keep your diversification simple: pay close attention to the vig (the cut going to an adviser/investment vehicle). Not all index funds are the same and certainly not all financial advisers all the same. Especially when trying to be safe with money, too much can be scraped off by advisers. Flat fees are best for what you want, or you can do some research and do it yourself with some help from your bank. If you want to keep things basic for a while without any fuss, talk to an investment bank (like Schwab) and ask them to walk you through a simple distribution with cash equivalents and index funds. You can always adjust things later but please don't let your cash just sit in an under-insured deposit/savings account. If you do feel the need to invest in stocks/business, read Warren Buffett's advice and make slow moves - a good rule of thumb is if you invest in a thing, make sure you would be comfortable if you couldn't touch it for 5 years. Anything less is not an investment but a gamble. In CA, I also recommend umbrella insurance, not sure how it works elsewhere. The idea is if someone slips on your staircase and breaks their butt they could theoretically sue you for all your money - umbrella insurance covers your from that and most other things. Take small protective measures from unlikely but cataclysmic losses. Finally, what to actually spend money on? There is one thing I read that has proven true at any price point: spend money on things that improve your everyday life. That might be getting something pricey for what it is, like an Ember mug that keeps your coffee warm, or something bigger like moving closer to work so you have an easier commute and gain more free time.