1. Figure out exactly how much you will need to pay in taxes. Set that aside and don't touch it at all. Tax problems are never helpful. 2. Your money should no

1. Figure out exactly how much you will need to pay in taxes. Set that aside and don't touch it at all. Tax problems are never helpful. 2. Your money should not be sitting around, that you have correct. However, you should take a holistic view of "investment". You need to find what will deliver the highest ROI for you in the near future. I am not convinced that stocks/financial assets are that for a mid 20s person in Europe. Maybe you seriously need to buy a new computer? Maybe you have some sort of surgery you were putting off and can now do? These things take priority over buying some stocks. 3. Building from point 2, if you can earn 50k in a short stint, you have some serious skill/knowledge about some industry(unless you got very lucky). The best thing for you to do is figure out how to make those 50k work for you in your area of expertise, where you have an actual edge. Maybe you know what is the next great shitcoin? Who knows, point is that the last thing you should do is lazily chug those 50k in an etf and let the market do the work.