Dear Dave,
My mom died a few years ago, and she left me an inheritance of $60,000 in stock. She was always investing and saving money. I could sell this and be debt-free while still having plenty left over, but I feel like I’ll lose a part of her if I do this. Do you have any advice?
David
Dear David,
I didn’t know your mom, but from what you’ve told me, it sounds like she was a pretty smart and responsible lady. I don’t visualize her as the kind of person who would’ve said, “I’m going to leave you this stock. Always keep it and never cash it out, no matter what happens.”
A gift like this is someone wanting to bless another person with some of the good they accomplished in this world. It’s your mom’s way of giving you an opportunity to have a better life. In my mind, the best way for you to have a better life is to use the money to become debt-free then use the cash that used to go toward debt payment to invest.
I know you loved your mom, but I think you’ve given this stock more power than she gave it. You’ve gotten her blessing, and that was to be a blessing to you. You know, you can be a blessing to others in lots of different ways. She just accomplished it with the stock.
Honor your mom and go be debt-free today. The time is now!
—Dave
* Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He’s authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeoverand EntreLeadership. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 6 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.