What would you do with the money?

[Mike Lynch]

If tomorrow you suddenly had around $300,000 cash, would you:

Try to purchase several $50,000 homes and rent them out?

Purchase a couple $100,000 homes and rent them?

Buy fix and flips and rentals using the banks money?

I have even thought about trying to create a huge website like VRBO or Homeaway, with a great web designer but have no idea if that would be a disaster, and I like to play it safe.

I have thought about starting some sort of Elder Care company? A friend of mine started a small Pawn Shop with $150,000 nine years ago and now has 5 of them in Virginia, worth millions, but that's a ton of work, and being robbed or shot is very possible. My friend always has two loaded pistols on him 24/7 and was robbed at gunpoint several years ago.

I know more about homes than anything else, since I have worked on them for 30 years.

At present, I have read around 15 real estate books, some purchased from Authors on this site, and have watched dozens of real estate videos online. Everyone claims to have the best idea, and the more you learn, the more confusing it gets.......Information Overload.

My goal is to stop being a plumber, as it is killing my back and bones, as soon as possible. I feel like a 48 year old Pro Wrestler that has been beaten to a pulp when I wake up in the mornings, from too many years or jack hammering slab homes to repair water leaks, hauling water heaters, toilets, and bathtubs up stairs, and digging ditches. I really need to slow down on the heavy duty 40 to 50 hours a week labor, and get out of this mess as fast as possible.

I know, I know, more information overload with my questions, but I would still like to hear more and try to make a decision and take my first step soon.

[Charlie Fitzgerald]

I would donate 10% to my favorite charity/church.

I would pay off any personal debt that I had

I would add to my emergency fund to have a minimum of 8-10 months reserves 

The remainder would then give me my foundation for determining which direction to invest and I would prepare a shortlist of my Top 3 prospective investments and then research each of them and their attributes and pick the one (s) that meet my defined goals the best.