Max it
Max out your pre-tax workplace retirement accounts, such as a 401(k), if your paycheck leaves you with more cash than you need month to month. If you're over 50, remember, you can make up to a $6,000 "catch-up" contribution on top of the $18,000 regular contribution allowable for 2017.
Face it
Hire an attorney and complete an estate plan, or at least a will. A recent Caring.com survey of more than 1,000 adults found that just 42 percent had prepared documents like wills or a living trust. The cost of hiring an attorney to draft a simple will is at least $300, according to nolo.com, and more likely about $1,000. For do-it-yourselfers, legalzoom.com says it can create a will "starting at $69."
Face it, again
Buy a burial plot or two. A morbid but practical suggestion.
Before and after
Use your cash to build an after-tax investment account alongside your tax-deferred workplace savings account, for cash-flow flexibility later in life, says Sotudeh, of Halpern Financial. The earnings on money in workplace retirement accounts like 401(k)s grow tax-deferred, but you'll have to pay taxes when you withdraw the funds, so those accounts are drawn down much faster than after-tax accounts. Having both kinds gives you extra diversification and retirement security, Sotudeh says.
Invest some cash in cash
Hey! What's wrong with holding some cash, anyway?
"Nothing," says Boneparth, of Bone Fide Wealth. "Increasing your reserves in times of volatility or uncertainty can be a strength. If an opportunity arises, you can take advantage of it."
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.