Someone Gives You $100,000 Tax-Free — What’s the First Thing You Do?

A $100,000 gift may be tax-free to the recipient, but the smartest first move can be simply parking the money safely and taking time to decide what it should accomplish – Shutterstock

Someone gives you $100,000 tax-free, and suddenly every financial decision looks a little more tempting. Pay off the mortgage? Buy the car? Invest it? Remodel the kitchen? Hand a chunk to family? Take an absolutely unreasonable vacation involving a beach and an unnecessarily expensive drink?

The first move should be much less exciting.