Case Scenario:
When Nina opened the letter from her aunt, she discovered a wonderful surprise. "My aunt has given me a gift of $12,000!" "Why would she do that?" mused Kevin. "I guess her investments have increased in value by much more than she needs. She wants to share it with family members." Nina shrugged, still in a little bit of shock. "I wonder what I should do with the money?" "Oh, I have some suggestions for you . . ." Kevin said. Recovering herself, Nina teased, "Wait a minute! When did this become our money?" Kevin threw his hands in the air. "Hey, I just thought I'd offer some ideas." After some discussion, Nina considered the following uses for the money:
Credit card debt —use a portion of the money to pay off credit card bills from her last vacation.
Savings —set aside money for a down payment on a house.
Long-term investments —invest the money in a tax-deferred retirement account.
Career training —use the money for technology certification courses to enhance her earning power.
Community donations —contribute funds to a homeless shelter and a world hunger-relief organization.
"Wow, I could easily use $100,000 instead of $12,000!" Nina laughed. "So what should I do?" "Some financial advisors recommend not doing anything for at least 6 months," warned Kevin. "You might be tempted to buy on impulse instead of spending the money on things with lasting value." "Well now I'm really not sure what to do!"
Required to do:
Question 1. Which additional information might be necessary to know about Nina before determining which areas of financial planning should be her top priority?
Question 2. How might time value of money calculations be used by Nina in her decision-making process?
Question 3. What actions do you recommend that Nina take before making a final decision about the use.