and advice when you visit my blog by the same name Smart Moves to Grow Rich.com.

Sometimes you get a financial windfall like a gift, inheritance, lottery payout, or a tax refund, and find yourself jumping for joy.

But once the dust and excitement settles, you also find yourself wondering what to do with it.

That's the situation for a reader named Amber W. who asks,

I'm a full-time student being supported by my parents

and they gave me $30,000 more than I need right now.

I'd like to invest it and earn some extra money.

What advice do you have?

Amber's in a pretty enviable position to have her education paid for by her parents and to have

a lump sum of cash to live on.

But unless her parents are willing to keep this gravy train flowing, Amber needs to manage the money wisely.

Here are five questions you should ask yourself before you invest a financial windfall.

The first question you should ask yourself before investing a cash windfall is, do I have emergency

savings? Having some amount of emergency money is critical for having a

healthy financial life because no one can predict the future. You might have a large unexpected

expense or a loss of income.

Without emergency money to fall back on, you're living on the edge, financially speaking.

So getting a windfall is the perfect opportunity to build up your cash reserves.

I recommend that you keep a minimum of three to six months worth of your living expenses

safe and sound in a high-yield bank account that's

FDIC insured. Depending on your situation, you may need more, like if you have a

shaky job situation, a large family, or a spouse who doesn't work.

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