...and you had no debt to pay off, other than maybe your house. But you don't want to do something stupid like that. What would you do with all of the cash IF you could only do one thing?
Buy some land?
Invest in a CD?
By the way, it's not me.
do NOT go for stocks, theyre valuations are extremely high right now.
bonds are going to get decimated if interest rates keep rising.
most real estate is also high right now, especially here in bay area.
paying off mortgage only works if your rate is really high and you dont make enough money to deduct mortgage interest.
so no simple answers. especially without info on who the recipient is and their situation. what i would say is that 100k is not really an amount that will change your life. definitely make it better, even give you a few thrills depending on how you spend it, but not a life-altering amount.
its best off being invested so it could turn into a life altering amount down the road, assuming this person is still fairly young. best for now to tell them to be patient and do not rush to spend/invest. even in long term investments like stocks/bonds/real estate your entry timing can have huge ramifications on your final returns.
baron rothschild was right when he said the time to buy is when blood is in the streets. if you want stocks, wait for a market crash/recession. bonds? wait until rates get sky-high again. (maybe not in our lifetimes) for real estate? wait for a crash or decent correction and buy income property, it has huge tax preferences in the US. (you could flip your property endlessly and never pay a cent in taxes using exchanges)
if your friend has an higher risk tolerance, look into something a bit higher in rewards. a tiny foreclosed house that requires cash purchase? good way to instantly lock in profits if done right. maybe a small and easy business like a laundromat near sonoma state? college kids always have laundry to do. hell, they could invest it in the brewery we're opening here in the City if they had the cojones to do it.
in any case, just dont let them invest blindly. tell them to be patient, wait for the opportunity to present itself. it always does.