Quick Summary:

Married w/ 4 year old. Joint income is 165K will go up in a few years to 200K
Own home w/ 310K mortgage.....worth 300K
No CC debt, own 3 different cars & toys NO DEBT (wife has a small Student loan 8K?)
Have 30K joint savings and retirement is taken care of w/ PERS + Deferred Comp
I play small stakes live poker part-time (making $20hr) as a hobby that we use to go on vaction to hawaii or mexico in winter.

I have 100K in savings I brought into marriage and want to invest it. I did have a 35K mutual fund from 2003-2012 and ended up breaking even. I know nothing about stocks or bonds ect....Not to comfortable in financial markets cause i'm clueless.

Couple Ideas I had:
1) CD through bank make a small amount
2) Back in stocks
3) Buy rental home( could pick one up for 150K)
4) Enter WSOP and pray
5) Start a small business (my dream really)
6) We would like a bigger newer home closer to work, was thinking of renting ours and buying a new home and use the $$ as down payment. Seems like we would be buried in real estate though with no return.

Any other advice or ideas?

How much time do you want to spend trying to beat the market?

If you were to start a small business what kind of business would you start?

For what its worth I'd keep it in savings until I read books. Real estate is a big hassle and it looks like you are pretty much set up for life if you spend your money right. I'd read Boggleheads to get a good grasp on a lot of different financial options and just plan on indexing my money because #1 you have a decent job and you will likely maximize your money by focusing on that and #2 I'd rather relax than bust my rear for a negligible benefit

Yeah I think this is the key question regarding starting a small business.

Please don't say open a restaurant if you've never washed dishes before.

Really depends how much extra work you want to do. The more work you're willing to do the higher return on your investment. In order of most to least profitable and most to least work you're looking at

5 start a biz > 3/6 Real Estate > 2/1 stocks/CD

4 is just gambling especially if you only play one or two events. Also don't buy a CD. No one should ever buy a CD. Just put it in stocks/an index fund if you don't want to do any work for it.

OP,
I invest with a guy that buys condos in Edmonton,AB. return is around 6% paid monthly and there is an equity growth component as well. Investment is long term so cash wont be very liquid (that is the "downside")

I have another friend building houses in Saskatchewan, Canada. Economy is booming there. Returns are around 15% - 20%/year.

I am not a huge fan of stocks and bonds for several reasons. Main reason is most of the brokers out there are crooks that dont want to help their clients they just want to line their own pockets. You have to be super careful when choosing a broker to go with. These guys make money even when you lose money, such a conflict of interest.

Getting into any situation where you can get your equity working for you and get a steady rental return is a good plan.

PM me if you want to follow up with guys doing business in AB/SASK.

Yes I have been hesitant to buy a cd w/ it just because its locked up and I'm barely making a profit.....so its just sitting in savings..doing nothing.

Book advice would be great about different investing options. I'll check out 'Boggleheads'

Small business ideas are:
-Small sandwich shop (breakfast/lunch only) my wife has great recipes for this and other food ideas.
-Coffee Shop
-Lawn/Landscaping
-Window washing/ property maintenance
-Transportation Business (airport shuttle type or commuter shuttle, Limo?)
-Skate/BMX park , indoor/outdoor, membership type

I have background in all the above ideas......the kicker is that I work 40 hours/week. I am available to be on the phone or internet a few times a day no problem though.

I assumed you would be quiting your job to start a business. Do not start a business if you plan to keep your full-time job.

I have to keep my job because of the retirement package. I will be able to retire at age 55 for ~85K/yr for life. My wife has her own identical retirement package assuming she sticks it out.

Maybe it is best to just keep saving until 55 (I'm 40) then start a business when I have more time to run it, which brings me back full circle to how to make some money on that 100K!

I'm not afraid to work if the money's there. All the businesses I listed could be run part-time.

you are really underestimating the difficulty in running those businesses imo.

I'm not sure I agree with this. What business experience do you have in the industries mentioned above?

You can remove the WSOP thing from your list of investments; with the amount of money you have your risk of ruin would be through the roof unless you stuck to the really small events like Venetians, Rio daily tournaments and 1ks-1.5ks but your expectation would likely only be enough to cover the expenses of staying in Vegas for a couple months.

how long have you owned house? you can refi even though you're underwater if your loan is before march 09 i think. maybe april 09. somewhere in there.
@55 you and your wife are going to need more than 85k/yr/person to maintain the same lifestyle you guys have today. you're already more than that right?
where did the 35k mutual fund go? what mutual fund was it?

in before "target fund", but I'm leaning balanced portfolio for at least 50k (indexed or managed funds, nbd)
i doubt how much value is in CD's or treasuries. but otherwise I think there is a lot of opportunity in both bonds and equities.

and my self-serving reco:
you have 100k doing nothing, could possibly be underestimating retirement situation, scared of markets but want to get back in, want to open a business in 15 years... go find a good advisor.

I was joking about WSOP!! LOL!!

Yes, I know I can refi no problem trying to figure out if its worth it or not (its real close)but thats another subject.

Yes the retirement is underestimating our needs but we are planning on continuing to work in "other" fields ie more interesting/rewarding/yes lower paying. Will also have are deferred comp account as well thats not in 85K yr ~500K.

Cashed out Mutual fund is part of the 100K.

Looks like I should read some books / research and put it back into the market.....
I have no idea what "in before "target fund", but I'm leaning balanced portfolio for at least 50k (indexed or managed funds, nbd)
i doubt how much value is in CD's or treasuries. but otherwise I think there is a lot of opportunity in both bonds and equities." means??

Yes, I agree that running a small business is tons of work and high risk, not underestimating that at all, mostly playing with the idea..looking for partners/opportunities ect...

I appreciate the responses...

I have worked in all the fields mentioned.