Hello
My husband and I are 30 years old and know nothing about investing... we are about to recive his annuity check that is 48,000 if we roll is over to an ira, but if we take it as a lump sum, we receive around 37,000. We are opting for the lump sum, because we want to use some of the money, but my question is, where do we start with investing the other 30000. We know nothing about anything, nor where to start! I need advise on where to put the money. Risky... not risky... short term, long term... where ever! Just need investing 101!

First and foremost, ROLL IT OVER into an IRA. The taxes will eat you alive (can be as much as 50% of the distribution) if you take it as a lump sum.

Second, you can enroll in basic investment classes at the local community college.

You can also access several excellent websites that will teach you about investing. The ones that come to mind are:

The Motley Fool (www.fool.com).

Smart Money (www.smartmoney.com).

Yahoo! Finance - Get stock quotes, market news, mortgage rates & currency info. (http://finance.yahoo.com/)

Morningstar: Stocks, Mutual Funds, and Investing (http://www.morningstar.com)

There are other excellent websites available, but these are a start.

Steph, If you learn better by watching and listening, check out YouTube's page of Michael Fischer (http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=savingandinvesting). He goes by SavingAndInvesting (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=savingandinvesting) too. Anyway, he'll take you step by step in free videos discussing everything a beginner should know about investing: from principles of compounding to what are mutual funds. He's a pro in what he talks about -- worked for an investment bank Goldman Sachs -- and has been very helpful to me.

Roll it over, not only do you pay a 10 percent penality but will also have to pay taxes on the money if you take it out and don't roll it over.